ORCHARD PARK - We are at the stage of the NFL Draft where all of the players the Buffalo Bills are now selecting will have a chance to make the bottom of the roster, most likely as a special teams contributor.

The latest name to add to the list is the third fifth-round pick of Saturday, defensive end Javon Solomon of Troy, the 168th overall pick which came to Buffalo in a trade down with Green Bay.

What’s intriguing about Solomon, though, is while his draft pedigree wasn’t great, he led FBS in sacks last season with 16, which also served as a school record as were his 33 career sacks, so that counts for something as the Bills look for ways to get better production on the edge.

His sack total at Troy surpassed that of former Troy star and future Pro Football Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware who had 27.5 from 2001-04.

“I got to meet him a couple times,” Solomon said of Ware. “He’s a guy that knew what it takes to be successful.”

The 6-foot-1, 246-pound fifth-year senior did not go up against the best competition in the Sun Belt Conference, but one thing teams always look for is whether you dominated whatever competition you face, and Solomon did that.

In his evaluation of Solomon, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said he “Doesn’t have prototypical size as an NFL edge rusher, and longer tackles can irritate his play at times, but there is plenty to like in the production and the tape. His frame is chiseled, with extremely powerful hips. It’s tough to sustain blocks against him due to his base strength and low center of gravity, which explains why he’s always around the ball at the whistle.

“He’s an instinctive rusher with a variety of moves and counters that he can string together to put tackles on the ropes. He’s a capable run defender but can be engulfed by size, so he might need to play as a stand-up linebacker. Solomon’s strengths tend to align with what we see from NFL edge defenders with rotational and potential-future-starter value.”

He finished his 53-game, 25-start career with 183 tackles including 49.5 for lost yardage, five forced fumbles and one interception.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out every other Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Javon Solomon picked by Buffalo Bills in NFL Draft 2024: What to know