The Buffalo Bills trade back in the first round in Pro Football Focus’ recent two-round mock draft.
The NFL Draft has been an exciting time for the Buffalo Bills, mainly due to the fact that Brandon Beane isn’t afraid to make a trade or two over the three days. In 2018, he made the biggest jump when he went all the way up to seven to select Josh Allen.
This year, the Bills don’t have a pressing need so they are likely to trade back in the first round instead of trading up. This is why it makes sense that Pro Football Focus would have them trade back and try to acquire additional assets.
In this recent mock draft, the Bills trade with the Detroit Lions and move back from 22nd to 26th. The Lions moved up to select quarterback Jordan Love and the Bills get a big wide receiver with Baylor’s Denzel Mims at 26.
"26. BUFFALO BILLS (VIA DETROIT LIONS VIA MIAMI DOLPHINS VIA HOUSTON TEXANS) — WR DENZEL MIMS, BAYLORThe Bills can afford to accumulate more picks by moving back in the draft with how deep this receiving class is. Mims’ highlight-reel catch ability and physicality in contested situations is something the Bills do not have currently. His 20 contested catches in 2019 were the second most in college football."
Mims is an intriguing player who has great size, which the Bills would covet, at 6’3″ and was highly productive at Baylor. He had over 2,900 receiving yards and 28 receiving touchdowns in his final three years.
In the second round, PFF has the Bills selecting cornerback Darnay Holmes out of UCLA.
"54. BUFFALO BILLS – CB DARNAY HOLMES, UCLAHolmes is lightning quick and won’t back down from any receiver. He’s also only 5-foot-10, 192 pounds with sub-31-inch arms and won’t be a fit on the outside for most man heavy teams. The good news is that’s not Sean McDermott’s style of defense. Holmes’ instincts for the position would be well suited in Buffalo."
This is certainly an interesting selection because while cornerback could potentially be a need by the time the NFL Draft rolls around, it seems hard to believe that the Buffalo Bills would pass up on running back J.K. Dobbins out of Ohio State. He was picked seven picks after the Bills by the Tennessee Titans at 61.
While the Bills do have Devin Singletary, who had an excellent rookie season, they could use some added depth. Dobbins has all the tools to be a top running back in this league and could be a perfect compliment to what Singletary is able to do. The Buffalo Bills’ offense would benefit from having both of these running backs in their backfield.