BuffaLowDown
Fansided

Buffalo Bills: Re-drafting every pick from the 2019 NFL Draft

By Kendall Mirsky

Buffalo Bills rookie Ed Oliver fights through a block to tackle Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay.Jg 112419 Bills 6
Buffalo Bills rookie Ed Oliver fights through a block to tackle Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay.Jg 112419 Bills 6 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 9
Next
Buffalo Bills
Dec 19, 2020; Denver, Colorado, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary (26) scores a touchdown against the Denver Broncos during the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports /

Round 3 – Pick 74 overall

Original Selection: Devin Singletary

Re-Draft Selection: Terry McLaurin

Heading into the 2019 offseason, the writing was on the wall in regards to the future of LeSean McCoy in Buffalo. He had given the Bills plenty of production, but his cap hit was just too much to hold onto for a general manager like Brandon Beane who likes to optimize sustainable returns on investment. McCoy was on the wrong side of 30 years old with a large cap hit and no sign that his production was trending upwards.

Subsequently, draft analysts were projecting the Bills to take a running back in the 2019 draft. The Bills ended up selecting Devin Singletary with the 74th overall pick with hopes that McCoy could mentor him in training camp given their similar running styles. When Singletary had an impressive training camp and preseason, it was enough reason for the Bills to cut ties with McCoy.

Although Darrell Henderson and David Montgomery were taken just before the Bills, there was one running back that was still on the board for the Bills at 74th overall, this being the current Patriots running back Damien Harris. While Harris didn’t do much in his rookie season, he was graded as the 2nd best running back by Pro Football Focus in 2020, trailing only Derrick Henry. If the Bills had a redo on the 2019 NFL Draft there is a solid chance they would elect to take Harris over Singletary with the 74th overall selection.

However, it may have been smartest for the Bills to avoid moving on from McCoy for just one more year. Heading into the season with Frank Gore and LeSean McCoy leading the running back room is not a bad thing, the only concern was that they were both on the wrong side of 30 years old.

The best option for the Bills to select at 74th overall in this hypothetical re-draft is Terry McLaurin. With John Brown, Cole Beasley, Robert Foster, and Zay Jones leading the receiver room heading into the draft, McLaurin would have given the Bills a young stud with solid potential moving forward that the Bills did not have at the time.

Home/Bills Draft