Buffalo Bills 2022 NFL Draft Prospect to Know: Lewis Cine

The defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs are expecting to have a number of players from last year’s team hear their names called in the 2022 NFL Draft. One of those players is safety Lewis Cine, who could be an option for the Buffalo Bills.

Let’s take a closer look at the player and what he might bring to this defense.

Measurables/Stats

Height: 6’2″

Weight: 199 pounds

Arms: 32 1/4″

Hands: 9 3/8″

Lewis Cine played in 31 games over three seasons at the University of Georgia and would finish with 144 total tackles, including 125 over the past two seasons. He also would have 3.5 tackles for a loss, two interceptions and 14 passes defended.

He played very well towards the end of the season and in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama, the playoff game against Michigan, and the National Championship Game against Alabama he would finish with 19 total tackles in those three games.

NFL.com Scouting Report by Lance Zierlein

"Cine plays with a willing aggressiveness that fit right in with Georgia’s talented stop unit. He plays with an urgent, downhill approach, which leads to memorable collisions but he’s not always under control in getting there. He doesn’t have desired mass and stopping power for his style of play, but the work gets done. Cine lacks range and instincts to play over the top and is better suited to split safety and down safety alignments. He can handle man coverage underneath but doesn’t have the hips to swing and sway with talented receivers down the field. Cine has future starting potential as a zero flinch safety, but has limitations for defenses to consider."

How Lewis Cine fits with the Buffalo Bills

If the Buffalo Bills are looking for a safety that will deliver big hits over the field and give receivers pause when running crossing routes, then Lewis Cine is the player to add. He routinely was doing that for the Georgia defense over the past few seasons.

However, Cine may not be the best fit for the Buffalo Bills’ defense and how they utilize their safeties. One of the things that make Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde so effective as a safety duo is that they don’t have defined roles. They both have the ability to switch responsibilities and it helps discuss their coverage.

If the Bills were to draft Cine, he would have to be more of that box safety, that player that would be closer to the line of scrimmage and support the run once he would take over for one of the starters, likely starting in 2023 once Poyer’s contract has expired.

This doesn’t make him a bad player and he could be effective in this defense but it would force Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier to slightly change their gameplan.