The NFL Draft is still over two months away, but Bills Mafia is all about the mock drafts already. Mel Kiper has already come out with his first mock draft of the season, as well as hundreds more popping up.
With free agency set to kick off on March 15, the draft priorities will certainly change. But that isn’t going to stop us from diving into a some of the players the Buffalo Bills might be interested in with their first pick of the draft, number 27 overall.
I’m going to spend a few minutes here talking about a few of those options. This isn’t a mock draft yet, although I’ll start producing some of those later down the road, after free agency. In the meantime, let’s dive into some of the prospects.
Derick Hall, DE/OLB, Auburn
Derick Hall is listed as a linebacker but profiles as your typical edge rusher. He has the ability to come in on day one and provide meaningful contributions to the pass rush. He has all the measurables coming in at 6’3”, 241 pounds, and has a wingspan of 83”. For some context on the wingspan, this is the same span as Tremaine Edmunds. Hall produced 146 tackles, 29.5 TFLs and 19.5 sacks during his time at Auburn.
Hall brings incredible speed and quickness, with a 40-time of 4.56, which might improve by the time the NFL Scouting Combine comes around. He shows an ability to locate the ball quickly and react; however, needs to improve in shedding blocks quicker and not getting out of position as well.
Hall had a great week at the Senior Bowl too and some are projecting him as a late first rounder, which is exactly where the Bills are drafting.
O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
Torrence has been mocked to the Bills on several drafts so far, which makes sense given Buffalo’s offensive line struggles this past season. Torrence is a big, big man, at 6’5” and 337 pounds, he just might be what the Bills need on the interior offensive line.
Torrence began his college career with at Louisiana–Lafayette, where he played and started for three seasons, before transferring to Florida for his senior year. According to NFLDraftBuzz.com, Torrence is the number one rated guard in the draft and if he makes it to Buffalo at pick 27, would likely be a solid piece along the line, both now and long-term.
Torrence has incredible power and is a dominant run blocker and equally dominant in the pass protection. Here is a fun little stat for you, Torrence was a four-year collegiate starter, playing over 3,000 snaps and never gave up a single sack, not one!
Torrence had a very good week at the Senior Bowl as well and played both guard positions during the game and was equally impressive in both spots. He projects as a day-one starter in the NFL and some scouting reports are already tagging him as a future Pro-Bowler.
Cody Mauch, OT, North Dakota State
Mauch is 6’6” and weighs 305 pounds and is possibly the most versatile lineman in the draft. During the Senior Bowl, he lined up at all five positions along the offense line and has any Bills fan knows, McDermott loves versatility in his players.
Mauch is a fifth-year senior, who played in 58 games, logging 2,276 snaps. He’s listed as a tackle but projects better as a guard, which again, is a need of the Buffalo Bills. Just about all the scouting reports I researched, mention two significant concerns with his game. One is arm length and struggles keeping defenders away from his body, which causes issues with speed to power and bull rushes. The other is his hand placement gets him in trouble, particularly leading to holding calls.
Still, he has upside, while limited, he can be a solid lineman in this league and with development and coaching, could translate very well overall to the NFL. He also brings some nasty to the line, which is a plus to any lineman.
Mauch projects more as a second rounder and unless the Bills want to try to trade up in the second to draft him, it’s unlikely he would fall to them at 27 in round two.