Making his first start in Week 8, the Buffalo Bills finally saw what defensive end Michael Hoecht brings to the team. And what a start it was. Now the question is if he can keep bringing similar heat in Week 9 against quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bills have consistently made investments in the defensive line throughout general manager Brandon Beane’s tenure. Whether it was spending high draft picks or inking free-agent contracts, that section of the team has proven to
be a priority over the last few years. Whether those expenditures have returned acceptable return on investment is a different discussion entirely, but the Bills once again went to the defensive line well during the 2025 free agency period.
Buffalo made four notable (defined here as: contracts worth over $5 million in average annual value) unrestricted free-agent signings to bring non-Bills players into Orchard Park, NY; three of them were on the defensive line. Defensive end Joey Bosa has provided positive overall results against the pass so far this season (26 pressures, 3 sacks) while having some notable negative plays against the run.
Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi also made his debut against the Carolina Panthers in Week 8 and he was blanked overall in pass-rush statistics (zero pressures/sacks/hits/hurries). But it was former Los Angeles Rams defensive Swiss Army Knife Michael Hoecht (whom the Bills signed to a three-year, $21m contract) who has Bills Mafia singing his praises after getting his first regular-season playing time alongside Ogunjobi in Charlotte.
Hoecht led the team in pressures with six, while racking up two sacks and six hurries according to Pro Football Focus. He posted a pass-rush win rate of 23.8% and PRP (a measure of pass rushing effectiveness in sacks/hits/hurries relative to pass rush snaps played) of 19.0.
To put the admittedly small sample size into context, a pass-rush win rate of 23.8% would put Hoecht sixth in the NFL among edge rushers with 50 pass rush snaps or more if that were to hold over more snaps. His PRP of 19.0 would rank first in the NFL among edge rushers in that same scenario.
Notably, Hoecht displayed impressive strength when operating at full extension against the run and rushing the passer. Whether from a two-point or three-point stance, he showed pocket-collapsing effectiveness with long arms and bull-rush moves (a slightly unusual strength for a player lauded for his versatility, including in coverage).
In addition to the sample size caveat, there’s the fact that the Panthers’ offense has lost numerous offensive lineman to injury this year, including during Week 8. In addition, quarterback Andy Dalton (filling in for Bryce Young) wasn’t seeing the field as well as he could have.
Nobody in anointing Hoecht as the best defensive lineman free-agent addition of Beane’s tenure just yet. But there isn’t a lot more you could ask of a veteran player making his debut with the team in a year where a strong pass rush could do a lot to cover other deficiencies that have Bills fans concerned about the team.
…and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network — see more in my LinkTree!
