It's the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. trash talk chat. You also get an ad-free version of your favorite Locked On show and a whole lot more. You can check it out by tapping the Everyday or Club link in the show notes. Another offseason is here and of course the Bills are looking for a pass rush. I've got plenty of ideas for players the Bills could sign that I'm going to share with you right now on Locked On Bills. you are locked on bills your daily buffalo bills podcast part of the locked on podcast network your team every day what's up bills mafia it's joe marino author of the herd mentality substack co-host of the locked on nfl scouting podcast co-host of the nfl first read podcast and I'm your host of Locked On Bills. Locked On Bills is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. I want to thank you for making Locked On Bills your first listen every day and a big welcome and shout out to our everydayers. You know who you are, those of you who never miss a single episode. I appreciate you all being here very, very much. Well, folks, welcome in. It's time to discuss edge rushers. The Bills could sign in free agency, and we're going to work through 15 different options, several that I really like. And so I'm excited to explore this with you. Obviously, the Bills have a need here as not only they have some expiring contracts and Joey Bosa and A.J. Epinesa, but there's a transition to a new style of defense, expecting Jim Leonard to bring a 3-4 scheme to Buffalo. And I want to really focus this discussion on players that fit that rush outside linebacker role. I'm not talking about the Greg Rousseau type player or the AJ Epinesa type player. I'm talking stand-up outside pass rushers that this team needs. And currently they have Michael Hoyt and Javon Solomon. That's it. That's it. And obviously Michael Hoyt coming off of an Achilles. Javon Solomon with a lot to prove entering his third season. He was a very dynamic pass rusher in college, but doesn't quite have the measurables, fell in the draft, was not in the ideal scheme in Buffalo prior, but now he'll have that opportunity. And I am pretty curious to see what this can unlock for him. I'm also very excited about what Michael Hoyt said on Eric Wood's podcast. Make sure you go back and listen to that centered on Buffalo. He had Michael Hoyt on and listening to him discuss the transition to this style of defense has me pretty excited. And he's pretty optimistic about his timeline, saying that he wants to kind of ramp up July, be ready for week one. And I'm not going to hold that against him. So I'm hopeful that happens. So the Bills have a big need here. I like Michael Hoyt. I'm curious about Javon Solomon, but you're going to need a whole lot more than that. And I think you're going to need to make multiple investments. I think you're going to want to find an impact veteran addition because you feel like you know that there's some level of production coming from. I think you're probably going to want some veteran depth and you're probably going to want to invest a high draft pick. You're going to want to dump some things into this position group where you just don't have much depth or really you just need starting impact. You need a lot of impact. So I'm looking for the Bills to make multiple investments. Now, the good news is it's a deep draft of edge rushers. That's the consensus thought is that it's very deep with edge rushing talent. And I think that helps the Bills in a number of ways. First of all, they need it. So you'd like for them to be able to get a couple of guys. But I think it helps with the free agency piece where working against this crop of free agents that's out there looking for money is that there's a really good draft class where teams could say, yeah, I hear you. You're a good player. We'd love to have you, but we can't meet your price tag. And we're going to go with younger players, including the potential of draft picks. So I think this helps the Bills address this need in the way that they need to. So let's get into the option. I have options. I have 15 different names I want to present to you on this podcast, and I have them broken into four different buckets. The first bucket will include players that I think are modest, realistic swings that the Bills could go after. Then I want to give you a few bargain bin players. Then we'll go into like the one-year mercenary types, and then we'll close with the bigger ticket options that I don't know are going to be in the Bills price range. So we'll cover all different types of players. And I want to start with maybe my favorite idea. And it's Arnold Ebichetti. Arnold Ebichetti was a day two pick of the Falcons four years ago. So he's coming out of his rookie contract. He turned 27 in January. He's 6'3", 256 pounds. In terms of salary expectations. Pro football focus estimates $8 million a season. SpotRack says $9 million a season. In 2025, he only had two sacks and 25 pressures, but he was 13th in the NFL in pass rush win rate among edge rushers. The appeal here is that this is a dynamic athlete. He's flexible. I'm looking for burst and bend off the edge. That's one of the things I think this defense really needs. He has some experience. He's been flashy, has a good pedigree out of Penn State as a day two pick. I think he got lost in their coaching transition. They brought in Raheem Morris a couple of years ago, the year after Aviketti was drafted. And pass rush has really been just a big story in Atlanta. And they went out