Day 1 is in the books! As I predicted, Buffalo traded up for a receiver, although it appears that the word about them being enamored with Watkins held some truth, making him the pick rather than Evans. I am totally okay with that, as Watkins is a star.
Let's take a look at the best remaining players on my big board, as well as the remaining tables of CONNECTIONZ, and see if we can get a sense of what Buffalo wants to do!
DanRoc's Big Board (post-round 1)
Overall pick # | Overall Big Board | Position | College |
---|---|---|---|
17 | Marqise Lee | WR | USC |
21 | Kony Ealy | DE | Missouri |
23 | Xavier Sua-Filo | OG | UCLA |
24 | Ra'shede Hageman | DE/DT | Minnesota |
25 | Allen Robinson | WR | Penn State |
29 | Louis Nix | NT | Notre Dame |
30 | Morgan Moses | OT | Virginia |
31 | Kyle Van Noy | OLB | BYU |
33 | Jordan Matthews | WR | Vanderbilt |
34 | Dri Archer | RB/WR | Kent State |
35 | Jace Amaro | TE | Texas Tech |
36 | Stephon Tuitt | DE/DT | Notre Dame |
38 | Carlos Hyde | RB | Ohio State |
39 | Troy Niklas | TE | Notre Dame |
41 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | TE | Washington |
42 | Gabe Jackson | OG | Mississippi State |
43 | Lamarcus Joyner | S/CB | FSU |
44 | Cyrus Kouandjio | OT | Alabama |
45 | Davante Adams | WR | Fresno State |
46 | Joel Bitonio | OT/OG | Nevada |
47 | Phillip Gaines | CB | Rice |
50 | Marcus Martin | OG/OC | USC |
51 | Jimmy Garoppolo | QB | Eastern Illinois |
52 | Andre Hal | CB | Vanderbilt |
53 | Derek Carr | QB | Fresno State |
54 | Scott Crichton | DE | Oregon State |
55 | Ka'Deem Carey | RB | Arizona |
57 | Justin Ellis | NT | Louisiana Tech |
58 | Trent Murphy | DE/OLB | Stanford |
59 | Timmy Jernigan | NT | FSU |
60 | Jarvis Landry | WR | LSU |
61 | Will Sutton | DT | Arizona State |
62 | Chris Borland | ILB | Wisconsin |
63 | Bishop Sankey | RB | Washington |
64 | Pierre Desir | CB | Lindenwood |
65 | Tre Mason | RB | Auburn |
66 | Terrence Brooks | S | FSU |
67 | Antone Exum | S/CB | Virginia Tech |
68 | Telvin Smith | LB/S | FSU |
70 | Cody Latimer | WR | Indiana |
71 | Trai Turner | OG | LSU |
72 | Billy Turner | OT | North Dakota |
73 | Jeremiah Attaochu | DE/OLB | Georgia Tech |
74 | Weston Richburg | OG/OC | Colorado State |
75 | DaQuan Jones | DE/DT | Penn State |
76 | Donte Moncrief | WR | Ole Miss |
77 | Antonio Richardson | OT | Tennessee |
78 | De'Anthony Thomas | RB/WR | Oregon |
79 | Craig Loston | SS | LSU |
80 | Jared Abbrederis | WR | Wisconsin |
82 | Kareem Martin | DE | North Carolina |
83 | AJ McCarron | QB | Alabama |
84 | Trevor Reilly | DE/OLB | Utah |
85 | Bruce Ellington | RB/WR | South Carolina |
86 | Carl Bradford | LB | Arizona State |
87 | Zach Mettenberger | QB | LSU |
88 | Lache Seastrunk | RB | Baylor |
89 | Dakota Dozier | OG | Furman |
90 | Jordan Zumwalt | LB | UCLA |
91 | Dontae Johnson | S/CB | NC State |
