In the Buffalo Bills’ first game of the 2025 NFL season, the defense allowed 40 points. However, there were some positive moments, especially from their interior defensive line. One former first-round draft choice made a huge impact in that game. Another big veteran registered a tackle for loss in the contest. As the game progressed, the defense stabilized, and there was hope for better performances moving forward.
Quickly, though, an injury to that disruptive former first-rounder led to some upheaval
up front, and while the shuffling allowed for one rookie to shine, further injuries caused issues at what was an exceptionally important spot on defense. The Bills shuffled through multiple defensive tackle combinations before finding their groove, but injuries kept the team’s top group from having much chance to gel.
Now, with a new scheme on deck for the 2026 NFL season, the Bills need to determine how well their current personnel fits new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s plans. Do the Bills have a true 3-4 nose tackle on the roster? How many legitimate five-technique defensive ends do they have? While the Bills view their defensive linemen as being fairly versatile, will they play to their potential in positions that aren’t necessarily the ones they were originally acquired to play?
As with so many of our questions this offseason, we have no way of answering until the games begin in September. For now, as we continue our look at the state of the Buffalo Bills roster, we’ll discuss the defensive tackles — a group that likely will see a huge shift in responsibility this year, along with a shift in personnel.
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Ed Oliver
Contract Status for 2026: Signed; third year of four-year $68 million contract ($13.66 million cap hit; $34.41 million dead-cap number)
Age: 28 (29 on 12/12/2026)
Playing Time: 3 games (3 starts), 108 defensive snaps (11% of team total)
Key Statistics: 12 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 5 QB hits, 1 forced fumble
In what was a lost year for Buffalo’s 2019 first-round draft pick, Oliver showed flashes of absolute dominance while dealing with multiple injuries. Oliver missed time with an ankle injury before he landed on Injured Reserve (IR) with a torn biceps. While ramping up his conditioning to return, Oliver then suffered a knee injury, something that required a “clean-up” before he could return for the Bills’ Divisional Round matchup with the Denver Broncos. Oliver managed to play just 16 snaps in that game, and he did not register any statistics.
Now, the Bills are switching schemes to an odd-man front. While Oliver did play some one-tech in college, he’s also played that role in the pros to less-than-ideal results. His best runs have come when he’s been able to attack next to someone who occupies space at the one-tech spot. Can Oliver play as a five-tech, which would place him just outside of the offensive tackle’s shoulder? If he lined up as a 4i, that’s just slightly wider than what he did as a three-tech in former head coach Sean McDermott’s scheme.
While it might not seem to be a perfect fit initially, perhaps we should just assume that the new defensive staff will look to utilize Oliver in whatever way is best for the defense as a whole. Oliver has the motor, and he has shown flashes of dominance throughout his career. Maybe another level is unlocked this season in a new, more aggressive scheme. The Bills have already restructured his contract to clear cap space, so now all that’s left is to see how well he fits in the new scheme.
DaQuan Jones
Contract Status for 2026: Unsigned; UFA
Age: 34 (35 on 12/27/2026)
Playing Time: 12 games (12 starts), 422 defensive snaps (42.97% of team total), 55 special teams snaps (12.67%)
Key Statistics: 22 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 8 QB hits, 2 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception
As a space-eater in the middle, it’s hard to evaluate a player like Jones by looking solely at statistics. As far as numbers go, though, Jones had a better season than he has of late, and when he was healthy, he did a fairly solid job in the middle. However, Buffalo’s run defense still wasn’t very good.
While we can debate whether that was because of scheme or personnel choices, with a new coordinator and a new scheme, it’s highly unlikely that a veteran one-tech defensive tackle who plays in an even-front formation is going to be re-signed entering his age-35 season. Jones has likely played his final downs with Buffalo.
Deone Walker
Contract Status for 2026: Signed; second year of four-year rookie contract ($1,266,760 cap hit; $785,280 dead-cap number)
Age: 21 (22 on 3/11/2026)
Playing Time: 17 games (16 starts), 464 defensive snaps (47.25% of team total), 144 special teams snaps (33.18% of team total)
Key Statistics: 39 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 4 QB hits, 1 sack, 4 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery
Walker was an absolute steal in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he made the most of his opportunities this past season. After slipping in the draft because of a back injury, Walker stayed healthy for all of the Bills’ games, and he was arguably the team’s most consistent defensive lineman overall. He is a massive human who can play in multiple spots up front, and while the team’s current makeup might make him seem like a natural fit at nose tackle, I’d be upset if the Bills pigeon-holed him solely in that role right now.
