Written by Zach Bartkus
With the ninth pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills selected Ed Oliver, Defensive End, Houston. One of just now six top 10 NFL draft picks out of the University of Houston, Oliver is the first since quarterback David Klingler who was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals with the sixth pick in 1992. “Highly disruptive, good instincts, elite first-step quickness”, those are just a few things that ESPN’s Todd McShay had to say about Oliver before the draft. Both Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. had him in their top 10 in their lists of the top 300 prospects in this year’s draft.
Oliver went to Westfield High School in Houston, Texas, so although choosing the school he wanted to commit to may have been a tough decision, growing up in Houston might have helped make his decision. Coming out of high school, Oliver was highly recruited but his top five schools came down to Alabama, Baylor, Houston, LSU, and Lousiville. He had offers from all of those schools but decided to go to the team in the American Conference and hometown team, Houston.
Even after playing at Houston, Kiper Jr. has said that we haven’t even seen the best of Oliver quite yet.” In his last season at Houston, he produced 54 total tackles, 14.5 for a loss, 13.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. All this in just eight games this previous season
If the fact that his best is yet to come is true, everybody but the Bills will probably need to put some extra blockers on their offensive line to keep Oliver out. At 6’2, 290 lbs., Oliver is a force to be reckoned with and could help the Bills defensive production increase as they look to improve off of their 6-10 season last year.
We’ll see how Ed Oliver fairs with the Bills next year and how big of an impact this big man makes in the NFL. Oliver will start his NFL regular season career in New York as the Bills take on the Jets at 1:00 PM on Sunday, September 8th.