and invested two first round picks this year on edge rushers, arguably three, because they traded a pick in their 2026 first round pick to get James Pierce after also selecting Jalen Walker earlier in the first round. So I do think that Arnold Abichetti got lost in the sauce here a little bit and that they went out, made some big investments. And despite him being more efficient, rushing the passer than anyone else on Atlanta, I think they had an urgency to play some other guys. And so the concern is that, well, there was an urgency to play other guys and he didn't necessarily stiff arm those guys and keep them on the bench. So I recognize the concerns here, but the bottom line is that I think there's untapped potential. I think the price range fits what the bills can do. And I love the upside and I'm hopeful that the bills can get some upside with what they invest here in free agency. And I think Arnold Nebuchadnezzar is that right combination of the type of player where circumstantially just maybe didn't work well for him, but there's a lot of skill that can be unlocked. And, um, that's one of my favorite ideas for the bills off the edge. All right, let's talk about the next guy. That's Arden Key. I recently played for the Titans. He turns 30 in May, 6'5", 240. SpotRack says 6.6 million a season. PFF says 10.75 million a season. In 2025 he had four sacks and 31 pressures in 12 games missed a few games in the middle of the season The appeal here is that he been a bit of a late bloomer So yes he going to turn 30 in May but he's a guy that's really played his best football over the last four seasons. I think he fits the style of player the Bills need, gives you burst and flexibility off the edge. I think you can have Arden Key and pair him with maybe another bargain bin player and a high pick, and I feel like you got a good combination or a good infusion of talent into your edge rusher situation. The concern here is that I think he's got modest upside, and maybe to an extent that's okay. I do think you know what you're getting, and that's the bottom line. You know what you're going to get out of Arden Key. He fills a need. He's in the right price range, and I think you'll get a reasonable impact relative to the contract you're going to have to give him, and he certainly fills a void in terms of a type of skill set that I think is missing from this defense. Let's talk about Draymond Jones. He finished 2025 with the Ravens. He just turned 29 back in January. He's listed at 6'3", 281, but I don't think he's 281. I think he's dropped a lot of weight. I think he might be 20 or 30 pounds less than that, to be honest with you. Salary expectations here, pro football focus and spot rack say $10 million a season. So that's pretty consistent there. In 2025, he had seven sacks and 51 pressures. The appeal with Draymond Jones is that he's been a very consistent pass rusher in the NFL, and he started his career as an undersized defensive tackle out of Ohio State, like a tweener inside-outside player at the tackle. And the last few years, he's moved towards playing on the edge in 3-4 defenses, and I think he's kind of found that niche role that makes sense for him. and he's been a player. He's got a huge deal to go to Seattle after he was originally drafted by Denver and was a good player for Denver. Goes to Seattle on a big contract and then he went to the Titans on a very modest deal and then he was actually traded to the Ravens ahead of the deadline during the season. So I think he's the right type of player in terms of price range, skill set, need. I like that marriage here. He might be a little redundant to Michael Hoyt, but the bottom line here is he's an intriguing player that should be in the right price range, and he's pretty appealing to me based on just how consistent he's been as a pass rusher really over the last – for his entire career. Maybe the run defense hasn't always been there, but I think it's a different story now that he's playing out on the edge. As a 281-pound defensive tackle, that was a challenge for him. playing him out on the edges, it's a lot better for his body type. All right, we got so much more to do. I want to start the next segment by giving you four bargain bin players, and then we'll get into some one-year mercenaries and some intriguing names along the way. So folks, be sure to stick with me. Welcome to the five-hour energy flavor draft with 18 different flavors to choose from, including new options like confetti craze, fruity rainbow, or cotton candy. There is something for everyone. My draft board is set. The flavors are ready. And I've got my number one pick for the five-hour energy flavor draft. And my top choice is berry. You get the big, bold berry flavor. It's slightly sweet and very fruity. It's that classic mixed berry combination with notes of raspberry and blackberry. Smooth, sweet, but not overly sugary. It's my number one pick. but don't sleep on the strawberry banana. It's that classic combination that consistently delights. And these five-hour energy shots will give you a boost with zero sugar. So find your new favorite flavor of five-hour energy shots. They're available online at 5hourenergy.com or on Amazon. All right, folks, we're continuing our conversation on pre-agent edge rusher possibilities for the Bills. I want to give you quickly four bargain bin players that there's a level of concern with all of them. There's a reason they're bargain bin, but I think there's some appeal. The first guy I'll mention is Josh Uche, who was originally