In his final 2016 NFL mock draft of the year, popular NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock sent Mississippi defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche to the Buffalo Bills with the No. 19 overall pick in the first round.
"Nkemdiche had as dominant an effort as I've seen vs. Alabama, but he disappears in other games," Mayock writes in explaining the selection. "He also has character concerns. So, how much does he fall? I've got him stopping at Rex Ryan. He'll get the most out of Nkemdiche."
The Bills parted ways with a flighty, driven-when-he-wants-to-be, disappears-too-often, yet supremely and uniquely talented defensive lineman earlier this offseason in Mario Williams. He proved to be a player that Ryan definitely could not coax the most out of. Nkemdiche is not Williams, but it's hard to imagine the Bills being okay with trading one such player for another, let alone trying to then sell that move to a highly skeptical fan base. But if drafted, that's what Nkemdiche would do - replace Williams in Buffalo's starting lineup.
Still, Nkemdiche's name was popular early in the pre-draft process for the Bills, and that trend seems to have come full circle. As unlikely as it may seem that the Bills will roll the dice on the 6'3", 294-pound lineman with an explosive first step and character concerns, it's looking like his is a name that fans won't be able to completely rule out until later this evening.