Why PFF thinks Bills signing Von Miller was team’s best offseason move
Pro Football Focus named every NFL team’s best move of the 2022 offseason.
Shocker: The Buffalo Bills signing future Hall of Famer in Von Miller was the choice.
But as the football analytics outlet usually does, they went a bit deeper into why the move was praised.
Miller was brought in to be the closer. The Bills have lacked a superior pass rusher on their defensive line for the past few seasons. Since Buffalo has emerged as one of the best teams in football, it’s really the only thing they’ve lacked.
But PFF thinks Miller will pay dividends in more than one way. According to PFF’s metrics, Miller has continually graded well against the run as well.
Turns out he’s an all-around addition.
Here’s how PFF broke down Miller’s signing:
SIGNING EDGE VON MILLER
This was a truly massive contract for the 33-year-old Miller — effectively a three-year, $52.5 million deal — but this Bills defensive line needed a true force-multiplier to elevate the entire unit.
Miller is known for his pass-rush prowess but has also never earned a run-defense grade below 80.0. Over the last two seasons, Bills edge defenders have earned a 54.9 run-defense grade, 24th in the NFL.
Young defensive linemen in Ed Oliver, Gregory Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa and Carlos Basham will now have more room to operate as opposing offensive lines focus their attention on Miller.
The additions of interior defenders DaQuan Jones and Tim Settle round out a defensive line that simply needed to improve if the Buffalo Bills were going to contend for a Super Bowl. Buffalo’s secondary and linebacker units both ranked in the top half of the NFL the last two seasons, and if the defensive line can become a strength as well, Buffalo may have a case as the most complete roster in the NFL from top to bottom.
