Buffalo Bills First Round BuffaLowDown Draft Grade
By Joe Sarro
The Buffalo Bills added another piece to the puzzle on Thursday night when adding Clemson’s Shaq Lawson to the team’s impressive defensive line tandem.
Lawson was projected to go somewhere in the middle of the first round, but Buffalo never thought he would make it to the 19th selection in the NFL Draft.
“Very few times that you can go in the draft and have a very big need and that guy there, standing out like a sore thumb, is the guy you want and the guy that fills that need,” General Manager Doug Whaley told The Buffalo News. “So we’re extremely excited to have Shaq Lawson. We never thought he’d drop to us at number 19 and when it got closer and got closer, we all said, “Let’s keep our mouths shut.”
The Bills definitely had their fair share of weapons to choose from last night. Both of the Alabama standout defensive tackles in Jarran Reed and A’Shawn Robinson were still on the board. Top rated linebackers Myles Jack and Reggie Ragland. And most expert’s favorite pick to the Bills, Robert Nkemdiche was still awaiting in the Green Room.
Buffalo opted to select a standout, big bodied pass rusher to mesh with Rex Ryan’s defensive scheme that hopes to get back to their old defensive days.
The Buffalo Bills are earning high regards for selecting the Clemson defensive end in last night’s first round, leading to BuffaLowDown giving the front office a high grade:
A – Lawson isn’t the type of dominant player that Mario Williams was, but he is a good find and has great value at the 19th selection. Lawson will open up space for Jerry Hughes and Marcell Dareus on the defensive line because his strength is sought to be too much not to double team him.
Related Story: Buffalo Bills Select Shaq Lawson In 2016 NFL Draft
“He walks in, day one, starter opposite Jerry Hughes,” Whaley said. “So he can set the edge from the outside, he can rush with speed and power–and that gives us two nice rushers off the edge. And then you got the push in the middle with our defensive tackles, so I think this is, again, a guy that has the versatility like you said too. Also, when we go nickel or sub, he can go inside and use his quickness on those interior offensive linemen. So I know coach is ecstatic about it just because of what he brings. First day, coming in off the bus, he’s starting and his mind’s going crazy on different ways he can use him.”
The NFL Draft will continue with rounds 2 and 3 tonight starting at 7pm.