The Buffalo Bills are in a bit of uncharted territory when the NFL Draft takes place later this month. For the first time in franchise history, they will be picking 30th overall and this is the latest they have ever had their first selection be in the first round.
While the hope is that teams find impact players early in the NFL Draft, when teams are picking this late they are able to gamble a little more or find those players that have some risk but also have considerable upside. This is because these teams usually have deep rosters with not many glaring weaknesses.
For the Buffalo Bills, they are certainly in that position and there is one player that if he falls would be a great selection, even with the risks associated. That player is Virginia Tech’s cornerback Caleb Farley.
In terms of physical traits, Farley is everything a team would want from their cornerback and would be a sure-fire Top 10 pick. At 6’2″ and 197 pounds, he has the size to compete with almost any wide receiver on the outside. Even though he didn’t have much experience at the position (he played quarterback in high school), he didn’t look like he was new to cornerback with six interceptions and 19 passes defended in 23 games.
The reason that he could even be in the discussion for the Bills at 30 is that he does have a pretty lengthy injury history in a short period of time. He suffered a torn ACL in 2017, then dealt with back spasms in 2019 that forced him to miss two games. It was recently reported that Farley would be having back surgery and not participating in any more workouts before the NFL Draft.
All indications are that the back surgery is not too serious but combined with the other injuries, on top of sitting out all of last season due to pandemic, some teams will likely be concerned with durability.
For the Buffalo Bills, they certainly will need to discuss this but if they are comfortable with it, a player like Caleb Farley could really change this defense. The outside cornerback position opposite Tre’Davious White has been a weakness for a few seasons now but a player like Farley could be a long-term solution that gives this defense two really good corners on the outside.
They are also well-equipped to handle any absence from Farley with players like Dane Jackson and Levi Wallace. In the end, it certainly would be a gamble taking a player like Caleb Farley in the first round but if he is available when the Bills are on the clock, the reward would outweigh the risk by selecting him.