Expectations are always high when you're a 1st round pick.

Ed Oliver understands what comes with him going 9th overall to the Bills in 2019, but he made it clear that doesn't affect him.

"I don't feel no pressure," Oliver said. "I know who I am. It's me. I know who I want to be. It don't matter what anybody else wants me to be. I know who I want to be first."

Oliver's numbers are not what most want out of the defensive tackle, with five sacks his rookie season and three a year ago.

As the outside world asks for more, so too have his coaches.

"One of the things we really challenged him to be able to do is to consistently make those big plays for us up front," Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier said. "Using his ability to get off of blocks, chase the ball down like he does and just to be consistently good at doing that and he's done that. Taken it upon himself. He has a strong desire to be good. He wants to be good. And when you have talent and you have the work ethic and then you have that mindset, you have a chance to become a really good player and he's on his way to doing that."

That work ethic is what has noticeably elevated leading up to Oliver's third season in the league.

"If you want to be who in your mind you think you are, you got to put the work in to get there," Oliver said. "So it's just me developing my game."

"In a lot of ways, it's been both on and off the field," Head Coach Sean McDermott said. "You see a young man that's, I'm watching him now. He's out here early going through his pre-practice routine. I can tell you that wasn't always the case."

​Oliver has been the best since he started playing football. ​That top-tier talent is still very much there, but the defensive tackle's learned that can't be everything at this level.

"It's more than just gifted," Oliver said. "It's that 'Oh I almost had it.' Almost ain't good enough in this league, so you got to find ways to get a little bit closer. And sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. You look at some of the sacks around the league and it's almost better to be lucky than good. But you just got to find a way to put yourself in that lucky position. How can I be in that position to at least for it to look lucky."​

​One way Oliver's working on that is through the teaching of defensive line coach Eric Washington. Oliver admits things were "eye-opening" for him when Washington first came to the Bills before last season. It took him a while to pick up the rush fundamentals that were being focused on. But after a full year, including normal offseason, with Washington, Oliver feels it's all sinking in.

"It's art, to be honest with you," Oliver said. "When you look at pass-rushing, it's art. That's just what it is. It's art. It's you're going to hit them with your first move or you're going to clean them up or you're going to make sure his hands are off of you. It's your unit rushing as one. Did you communicate with your defensive end and are you and everybody else on the same page? There's a lot that goes into it. That's what I'm learning, it's an art."

An art that can't be painted with a broad brush.

"I would say my attention to detail is higher," Oliver said. "I'm more aware of the situations and the things going on around me, but that's natural being in the league. With reps you become more aware. I feel like I'm just evolved a little bit."

"When you go back and watch the film and wonder why you're there but you aren't there," he continued. "What's stopping you from getting him on the ground? What's stopping you from taking the ball out of his hand? It's just the little things. When you realize it was just a little detail, one missed step, one false step is the difference between you and a TFL or the difference between you and a sack or difference between you and a pressure. You just got to go back and look at that, see how you can clean that up and go with it."

Part of the reason for a step backwards in the sack department a year ago was that Oliver was forced out of position because of Star Lotulelei opting-out due to COVID. Half the time Oliver played his natural spot of three-technique, the other half he slid into Lotulelei's role at the one, where Oliver was more so asked to be a space-eater rather than pass-rusher.

With Lotulelei's return this season, Oliver can return to where he wants to be.

"To be honest, it's lovely," Oliver said with a big smile.

Now it is about Oliver taking all that added work and detail and turning it into added results.

Frazier is confident that's exactly what will happen, tabbing his DT as his top breakout candidate on the Bills defense.

"He has a chance to really open up some eyes around the league this season and looking forward to him having a bust out season," defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. "That'll be really good for our defense. He's been consistently good, but there's a chance he can go to another level and this would be the ideal year for that to happen."​

Oliver agrees.

"It's my time because I say so," Oliver said. "It's time."