Bills Mock Draft: Rut Roh

Bills trade the #9 pick to the Rams for the #13 pick and additional 3rd round pick

1st) CJ Mosley LB from Roll Tide

What is better than one Kiko? Two Kiko’s! The Bills start it out by getting a stud linebacker that can go with Kiko Alonso. Mosley was the leader of the Alabama defense last year, calling out plays and making sure everyone was aligned properly. He is also very good against the run and has very good coverage skills. Right away he slides into the SLB position and gives the Bills one of the better linebacking corps in the NFL. Plus if Spikes goes back to New England next year (the chip BB implanted in him will turn back on), CJ can move inside.

Bills trade their 2nd and #55 pick to the Saints for the #27 pick

1b) Kelvin Benjamin WR from FSU

The Bills trade back into the 1st and get their big target. Benjamin stands at a massive 6’5 240 with only 4% body fat. While he might not be the fastest player in the world he is a long strider and once he gets moving, he can’t be stopped, and he is a tank when that happens. Some question his hands but here is a good article about his hands and how most of his drops were concentration drops which is very coachable. There are questions about his route running but in fact he is a better route runner then he is given credit for. Evidence of this is when he breaks someone’s ankles. What KB gives the Bills is someone  who can win the jump ball, be that guy who can go up and get it, as well be a potential WR/TE hybrid. Plus he has a very good connection with EJ from playing together at FSU which means no awkward period.

3rd) Antonio “Tiny” Richardson OT from Tennessee

Continuing with the theme of building around Manuel, the Bills go and address the RT position with Tiny Richardson. Standing at 6’6 336, Tiny is the type of big lineman that HC Doug Marrone is looking for. While he might be raw in his technique particularly in the pass blocking game, he is very good in the run game which would help out FredEx and Spiller. With the Bills giving up 48 sacks last year with a lot of those coming from the RT position, Tiny would be a clear upgrade and along with top-10 LT Cordy Glenn would give the Bills two solid players at the tackle position.

4th) James Gayle DE from Virginia Tech

Bills go back on defense and get an edge rusher in Gayle. Considered to be a promising player after his sophomore year in 2011, Gayle has kind of been a disappointment since as he never lived up to the hype. He is a good edge rusher that has some ability against the run and coverage.  He lacks many pass rushing moves outside the bull rush but hopefully Pepper Johnson can help him out there. At the moment he would be a 3rd down pass rusher as he develops his game against the run and be a more complete end. But at the very least he gives good depth.

 

5th) Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff OT from McGill

Considered the greatest Canadian Prospect of Canadian history, Tardiff is considered the #1 pick in the CFL but he more than likely will go to the NFL where he will be paid more. Big tackle at 6’5 321 he is raw in technique but has lots of upside. He can compete with Tiny for the starting RT position and can if needed kick inside to guard. A very versatile and very talented prospect that the Bills would love to have.

7th) Antonio Andrews RB from Western Kentucky

Bills round out the draft with a RB. Andrews stands at 5’10 225 and his last year ran for 1,730 yaqrds and 16 TDs. He is a power back in that he does his damage running up the guy and lacks the speed to be a home run threat. Decent pass blocker and a special teamer, Andrews will be a back that can be groomed to be the feature back in case Spiller or FredEx leaves.

On the defensive side of the ball I got a stud linebacker in Mosley and a good edge rusher in Gayle, both of which will help an already good front seven/defense get better. But the main focus of this draft was on offense. I got the Tank in Kelvin Benjamin, someone EJ can lob a ball up in the air and be pretty confident it will be caught. I also invested in the line by getting two good prospects that can battle it out for the RT position and in Tardiff have another potential guard. I also added a high upside RB that could potentially be a feature back. With the defense already good , this draft was focused mainly on the offense and to make it better which after this draft plus the 2nd year jump by key players will mean it is.