Buffalo Bills: Draft Prospects in the East-West Shrine Game
By Daniel Hahn
Defensive Playmakers
The Buffalo Bills will be infusing some new talent on defense that will fit what McDermott deems as ‘his’ culture. Thus far what we know is that McDermott himself is detail-oriented, extremely hard-working (having been a walk-on in college and Andy Reid’s EA to start) and aggressive.
These guys will bring the attitude McDermott wants in the locker room and on the field.
East LB Andrew King – Army
2016 Stats: 97 tackles, 5 sacks, and 2 FF
What I like about Andrew King are the obvious intangibles.
A Captain of the Army team should speak highly of his character and leadership abilities. I do tend to favor captains when it comes to drafting because these were the leaders who had the most responsibility in college.
Give them a harder workload, but lesser in the NFL, they should be at an early advantage.
East CB Nate Hairston – Temple
2016 Stats: 25 tackles, and 2 INTs
Temple is starting to put together a nice string of late draft picks who make rosters and contribute on special teams. I put Hairston on this list because the Bills have already interviewed him at practices this week.
Hairston is only 6’0 tall, so he would need to be a slot DB and make special teams to make the Buffalo Bills’ roster.
East S Xavier Woods – Louisiana Tech
2016 Stats: 89 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 FF, and 5 INTs
The Bills have to address the Safety position. Corey Graham is getting older and Aaron Williams is no guarantee to make it through a full season.
Woods will add potential to be a smart playmaking safety that would serve as a ball-hawk. This Saturday, he needs to show how he breaks on the ball and whether or not he gets tricked by the quarterback’s eyes — or is he watching the WRs and making smart decisions?
West S Weston Steelhammer – Air Force
2016 Stats: 76 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF, and 7 INTs
Let’s start off with the obvious, that’s a name every fan who buys a jersey would want, right? Outside of one of the best names in the draft, Steelhammer will add another high character player.
Steelhammer did a bit of everything for Air Force this season, both in the run game and pass defense. I want to see how aggressive he is vs. the run on Saturday and if the West defense tries to disguise him.
At 6’2 he has the height the Buffalo Bills will want at Safety.