The Buffalo Bills were one of seven teams given the top grade in the NFL for their 2019 Draft class by Bleacher Report.
The Buffalo Bills under Brandon Beane continue to win the NFL Draft and for the second consecutive year had an excellent NFL Draft class. The 2019 edition was even given a grade of ‘A’ by Bleacher Report, which was one of seven teams to receive the top grade.
The Buffalo Bills selected eight players last year, starting with Ed Oliver in the first round. He started the season slow but finished strong with four of his five sacks coming in the final seven games of the season. He certainly looks like he will be a star in the middle of this defense.
After Oliver, the Bills selected Cody Ford out of Oklahoma. He went on to play a majority of the snaps at right tackle for this offense and while he didn’t have the most consistent season, he should remain a starter along this offensive line.
The Bills then had two third round picks and selected running back Devin Singletary and tight end Dawson Knox. Both of these players had slow starts to their rookie seasons due to injuries but both were starters by the end of the year. Singletary in particular had a breakout season with over 900 total yards from scrimmage, four total touchdowns and was tied for the league lead in yards per carry among running backs with over 150 carries.
As for Knox, he had flashes over the course of the season but wasn’t a consistent weapon in this offense. He has great athleticism for a tight end and should see his role expand in the coming years.
The remainder of the class didn’t make much of an impact as a rookie with Vosean Joseph (fifth round selection) spending the year on injured reserve and Jaquan Johnson (sixth round selection) played in 13 games but primarily on special teams.
The Bills wrapped up the NFL Draft with two seventh round selections with tight end Tommy Sweeney and defensive end Darryl Johnson. Sweeney looked like he was heading to a prominent role this season with all the injuries at tight end during training camp but finished the year with eight receptions for 114 yards.
As for Johnson, he played in all 16 games for the Bills and had 15 total tackles and one sack.
While, the Bills did hit on their first four picks and they saw significant playing time, the Bills got production from seven of their eight picks. This is rather impressive and the Bills absolutely deserved the grade they got from Bleacher Report.