Who’s your defensive surprise of the year?

[Alphadawg7]

9 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I think TJ Sanders is going to be a beast even in limited playing time. When Ed started to play well down the stretch last year the difference in our defense was noticeable and when he came off the field the interior penetration was non-existent. I think signing Ogunjobi and drafting Sanders tells you Beane knows that.

 

I can well imagine an offensive line that has spent all game trying to hold off Ed just relaxing slightly thinking the job is done and then TJ eating. TJ to out sack Ed in fewer snaps is definitely one of my bolds for next year.... and the board will totally over react as a result with "cut Ed he is a bum!" But Milton Williams had more sacks than Jalen Carter last season. It doesn't mean he is better. There is just an opportunity for those rotational guys when the first choice rush package has worn a line down. 

I agree with you on TJ Sanders, I’m really excited to see him in this defense.  That being said, I don’t know that TJ Sanders would be a “surprise” per the main subject of the thread.  Not only did we move up in the 2nd to get him, but he was a guy Beane said he was strongly considering taking potentially in the first if Hairston was gone to Washington the pick before us who also had him in a visit.  Basically he was 2nd BPA on our board at pick 30 behind Hairston.

 

So I don’t think him and Hairston would really count as “surprises” if they come in and make impacts as rookies which is why I didn’t list either.  
 

But as far as what you said about Sanders, I totally agree with, I think this guy is gonna be the real deal.  

Edited 22 hours ago by Alphadawg7

[alg]

I think Bishop is going to surprise people. He is another level of aggressiveness and athleticism, but it was a fraction off due to the training camp setbacks. When the light goes on, he has a chance to be our best DB. Not SS. DB.

 

And I'm confident it will happen. He was getting better by the week.

[BillsShredder83]

49 minutes ago, alg said:

I think Bishop is going to surprise people. He is another level of aggressiveness and athleticism, but it was a fraction off due to the training camp setbacks. When the light goes on, he has a chance to be our best DB. Not SS. DB.

 

And I'm confident it will happen. He was getting better by the week.

Dont let this place poopoo on your opinion. I remember dealing with exactly this with Bernard

[3rdand12]

19 hours ago, MrEpsYtown said:

I think Michael Hoecht is going to crush it when he comes off the suspension. With Bosa and Landon Jackson and such I kind of almost forgot about him. He will be all over the field making plays and will be a shot in the arm for the team. He should be fresh and hungry with something to prove. 

THIS with the all those details as to why.

Nice Mr E

Edited 17 hours ago by 3rdand12

[noacls17]

19 hours ago, MrEpsYtown said:

I think Michael Hoecht is going to crush it when he comes off the suspension. With Bosa and Landon Jackson and such I kind of almost forgot about him. He will be all over the field making plays and will be a shot in the arm for the team. He should be fresh and hungry with something to prove. 

Hoecht, Rousseau, Jackson, and Bosa could be a very interesting pass rush on 3rd and long with length and athleticism.  

Edited 17 hours ago by noacls17

[blacklabel]

I'll take a big swing and say we'll be pleasantly surprised when Maxwell Hairston picks off a pass in his first NFL game. 

[Whites Bay]

2 minutes ago, blacklabel said:

I'll take a big swing and say we'll be pleasantly surprised when Maxwell Hairston picks off a pass in his first NFL game. 

With that speed?  I'll be looking for his first pick-6.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Beane. 
*
Really put Jeremy and Sneaky Joe back on their heels.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

23 hours ago, TFBillsfan said:

Would love to see Bosa be a consistent disrupter at DE. If he can stay healthy, it would be a dynamic on our DL that we haven’t had in a very long time! 

Thankfully, this isn’t a Shawn Merriman situation. Bosa has been injury plagued the past few seasons, but I truly believe he has been unlucky. Good thing is his starts have been trending upwards the last 3 years. A healthy Bosa is truly the difference for a championship IMO. McD needs to be smart w/ the way he plays him. I think he will greatly benefit from a rotational scheme and hopefully come playoff time, Bosa will be playing w/ full health and the confidence that comes with that. Beane wasn’t in position to sign any of the top pass rushers to big money so he did the next best thing. He took a gamble that could pay off immensely. A healthy Bosa is just as good as anybody.