92 | James Hurst | OT | North Carolina |
93 | Shaquil Barrett | OLB | Colorado State |
94 | Isaiah Crowell | RB | Alabama State |
95 | Bennett Jackson | CB | Notre Dame |
96 | Wesley Johnson | OT/OG/OC | Vanderbilt |
97 | Christian Jones | LB | FSU |
98 | Christian Kirksey | ILB | Iowa |
99 | Daniel Sorensen | S | BYU |
100 | Michael Schofield | OT | Michigan |
101 | Colt Lyerla | TE | No college |
102 | Ben Gardner | DE | Stanford |
103 | David Yankey | OG | Stanford |
104 | Keith McGill | CB | Utah |
106 | Chris Smith | DE/OLB | Arkansas |
107 | Bashaud Breeland | CB | Clemson |
108 | Anthony Steen | OG | Alabama |
109 | Cameron Fleming | OT | Stanford |
110 | Jackson Jeffcoat | DE/OLB | Texas |
111 | Cyril Richardson | OG | Baylor |
112 | Dion Bailey | S | USC |
113 | Shayne Skov | ILB | Stanford |
114 | David Fales | QB | San Jose State |
115 | C.J. Fiedorowicz | TE | Iowa |
116 | James Gayle | DE/OLB | Virginia Tech |
117 | Tevin Reese | WR | Baylor |
118 | Nevin Lawson | CB | Utah State |
119 | Jemea Thomas | FS | Georgia Tech |
120 | Josh Huff | WR | Oregon |
121 | Branden Oliver | RB | Buffalo |
122 | John Urschel | OG/OC | Penn State |
123 | Brandon Coleman | WR | Rutgers |
124 | Devin Street | WR | Pittsburgh |
125 | Martavis Bryant | WR | Clemson |
126 | Terrence West | RB | Towson |
127 | Travis Swanson | OG/OC | Arkansas |
128 | Storm Johnson | RB | UCF |
129 | Ed Reynolds | S | Stanford |
130 | Brett Smith | QB | Wyoming |
131 | Jeff Janis | WR | Saginaw Valley State |
132 | Brent Urban | DE/DT | Virginia |
133 | Ross Cockrell | CB | Duke |
134 | Arthur Lynch | TE | Georgia |
135 | Robert Herron | WR | Wyoming |
136 | Demarcus Lawrence | DE/OLB | Boise State |
137 | Marion Grice | RB | Arizona State |
138 | Paul Richardson | WR | Colorado |
139 | Daniel McCullers | NT | Tennessee |
140 | Aaron Murray | QB | Georgia |
141 | Isaiah Lewis | SS | Michigan State |
142 | Charles Sims | RB | West Virginia |
143 | Walt Aikens | CB | Liberty |
144 | Brandon Linder | OG | Miami |
145 | Jonathan Dowling | S | Wyoming |
146 | Tyler Starr | LB | South Dakota |
147 | Ahmad Dixon | SS | Baylor |
148 | Jeremy Hill | RB | LSU |
149 | Marcus Roberson | CB | Florida |
150 | Yawin Smallwood | ILB | Connecticut |
According to my big board, the biggest reaches in round 1 were Miami selecting Ja'wuan James, the Packers selecting Haha Clinton-Dix, and Kansas City taking Dee Ford. The best value picks would have been Cincinnati taking Darqueze Dennard or San Francisco's selection of Jimmie Ward. Buffalo chose my 5th overall player in Sammy Watkins, but I like his ceiling and fit to Buffalo's needs much more than the 4th overall player, Khalil Mack. And since Jake Matthews wasn't likely to play left tackle for Buffalo, I think Watkins will have a bigger impact on Buffalo than Matthews would have compared to a second or third round prospect.
