This or That: Comparing Buffalo Bills 2022 NFL Mock Draft Selections
By Dakota Wayne
Buffalo Bills’ This or That Round 6: Smoke Monday (S) or Noah Elliss (DL)?
This is a decent matchup between Smoke Monday and Noah Elliss. As for which player fills a need more than the other, it’s probably Noah Elliss.
The Buffalo Bills have a nice pair of safeties in Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, however, with Poyer needing a new contract, the Bills could potentially need to start getting someone ready to fill some big shoes.
Jordan Poyer still has time to come to a conclusion on his contract extension, however, if that’s not done, Smoke Monday could be a good selection to prepare him to be a true NFL safety.
At Auburn, Smoke Monday made some noise. Now, to be fair, a lot of it was due to his name being Smoke Monday. And, in actuality, his real name isn’t even Smoke Monday; it’s Quindarious Monday. Still a fun name, but Smoke Monday is clearly a more fun name to live as, surely.
On the football field, however, Monday’s play isn’t as legendary as his name.
On paper, Monday is a pretty good safety. He misses tackles here and there, but overall, Smoke Monday is an above-average safety.
Standing 6’2″ and weighing just over 200 lbs, Smoke Monday is the right size to play in the NFL. That being said, his 4.52 40-yard dash has some scouts a little worried that his college days won’t translate as well to the NFL.
Having only one interception and only three pass breakups in the 2021-22 season doesn’t completely help his case, but Smoke Monday could be an electric player in the NFL if things go right for him.
Is he better than Jordan Poyer? No, but who knows if he could be in the future? Taking players this low in the draft lowers the likelihood that they’ll be an NFL starter, but there are surely cases that show that lower drafted players can play in the NFL.
Now, Noah Elliss.
Coming out of Idaho, Elliss isn’t going to be as recognizable of a name as Smoke Monday, but what he does on the football field could land him in a Buffalo Bills uniform.
Considering the need for another defensive lineman not named Ed Oliver, Noah Elliss could be a real fit for the Bills.
Standing 6′ 4″ and weighing in around 350 lbs makes him a bit on the short side, and it’s likely that an NFL team would have Elliss lose a few pounds prior to the season, however, Elliss plays with physicality and strength. Finesse isn’t in Noah Elliss’ vocabulary. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Noah Elliss plays football in a nasty and physical way. And given the position he plays, that’s not a bad thing at all. However, the knock on his speed is a genuine concern. At the NFL Combine, Noah Elliss ran a 5.66 40-yard dash, which isn’t necessarily the fastest time recorded.
That being said, he’s a big man that plays like a big man does. He’s not going to wow anyone with his speed, but what he will wow many people with is his brute strength.
Prior to the 2021 fall season, Noah Elliss wasn’t seen as much of a prospect. However, in that 2021 fall season, Noah Elliss proved why he should be drafted. Elliss produced 46 tackles– 6.5 for loss–, one sack, and three pass breakups. This was all in ten games, eight of which Elliss started in.
So, while Smoke Monda might be a more fun name to root for, it’d make more sense for the Buffalo Bills to draft Noah Elliss, especially if the Bills and Poyer can get a contract extension agreed on.
Only a couple of picks left! Who’s next?