FanSided NFL Mock Draft: Buffalo Bills Bolster Receiving Core

FanSided just finished their annual FS community mock draft and the Buffalo Bills ended up selecting with the 10th overall pick.

For those of you that aren’t aware, BuffaLowDown is owned by FanSided — a network of over 350 blogs. Last year, they brought together all 32 local sites in the NFL division for a community mock draft. They brought it back this year, with me — Ryan Brennan — acting as general manager for the Buffalo Bills.

Going through the NFL Draft order for the first round, each “acting GM” got to make their selection and give a brief explanation why they chose that. With the mock draft now complete, I would like to run you through my thought process as it was going on.

First off, let’s point out who I was hoping to get. My first choice would’ve been a linebacker to replace the hole left by Zach Brown, with that linebacker being Reuben Foster. He would immediately bolster the Buffalo Bills‘ defense, but I knew there was no way he would be available.

My second choice would’ve been a defensive back, but I was really only interested in Jamal Adams or Marshon Lattimore. Adams would not only eliminate a lot of short-yardage passing plays, sreen plays and opposing tight ends, but would also stop the run at a high rate. Lattimore would fill the hole left by Stephon Gilmore from day one and would be a versatile option for Sean McDermott.

My third choice would’ve been a player to give Tyrod Taylor a boost in the passing game. Obviously, three names stood out in that category — Corey Davis, O.J. Howard and Mike Williams.

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When the mock draft began, I was positive my first choice wouldn’t work, hopeful my second choice would work and knew that my third choice would most likely be the way I was going.

It only took two picks for my first choice to go, with the San Francisco 49ers selecting Reuben Foster with the 2nd overall pick (Myles Garrett went No. 1). Now, I was keeping my fingers crossed for my second choice to stay on the board.

Two more picks go by and I’m still good, with the Chicago Bears choosing Jonathan Allen and the Jacksonville Jaguars drafting Solomon Thomas. Unfortunately, the next three picks completely screwed me up.

With the 5th pick, the Tennessee Titans (via LA Rams) selected Corey Davis — he was the receiver I wanted over Williams and Howard. With the 6th pick, the New York Jets chose Marshon Lattimore. Then, the Los Angeles Chargers chose Jamal Adams with the 7th overall pick.

That was a rough patch right there, but seeing the Jets take Lattimore got me thinking, “man, we need a receiver badly now.”

The Panthers were up next, choosing Leonard Fournette, which was a breath of fresh air for me. With one pick before the Buffalo Bills were up, two of my top choices were available. At this point, I’m raving over Howard, but would settle for Williams given the fact that he would come in day one and produce better than any other receiver in this class.

MUST READ: O.J. Howard a Sensible Pick at No. 10

The Bengals with the 9th pick ended up bumming me out a little bit, since they selected O.J. Howard. Luckily, I didn’t feel that bad knowing I had Mike Williams on the board. It didn’t take me long before I made my final decision and chose the dominant receiver out of Clemson.

Here’s the reasoning I gave to FanSided:

"With the 10th pick in the draft, the Buffalo Bills select Mike Williams out of Clemson. A depleted receiving core limited Tyrod Taylor and the Buffalo Bills to just the 30th ranked passing attack in the NFL last season. Although that was paired with the No. 1 rushing attack, it wasn’t enough to end the dreadful 17-year playoff drought that’s currently eating at fans everywhere. Mike Williams is the receiver in this draft class that will likely produce the most from day one. He will need to work on his route-running, headwork and footwork to help create space between him and the defender because Tyrod Taylor has struggled finding receivers in the past. The good news is, Williams is the type of receiver that will catch anything thrown at him. Whether it’s high, low, behind, it doesn’t matter. His hands, coordination and ability to track the ball are incredible and should give Taylor a bit of confidence when dropping back. You also can’t ignore the fact that Mike Williams would be lining up across from Sammy Watkins. Opposing teams would be watching both players closely, but won’t be able to double-team both of them. It makes for a hard decision on the defense, but an easy one for the offense — get Williams or Watkins the ball. Mike Williams will be the boost this passing offense has needed and could be the tool Tyrod Taylor needs to become an elite quarterback. When you have two ‘No. 1’ receivers on your squad… that’s Playoff Caliber. Plus, the Bills need to make Stephon Gilmore look foolish next season and what better way than send a rookie to do it."

Do you agree with my pick?

Given that Myles Garrett, Reuben Foster, Jonathan Allen, Solomon Thomas, Corey Davis, Marshon Lattimore, Jamal Adams, Leonard Fournette and OJ Howard were off the board, who would you select if you were the Buffalo Bills‘ GM?

Next: Should Buffalo Attempt to Snag Deshaun Watson?

Leave your thoughts below!

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