Buffalo's Connectionz
Day 2
Player | Pos. | College | Connectionz (Visit, Teammate, Position) |
Carlos Hyde | RB | Ohio State | V |
Lache Seastrunk | RB | Baylor | V |
Bishop Sankey | RB | Washington | T,P |
Cody Latimer | WR | Indiana | V |
Martavis Bryant | WR | Clemson | T,P |
Kelvin Benjamin | WR | Florida State | P |
Troy Niklas | TE | Notre Dame | V |
Austin Seferian-Jenkins | TE | Washington | V |
Jace Amaro | TE | Texas Tech | P |
Cyrus Kouandjio | OT | Alabama | V |
James Hurst | OT | North Carolina | T,P |
Antonio Richardson | OT | Tennessee | P |
Ja'Wuan James | OT | Tennessee | P |
Marcus Martin | G/C | USC | V |
Trai Turner | OG | LSU | T,P |
Gabe Jackson | OG | Mississippi State | T,P |
Cyril Richardson | OG | Baylor | T,P |
Anthony Steen | OG | Alabama | T,P |
Scott Crichton | DE | Oregon State | V |
Kareem Martin | DE | North Carolina | T,P |
Marcus Smith | DE | Louisville | T,P |
Bradley Roby | CB | Ohio State | V |
Bashaud Breeland | CB | Clemson | V |
Phillip Gaines | CB | Rice | V |
Antone Exum | CB | Virginia Tech | T,P |
Day 3
Player | Pos. | College | Connectionz (Visit, Teammate, Position) |
Terrance Cobb | RB | Cumberlands | V |
Jeremy Hill | RB | LSU | V |
Jerick McKinnon | RB | Georgia Southern | V |
Terrance West | RB | Towson | V |
Alfred Blue | RB | LSU | T,P |
Ladarius Perkins | RB | Mississippi State | T,P |
Ben Malena | RB | Texas A&M | T,P |
Isaiah Crowell | RB | Alabama State | P |
Branden Oliver | RB | Buffalo | P |
Storm Johnson | RB | UCF | P |
Kevin Norwood | WR | Alabama | T,P |
L'Damian Washington | WR | Missouri | P |
Xavier Grimble | TE | USC | T,P |
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif | OT | McGill | V |
Charles Siddoway | OT | Mississippi State | V |
Jack Mewhort | OT | Ohio State | T,P |
Brandon Thomas | OT | Clemson | T,P |
Kevin Graf | OT | USC | T,P |
Russell Bodine | G/C | North Carolina | T,P |
John Urschel | G/C | Penn State | P |
Preston Brown | LB | Louisville | V |
Lamin Barrow | LB | LSU | T,P |
James Gayle | DE | Virginia Tech | T,P |
Taylor Hart | DE | Oregon | P |
Larry Webster | DE/TE | Bloomsburg | P |
Ben Gardner | DE | Stanford | P |
Walt Aikens | CB | Liberty | V |
Ross Cockrell | CB | Duke | V |
Bennett Jackson | CB | Notre Dame | T,P |
Rashaad Reynolds | CB | Oregon State | T,P |
Lavelle Westbrooks | CB | Georgia Southern | T,P |
Victor Hampton | CB | South Carolina | P |
Moving into today's draft, the top remaining player who would fit Buffalo's needs is Kony Ealy. I suspect he's gone before long, though. The Bills are then fortunate that Cyrus Kouandjio, Morgan Moses, and Joel Bitonio will all be available in round 2 (as well as Antonio Richardson, whom I'm not as excited about). In addition, 3 of the top 4 tight ends remain on the board, and the Bills will have to seriously think about the possibility of upgrading the offensive targets yet again.
Here's my estimation of Buffalo's big board for round 2:
- Cyrus Kouandjio
- Austin Seferian-Jenkins
- Kony Ealy
- Joel Bitonio
- Troy Niklas
- Morgan Moses
- Antonio Richardson
- Jace Amaro
- Scott Crichton
That's 9 names and Buffalo has the 9th pick.
I think Buffalo will try to get an OT/TE in round 2 and then use the third round pick on defense. I think RT is the top priority but talent will play a factor.