Ed Oliver is the Buffalo Bills' lone holdover on the interior of the defensive line, meaning general manager Brandon Beane will need the devote extra attention to the position group this offseason.
DaQuan Jones, who the Bills have reported interest in re-signing , Tim Settle, Jordan Phillips, Poona Ford and Linval Joseph are all free to go elsewhere.
Regardless of how they do it, the Bills need to fill at least three defensive tackle vacancies this offseason and Pro Football Focus analyst Sam Monson suggested two players to target.
"I think when you're shopping in that second and third wave you're talking about players where there's some concern. There's a red flag somewhere, so you're not talking about these perfect prospects," said Monson. "But there's a couple of guys I think I would certainly be interested in talking to if I'm Buffalo."
Speaking to Chris Brown and Steve Tasker during a guest spot on One Bills Live on Friday, Monson identified San Francisco 49ers' free agent Javon Kinlaw and former Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Teair Tart as two potential fits for the Bills.
After playing only 10 games combined over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the 26-year-old Kinlaw did not miss an appearance this past fall. He tallied 3.5 sacks and three pass deflections over a 17-game regular season sample. During the postseason, Kinlaw averaged three tackles and 23 defensive snaps per game as the 49ers achieved Super Bowl runner-up status.
"A former first round pick [who] was expected to be an incredible pass rusher in the NFL. Years worth of injuries, just really slow start to his career. It didn't really happen until this year where he's had a really good season just before free agency." said Monson. "I would be really curious to know what the market for him is like. Maybe it's gonna be much hotter than the Bills can stand because he's got that former first round pedigree and we finally got to see what he can do with a healthy season. But if teams are scared away by his injury history then he would be one to talk to."
Meanwhile, Tart, who signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted rookie in 2020, made 11 appearances prior to his mid-December release. Over four seasons in Tennessee, he appeared in 45 games (36 starts) while accounting for 2.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hits and seven pass deflections.
"There's some sort of character concerns, some attitude issues with him," said Monson. "He's been a very good disruptive player for the Titans when he was on the field before they fell out with him" again, a guy that i would be intrigued to talk to, to figure out if there's a natural mesh there and, if there is, a guy that certainly can present value. "
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