After months of speculation, the NFL Draft is finally here, and the Buffalo Bills are expected to be major players, with six of the top 96 selections (including a pair of first-round picks) among the team’s nine picks.
The Bills made the playoffs last year with a 9-7 record, the first time Buffalo made the postseason in 17 years. But Buffalo also has plenty of areas of need to address.
What are the biggest areas of concern for head coach Sean McDermott?
In this writer’s opinion, the Bills should once and for all address their quarterback of the future (just hopefully not by trading away all of that draft capital to move up), then focus on shoring up their offensive line, which was a glaring weakness with Vladimir Ducasse and Jordan Mills seeing significant time there in 2017.
Next up: draft a middle linebacker to replace Preston Brown, and add perhaps another linebacker to compliment Lorenzo Alexander and Matt Milano.
I would then add one (perhaps two) of this draft’s talented wide receivers to complement Kelvin Benjamin, Zay Jones, and Jeremy Kerley, providing AJ McCarron (or the prized rookie Buffalo drafts this year) with enough weapons to succeed in the passing game.
Then, I would address the glaring need at slot cornerback left by the departure of Leonard Johnson. I just don’t think Phillip Gaines is talented enough to be an impact player, and picking up a slot corner would be a wise investment of a draft pick.
After that, I would add depth to the defensive end rotation, add another swing man to the offensive line, and pick up another cornerback to back up Tre’Davious White and Vontae Davis.
All of this is attainable IF the Bills don’t trade away the farm to move into the top 5 of the draft.