By staying at pick No. 30, it was always going to be tough for the Buffalo Bills to find a player who could make an immediate impact on a roster that went to the AFC Championship Game last year and remained largely intact.
They knew they may be looking more long-term than short-term with that first pick, and that’s exactly what happened.
The team selected Gregory Rousseau, a defensive end out of the University of Miami, with their top selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Rousseau played only two games his freshman year in 2018 due to an ankle injury, then had tremendous numbers in 2019 for the Hurricanes, collecting 15.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss, while garnering first-team All-ACC and ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Rousseau’s mom is a COVID-19 nurse working on the front lines, so he and his family thought it was in his best interest to opt-out of the 2020 season, which means he played in only 14 college games and hasn’t seen the field in almost two years.
While he has great size and length at 6-foot-7, 266 pounds, it will most likely take him time to get acclimated to the speed of the NFL and the kind of offensive linemen he’ll face on a weekly basis. Bills fans shouldn’t expect Rousseau to walk onto the field in 2021 and collect double-digit sacks.
What they can expect, however, is a very healthy competition between several players who’ll be vying for roles. Rousseau joins a defensive ends room that includes Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, A.J. Epenesa, Darryl Johnson, Efe Obada, Bryan Cox, Jr., and Mike Love. Every one of them has NFL experience.
Hughes and Addison are the two starters, but it’s going to be really interesting to watch how the depth chart unfolds behind them. Rousseau will have every chance to compete for a role right away.
While he'll start out as a defensive end in pass rush situations his rookie season, general manager Brandon Beane acknowledged via his Zoom conference call that the plan is for Rousseau to eventually be able to play inside, as well.
While the Bills were on the clock, Beane said there was one team “really interested” in trading up and into their spot, but said Rousseau was the guy they wanted, and everything fell in Buffalo's way.
Follow me on Twitter: @SalSports
