The Buffalo Bills added to their defensive line this offseason, which was to be expected given their changes on the coaching staff. A new boss means a new system, and a new system means new philosophy and player archetypes. Buffalo’s defensive front under former head coach Sean McDermott was expected to remain in particular lanes, controlling the line of scrimmage via assignment rather than athleticism. That’s expected to change under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Does a more aggressive
system negate the need for larger-bodied humans in an odd-front scheme. Traditionally, in a 3-4 defensive front, defensive linemen were massive individuals whose long arms and wide bases allowed them to eat blocks and free space for twitchier, more athletic linebackers. Buffalo currently boasts a big defensive line—nobody is under 280 pounds—but they don’t necessarily have a stable of long-armed, space-eating types in the mold of a Pat Williams or a Ted Washington.
Does that matter in the modern NFL? In today’s installment of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss a rookie defensive tackle who may be undersized, but the hope is that his athleticism will allow him to have success despite that lack of length.
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Name: Zane Durant
Number: 92
Position: DT
Height/Weight: 6’1” 290 lbs.
Age: 22 (23 on 5/6/2027)
Experience/Draft: R; selected by Buffalo in the fifth round (No. 181 overall) of the 2026 NFL Draft
College: Penn State
Acquired: Fifth-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Durant’s rookie contract is a four-year deal worth $4,759,476 overall. For the 2026 season, his cap hit is $979,869 if he makes the 53-man roster. His signing bonus is $379,476, and that’s also the dead cap number Buffalo will carry if he is released.
2025 Recap: Durant earned All-Big Ten Honorable mention honors during his seniro season, totaling 25 tackles, 4 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 2 pass breakups. He made 12 starts for the Nittany Lions, and he was on the midseason Lombardi Award watchlist. Durant scored an invite to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, and he displayed some pretty fantastic burst for a defensive lineman. He ran the forty-yard dash in 4.75 seconds, leapt 33.5” in the vertical jump, and completed a 9’4” broad jump. That forty time was the best among all defensive tackles who participated in the combine this year. While he completed on-field drills at Penn State’s pro day, he did not do any workouts, as he was dealing with a hamstring issue at the time.
Positional outlook: Durant is one of eight players listed at defensive tackle, and ten players listed as down linemen overall. Kody Huisman and Landon Jackson are listed at defensive end, while Deone Walker, Tommy Akingbesote, DeWayne Carter, T.J. Sanders, Zion Logue, Phidarian Mathis, and Ed Oliver are listed at defensive tackle.
2026 Offseason: Durant is healthy and participating in offseason workouts to date.
2026 Season outlook: Look, Durant is obviously a phenomenal athlete, and he likely has the athleticism to work himself into becoming a disruptor up front. However, count me among those who wanted the Bills to draft some defensive linemen with more heft, and picking someone whose build is basically a repeat of Ed Oliver’s doesn’t inspire much confidence for me that Durant can come in and add to the defensive front immediately. Really, with Oliver, Durant, and T.J. Sanders, the three players seem to have quite a redundant skill set, as they are all slash-and-penetrate types rather than anchor/eat blocks types up front. Having players who fit a mold isn’t a bad thing, as the Bills clearly need to play multiple defensive linemen at once, and they also need players to rotate in when their top line is tired.
Looking at the Bills’ defensive line, though, it’s difficult to see where the production is going to come from. If we assume that Oliver and Sanders are likely in line for starting gigs, does that mean that Landon Jackson and Durant are the main backups at the 5-tech/4i-tech spots? General manager Brandon Beane has called Deone Walker the “one-tech” at the moment, but there is evidence from his play last season that his best role might also be as a disruptor rather than a space-eater.
Until we see the defense in action, I am hesitant to make any broad statements about the player archetypes on the roster because, let’s face it, we have no idea what the team is going to do once the games begin. We can guess based on new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s time with the Denver Broncos and the Wisconsin Badgers, but we won’t truly know until there are a few games to analyze. I could be looking at the Bills’ defensive line all wrong given my own personal biases about how I would build and run an odd-front defense. I am also not a professional coach or talent evaluator; I’m just a guy who loves the Bills and has thoughts about the club.
I think that Durant will make the club, but whether he contributes much is going to depend on how quickly he acclimates to the pro game. If he’s coming in as a rotational player, he has the athletic traits to make some plays, especially in the passing game. However, the Bills will have to scheme things so that he isn’t a sitting duck trying to take on blocks.
