Despite their disappointing post-season elimination in the AFC Divisional Qualifiers, the Buffalo Bills appear to be just a point or two away from the Super Bowl contenders. Although the Bills returned mostly to last year’s 13-3 team, some other roster adjustments are needed if they are to really compete with the Kansas City Captains and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here are the Bills’ three biggest concerns ahead of the draft:
1. Have they finished adding run back yet?
While Damien Harris is a solid addition to the RB room, he’s not exactly a comeback of the caliber and represents only a slight upgrade over Devin Singletary, who is currently in Houston. Buffalo hasn’t gone 1,000 yards since LeSean McCoy in 2017 and it could be argued that the lack of a reliable match was the team’s biggest flaw in the playoff loss to Cincinnati, which the team overcame. Bills 172 to 64 .
Recently, The Bills has been linked with both Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette, and both will be major upgrades over what the team had last year. Former NFL rush frontman Kareem Hunt is also present and will be a solid bridge for RB. Not many other big holes to fill, if Bijan Robinson of Texas is still there when Buffalo picks in 27th place, the team should overtake him. He’s the type of prospect that might even be worth a few positions to get.
2. Is now the time to invest in secondary?
Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde are 31 and 32 respectively, and it is unknown whether either of them will or will want to play after 2023. Despite some positive reports, Damar Hamlin’s competitive future remains uncertain. identify. Now might be the time to draft a young safety with plans to have him benched or play spare minutes before moving on to start in 2024.
Brian Branch of Alabama and Antonio Johnson of Texas A&M could be worth watching at the end of Round 1 if Robinson is no more. Branch is one of the best in the country in terms of outfield play and executive support while Johnson has one of the top safety coverage among Power 5 programs. Boise State’s JL Skinner, Alabama’s Jordan Battle, Florida State’s Jammie Robinson and Illinois’ Sydney Brown were also solid picks in the second and third rounds.
3. Is it better to get WR through draft or another route?
While Stefon Diggs has a contract until 2027, one has to wonder if his rush out of the locker room early after the Bengals loss and subsequently the Dallas Cowboys commercial speculation becomes a concern. . Also, Gabriel Davis is in the final year of his contract and he could opt for a free agent trial in 2024. So if the Bills were thinking of bolstering their WR room, now would be great time.
While Jordan Addison and Jaxon Smith-Njigba may be gone at 27, if TCU’s Quentin Johnston falls that far, he might be too good for Buffalo to pull through. If the Bills were all in a first-round WR, Boston University’s Zay Flowers, Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt and North Carolina’s Josh Downs would all be welcome additions alongside Diggs and Davis. Rashee Rice, Kayshon Boutte, Marvin Mims and Cedric Tillman could be possible picks on picks 59 or 91.
