Bills should run a 4-2-5 defense and play Taylor Rapp opposite of Matt Milano

The Buffalo Bills are struggling to find a solid replacement for Tremaine Edmunds and while I think the Bills are in a bad situation, I was watching their film the other day and realized they have a player that could come in right away and make a huge difference.

The Bills have been trying to find a replacement for Edmunds who was a big and physical linebacker but they have struggled to find a player that can do much. The Bills however were able to sign Taylor Rapp in the off-season to a very reasonable deal and with them re-signing Poyer the team will likely have Rapp just coming in to spell relief, but he is better and needs to be on the field.

The 4-2-5 defense is a defense with 4 down linemen, 2 linebackers, and 5 defensive backs. In a 4-3 defense there are 3 linebackers. The 4-2-5 defense allows a defense to keep for the majority of the time 6 in the box. This helps to defend against the run, but with the 5 defensive backs you can also be sound against the pass.

Your Sam linebacker needs to be a hybrid type, with the body of a big safety or very athletic linebacker. This position is one of your most important players in 4-2-5 defense.

There is no coverage the 4-2-5 cannot play from the base alignment. This can cause confusion for offenses looking to get a read out of your 4-2-5.

The Bills ran a 4-2-5 defensive last year quite a bit and they did a great job doing so with Milano and Tremaine, but here is my question, why don’t the Bills play Taylor Rapp at the other linebacker position. I know he is only 6’0 and weighs 215 pounds, but he can cover. He has 9 career interceptions and 300 plus tackles. He is not afraid to come up and hit you. Also being that he is a safety he can cover and read the offense.

Rapp is not the fastest player but he ran a 4.78 coming out of college. He is smart though, he could be amazing covering a tight end. This would also allow the Bills to have Taron Johnson on the field more. The nickel corner is one of the best in the game. If the Bills could rotate their defensive line and get pressure and clog the front, the Bills could have a nice and very fast defense.

The Bills will not have many options in free agency after cuts, I could see a player like Jordan Hicks getting cut in Minnesota, but outside of him the options may not be pretty.

Why not try Rapp? He is easily one of the better defenders on the Bills defense and if they can get him on the field, they could be pretty fun to watch. They would basically have 7 defensive backs on the field on every play. Milano is a little guy too. So if someone says they cannot have Rapp playing linebacker remember this, Milano only weighs 221 pounds. There is not a lot of difference in his game and Rapp’s.