The 2021 NFL Draft was unique for the Buffalo Bills as they would use their first two picks at defensive end with the selection of Greg Rousseau in the first and Boogie Basham in the second. They would move to the offensive side of the ball and once again use back-to-back picks on one position with the selection of Spencer Brown and Tommy Doyle.
Of the four remaining picks they had, only two remain with the team as Rachaad Wildgoose, who was drafted in the sixth round, and Jack Anderson, who was drafted in the seventh were claimed off their practice squad during the season. The two players still on the roster are wide receiver Marquez Stevenson and safety Damar Hamlin.
Pro Football Focus doesn’t trade their grade for the Buffalo Bills’ 2021 draft class
Recently, Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus re-visited the grades by the site from last year’s draft class and re-graded them where necessary. However, for the Bills, their grade didn’t change as he gave them a ‘B’ grade with the initial grade and the re-grade one year later.
"This grade stays the same, with Gregory Rousseau showing enough flashes to justify his draft selection en route to a 70.2 overall grade. He still disappeared a lot as a pass-rusher, and 13 of his 30 pressures came against the hapless Dolphins offensive line. Carlos Basham struggled to see the field as a second-rounder, playing only 200 snaps on the year, and that isn’t likely to change in 2022 with the additions of Shaq Lawson and Von Miller.The wildcard is still the freaky right tackle Spencer Brown, who was forced to make 10 starts after a full year off and jumping up from Northern Iowa to the NFL. While he earned only a 51.0 pass-blocking grade and allowed 30 pressures, the fact the Bills were even comfortable with him starting is encouraging."
As Renner notes, Rousseau and Brown were the two standouts from last year’s draft class and both were starters for a majority of the season. Those responsibilities shouldn’t change this season and both players are expected to return to being the starters at their respective positions.
The player who could significantly change the grade is Boogie Basham. While the team did add Von Miller and Shaq Lawson, there is plenty of optimism around Basham within the organization.
The Bills have typically rotated four players at the position and while they did have those additions, they lost Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison. This creates a great opportunity for Basham to have a defined role in this defense and be a big part of the defensive line.
While this draft class won’t go down as Brandon Beane’s best, which is reserved for the 2018 NFL Draft class, this was still a very good group that should have a number of players contribute this season and a grade of ‘B’ seems fair.