The Buffalo Bills are on the clock in the 2021 SB Nation NFL Writers Mock Draft! With 29 picks up and 29 picks down, the Bills are finally in a position to add to their squad. As the general manager of Buffalo Rumblings, I have Dan Lavoie and Andrew “Grif” Griffin in the room with Bruce Nolan on the phone.
Here are the first 29 picks:
- Jacksonville Jaguars - Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
- New York Jets - Zach Wilson, QB, Brigham Young
- San Francisco 49ers (from Houston Texans through Miami Dolphins) - Justin Fields, QB,
- Atlanta Falcons - Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
- Cincinnati Bengals - Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU
- Miami Dolphins (from Philadelphia Eagles) - Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
- Detroit Lions - Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon
- Carolina Panthers - Rashawn Slater, OT Northwestern
- Denver Broncos - Micah Parsons,LB, Penn State
- Dallas Cowboys - Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama
- New York Giants - Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama
- Philadelphia Eagles (from San Francisco 49ers through Miami Dolphins) - Devonta Smith, WR, Alabama
- Los Angeles Chargers - Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina
- Minnesota Vikings - Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech
- New England Patriots - Mac Jones, QB, Alabama
- Arizona Cardinals - Jaelen Phillips, DE, Miami
- Las Vegas Raiders - Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC
- Miami Dolphins - Najee Harris, RB, Alabama
- Washington Football Team - Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky
- Chicago Bears - Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State
- Indianapolis Colts - Kwity Paye, DE, Michigan
- Tennessee Titans - Rashad Bateman, WR, Minnesota
- New York Jets (from Seattle Seahawks) - Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech
- Pittsburgh Steelers - Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa
- Jacksonville Jaguars (from Los Angeles Rams) - Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama
- Cleveland Browns - Azeez Ojulari, OLB, Georgia
- Baltimore Ravens - Terrance Marshall, Jr., WR, LSU
- New Orleans Saints - Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, OLB, Notre Dame
- Green Bay Packers - Greg Newsome, CB, Northwestern
A run in the last few picks has really dwindled our options as Azeez Ojulari, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and Greg Newsome were all selected in the last four picks. As the run was happening, we offered the Green Bay Packers a trade to ensure we could land Newsome, who stood out as the top player on our board after Owusu-Koramoah was selected at 28 overall.
But the Packers said no, so we would really prefer to trade out of this spot. All of our top prospects are gone, and falling back into the top of the second round while picking up some ammunition for a later trade up might get us two of our second-tier players instead of one.
But in the rules of our SB Nation mock draft, we have to make the pick at 30. With that, we went with a consensus player. He was the top player left on Grif’s board, and was on the short lists of Dan and Bruce. None of us really loved the pick, though, nor the way this board fell for Buffalo.
Asante Samuel, Jr., CB, Florida State
The Bills get a player they can put opposite Tre’Davious White for the next four or five years on a team-controlled contract and instantly upgrade over former UDFA Levi Wallace and late-round pick Dane Jackson. Samuel is much more talented, creating a superior coverage unit with Wallace and Jackson in reserve roles.
Two of the biggest problems in the 2020 playoffs were lack of pass rush and lack of coverage ability and we addressed one now, while looking to the second round to address the other. Several of our tier two defensive ends remain on the board, but we’re trying to trade up at some point.