Just because Walker can play the nose doesn’t mean that he should exclusively play there. There are definitely going to be situations where Walker is lined up right over center, but he was at his best this past year serving as a disruptor from a three-tech alignment. Walker is good enough to play anywhere up front. Finding depth pieces at nose tackle to give Leonhard the freedom to use Walker as he sees fit should be a priority this offseason.
T.J. Sanders
Contract Status for 2026: Signed; second year of four-year rookie contract ($2,419,411 cap hit; $8,136,967 dead-cap number)
Age: 22 (23 on 7/30/2026)
Playing Time: 12 games (2 starts), 297 defensive snaps (30.24% of team total), 16 special teams snaps (3.69% of team total)
Key Statistics: 16 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 QB hit, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup
Buffalo traded up in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft to select Sanders, so it’s fair to say that the rookie came in with some high expectations. Perhaps those expectations were unfair — after all, he didn’t ask the team to move up to select him — but after Sanders struggled mightily in the first part of the season, it definitely didn’t seem like a very wise move. Sanders struggled at the point of attack, and then he suffered a knee injury that sent him to IR.
When Sanders returned to play, the Bills were using him out of position, slotting him in at defensive end rather than defensive tackle for most of his snaps. That experience may come in handy for next season, as Sanders showed improvement as the season wore on playing a more versatile role. He can really play anywhere except the nose, so he might be able to thrive in a new system. Sanders will look to build on his late-season success heading into his second pro season.
Jordan Phillips
Contract Status for 2026: Unsigned; UFA
Age: 33 (34 on 9/21/2026)
Playing Time: 11 games (1 start), 202 defensive snaps (20.57% of team total), 29 special teams snaps (6.68% of team total)
Key Statistics: 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 QB hit, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup
Phillips brought energy to Buffalo’s defense, but with McDermott no longer here, it’s hard to imagine that the team will bring Big Phil back next season. Phillips was always a risk/reward player, as he would jump snap counts and blow up plays in the backfield on one down only to guess the count incorrectly and jump offsides in critical situations minutes later. I’ve loved watching him as a Bill, but it’s time to move on.
Phidarian Mathis
Contract Status for 2026: Signed a one-year contract worth $1.195 million ($1.195 million cap hit; $25,000 dead-cap number if released)
Age: 27 (28 on 4/26/2026)
Playing Time: 6 games, 120 defensive snaps (12.22% of team total)
Key Statistics: 13 tackles
For me, Mathis was a priority player to re-sign this spring, as he played in a hybrid front at Alabama and can easily see use along the defensive line in an odd-front scheme. He has long arms and is a stout run defender. He can line up at five-tech to eat blockers for Buffalo’s linebackers, and he can also line up as a nose tackle to make it so that Oliver and Walker don’t have to do it.
In an offseason where Buffalo needs to add some scheme-versatile pieces as they transition from McDermott’s defense to Leonhard’s, Mathis is someone who can help in multiple ways. He showed enough last season to become a member of the defensive tackle rotation, and to me, that audition should be enough for him to reprise his role as a rotational player next season.
Zion Logue
Contract Status for 2026: Signed; final year of two-year contract
Age: 24 (25 on 7/13/2026)
Playing Time: 3 games, 59 defensive snaps (6.01% of team total), 2 special teams snaps (.46% of team total)
Key Statistics: 2 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 QB hit, .5 sacks, 1 pass breakup
It might be a little lazy to cut-and-paste my thoughts about Phidarian Mathis in this section, but the same thought process as to why he is a good fit applies to my thoughts about Logue. He’s big, has long arms, and can play from a variety of alignments up front. He’s in the final year of his contract on a cheap deal.
If the Bills need depth along the defensive line — and with a new scheme, they do — they’re going to need all the big-bodied defensive linemen they can find. Logue could be a solid rotational piece or a practice-squad player next season, and he’d fit right in with what the Bills need up front.
Larry Ogunjobi
Contract Status for 2026: Unsigned; UFA
Age: 31 (32 on 6/3/2026)
Playing Time: 10 games, 215 defensive snaps (21.89% of team total), 3 special teams snaps (.69% of team total)
Key Statistics: 19 tackles, 4 tackles for loss
When president of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane talks about how difficult it is to build the roster given how much money they’re paying quarterback Josh Allen, it sounds like a reasonable comment. Then, we watch as the Bills pay a free-agent defensive tackle $6.5 million to make next to no impact for most of the season, and it brings up some interesting counterarguments to Beane’s issues.
Ogunjobi began the season suspended thanks to a positive PED test, and he was largely invisible when he did take the field. He should not be retained.
