Buffalo Bills: A bold prediction for Ed Oliver in 2019
The Buffalo Bills stayed put in the 2019 NFL Draft and got a top player as a result. He will hopefully end up doing great things in 2019.
There is a much different feeling in 2019 than there was in 2018. Specifically, the feeling following the NFL Draft.
Taking a quarterback is always a monumental moment and the Buffalo Bills did just that last year. It put great expectations upon the shoulders of Josh Allen and got fans arguing about whether he sucked or whether he was the savior the city needs. Everyone had a strong opinion.
This year is different in that the Bills drafted a defensive player.
The selection of Ed Oliver was well-received and it is hard to find any real hot takes on the move. There won’t be daily analysis of his every move in practice and unless he is just miserable on the field, the average fan won’t be able to critique him as much as a quarterback.
The other difference is that Oliver was considered an easy choice at No. 9 overall. In fact, he was the obvious choice. That was different with Allen as he could have easily slid much further in the draft.
So with all that said, some have big expectations for Oliver. Dan Parr of NFL.com wrote an article that picked favorites for Rookie of the Year honors and he had Oliver at the top.
From the article:
"The ninth overall pick — he should not have fallen that far — is going to help the underrated Bills defense get the respect it deserves. He will wreck shop from the three-technique position, and defensive guru Sean McDermott is the right guy to get the most out of him. He isn’t exactly Aaron Donald 2.0, but he might not be too far off."
Oliver is followed by Devin Bush, Nick Bosa and Kyler Murray, respectively.
Next. Way-too-early 2019 offensive line predictions. dark
It is entirely possible that Oliver isn’t a great player. But this time of year is reserved for opinions and the vast majority of fans have nothing bad to say about Oliver. Unlike Allen, he won’t have to prove he is worthy of his draft slot. He just needs to do his job and based on his abilities, he will do it well.