Peter King of The MMQB published his 2016 NFL mock draft on Monday, and in it, he included some interesting language regarding the Buffalo Bills and the No. 19 overall pick.
"Some in the NFL are convinced the Bills will consider Christian Hackenberg here," King writes, "not so much because of the Penn State roots of the owner (Terry Pegula) but because some in the organization are convinced that Hackenberg, with the proper training, can be a good NFL player."
King did not, however, project Hackenberg to the Bills in the Top 20; instead, he gave them another polarizing prospect, defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche of Mississippi. He has also since been quick to reiterate that he does not actually believe that the Bills would take Hackenberg that early.
Still, the rhetoric exists, and has for quite a while. The Pegula-Penn State link had been established well before the pre-draft process even began, and we're roughly five weeks removed from the Bills sending a lot of people to take in Hackenberg's pro day workout. The team is also clearly content to let the league think they're in on the quarterback market, given the number of prospects they've been linked to, and the frequency with which that information has come forth.
In all likelihood, the Bills are happy to let these reports fester simply to drive up trade interest in the No. 19 pick. If this post helps them in that endeavor, we are only too happy to publish it. For now, let's play our part and discuss this as a genuine possibility, shall we? Dan Lavoie's Hackenberg scouting report may be of interest to you, as well.