How did the Buffalo Bills do in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, trading back then selecting LSU cornerback Tre’Davious White?
I’m glad you asked.
Our entire Rumblings staff agreed that moving out of No. 10 overall was the most ideal situation for Buffalo. MRW showed why the Bills got outstanding value in the trade back based on two draft value trade charts.
While the Bills jumped back quite a bit, missing out on the likes of O.J. Howard and Haason Reddick in the process, Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster was still available when the Bills made their pick at No. 27 overall.
Foster was No. 9 on my final Bills Big Board, but clearly the medical re-check of his injured shoulder must’ve given plenty of teams information which scared them away. Think about this, Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis, who was relegated to just nine games in 2016 due to an ankle injury -- and tore the meniscus in his knee in 2014 — went well ahead of Foster, although Foster had more impressive film. Davis missed the Senior Bowl and combine because of that injury. Without having access to Foster’s medical re-check info, it’s hard to formulate a concrete opinion on how it should’ve impacted his value.
UConn safety Obi Melifonwu was No. 10 on my Bills Big Board, meaning he would’ve been next in line if I was making the pick.
The reason White — or any cornerbacks for that matter — weren’t on my final Bills Top 10 Big Board was due to the immense depth at that spot in this year’s class. If I had to provide a gripe with the pick, that would be it. Then again, White was the fifth cornerback selected in Round 1, so it’s not as if the Bills were the first team to draft a corner in a super-deep class at that spot.
However, in my Top 25 overall Big Board — which simply ranked who I believed to be the best 25 prospects in this draft and a Bills angle wasn’t considered — I had White as my No. 10 overall player, just behind Melifonwu and just ahead of Reddick.
This is what I wrote about White:
10. Tre'Davious White - Squeaky clean corner who excelled at LSU for four seasons. Well-versed in man and zone coverage. Broke up 34 passes in college. Handles himself decently well vs. run. Not very limited as an athlete.
For more on White as a player, I explained why he was my top cornerback in this class right here. What I didn’t include in that article is a mention of White’s intangibles and durability. He only missed one game in 49 contests at LSU, graduated the valedictorian of his high school, and has no off-field concerns.
Just netting a third-round pick and first rounder next year was an enormous win in and of itself for the Bills. To still be able to land my No. 1 cornerback and No. 10 overall player after a significant trade back made this first round a home run for Buffalo.