Mocking The Bills: The Buffalo Rumblings staff weigh in with their picks for the Buffalo Bills

The 2020 NFL Draft is less than one week away, and it is time for the staff at Buffalo Rumblings to weigh in with their mock draft picks for the Buffalo Bills. Check out the second and third round selections from the team here, and be sure to share your own mock draft picks in the comments section below.

Max Owens

Round 2, Pick 54 - Trevon Diggs CB (Alabama)
The Bills go out and get the brother of wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Trevon just so happens to be a perfect fit for head coach Sean McDermott’s zone scheme defense and he’s a mauler in press coverage.

Round 3, Pick 86 - Cam Akers RB (FSU)
Akers forms an impressive tandem with Devin Singletary for years to come. Akers is one of the most impressive combinations of power and explosion in this year’s draft class. If he ran behind a better offensive line, he would be going much higher than this.

Andrew Griffin

Round 2, Pick 54 - John Simpson OG (Clemson)
Round 3, Pick 84 - Alton Robinson DE (Syracuse)

Following the free-agency period, Buffalo still has more work to do along the trenches. Both selections are physical presences at their positions and have the talent to walk in and take significant snaps for the team. With more development, both could become starters with a year of work.

Sean Murphy

Round 2, Pick 54 - Bryce Hall CB (Virginia)
Yes, I’m well aware that Buffalo had a top-five defense and a middle-of-the-pack offense in 2019. But while the team has already added a young, top-end talent to that offense in receiver Stefon Diggs, they’ve relied on veterans on short-term contracts to shore up the defense. Frankly, I don’t trust the CB conglomerate of Levi Wallace, Josh Norman, and E.J. Gaines that Buffalo currently has on the roster, and Hall has the length and potential to be an elite complement across from Tre’Davious White in Buffalo’s zone-heavy scheme.

Round 3, Pick 86 - Bradlee Anae EDGE (Utah)
In Anae, the Bills add a high-energy young gun to the team’s effective, but old, stable of pass rushers. While I agree that the team needs to add a running back (and think that they could with either of these picks), I’d rather see them wait until the fourth round on someone like Anthony McFarland to complement Devin Singletary.

Kurt Haumesser

Round 2, Pick 54 - Jaylon Johnson CB (Utah)
After Tre’Davious White, the Bills have a true competition for the number-two corner. Third-year corner, Levi Wallace will have to fight newly added Josh Norman for that spot, and things could get more complicated if Buffalo goes with Johnson at pick 54. Johnson has first-round talent and elite-level cornerback potential. If it weren’t for surgery in March, the first-team All-Pac-12 corner would be going top 32 for sure. If the Bills are lucky enough to have Johnson fall to them at 54, the already-elite secondary could take another step forward.

Round 3, Pick 86 - Chase Claypool WR (Notre Dame)
Yes, the Bills added superstar receiver Stefon Diggs this offseason, but this offense is one bad hit on Diggs away from having the same offense as last season. Also, even with the addition of Diggs, this wide receiver corps is still lacking one thing; height. Claypool stands 6’4” and 238 lbs, but runs a 4.42 40-yard dash. He is also the second wide receiver over 6’4” and more than 235 lbs to run a sub 4.45 40-yard dash. The other receiver on that list? Calvin Johnson. Not saying he will be Johnson, but adding a big-body receiver for Allen to work with and more offensive fire power is just what the doctor ordered for this team.

Dan Lavoie

Round 2, pick 54 - Trevon Diggs CB (Alabama)
Given Buffalo’s current slate of needs (RB, CB, EDGE, S/LB, backup WR/OL), Diggs makes a ton of sense. Obviously, he’d get to play with his brother. A 6’1” 205-lb corner with long arms, Diggs has only played the position for three years after converting from receiver. His ball skills and physicality are promising traits, but he needs to improve his tackling. Out of the talent on the board, I’ll bet on an unseasoned player at a premium position over some of the others in less valuable positions or with histories of injuries.

Round 3, pick 80 - Cam Akers RB (Florida State)
In Round 3, the running back need starts to stick out like a sore thumb. If I were the Bills, I’d package our 3rd and 5th for the first of two back-to-back Las Vegas Raiders picks, moving up six spots to select Akers. He’s just outside my top tier of running backs, and in some ways the opposite of Devin Singletary—all kinds of physical talent, but a real lack of vision thanks to his terrible offensive system. He gives the Bills a reliable short-yardage runner with the upside to break big plays on a regular basis.

Matt B (TheAfghanTwilight)

Round 2, pick 54 - A.J. Epenesa DE (Iowa)
Yes, the Bills have many needs across their roster but, to me, none is more glaring than at the defensive end spot, where youth is not on its side Jerry Hughes turns 32 this August and the newly signed Mario Addison will be 33 Week 1 of the 2020 season. Even Trent Murphy will be 30 by the end of the regular season. If Epenesa is there, he must be Buffalo’s pick, even if there’s always room for another defensive back. Epenesa should fit the Bills’ 4-3 personnel well, being listed at 6’6” and 280 lbs. He possesses an ability to play either inside or outside on the d-line—something we’re all well aware the Bills covet. If Epenesa drops to the second round here, the Bills should be very excited—and very motivated to draft him.

