Buffalo Bills: Three 2023 NFL Draft prospects to build the trenches

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.