On the latest episode of the Billieve Podcast, host John Boccacino and co-host Jamie D’Amico continue their in-depth positional analysis by breaking down the state of the Buffalo Bills’ defensive ends.
The Bills face a lot of important decisions when it comes to their defensive ends, which has become a sneaky area of need this offseason.
Among the topics covered by Boccacino and D’Amico:
- What should the team should do with free agent Shaq Lawson, who led the team with 6.5 sacks and is trending in the right direction coming off a career year? The former first-round draft pick seems to have turned the corner and has played his way into a lucrative contract extension.
- What should Buffalo do with veteran Trent Murphy, who is in the final year of his three-year contract? Despite recording five sacks and finishing strong in 2019, Murphy appears to be expendable, and his nearly $10 million salary could be better spent elsewhere.
- Can Jerry Hughes bounce back in the final year of his contract, coming off a season where he battled through a wrist injury and finished with only 4.5 sacks? While Hughes’s best days are likely behind him, he can still be a valuable contributor if Buffalo brings back Lawson and drafts an edge rusher to complement him.
- When it comes to outside defensive end help, we discuss whether Buffalo should trade for talented edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue—who has received the franchise tag from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ngakoue is a beast who causes havoc on the defensive line, recording 37.5 sacks in four seasons. Ngakoue is a disruptive force, but he will also command a $22 million salary while requiring Buffalo to send Jacksonville high draft picks in return.
- The role second-year defensive end Darryl Johnson Jr. will play with the Bills in 2020.
Check out the latest Billieve Podcast to hear our thoughts on these topics, then leave your thoughts on what Buffalo should do to improve the defensive ends in the comments section below.
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