4 players who could be surprise first round picks for the Buffalo Bills

Kyle Hamilton, S (Notre Dame)

Kyle Hamilton is one of the top safety prospects in this year’s NFL draft. And while he likely does not leave the Top-10 of the draft, that does not necessarily mean he won’t end up a Buffalo Bill.

However, the Bills would have to make a leap up draft boards to select Hamilton, but that may be worth it to Buffalo. For the past four years, the safety tandem of Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde has been one of the best in the NFL, but it is time to start looking into the future. Poyer is entering the final year of his deal and likely will want big money, and Hyde will turn 32 during the next regular season.

Hamilton has elite size at 6-4, 220lbs, and solid athleticism. He excels in pass coverage with an extensive coverage radius and a solid ability to play the ball. Hamilton does an excellent job of disrupting receivers trying to catch the ball. His hand placement and length allow him to really make it challenging to make receptions when he is contesting. Hamilton is also a willing tackler and, at his size, could be used in a multitude of ways as a safety. Although Buffalo does not tend to be super creative on defense, Hamilton could be deployed in several different ways with his skillset.

The interesting part about Hamilton to the Bills is that Buffalo would need to likely jump into the top ten spots in the draft. According to the draft value chart that Jimmy Johnson created Buffalo’s first and second-round picks would only get them up to the 15th which is currently held by the Philadelphia Eagles.

The inclusion of next year’s first or second-round pick would be likely necessary if Buffalo were to trade up for Hamilton. While this may be a steep price for Buffalo Hamilton is the type of prospect that could make that gamble worth it. After all, I have been a huge advocate of trading up at some point in the NFL draft because the Bills do not really have the roster spots to field all eight draft picks.