Bills DE Von Miller praises Olympic gold medalist signee: 'He's got it all'

Buffalo Bills defensive end Von Miller will be a sounding board for Gable Steveson as he transitions from amateur wrestling to professional football.

Aug 6, 2021; Chiba, Japan; Gable Dan Steveson (USA) with his gold medal at the medals ceremony for the men's freestyle 125kg wrestling competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Makuhari Messe Hall A. Mandatory Credit: Mandi Wright-USA TODAY Sports / Mandi Wright-USA TODAY Sports

Gable Steveon’s path to a prolonged career in professional football is objectively steep, as it would be for any 24-year-old who had never laced up a pair of cleats until the month they signed their first contract.

That said, the rookie’s current situation seems tailor-made for his success. Steveson, a former freestyle wrestler who won a gold medal in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Games, signed a three-year rookie deal with the Buffalo Bills last week, linking with a head coach who’s outspoken in his passion for the world the prospect comes from. Sean McDermott was a back-to-back national prep wrestling champion in high school and has oft-talked about his love for the sport, feeling as though the traits and psyches wrestlers operate with translate well to the gridiron.

Steveson—a demonstrably stellar athlete who constructed a dominant 85-2 wrestling record throughout his four years at the University of Minnesota—will be guided by a coach who understands his profile and the sport he comes from as he transitions to football, more specifically the defensive tackle position. Buffalo’s coaching staff understands it’s starting at “ground zero” with the rookie, but given the presence of McDermott and several other pieces across the team’s defensive line, Steveson truly couldn’t ask for a better situation to succeed.

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One such piece is Von Miller, a 35-year-old defensive end who currently ranks as the NFL’s active-all-time sack leader (123.5). Miller’s road to NFL superstardom was a bit more traditional than Steveson’s projects to be; the second overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the pass-rusher has long been one of the best players on any field he steps on.

That said, Miller—at one point in his development—was just a bundle of traits and athleticism, a ball of clay that needed to be molded into a vaunted pass-rusher. The veteran is eager to help Steveson along as he embarks down a similar road; Miller spoke about the prospect to the Buffalo media after a recent OTA session at One Bills Drive, praising the athleticism of his locker room neighbor.

“His locker is right next to mine, and right when we signed him he texted me like, ‘I’m going to be on your hip, my locker is right next to yours,’” Miller said, per ProFootballTalk’s Michael David Smith. “I said, ‘Alright, it’s cool,’ but it didn’t really hit me until we’re in there talking to him and he’s just now playing football, learning some of the stuff that we did when we were kids. 

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“He has to be on an accelerated learning path, which he’s capable of doing. When it comes to an athletic standpoint, physical standpoint, he’s got it all. When he came in yesterday I had to try him a little bit, try to grapple him a little bit, and he was quick, and he grabbed me, and I see it, I feel it. So he’s definitely got all the athletic ability in the world.”

McDermott and Miller serve as the foundation of what should be a strong support system for Steveson in Buffalo. Listed at 5-foot-11, 266 pounds on the Bills’ press release, Steveson is perhaps a bit undersized to play defensive tackle in the NFL. He’ll soon have the opportunity to pick the brain of Ed Oliver, a 6-foot-1, 287-pound tackle who has overcome the ‘undersized’ label to develop into one of the NFL’s most prolific interior pass rushers in recent years.

Encouraging surroundings aside, Steveson is still an extreme long shot to make Buffalo’s 53-man roster. He instead projects as an immediate practice squad piece and potential 2025 contributor.