The 2017 NFL Draft is only a few days away. We’ve spent the past several months staring and prodding at college football prospects trying to decide which ones have the best chance to succeed in the NFL. By now, everyone has an opinion on their favorite draft prospects. It’s time to share: Who is your draft crush?
Here are seven of my favorite players in this year’s draft. I’ll also give you three who I want the Bills to stay far away from.
Please draft...
Isaiah Ford | WR | Virginia Tech
Ford is actually my third-ranked receiver over Mike Williams. He has absolutely natural body control, but also adds a wide array of moves in his route running. He has more fluidity and speed than Williams, though he’s not a speed demon. While he lacks the raw physicality of Williams, I think he’s more well-rounded as a player.
Noah Brown | WR | Ohio State
Brown is as under the radar as a four star recruit who went to Ohio State can be. He played spot time as a freshman due to his blocking acumen. Before his sophomore season, he broke two bones in his leg, redshirting the year. This year, he had a fairly pedestrian season of 32 catches for 402 yards and seven touchdowns. That said, the Ohio State passing offense as a whole was pretty lousy, so...
Brown has a phenomenal stem in his route, deep speed, and great start-stop acceleration. He has outstanding catching concentration. And he’s a willing blocker who can lay some devastating hits. The kid is inexperienced, but I like his trajectory.
George Kittle | TE | Iowa
Kittle’s tape showed the best highlight blocking I’d seen from a tight end since Colt Lyerla (whose NFL failure was caused by off-field issues and injuries). He played in a pro-style offense and wasn’t asked to run many routes, but stretched the seam and did a good job catching passes. Then he put up elite numbers in his workouts. That combo of blocking prowess and athleticism is something I want to bet on, as a sort of “O.J. Howard lite.”
Marshon Lattimore | CB | Ohio State
Very quickly, I fell in love with Lattimore’s outrageous speed and fluidity. He’s so talented in man coverage, and still so young, that I think he could be a top five cornerback in the NFL eventually.
Ahkello Witherspoon | CB | Colorado
Witherspoon has elite cornerback size, outstanding athletic ability, and great tape. He’s a smothering cornerback with good ball skills. In my opinion, he was the best player on a talented Colorado defense.
Jeremy Cutrer | CB | Middle Tennessee State
Cutrer had some of my favorite game tape of the draft season in his 2015 performance against Alabama: 8 tackles (six solo) and a 77 yard interception. A very instinctive player with impressive ball skills, Cutrer needs to bulk up, but he’s a high upside player from a small school.
Malik Hooker | S | Ohio State
Hooker has range for days and the perfect complement of ball skills. He would give the team a transformative player in their secondary. Not that I think he’ll be available for the team.
Don’t draft...
Nate Peterman | QB | Pittsburgh
It’s not that I think Peterman is a bad prospect, or that I believe he’s overrated. The draft community seems to have a consensus that he’s roughly a third or fourth round value, and that’s where I have him.
It’s more about the principle of drafting a mid-round QB. The Bills already have a project quarterback on the roster in Cardale Jones. What does adding another one get them? I am fully on board with adding a first round quarterback, if the Bills believe he’s skilled enough to be a difference-maker for the franchise. But adding another mid-round talent is very unlikely to fix anything on the roster.
Chidobe Awuzie | CB | Colorado
Awuzie is athletic, lengthy, and versatile, and that has some believing he could be a first round pick on Thursday. I felt that he had play recognition issues, sometimes playing a little too passively on some passes. He didn’t seem very reliable in run support, either.
Ryan Anderson | OLB | Alabama
I don’t think Anderson has the burst or speed necessary to start in the NFL, whether it’s on the line of scrimmage as an edge rusher or as a back-seven coverage linebacker. The consensus on Anderson tends to place him between rounds two and three, a landing place for an NFL starter. I value him a lot lower.
Alright, those are my players. Now it’s your turn: Who do you want the Bills to draft this weekend?