a Patriot, and then he went to the Chiefs for a little bit, spent last year on the Eagles. He's 27 years old. This guy could flat out rush the passer. He is a very dynamic, bursty, bendy pass rusher. Doesn't give you anything against the run, So he is what you call a DPR, designated pass rusher. And having played with the Eagles last year, he didn't get a ton of opportunity. He got traded to the Chiefs from the Patriots in 2024. He really didn't make much of an impact. But when he's on the field and he rushes the passer, he can get after. Very, very explosive athlete. And so I'm concerned that he's bounced around a little bit. Even designated pass rushers are pretty valuable. but you just can't really ignore how dynamic he can be getting after the quarterback although there are limitations I'll mention Jacob Martin who was a high volume player last year for the commander she's had a couple of seasons in his career where he's been a high volume player but he's also bounced around quite a bit but I thought you saw him in that Dan Quinn defense last year play his best footballs a little bit of pass rush upside you see some flexibility you see some variety with how he can get home. I think he'd be very inexpensive and fill the depth component of what the bills are kind of missing. So I'm looking for a notable veteran addition. I'm looking for a high draft pick and then a player like this. I think he can fit the player like this label. Aziz Ojolari with the Giants, or he was mostly with the Giants. He was last year with the Eagles. He's only 25 years old. He's a very flashy player. I've really enjoyed whenever he's on the field, the challenge. He's had some injury stuff, but if he can be healthy and maybe in a more ancillary role, I think there's something to get out of him. And then the last bargain bin guy I'll mention is Samson Abukon. He's 31 years old. He was really on the ascension really up until about 2024. He popped his Achilles in 2024 and he missed the season. He came back in 2025. He wasn't quite the same, but you always get a little bit intrigued by that second season removed from injury because this guy was on a really exciting arc and 31 years old. So if you can get him on a very modest prove-it deal and you get shades of what he was in 2023, there could be some intrigue there. And so I know I'm putting a lot of possibilities out there, but I think that's what we need to do. I can't sit here and promise you the Bills are going to go out and sign Trey Hendrickson. I don't think that's a reasonable expectation. What can the Bills do? And I think these are the types of players we need to be thinking about. All right, so let's get into some one-year fill-ins. These are going to be players that are very interesting, come with some concern, and there's a reason you wouldn't want to commit for more than one season. Think a little bit about what the Bills did with Joey Bosa last year. These types of guys would kind of fit that. The first one I'll mention is a big name, Khalil Mack, of course with the Chargers. Turned 35 this month in February. He's 6'3", 269 pounds. Pro Football Focus says $14 million for a season. spot rack says 18.4 in 2025 he collected 39 pressures and five and a half sacks in 12 games he was 21st among all edge rushers in pass rushing productivity which is a metric from pro football focus that factors pass rush snaps pressures in sacks and it gives him a score and it weighted towards sacks and I mean 21st is pretty solid what the appeal here Well it Khalil Mack He can help a defense right He a veteran that probably like a chance to go on a deep playoff run Maybe he thinks the Bills are a team that can afford him that possibility. The concern is that he's 36. And he would be an expensive player for a one-year thing that's respectfully on the decline of his career. So the bottom line here with Khalil Mack is that he's interesting, but I don't have to have it. There's very little flexibility with a deal like this. You're talking about putting a huge void year on the deal that you're going to be just like Joey Bosa, where the bills are paying Joey Bosa like $7 million this year or attributing $7 million in cap space for the right to have him last year. You'd have to do something like that with Khalil Mack, and you're going to be paying him for probably more snaps and less impact than he'll provide. So I don't have to have it. I'd be intrigued, curious, of course, a little excited. It's Khalil Mack. But probably not the most intelligent way for the Pills to invest a big chunk of cap space this year and, quite honestly, next year. He does have a teammate with the Raiders that also went to the University of Buffalo. That's interesting, and that's Malcolm Koontz. He turns 28 in June. Malcolm Coons is 6'2", 250. SpotRack says 10 million for a season. Pro Football Focus says six. In 2025, he had four and a half sacks and 35 pressures. He was 33rd among all pass rushers in pass rush win rate, all edge rushers, excuse me. The appeal here is that he had a big year in 2023. He looked like he was on an arc that was positioning him to being a really high-impact pass rusher. but then he missed all of 2024 with a September knee injury. He came back in 2025, didn't look the same, but again, it's that one additional year removed from a significant injury. Can you refine your form? A lot of players do that. And so Malcolm Kuntz very much could be a steal. It's an upside swing for a modest price tag. To me, it's a very worthwhile idea. I'd rather the bills give Malcolm Kuntz, one year, $8 million, then Khalil Mack, one year, $15 million, to be completely honest with you. A couple more options that I want to get to here in the one-year mercenary bucket. How about Hassan Reddick with the Buccaneers this past year? He turns 32 in September. He's 6'1 through 40. Pro football focus says $7.5 million, $7.5 million for one year. SpotRack says $5 million. 