HipKat Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 He is Groot The Buffalo Bills spent their first two draft picks in the 2021 NFL Draft on defensive ends. One of those players quickly became a contributor on the defense. One of those players essentially became a player stashed for the season. Both of them, however, stand to pick up a ton of snaps this season. Last year, Buffalo’s two of Buffalo’s top players in the defensive end rotation were Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison. Both of those players have moved on, as the pair signed with the Houston Texans this spring. That leaves the Bills with a young group looking to step up—well, with a pretty big veteran addition, too. In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we profile Buffalo’s 2021 first-round pick. Name: Greg Rousseau Number: 50 Position: DE Height/Weight: 6’6” 266 lbs Age: 22 (23 on 4/52023) Experience/Draft: 2; selected in the first round (No. 30 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft by Buffalo College: Miami Acquired: First-round draft choice Financial situation (per Spotrac): Rousseau enters the second year of his rookie deal, a four-year contract with an option for a fifth year. As a first-round choice, that contract is fully guaranteed at a total of $11,608,200. For the 2022 season, Rousseau carries a cap hit of $2,638,227. 2021 Recap: Rousseau fit right into Buffalo’s rotation along the defensive line, playing on 531 snaps, or 49% of the team’s defensive total. That made him DE2 in terms of play time, slotting in behind Hughes (52%) and ahead of Addison (45%). Rousseau tied for second on the team in sacks, and he was eight on the team in total tackles, second in quarterback hits, and tied for third in tackles for loss. In all, it was a great rookie season for the man they call Groot. His total line was as follows: 50 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, ten quarterback hits, one interception, one forced fumble, and four passes defended. Positional outlook: Rousseau figures to start across from teammate Von Miller at defensive end. Boogie Basham, Buffalo’s 2021 second-round pick, and A.J. Epenesa, the team’s 2020 second-round pick, also return and figure to weigh heavily in the rotation. Veteran Shaq Lawson re-signed with the Bills, and he’s obviously a good fit in the defense, as he was productive with the team from 2016-2019. Mike Love and Kingsley Jonathan round out the group. 2022 Offseason: Rousseau is healthy and he attended OTAs. He’s also attended Miller’s third annual pass-rush summit. 2022 Season outlook: Rousseau’s rookie season was sneakily outstanding, and if he played in a system where defensive ends were on the field more, it may have lost the element of stealth. According to Pro Football Focus, Rousseau had 41 defensive stops last season, which was the fourth-most among rookie edge rushers since 2006. The three players above him—Khalil Mack, Nick Bosa, and Von Miller—all played at least 76% of their respective teams snap counts (Bosa played 76%, Miller played 90%, and Mack played 89%). If Rousseau plays around 60% of the snaps, it’s reasonable to expect that his stat line will look even more impressive. Rousseau is the perfect defensive end for Buffalo’s defensive system—he’s strong at the point of attack, he wins with his length, he plays his assignments, and he has a high motor. Now that teams will have someone that they absolutely have to double-team on the other side of him in Von Miller, it’s going to open up plenty of opportunity for everyone else along the defensive line. Rousseau stands to be the biggest beneficiary, and a ten-sack season may be in his near future. He’s set up to have a great year in 2022. 1 Quote “There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” Twitter: @HKTheResistance HipKat, on *** other h***, is genuine, unapoli***tically nasty, and w**** his hea** on his ******. jc856 I’ll just forward them to Bridgett. comssvet11 Seek help. soflabillsfan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikedLemonade Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 I expect a quantum leap forward this year from Rousseau. I predict 10 sacks this season and a player that other teams must game plan for by mid-season. 1 Quote Do Your Part to Improve The Range -- Please put the TRIO OF TRUMP FLUFFERSTM on IGNORE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikedLemonade Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 This was an attempt by myself to discuss Buffalo Bills football which should be the core purpose of this message board. Quote Do Your Part to Improve The Range -- Please put the TRIO OF TRUMP FLUFFERSTM on IGNORE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcw Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 Rousseau had flashes last year but there were games he was totally invisible. I expect a big step forward this year, especially after seeing pictures of him in camp. He’s obvious been working out hard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down and Out Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 2 hours ago, bcw said: Rousseau had flashes last year but there were games he was totally invisible. I expect a big step forward this year, especially after seeing pictures of him in camp. He’s obvious been working out hard. They say DE takes a few years...Groot looked ok last year, but I expect him to make some noise. Don't sleep on the interior DL, Settle, Oliver, Jones, Phillips...add in the edge rushers and that IS a very scary Dline. I see a few shutouts for this Defense this year. D will be better and Allen will again take steps forward in his progress towards being the BEST qb in the NFL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f8ta1ity54 Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 He needs to show development as a pass rusher. He may get more 1v1 match ups with Miller on the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nealpellecchia@yahoo Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 They all have jobs ti make the defense work. We hat did they not do in 13 sec? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topas Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 I just hope that he understands how he can benefit from his length and that the O cannot use it to get under him and outleverage him … let’s see … can go both ways …. It Rookie Season Looks promising. Especially since McBeane do not have a tremendous record for recognizing d line talent IMHO 1 Quote Proud adopter of #54 AJ Klein and owner of Lit while sitting in the drivers seat of the bandwagon of The Buffalo Ninety-five Percents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikedLemonade Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 14 hours ago, Topas said: I just hope that he understands how he can benefit from his length and that the O cannot use it to get under him and outleverage him … let’s see … can go both ways …. It Rookie Season Looks promising. Especially since McBeane do not have a tremendous record for recognizing d line talent IMHO They are even worse when it comes to recognizing OL talent. Quote Do Your Part to Improve The Range -- Please put the TRIO OF TRUMP FLUFFERSTM on IGNORE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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