Free agency preview: Can Brandon Beane land a hit at edge rusher?
Whether you refer to them as defensive ends, outside linebackers or edge rushers, the goal is still the same for Brandon Beane: find players who can set the edge as run defenders and, perhaps more importantly, get after the opposing quarterback.
Editor's note: This is the seventh of several stories previewing the start of NFL free agency on March 11.
The Buffalo Bills enter free agency on a hunt that so far has proven elusive for the president of football operations and general manager Brandon Beane during his tenure.
Whether you refer to them as defensive ends, outside linebackers, or edge rushers, the goal is still the same for Beane: Find players who can set the edge as run defenders and, perhaps more importantly, get after the opposing quarterback.
Beane has taken several swings, both in the draft and free agency, but too often, those swings have missed.
With a new 3-4 defensive scheme put in place by defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, Beane again will be tasked with finding havoc creators off the edge. He’ll do so on a limited budget, which is problematic considering edge rushers get paid big money in free agency.
One of the selling points for the Bills on hiring Leonhard was his willingness to build a scheme around the talent of the current players on the roster. That’s important because it’s not practical to think Beane can replace the entire front seven defensively in just one offseason.
The Bills will need to maximize the talents of those still on the roster, with Beane finding the right, affordable fits in free agency.
“I’m going to take some swings,” Beane said at the end of the 2025 season when asked about his track record of finding impact players along the defensive line. That has shown to be the case, as he spent big money in free agency on Von Miller and has invested early draft picks up front for good reason. The last two Super Bowl winners have had a decided edge along the defensive line. It’s critical for a defense to be able to pressure the opposing quarterback, ideally without having to rely on a blitz to do so.
In looking at this year’s class, we’ll group outside linebackers (in a 3-4 scheme) and defensive ends (in a 4-3 scheme) to preview the edge rusher class.
Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa will become an unrestricted free agent with the start of a new NFL league year on Wednesday.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
In-house: Both Joey Bosa and A.J. Epenesa are pending unrestricted free agents. Bosa looked like a shrewd signing early in the season, leading the league in pass-rush win rate. Due to injuries around him that forced players out of the lineup, and some of his own that impacted his effectiveness, his performance dropped as the season went on. He was nearly invisible in the playoffs – exactly the time for which the Bills had signed him to make a difference. Because of that, it feels unlikely that he’ll be back.
Epenesa has shown to be a reliable backup/low-end starter over six seasons with the team as a second-round draft pick. He’s got a knack for getting in passing lanes, with 21 passes defensed and four interceptions in his career. He’s an inferior run defender, but can be a contributor in a defensive line rotation.
Top of the heap: Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati; Jaelan Phillips, Philadelphia; Khalil Mack, L.A. Chargers; K’Lavon Chaisson, New England.
Over the past three years, Hendrickson ranks second among edge rushers in sack rate, third in pressure rate, and fifth in quick-pressure rate among those with at least 1,000 pass-rush snaps. He’s coming off an injury-plagued season, though, playing just 285 defensive snaps before being shut down because of back and hip injuries, the latter of which required core muscle surgery. Hendrickson is 31 years old, so buyer beware of the age.
Phillips is just 27 years old, but has dealt with a torn ACL and torn Achilles in his career. Still, he had a pressure rate (15.9%) and quick-pressure rate (5.3%) that showed he had a better season than his sack total (five) might indicate.
There would be something poetic about the Bills bringing Mack back to Buffalo to finish his career after they should have drafted him out of the University at Buffalo in 2014. Mack, 35, had 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles last season for the Chargers.
Names to know: Boye Mafe, Seattle; Odafe Oweh, L.A. Chargers; Kwity Paye, Indianapolis; Bradley Chubb, Miami; Jadeveon Clowney, Dallas; Kingsley Enagbare, Green Bay; Malcolm Koonce, Las Vegas; Haason Reddick, Tampa Bay.
Koonce is a UB product who has been a productive player for the Raiders. Mafe’s price tag increased with the Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory. Paye lacks a robust toolbox of pass-rush moves, but is stout against the run. Oweh made himself a lot of money after being traded in-season from the Ravens to the Chargers, finishing with 7.5 sacks for Los Angles. Reddick has just 3.5 sacks the past two seasons, but had 50 the four years before that. He’s a buy-low candidate.
Under the radar: Arnold Ebiketie, Atlanta.
The Falcons used a pair of first-round draft picks in 2025 on edge rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., which cut into Ebiketie's pass-rush opportunities. A former second-round pick, he made the most of those opportunities when they did come, compiling a career-best pass-rush grade of 73.4, according to analytics website Pro Football Focus.
Ebiketie has a pass-rush win rate of 16.8%, which finished in the top 12 of the league among qualifying edge rushers. He had just two sacks, though, which might drive his price tag down. That came after back-to-back six-sack seasons in 2023 and 2024. At just 27 years old, Ebiketie is in his prime. He carries a projection of $8 million average annual value, which makes him an affordable option on the edge.