2025, not his most productive year, two and a half sacks and 34 pressures in 13 games. the appeal here is that for four years from 2020 through 2023 he was awesome one of the best pass rushers in all of football and of course he was a player that was drafted out of temple he started playing mike linebacker early in his career with arizona took a while for him to get him in a position where he's consistently playing off the edge and then he had this four-year stretch where he was just terrific and then everything fell apart when he got traded to the jets and then and they just couldn't get the money figured out. He winds up not really playing much in 2024, and then he goes to the Bucs in 2025, and they kind of did the thing we're talking about right now, and he didn't really give Tampa what they were looking for. And so that's the concern, is that the last two years have been the last two years. But the four years prior to that, he was a stud. Now he turns 32 in September. so again not long ago he was super dynamic super dynamic the money could make sense here I'd be a little excited because of how good he was from 2020 through 2023 but I'm certainly aware of maybe he's cooked right there's a chance of that one more guy here I want to mention in the one year mercenary bucket and it's a player that if you've been listening to my analysis for many years you know that I haven't always had a lot of nice things to say about this player but I think I'm at the point now where he makes sense. So let's talk about Jadeveon Clowney. Jadeveon Clowney turned 33 this month. He's 6'5", 266 pounds. Pro football focus is 5.7 million for one season. Spot rack says 10. In 2025 with the Cowboys, he had 40 pressures, eight and a half sacks, and 13 games. He was number three among all edge rushers and pass rush productivity. He was 17th in pass rush win rate. He was terrific. And let's be honest, he's always been terrific. And he's a very good pass rusher, but he also gives you outstanding run defense. He's a kind of a chaos creator off the edge. The concern with Jadavion Clowney is that you kind of have to play his game. This man has played for seven teams in the last eight years, and he's a really good edge rusher. he just kind of goes one year at a time he can tell he really doesn't want to be part of the offseason then he settles on signs somewhere and winds up being really good and then he finds a new team the next year whenever jadevian clowny was brought up to me in the past as a trade idea for the bills which is typically how it's been presented to me i was like i'm not giving up what it takes to get Jadeveon Clowney and to pay him because I don't love this cycle that he's in of one year at a time not being committed anywhere looks like a guy that doesn't really want to be part of the offseason like is he a culture fit this is now a 33 year old version of Jadeveon Clowney that's played for a lot of bad teams along the way and you know Maybe he wants to, as a former number one pick, like hunker down, play some good ball, go on a playoff run. So he's, he's intriguing to me. And this is probably the first time in a long time of considering Jadeveon Clowney where I'm like, you know what? I think it kind of makes sense. And so I think I'd be in, I think I'd be in on Jadeveon Clowney. So coming up next, we're going to talk about the bigger ticket options. I will say that to this point, some of my favorite options include Arnold Avicetti. I'd be interested in Malcolm Kuntz, Jadavion Clowney. Like these are the types of players that I think the Bills are probably going to ultimately land on. But if they do want to take a big swing, I've got some of those we'll discuss here on the other side of it. So folks, be sure to stick with me. As the new year gets going, a lot of people are trying to simplify their routines and dinner is a big one. between busy work days, cold winter nights and packed schedules. Having an easy, reliable dinner plan makes a huge difference. And that's where Home Chef comes in. 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And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your job, the premium status it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Just go to Indeed Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. All right, folks, welcome back. Let's talk about some bigger ticket options. Guys that, if we're being honest, probably out of the Bills price range. but if they want to go heavy on a investment here these would be the players that make sense let's start with Odafe Owe finish the season with the Chargers it's funny the first two guys we're going to talk about are players that were traded during the season so Odafe Owe finishes the season with the Chargers he turns 28 in December 6'5 251 pounds PFF says 19 and a quarter million a season. SpotRex says 19. In 2025, he had 47 pressures and seven and a half sacks, and that really ramped up after he was traded from the Ravens to the Chargers. He's an ascending player. He's an unreal athlete. He fills what the Bills need, and he was a player that was always going to be a little bit of a guy that was raw coming out, and he's really turned it on over the last few years. He's been very productive. The concern, well, the concern with all these players in this segment is going to be that they're expensive. Are the Bills going to go $20 million plus a year for an edge rusher? It's tough for me to believe they will. Certainly a big need, but I just don't know that they're going to be in the market to pay a player like this. So if the Bills do want to invest heavy, he certainly makes sense. Not sure they're going to want to do that. Let's talk Jalen Phillips with the Eagles this past year. He turns 27 in May, 6'5", 266. Pro Football Focus says $15 million a season. SpotRack says $17.3. 