Through the first three seasons of his NFL career, Buffalo Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau has mostly been a solid contributor. The former first-round draft pick out of Miami has 17 sacks to his name, along with 30 tackles for loss and 42 quarterback hits.
Rousseau's 127 pressures during that time rank 47th in the NFL, via TruMedia. His pressure rate, however, indicates that more production could be on the way: He has generated a sack, hit or hurry on 14.6% of his pass-rush snaps, a rate that checks in 20th out of the 204 players who have rushed the passer at least 500 times over the last three years.
And Rousseau is confident that the production will come, because he keeps working and striving to get better.
"I focus on a lot of things at practice," Rousseau said, via SI.com. "I know there's a lot of things that I can get better at. I know I haven't arrived. There's a lot of things I can improve upon. I'm glad to be out here, I'm excited to be out here and just working on my craft these next few weeks leading up to the season."
Rousseau flashed in Buffalo's most recent preseason game, collecting 2.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and two tackles for loss in his short stint on the field.
It's obviously too much to expect that type of production every game, but if he can take a step toward being a high-impact player on a more consistent basis, it will go a long way toward helping the Bills make up for the exodus of defensive talent they experienced this offseason, as well as the expected extended absence of linebacker Matt Milano, who is one of the unit's best players. Especially with Von Miller nearing the end of his career, and with Rousseau in the final season of his rookie contract before he plays on the fifth-year option in 2025, right now would be an opportune time for him to make that leap.