2021 NFL Draft: Bills swing for the fences with Gregory Rousseau

The Bills probably didn’t get the player they wanted in the 2021 NFL draft’s first round but they still landed a big-time talent in Gregory Rousseau.

There are very few players in the 2021 NFL draft like Gregory Rosseau. In fact, there might not be any, which is probably why the Buffalo Bills picked him 30th overall in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft Thursday night.

If you’re going to take a player in the first round of the draft, he’d better be worth it and if Rosseau pans out, he might be the best pass rusher in the draft. Yet, there’s also a chance he could be a total bust.

Rousseau is a huge man at 6-foot-6 and 266 pounds. He didn’t play in the 2020 season for Miami football but back in the 2019 season, he was an elite pass rusher and a disruptive force racking up 19.5 tackles for loss, as well as 15.5 sacks.

That kind of production jumps out at you. There aren’t many college players who get 10 sacks in a season, let alone 15. But that was the only productive year of Rousseau’s career and that’s the worry.

Is he going to be one of those one-year wonders? Someone who looks like Tarzan but plays like Jane? That’s a question being asked leading up to the process.

Super high ceiling

At the same time, the Bills really needed a pass rusher. It’s possible that they wanted Travis Etienne, but that was thwarted when Urban Meyer used his second selection with the Jaguars to get the star running back he wanted to go along with his franchise QB.

Now, the Bills might look for a running back on day two or just stand pat, having drafted a back in on day two in each of the last two drafts.

If the Rousseau pick works out, Buffalo will get an elite pass rusher. If it doesn’t, then it was probably still worth the risk because the former Miami DE has among the highest ceilings in the entire 2021 NFL draft.