As we are about 90 days out from the NFL draft, it’s time to start thinking about who we would like to see end up in Buffalo. For those of you hoping to see a QB in round 1, I have bad news for you. This draft reminds me of the EJ draft quite a bit. I don’t think this is a good draft to need a QB, but if I were to draft a round 1 QB, Kizer from Notre Dame is the guy I would want. With that being said, here are a few prospects I would like the Bills to consider.
While I don’t think there is a QB I would take in round 1, there are a few guys I wouldn’t mind as early as round 2. In fact, there are 3 QBs I think go in round 2. Those guys are Patrick Mahomes from Texas Tech, Brad Kaaya from Miami, and Davis Webb from Cal. I would rank them in that order as well. I am a big Patrick Mahomes fan. I think he could be the best QB in this class, if you are patient. He has a great arm and pocket awareness. He did play in the Texas Tech air raid offense, so he will need to sit and learn pro-offenses. Kaaya is likely the most ready of this group to play as Miami runs a fairly pro-style offense. Webb is similar to Mahomes. Webb even transferred from Texas Tech to Cal, where he played in the air raid. If you can show patience, which I don’t necessarily trust Buffalo to do, Mahomes is your guy.
WR is another position of need. In fact, depending on how round 1 goes, it wouldn’t shock me if Buffalo went WR in round 1. If they do go WR, there are only 2 names to consider, Mike Williams from Clemson, and Corey Davis from Western Michigan. I am interested to see Mike Williams 40 time, as he is a big guy who caught deep jump balls at Clemson. I do think he can do that in the NFL, but can he beat CB off the line is my question with him. I think after round 1, there is some good value to be found in Dede Westbrook from Oklahoma. He is a big play WR, who could possibly be there in round 3.
The other position I expect Buffalo to seriously consider in round 1 is S. This is a surprisingly deep position in this draft as there are 4 legit first round guys, none of who would be a round 1 reach. Jamal Adams of LSU leads this bunch, but Ohio State’s Malik Hooker is a close second. It is entirely possible both are gone by the time Buffalo picks. If one of those guys remains on the board, I expect them to be the pick. A little later in round 1 I expect Budda Baker from Washington and Jabril Peppers from Michigan to go. Baker is the more traditional S, whereas Peppers is just a really good athlete who can also creep up to more of a hybrid LB. With all the uncertainty around Aaron Williams, this position makes a ton of sense.
I do expect Buffalo to address CB, assuming they let Gilmore walk. If you look at Carolina, McDermott was more likely to pressure QBs up front, play zone in the secondary, so needing a stud CB isn’t really the hallmark of his D. McDermott tends to like big physical corners, and most of the round 1-2 guys aren’t that big, so I expect Buffalo to sit back until round 3 or later and grab a guy like Chidobe Awuzie, who played on an underrated Colorado D and has decent size (6’1”, 205).
I think one other area we all expect Buffalo to address is T. Again, I expect this to be a later round pick, as the top guy, Cam Robinson probably grades as more of a mid-late round 1 pick. Being that T tend to go earlier than expected, it wouldn’t shock me if he’s gone before Buffalo picks. Even if he’s on the board, I think there is likely more value at S or WR. There are plenty of guys to be had with later round picks here.
There you go, and early draft primer for Buffalo. Obviously we need to see how things shake out with free agency, but I expect Gilmore to walk, and Buffalo to not have that much money to spend, other than on some depth guys. We will certainly have more draft analysis as we get closer and have a better idea of how guys perform in Indy and what the roster looks like.
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