What Will The Bills Defense Look Like When Von Miller Returns?

The Buffalo Bills defense has proven for the second straight week that they can dominate and win football games without their top pass rusher. However, getting Von Miller will still make the team that much better. Von is eligible to return Week 5 at the earliest (against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London). So, what will the defense look like when it finally gets Von Miller back?

How Von will impact Sean McDermott’s scheme

The defense has been firing on all cylinders since the Jets game, and the stats back that statement up.

• 16 sacks
• Seven INTs
• Two forced fumbles
• One defensive touchdown

When Von Miller returns, Sean McDermott will be able to dial up even more different schemes that we may not have seen yet. One possibility is moving Greg Rousseau inside on passing downs, with Von and Floyd on the edge. That puts your four best pass rushers on the field at the same time, with Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard still able to rush from the LB position.

We all know when Von returns, he’s going to be a huge presence in the backfield, and the duo of him and Leonard Floyd will look as good as the LA days. But it will be interesting to see how McDermott fits everyone in. This defensive line is stacked, with 10 players rostered between DT and DE. And they’ve all proven they can play at this level.

The Buffalo Bills defense is already second in the NFL in points allowed, behind only to the Cleveland Browns (10.6 PPG allowed). They’ve also allowed a TD on just two out of 31 drives this year (6.5%).

How will his return affect key role players?

Another question is what they’ll do with guys like Shaq Lawson and AJ Epenesa, who have played very well to begin the season. Epenesa has one sack, one pick-6, two passes defended, and two TFLs.

Lawson hasn’t had quite as good a start statistically, totaling just three tackles and two QB hits. Yet he’s been a big factor in the run defense and improved over the last two games. Maybe Lawson or Kingsley Jonathan will be the odd man out, but it’s hard to say with the depth players looking as well rounded as they have.

Last week, the Bills made Poona Ford inactive to put Kingsley Jonathan on the field. They may rotate who’s in and out throughout the year, and reevaluate the position again at the trade deadline. But that’s only if they have an influx of pass rushers and a team comes calling. They won’t actively discuss trades, but if an offer comes along that they really like, it may be hard not to take it.

What will Von’s role be?

Finally, let’s get to Von Miller’s role here. We touched on it a little earlier with him and Floyd on the edge, and that may be the case. But let’s discuss another possibility. Most of his career he’s played both DE and OLB. If the Bills really want to play position-less football like everyone discussed in the off-season, they may contemplate moving him around a little bit and putting three LBs on the field. That, again, allows them to put their best pass rushers on the field, and it would look something like this:

• DE: Greg Rousseau
• DT: Ed Oliver
• DT: DaQuan Jones
• DE: Leonard Floyd
• OLB: Von Miller
• MLB: Terrel Bernard
• OLB: Matt Milano

If the Buffalo Bills don’t like Miller as a standup pass rusher, Leonard Floyd fits that description to a T.

Long story short, the possibilities are endless on this defense. Everyone can be moved around somewhere else, and they’re deep at every single position from top to bottom. There may be some surprises when Von Miller comes back. But whatever they do, it will (somehow) look even better than the defense we’re witnessing right now.

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