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Buffalo Bills mock draft after second wave of free agency

By Kendall Mirsky

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Ed Oliver is drafted ninth overall by the Buffalo Bills on day 1 of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Ed Oliver is drafted ninth overall by the Buffalo Bills on day 1 of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /
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LINCOLN, NE – NOVEMBER 29: Wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette #6 of the Iowa Hawkeyes returns a kick for a touchdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE – NOVEMBER 29: Wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette #6 of the Iowa Hawkeyes returns a kick for a touchdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

After making that trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1st round, I no longer have a 7th round draft pick. That means that this 6th round draft pick at 213th overall is the last Buffalo Bills selection in this mock draft.

Without any true holes on the roster, the easiest way for a 6th round draft pick to make the 53 man roster is through special teams contributions. After losing last year’s kick returner, Andre Roberts, to the Houston Texans in free agency, the Buffalo Bills re-signed Isaiah McKenzie. However, McKenzie is more comfortable handling punt returns than kicks.

It’s obvious after hosting some players for visits and signing a player like Brandon Powell, that the Buffalo Bills aren’t ready to just hand the return responsibilities off to McKenzie. That is why I selected former Iowa wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette with this 6th round pick.

Additionally, we already know that the Buffalo Bills are interested in Smith-Marsette as a prospect because they held an interview with him during this pre-draft process. At the time of the interview, the Bills had just cut John Brown and hadn’t re-signed McKenzie yet. This initially made me think that Smith-Marsette could have a chance to compete for the gadget weapon role in the Buffalo offense on top of his ability to return kicks. Averaging over 28 yards per kick return on 53 attempts is legit collegiate production and could earn Smith-Marsette a chance to compete with McKenzie and others for the kick returner role in 2021.

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