Buffalo Bills: Revisiting the underwhelming 2016 NFL Draft class
By Daniel Bruce
Round 2, 41st Overall: Reggie Ragland, LB (Alabama)
The Buffalo Bills traded up from pick 49 to grab the star linebacker out of Alabama, who saw a draft day fall all the way into the mid-second round where the Bills grabbed him.
Reggie Ragland was a very limited player, was very slow footed and would have been the Ryans “thumper” in his two middle linebacker sets. The linebacker missed the entire 2016 season with a torn ACL.
When the promising linebacker was back healthy for the 2017 season, Buffalo had a new regime in and were now running a 4-3 base defense, relying on athletic linebackers to cover especially in sub-packages. With the subpar speed of Ragland who ran a 4.72 40-yard dash at the combine, he was not a fit in Buffalo anymore. Beane quickly traded Ragland in August of 2017 for a 2019 fourth-round pick and Ragland would never play a regular season snap for the Bills.
Ragland has carved out a solid career for himself with the Kansas City Chiefs where he has spent the last three seasons, appearing in 42 games and starting 32 of them. The athletically limited linebacker was never going to work out in Buffalo after the coaching change but has found a successful role on a defense that can support his role.