[GASabresIUFan]

Good surprise, Milano stays healthy and plays great all season

 

 

[pi2000]

My surprise is Hairston struggles in camp and doesn't dress until week 6.     He plays 12 snaps before breaking his right collarbone in a collision with a referee.     

 

TJ Sanders disappoints, shows up overweight, pulling up lame with a hammy before the first pre-season game, missing significant time.... essentially taking a red-shirt season.

 

Landon Jackson starts over an injured Bosa who violently ruptures both achilles slipping on a rubber mat on his way to the practice field.   

 

Ed Oliver and Greg Rousseau make 1st team all-pro.    This draft has put them on notice, and they respond with a vengeance.

[ganesh]

It is Bosa for me.  We have missed that pass rush to bring down Mahomes in the playoffs...We need him to get to the QB in key moments.

[GunnerBill]

On 5/7/2025 at 10:28 AM, Pete said:

Jordan Hancock will eventually take Tarons job imo.  Maybe not this season.  But soon

 

Having seen him in the Embedded video I do hope so. That is one young man I hope to see a LOT more of..... 😍

[boyst]

Dwayne Carter. I think snaps wise he will make a difference with the most limited time. 

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, boyst said:

Dwayne Carter. I think snaps wise he will make a difference with the most limited time. 

 

Yea I think I heard both Joe Marino and Sal speculate about his spot on the roster this week. Maybe they are right and I am wrong but I think he is a lock to get some time early at a rotational 1T and if he is somewhat effective when the NFL releases the Beane Two after week 6 I think there is a chance they could move on from Daquan Jones unless he is really back to form. 

[billsfan89]

I think Cole Bishop is gonna give this team really good quality safety play and I think Forrest is also a dark horse to start but I think Cole is gonna make a big impact in year two. My reasoning is that in addition to Cole being a high draft pick who most pundits thought got draft right around where he should have, Cole also got 4 regular season starts and played heavily in two playoff games and I think he generally got better with more snaps. I think his biggest issue his rookie year was getting a feel for his role in the system. The more snaps he gets the more he will get a better feel for the game. 

 

With 6 games of experience under his belt and an entire off-season to work on his game and watch his tape I think he's gonna come into year 2 in the McD system and excel into a quality starting safety. Hamlin was decent last year and I like having him back as depth (helps he is a willing and capable ST player) but I think if the Bills defense has aspirations to go from a average to slightly above average defense to pushing to be a top 5 defense in the league again Cole is gonna have to step up and lock down the SS spot. And I think he's gonna do that and play well. 

[blacklabel]

13 hours ago, Whites Bay said:

With that speed?  I'll be looking for his first pick-6.

 

He has said he aims to make every pick a pick-6. 

[Cash]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea I think I heard both Joe Marino and Sal speculate about his spot on the roster this week. Maybe they are right and I am wrong but I think he is a lock to get some time early at a rotational 1T and if he is somewhat effective when the NFL releases the Beane Two after week 6 I think there is a chance they could move on from Daquan Jones unless he is really back to form. 

 

I've heard some of the same speculation, and I'm with you on Carter.  From the way Beane was talking in post-draft, it sounds like Carter is going to "move" to primarily 1tech instead of primarily 3tech.  Sanders and Ogunjobi are primarily 3techs, per Beane.  Walker is a little different in that he played more 3tech in college but it sounds like the Bills want him to play more 1tech for them, maybe.  But in any case, they need at least 2 guys capable of adequately playing 1tech on early downs.  If Carter just bombs out, then sure he might be cut.  I don't see that as super likely, and frankly it's bad business to cut a 3rd-round pick in year 2 unless you're certain he can't play.

 

Regarding Jones, any cap implications if he's cut in week 6?  His salary would be guaranteed by then, so Pegula would have to eat that, but that aspect doesn't impact the cap.

[BearNorth]

I'm hoping Terrel Bernard - He missed a lot of tackles, wasn't stellar when he had to cover, and was graded in the bottom 10% of LB's. 

[ALLinALLEN]

I'd be surprised (shocked even) if Tre doesn't get burnt and torched at least 2-3 times this season. Like, wide open TD burnt.