Round 3, pick 86 - Chase Claypool WR (Notre Dame)
That dream of longing for a wide receiver with potential to outmatch coverages is still alive and well with Bills fans. Make no mistake, Buffalo will draft a wide receiver this month. It just so happens that Chase Claypool would fill a role occupied by no one other than Duke Williams. Claypool is a match-up nightmare at 6’4” and 238 lbs, and he’s explosive to boot with a 4.42 40-yard dash in shorts and a 40.5” vertical jump (matching one DK Metcalf). Speaking of Metcalf, I say this is a case of fool me once, shame on me, yada yada. The Bills absolutely needed someone of Metcalf’s pedigree last season, and Claypool is of a very similar mold.

John Boccacino

Round 2, pick 54 - Terrell Lewis EDGE (Alabama)
While the Bills brought in Mario Addison to bolster the pass rush, this is one of the team’s few glaring needs. While he played outside linebacker for the Crimson Tide, Lewis excels as a stand-up edge rusher with a quick first step who should slide in nicely at defensive end. As long as the Bills do their homework on his health (Lewis missed most of 2017 and all of 2018), Lewis is a great fit as a disruptive pass rusher who could (eventually) replace Jerry Hughes.

Round 3, pick 86 - John Simpson G (Clemson)
With left guard Quinton Spain returning on a team-friendly three-year contract, the Bills will bring back all five offensive line starters from 2019. While there isn’t a glaring need on the o-line (yet), that could change, especially inside, where right guard Jon Feliciano is entering the final year of his contract. Despite a nagging ankle injury, Simpson earned second-team All-American honors during his senior season. Simpson is also a former high school state wrestling champion, just like 2018 third-round selection Harrison Phillips. During his tenure as head coach, Sean McDermott, who won a national wrestling championship in high school, has stated how he respects the mental toughness required by wrestlers.

Max Liebel

Round 2, pick 54 - Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB (LSU)
Helaire was somewhat of an unsung hero on an LSU roster with nothing but stars. He’s a do-it-all back who accounted for more than 2000 all-purpose yards in 2019, rushing for 1400 yards and catching 55 passes while also returning kicks for the Tigers. The Bills are looking for a backfield mate for Devin SIngletary and they needn’t look further than Edwards-Helaire.

Round 3, pick 86 - Bradlee Anae, EDGE (Utah)
The Bills addressed some pass rush needs, bringing in Mario Addison this offseason. However both Addison and Jerry Hughes are in their 30s and will eventually need replacing. Anae is a high-motor player who plays both the run and the pass well. Anae accounted for 13 sacks in 2019 and had three years with double-digit tackles for loss. Should Anae fall to 86, the Bills could get themselves a future star.

Matt Warren

Round 2, pick 47 - Terrell Lewis EDGE (Alabama)
I am 100% convinced general manager Brandon Beane is going to be itchy to trade up and get a player who’s falling with a high ceiling. That is the definition of Lewis in the NFL Draft Simulator mock I ran. There is a dropoff after Lewis for me and he was available for a cheap trade, as Buffalo sent their second- and fourth-round picks to leap ahead of the New York Jets. He has a year to develop his game before he’ll be asked to play a starter’s role. Former NFL defensive lineman Stephen White compared him to Von Miller, but only if he can stay healthy, and that’s what’s driven him down draft boards.

Round 3, pick 77 - Cam Akers RB (Florida State)
Virginia CB Bryce Hall is also available here in my simulation, and while I really wanted to add a cornerback in the first four rounds, the need at running back trumps the long-term need at cornerback. (Plus Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier have proven they can find CBs to plug and go.) I traded up to get one of my top handful of RBs. But now I’ve spent my first four picks on my first two players. I don’t have another pick until the sixth round after sending the third- and fifth-round picks to get up to 77.

Anthony Marino

Round 2, pick 52 - Laviska Shenault, Jr. WR (Colorado)
Injury concerns have Shenault dropping to the second round on many draft boards, making him an intriguing pick for the Bills. The trade for Stefon Diggs can give the rookie receiver time to recover from a recent core muscle injury that limited his participation at the NFL Combine. Shenault is a dynamic talent and could fall into Brandon Beane’s lap on day two of the draft

Round 3, pick 86 - Zack Moss, RB (Utah)
The Bills are in need of a back who can complement Devin Singletary, and Moss is a perfect fit. He brings a blend of size and agility to the game, and is a threat catching the ball out of the backfield. Buffalo needs to add playmakers on offense, and Moss would make an immediate impact during his rookie season.