The Buffalo Bills have a lot of young talent and one former first-round pick made an elite list looking at the best young players in the NFL.
The Buffalo Bills have a problem with retaining first-round picks.
Shaq Lawson was taken in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft and is fighting for a future with the team. After that we have Tre’Davious White, Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds and Ed Oliver as the other homegrown first-round picks still with the team.
There is other young talent on the team but an organization can turn things around much faster if they hit on the top picks.
Things look promising as of right now when it comes to White and beyond. Those four slot in at four key positions and will hopefully be around for a minimum of two contracts each.
Sean Wagner-McGough of CBS Sports recently shared his list of the top 25 NFL players under the age of 25 and the Bills had one player make the list.
That was White, who came in at No. 22 overall.
From the article:
"Over the past two seasons, he’s picked off six passes, defended away 26 passes, and made 97 solo tackles. He didn’t grade out as well last season by PFF’s standards, but his overall body of work through two years makes him a worthy selection. As the Bills’ team website noted after the season, citing PFF, “White allowed just 0.68 yards per coverage snap this season, the fourth-lowest rate amongst all eligible cornerbacks.”"
White has lived up to his draft slot and will hopefully be a staple on the outside for years to come. He is helped in the secondary by another young guy in Levi Wallace. With Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer roaming behind, this secondary is one that should be feared by opposing offenses.
White has had two years to build a nice resume so I imagine that players like Oliver, Allen and Edmunds have a great shot to make this list next year.
At that point White will be too old and hopefully we will be talking about how he lived up to his potential and was rewarded by going to the Pro Bowl.