This or That: Comparing Buffalo Bills 2022 NFL Mock Draft Selections
By Dakota Wayne
Buffalo Bills’ This or That Round 1: Nakobe Dean (LB) or Kaiir Elam (CB)?
In the first round of the Buffalo Bills’ This or That, the inaugural battle is between Georgia’s Nakobe Dean and Florida’s Kaiir Elam.
And in terms of which pick selects a true need, Kaiir Elam likely wins that round.
However, Nakobe Dean is an incredibly intriguing option here, too. Sure, the Buffalo Bills already have Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, and typically only have two linebackers on the field since a majority of the time they are playing nickel, but the looming contract negotiations with Tremaine Edmunds could make this a bigger priority. The likelihood of that has been pretty hidden thus far, so choosing Nakobe Dean could be more of an insurance pick than a true need.
Obviously, with Tre’Davious White as the one true consistency in the Buffalo Bills’ cornerback room, there’s a need for a corner. That being said, the corners of this defense get a lot of help from Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. That’s one thing about their defense, is it has some true leaders in Poyer and Hyde.
Does having those two diminish the need for a corner early in the draft? Who’s to say. Both of these prospects would fit well into the Bills’ defense, but it’s likely that the Bills go with Elam due to the fact that he’s more of a need than a second interior linebacker.
Kaiir Elam, standing at about 6’2″ and weighing in at just under 200 lbs, comes into the draft being one of the longer corners. Pairing that size with a 4.39 40-yard dash makes him an intriguing prospect.
Now, Nakobe Dean is not the biggest interior linebacker, standing 6′ 0″ flat and weighing in at 225 lbs. However, even with his lack of NFL size, he impressed many at the college level, as he was the recipient of the 2021 Dick Butkus Award, also known as the best linebacker of the year for those that don’t talk in award names.
Oh, he also won the same award in high school. So, with this award being given to the top linebacker in the country, Dean makes a case for his lack of size being less than a deal-breaker for teams looking to make the middle of their defense better.
All-in-all, both of these players would be a good selection for the Buffalo Bills, but with the need for a true CB2, there’s an advantage with drafting Elam.
Next up, round two.