Stacked QB draft could benefit Bills in the first round
With a Draft that could see as many as five quarterbacks, eight wide receivers and eight offensive tackles be taken in the first round, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller noted that the surplus of talent at in-demand positions could push top defensive line prospects down to the No. 28 pick.
UCLA’s Laiatu Latu and Missouri’s Darius Robinson were two names Miller mentioned could be a good fit in Buffalo as they will need to add edge rushers to their roster with three of their six returning lineman (excluding reserve/future players) set to enter free agency.
From a pure value perspective, however, the Bills could turn their attention to the other side of the line of scrimmage. In his most recent mock draft, Miller had Buffalo taking Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson with their first-round pick.
“I actually look at this offensive line as good enough, but you always want to get better on the offensive line and turn that into a strength,” Miller said. “Having that powerful, whether it be a right guard or eventually a center to replace Mitch Morse, I think that’s just one of those bookend positions and the value is fantastic. I have colleagues who think JPJ could be a top 20 pick.”
Miller said that the No. 28 spot was promising for Buffalo should they decide to go for a defensive lineman, but the DT tackle position drops off quickly.
“This is a unique year that Byron Murphy from Texas is probably going to go in the top 20 and then you have Jer’Zhan Newton, who I actually think is a pretty good fit for the Bills’ scheme – he’s a lot like Ed Oliver, coming out of Illinois – he could be there at 28,” Miller said. “After that, there’s a group of guys that are in that middle of round two (range).
“That’s great news for the Bills is that second tier of defensive tackles isn’t coming off the board in early round two, it’ll be late round…
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