The free agency frenzy has come and gone. That means the next opportunity teams get to upgrade their roster comes in the NFL Draft later this month. With that in mind, the Last Word on Sports NFL department will be breaking down teams’ top three positional needs heading into the draft. We will be focusing on the Buffalo Bills here.
The Bills precarious salary cap situation pretty much precluded them from being active in free agency. Perhaps their most high profile move was re-signing left guard Richie Incognito to a three-year, $15.75 million extension. So effectively addressing their needs via the draft is paramount.
The Bills have eight picks in the 2016 draft, including the 19th overall in the first round. They received two compensatory picks for free agents lost in 2015. These two will be made in the fourth (139th overall) and sixth rounds (218th overall) respectively. Buffalo does not pick in the seventh round as a result of trading that selection to the Vikings when they acquired Matt Cassell in 2015.
Buffalo Bills 2016 NFL Draft: Top 3 Needs
Defensive End
After two dominant seasons in Orchard Park, it was a highly ineffectual campaign for Mario Williams in 2015. Throughout the year, he struggled grasping his role in first-year head coach Rex Ryan’s 3-4 defensive scheme. As a result, the Bills released him on March 1st. The move opened up $12.9 million in cap room. And given that the team didn’t look for a replacement via free agency means the draft will be the likely be the route to do so.
Fortunately for the Bills, this is a particularly deep draft class at defensive end. Though general manager Doug Whaley has never been shy to make moves on draft day, he might not need to if they pick an edge rusher in the first round. There should still be plenty of potential game-changers on the board by the time the Bills are on the clock.
If the Buffalo war room does decide this need get taken care of in the first round, players such as Shaq Lawson, Robert Nkemdiche or Noah Spence might be possible targets. Lawson and Spence are particularly interesting. Their perimeter speed and overall versatility make them ideal fits in a Ryan defense that oftentimes requires the defensive end to assume more of an outside linebacker role.
Possible day two options might be Emmanuel Ogbah (if he falls that far) or Carl Nassib. Nassib’s intriguing in that he was a standout player at Penn State. I’m sure owner Terry Pegula would love to bring somebody in from his alma mater if he was the right fit. And Nassib’s story from walk-on to Big Ten defensive player of the year would resonate well with Bills fans if he panned out.
Linebacker
Suffice it to say the Bills linebacking corps is in need of some depth. They lost Nigel Bradham to free agency when he signed a two-year, $7 million with the Eagles. Their only acquisition so far was getting Zach Brown from the Titans. Brown missed nearly all of the 2014 season with a torn pectoral muscle and had just 0.5 sacks for Tennessee last year. Also keep in mind that there are just seven linebackers on the current Bills roster.
As a result, expect Buffalo to possibly address this need multiple times during the draft. They need help both inside and on the perimeter. The problem with inside linebacker is the fact that this isn’t a particularly deep draft at the position. Missouri’s Kentrell Brothers could get a look in the second round, as might Oklahoma’s Dominique Alexander a round later. After that, there’s quite a drop off.
There does seem to be quite a bit of middle round talent at outside linebacker this year. Georgia’s Leonard Floyd showed an immense amount of athleticism at the Combine and could be an intriguing target as a potential strong-side linebacker. Joshua Perry of Ohio State could be a steal in the third round. Scouts are concerned about Perry’s ability to be a cover/contain perimeter player. But he’s versatile enough to be moved inside if need be.
Quarterback
Until the Bills erase this now 16-year playoff drought on the back of solid quarterback play, it’s a position that will remain under scrutiny. Having said that, one couldn’t help but be impressed by Tyrod Taylor’s play in 2015.
In his first year as a starter after having spent his first four NFL seasons behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore, Taylor shined. He threw for over 3,000 yards and added 20 touchdowns to just six interceptions. It was good enough for him to be named an alternate for the Pro Bowl which he eventually played in. And Pro Football Focus gave him the ninth-best grade among quarterbacks in the league.
But there are a variety of factors that might hinder him from being the quarterback of the future in Buffalo. Having seen much less proven quarterbacks get paid massive money in free agency this season, Taylor may be looking for his piece of the pie. His $1.1 million salary in 2016 is lowest among starters and 51st in the league at his position overall. And the fact that the Bills have made it clear that quarterback is on the team’s radar heading into this draft can’t sit well with Taylor given his performance last season.
Already there has been a bit of tension. Last week, Taylor’s agent, Adisa Bakari, blamed the Bills defense and poor discipline for the 8-8 campaign in 2015 that led to another year without playoff football in Buffalo. The fact the Bills’ 78.1 penalty yards per game ranked dead last in the NFL last season lends credence to that notion. With Taylor having gone 8-6 as a starter (he missed two games due to a knee injury) and the quarterback market the way it is, a long and protracted holdout remains a possibility.
Either way, the franchise looks set to draft a quarterback at some point in the draft. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens when the team gets put on the clock in the first round. Will it be Memphis’ Paxton Lynch whose name is called? Or do the Bills wait until the later rounds to take a flier on a promising but raw Cardale Jones. Other potential day two (or three) prospects include Michigan State’s Connor Cook, Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg, or Stanford’s Kevin Hogan.
Pegula has been adamant that 2016 is a playoff or bust season for the Bills. That puts a great deal of pressure on many figures within the organization, specifically Whaley and Ryan. And Whaley’s drafts have been hit or miss. Picking EJ Manuel in the first round in 2013 clearly falls into the latter category. However, I think it’s safe to say he hit it out of the park by getting Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby in the next two drafts.
The Bills have a solid core of players on both sides of the football. This month’s upcoming draft will obviously be geared towards adding to that group. But the big issue that hangs over this franchise is a frustrating postseason drought that fans are hoping comes to an end this season.
