ORCHARD PARK — Long after the Buffalo Bills had retreated to the locker room, Javon Solomon was off to the side, rattling a heavy bag with punch after punch.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Solomon repeatedly threw his massive hands into the bag. The rookie defensive end took boxing lessons as a child, but now he thinks those skills correlate to fighting offensive linemen so he can use quarterbacks as punching bags.
Getting his hands on an opponent and being quick enough to avoid their grasp, all while maintaining proper balance and footwork isn’t all that different between boxing and football. But the fifth-round pick is looking for any edge he can conjure up heading into training camp in order to make Buffalo’s 53-man final roster.
“It’s been awesome I learned so much,” Solomon said. “Not every day was perfect but my goodness, the amount of stuff you build and gain just over and over again being with some really good vets, so Day One and right now it’s completely different in terms of what we’re trying to incorporate ever since I got here but it’s been it’s been a long road. I’ve got to do a lot, got to train a lot; I’m going to try to move around as much as I can, learn as much as I can over the break.”
Solomon has been seeking competitive advantages on the football field for most of his career. In his first two seasons at Amos P. Godby High School in Tallahassee, Florida, Solomon’s teams won a total of five games, but when ex-NFL defensive back Corey Fuller took over as head coach, they went 21-3 over his last two years.
When Fuller became coach, Solomon was flipping between defensive tackle and defensive end because Godby produced 21 Division I football players over his last two seasons, including former University at Buffalo players Kyler Laing and Trevor Solomon-Wilson. But as a defensive end as a senior in 2018, Solomon made 73 tackles and 10 sacks.
Despite growing up, though, in the shadows of Florida State University and playing high school football a mile away, Solomon didn’t get an offer. He didn’t get an offer from any big-time school in Florida or anywhere else and Fuller says it’s because Solomon is only a shade under 6-foot-1.
“It just depends on the style of defense you’re playing him in,” said Fuller, who played 10 seasons in the NFL. “… It just depends on what you ask him to do. But his ability to play football will be very obvious from the word go.”
What Solomon lacks in height, he makes up for with his arms and hands. Solomon’s hands were measured at 10 ¾ inches at the NFL scouting combine, tied for the largest for any defensive player this year and the eighth-largest over the last five years.
The difference for Solomon, though, is that all of the edge rushers with bigger or equal sized hands were at least 6-4, including 6-7 Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau, whose 11 ⅛ hands are among the biggest ever measured at the combine.
The wingspan for a person is 1 inch longer than their height, but while Solomon is roughly 73 inches tall, his arms were measured at 80 ¼ inches, or 6 feet, 7 inches. Solomon is able to use his large hands and long arms to keep bigger offensive linemen away from his 246-pound frame, but that’s something he’s learned to use as an advantage over time.
“Kind of just having that speed flex is more of what I try to use,” Solomon said. “The advantage of trying to use long arms, I’m going to be honest, I really didn’t catch up on that until later, but it’s something I’m definitely starting to incorporate now and it helps set up other moves when you’re able to have versatile pass-rush moves.”
The last year has been a learning experience for Solomon in general. Solomon played outside linebacker his first four seasons at Troy, and while he had 31 ½ tackles for a loss and 17 sacks during that time, he had just nine starts in 39 games.
Solomon lined up outside the offensive tackle on 81% of his snaps during his first four years in Troy, but a change in defensive coordinators moved Solomon to more of a traditional defensive end role and he lined up over the offensive tackle nearly 53% Tf the time and outside the tackle 40%. The result was Solomon starting all 14 games and leading the FBS with 16 sacks last season.
Although Solomon’s first step has never been questioned, the Bills have been working on looking in the right places, making sure his feet are in the proper position — aided by punching that heavy bag — and he’s taking the proper angles after the snap. He’s also attempting to pick up any tips from veterans he can, making sure to grab phone numbers for Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa and Miller before the Bills broke minicamp.
Miller was one of Solomon’s idols growing up — he prefers to be called Von, but says that name is taken by Miller right now — and plans to attend Miller’s annual summer pass rush summit in Las Vegas. But Solomon says he will also prepare for training camp in Dallas and also make a trip to Jacksonville to workout with veteran Bills defensive end Dawuane Smoot, saying he expects to be uncomfortable in training camp so he’s not letting himself get comfortable beforehand.
“He’s really mature; asks a lot of questions,” Rousseau said. “You can tell that he wants it and he’s not just along for the ride. He’s trying to get better every day and he’s doing just that.”
Once Solomon gets to training camp when rookies report July 19, he’s going to need a stellar performance to make the 53-man roster. The Bills kept six edge rushers last season, but might stick to just five this year.
Solomon will battle veteran signees like Smoot and Casey Toohill, along with players like Kingsley Jonathan and Kameron Cline. The Bills could use a boost in their pass rush off the edge, but Solomon must prove he can defend against the run and likely play special teams like Jonathan did last year.
Fuller doesn’t see much doubt in Solomon’s outcome, though.
“He was under-recruited and led the nation in sacks,” Fuller said. “That’s not going to bother him. He’s going to put his head down and work. He won’t be on the practice squad, he’s going to make the final roster.”