Could the Buffalo Bills trade up for Kyle Hamilton on Thursday night?
The NFL Draft is less than a week away and rumors are starting to fire up as analysts and reporters try to get an understanding of what might happen over the three-day event. One player that has been discussed frequently is safety Kyle Hamilton.
The former Notre Dame safety is by far the best safety in this year’s class and is sometimes mentioned as the best overall player, like in The Draft Network’s Prospect Rankings. That doesn’t mean he will be the first overall pick or even potentially go in the top half of the first round.
According to Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network, Hamilton could fall down in the first round to somewhere between 15 and 20.
"And while some players are rising, Kyle Hamilton continues to fall. Many in the league tell me they think Hamilton ends up somewhere between picks 15 to 20. That’s still later than I expected and is a precipitous drop for a prospect still graded by some as the top player in this draft."
Kyle Hamilton slipping in the first round could be the first domino to fall for the Buffalo Bills
If Kyle Hamilton were to fall that far in the first round, it could set off a bit of a chain reaction for the Buffalo Bills. First, general manager Brandon Beane would look for a way to trade up into the first round and that range wouldn’t cost too much.
When looking at Jimmy Johnson’s Draft Trade Value Chart, the Bills likely could package 25th and their third round pick to move up to 18th overall, which is the second first round pick for the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, Buffalo could likely recoup that their round pick, along with some future picks, by then trading safety Jordan Poyer. The former All-Pro safety is looking for a new contract that the Bills may not be in a position to offer and they could look to trade him.
This could end up being the ideal scenario as it gives Buffalo one of the best players in this year’s draft, a player who could step into the starting lineup right away as a rookie with much lower cap hits.