DeWayne Carter
Contract Status for 2026: Signed; third year of four-year rookie contract ($1,532,195 cap hit; $441,622 dead-cap number)
Age: 25 (26 on 12/10/2026)
Playing Time: NA
Key Statistics: NA
The second-year man tore his Achilles tendon in the offseason, so his 2025 season was over before it began. Carter had a difficult path to playing time this past year even if he had been fully healthy, and with Walker’s emergence combined with some positive signs from Sanders, Carter is at best looking at a rotational role as the fourth defensive tackle next season.
Tommy Akingbesote
Contract Status for 2026: Unsigned; ERFA
Age: 23 (24 on 2/25/2027)
Playing Time: NA
Key Statistics: NA
The 2025 seventh-round pick was released by the team that drafted him, the Dallas Cowboys, and he spent time on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad before coming to Buffalo. While he did not appear in a game for the Bills, the switch to an odd-front defense might be beneficial to him, as he is another player with the size (6’4” 316 lbs.) to anchor the defensive end spot in a 3-4 defense.
Do I think he’ll make the 53-man roster? No, I don’t. However, Akingbesote is worth a look throughout camp.
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Final Thoughts
Walker, Oliver, and Sanders are sure to make up three of the more often-used defensive linemen this coming season. What role will they play? That’s anyone’s guess. Walker can play as a zero-tech right on the nose of the center, but he was at his best last season playing as an attacking three-tech. That’s also where Oliver was at his best, and the Bills likely won’t have the luxury of rotating two of their best defensive linemen next season, so they’re going to have to find a way to play them both together. Sanders played plenty of defensive end for Buffalo last season, but at nearly 300 pounds, he was not a true 4-3 edge player. He can absolutely handle playing a 4i or a 5-tech in an odd front, though.
On paper, those three players are who I’d assume would start along the defensive line until the Bills add others. I expect that Buffalo will be very active in both free agency and the draft in trying to address the defensive front, as the front-seven is arguably the place where Buffalo needs the most in terms of re-imagining the personnel.
Yes, the receiver group still needs help even after adding DJ Moore, but the Bills at least have players who they know fit the scheme there. Buffalo’s front-seven is full of players signed and drafted for McDermott to deploy, so the team needs to be creative with the defensive front.
Re-signing Mathis was smart, as it raises the floor for Buffalo’s defensive front. He played in an odd-front at Alabama, so doing so next season won’t be a foreign concept for the former second-round pick. He’s not likely to be a star, but he’s a solid part of a rotation. The same might be said for Zion Logue, who has moonlighted as a part-timer over the past two seasons on Buffalo’s practice squad. He’s someone who can at least compete for time along multiple spots on the defensive line.
Buffalo should look to add talent here, as well, both through free agency and the draft. I’d check in on some veteran types knowing full well that other clubs will be able to offer more money. Will someone like Dalvin Tomlinson want to come to a winner after being released by the Arizona Cardinals? Maybe someone like Jonathan Ford, a restricted free agent with the Green Bay Packers, can be pried away. Matt Henningsen is a restricted free agent from the Denver Broncos, and while he’s coming off an Achilles tear, he is familiar with Leonhard and has the size (6’3”, 291 pounds) and the motor to thrive in a rotational role.
If you’re looking for a more established veteran, you might have to pay more for someone like John Franklin-Meyers or Da’Shawn Hand, but if they were to sign, they would instantly upgrade the team’s defensive line. He may be 35 years old, but Mike Pennel is also 6’4” and 330 pounds. Could he be a gap-plugger at nose tackle for 20 snaps a game?
The Bills likely will also look to add at least one defensive lineman in the 2026 NFL Draft. Without a second-round pick for now, that means they probably won’t look to do so until later in the draft, but there are plenty of players that could fit the team. A pair of prospects with great nicknames — “The Godfather” (Dontay Corleone from Cincinnati) and “The Big Citrus” (Dominique Orange from Iowa State) could be game-changers in a role as a nose tackle.
Florida State’s Darrell Jackson Jr. has the physical gifts, but he needs work on his technique to find the necessary consistency at the pro level. Zxavian Harris from Ole Miss reminds me a whole lot of Deone Walker in terms of his build, so adding him could give the Bills a one-two punch they haven’t had along the defensive interior since the days of Ted Washington and Pat Williams.
Buffalo needs to change their archetype up front, and while they might not need a Williams & Washington duo like they had in the mid-nineties for a modern-day odd-front defense, it sure would make everyone’s jobs easier if they had some space-eaters up front. The first order of business should be to zero-in on a zero-tech to handle the nose tackle duties. If they build it from the inside-out, it will allow everything else to fall into place.