2025 with the Dolphins and the Eagles, 73 pressures, 5 sacks. He was 14th among edge rushers in pass rush productivity. He was 8th in pass rush win rate. He's a good player. He's a guy that can defend the run. He can rush the passer. He's been productive. The concern is injuries. He, at one point, medically retired in college. He was originally at UCLA. He was medically retired and finishes up at Miami. And then in the NFL, he had a 2023 Achilles tear, 2024 ACL tear. I mean, injuries have been a huge issue for a guy that's going to be expensive. So I like Jalen Phillips. He's the one player that I think has given Spencer Brown some of the biggest trouble I've ever seen. but I'm not sure this is the risk I would take. Let's talk about Boye Mafe with the Seahawks. He turns 28 in November, 6'4", 261 pounds. Pro Football Focus says 16.3 million a season. SpotRack says 12.2. 2025, he had 40 pressures and four sacks. He is a freak athlete, a flashy playmaker, a guy that newer to football, going back to his time at Minnesota, and was not like overly productive. You're probably listening to me say 40 pressures and four sacks. Like, Joe, why are you talking about this guy? Well, he's part of a deep mix of rushers in Seattle. I will say that the concern, though, is that he wasn't super efficient in terms of pass rush productivity or win rate, and he was part of an unbelievable Seattle defense. And so I have some concerns there. He's interesting to me. I love the athleticism. The physical profile here is off the charts. you won't find more guys that have a more dynamic skill set than him. It's just about putting it all together. And you'd have to pay for it for sure. But if it's on the lower end of that spectrum, you know, SpotRex says 12.2, PFF says 16.3. If you got them for three years, 36 million, that, I mean, might be an interesting deal. Last player I'll point to is Caleb on chase on, spent this past year with the Patriots. He turns 27 in July. 6'3", 245. SpotRack says $9 million a season. Pro Football Focus says $15. I think it could be more, but we'll see where it goes. 2025, he had a great year. 54 pressures. That was 18th most amongst edge rushers. Seven and a half sacks. He is an ascending player, especially over the last two seasons. Was a first-round pick out of LSU for the Jaguars in 2020. Very raw coming out of LSU. But you just watched him play, There was a lot of burst and bend, right? Those are the two things that I'm kind of fixated on for the Bills with their investments on the edge, and Caleb on chase on certainly has that. But he definitely disappointed his first four years in Jacksonville. I think he had one season with the Raiders, and then last year with the Patriots. And the last couple years, it has really come together. The run defense hasn't been there, though. That's one thing to be mindful of. But the bottom line here is that he would be very interesting, especially if he came in at a reasonable salary. I think you kind of get ahead of some of the, oh, they're raw and they're waiting to put it all together. Like this is finally that player that put it all together. And you can now enjoy that as he's developed with other teams. So he would make some sense to me for Buffalo. I didn't really want to talk too much about Trey Hendrickson. I think he's probably $25 to $30 million a season. I love Trey Hendrickson. I think that he doesn't quite fit the stand-up outside rush linebacker that I really wanted to profile here. But, I mean, I would never be mad about Trey Hendrickson being added to the football team. He's a stud. I just didn't feel super compelled to really get into him because he doesn't quite fit this archetype that I wanted to emphasize on this episode. So a lot of options, right? And that's the good news. You want to have options, and now it's up to Brandon Bean to pick the right ones. But you're going to need to invest a few things here at the edge rusher position and kind of load up this defense with what it needs to do what it needs to do, right? So there you have it, edge rushers. Tomorrow we'll get into some defensive linemen, some nose tackles. There's some fun players to talk about there that I think the Bills can add in free agency. So I have plenty of ideas cooked up there. Jerry and I will be back for you for the second episodes on Thursday and Friday. We'll have Bill's squad. That might be Friday this week. So we'll see where that goes. There's some scheduling stuff that came up here late in the week. But the bottom line is there's a lot of content coming on this feed. You're getting two daily pods, Bill's squad twice a week. The best way to make sure you don't miss anything is to hit that subscribe button. Would love it if you took a second to rate, review, and share the podcast. Have a great rest of your day. Go Bills. And I look forward to catching up with you again real soon.
