This is the final story in a 10-part series of questions facing the Buffalo Bills as they head into training camp at St. John Fisher University.
As the Buffalo Bills make the transition to a new defense, without question the most interesting, not to mention unsettled, position group is the interior defensive line.
Where are all of these guys going to play?
Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard probably has a good idea of how things will shake out at outside linebacker/edge rusher with Greg Rousseau and Bradley Chubb leading the way. Inside linebacker is likely settled with Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams. And in the secondary, not too much changes in terms of roles and responsibilities for the outside corners, nickel corners, and safeties.
But on
the three-man interior unit, Leonhard has some things to figure out. First and foremost, whether he is going to play someone in the traditional nose tackle spot, and who might that be?
“That’s the million-dollar question everybody wants to know,” Leonhard said regarding the plan for nose tackle. “Obviously, in my past at Wisconsin, we played more with a zero nose. At Denver, DJ Jones, it’s not his thing, it’s not what he liked to do. He liked to be on an edge, so that’s where schematically we got with that. And right now, there’s a number of players that we’re repping in that position.”
Deone Walker, coming off a strong rookie season at defensive tackle in a four-man front, is considered the leading candidate to play over the center if Leonhard reverts to his preferred alignment when he was the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin.
He has the bulk at 330-plus pounds, but at 6-foot-7 his height might be a problem for a position that demands getting low for better leverage against the run. DeWayne Carter, trying to return after missing all of 2025 with a torn Achilles, will be in the mix, as will Zion Logue and Phidarian Mathis who both played snaps for Buffalo in 2025.
“I really didn't think about it too much because I played in a 3-4 at Kentucky,” Walker said when asked about the scheme change and his fit. “I played the four-down front last year, so I would say I was used to both. It's just different blocking schemes from the offensive line, that's the main thing, or the main difference for me, going from last year's defense to this year.”
Flanking the nose, in the positions we have come to know as the 5-tech or the 4-i, there are multiple options, led by Ed Oliver who Leonhard believes will really benefit by sliding over a couple feet from where he has usually played for the Bills.
“I think Ed’s going to be really disruptive in this defense,” Leonhard said. “The base defense being different for him than what it’s been in the past, and in all reality, a little bit more freedom than he’s had in the past. The sub package things are a little bit more familiar to what they’ve done here from a front structure. I think he’s starting to see kind of where he fits and how he’s going to fit and how we’re going to be able to utilize him and create some one-on-one situations and isolate some guards, which all defensive linemen get excited about.”
T.J. Sanders, the Bills’ second-round pick in 2025, needs to find his niche after a spotty rookie season that was derailed by an injury. Same for 2025 third-rounder Landon Jackson who missed most of last season and has added weight and muscle for the switch from 4-3 edge rusher to a spot on the interior.
There’s also 2026 fifth-rounder Zane Durantto consider, and free agent signee Mike Danna could be an option depending on what happens at the outside linebacker spot.
If Michael Hoecht is ready to go full, the Bills also have Rousseau, Chubb, TJ Parker and Javon Solomon out there, so Danna, who worked a little on the interior during his time with the Chiefs, could find a better path to playing time inside.
“The versatility he has, he’s played all around the defensive line – interior, on the edges,” Leonhard said. “Any time you can bring in a vet who’s willing to do all the dirty work in a number of different ways, you feel as a coach you can utilize their strengths and hopefully help move the pieces around him because of that experience that he has.”
There’s a lot to determine, and it seems a certainty that the interior unit will take the longest to put together and get everyone on the same page. Remember, Leonhard has already warned that the defense fans see in 2026 will not be a finished product because it will take time to evolve. The Bills just have to hope that it comes together well enough to keep them on the road to championship contention.
“It’s going to be a change for them, but we’re excited as a coaching staff to really be able to create something that is best for their skill sets and fits their personalities,” Leonhard said. “I am big on flexibility and being able to play to your best players and force offenses to try to find your issues and to have to deal with their own problems, not always being reactive.”
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills enter camp with a million-dollar question up front
