Buffalo Bills: 4 players to draft in 2023 NFL Draft to replace Mitch Morse

Buffalo Bills 2023 NFL Draft Target: John Michael Schmitz

The best center in this year’s NFL Draft is John Michael Schmitz out of the University of Minnesota. He has started 35 games at center over the past four seasons for the Gophers and was named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press this past season.

While he is the top center, and the Buffalo Bills have shown interest with a reported Zoom meeting according to Ryan Talbot, he may not fit the type of player the Bills are looking to add for a number of reasons.

The scouting report by Lance Zierlein on NFL.com describes a player who is excellent in run blocking but does have some tendencies to struggle a bit in pass protection. The Bills have tended to lean toward players who excel protecting Josh Allen and his Relative Athletic Score is only 7.82 which would be one of the lowest on the Buffalo Bills’ offensive line.

The other reason that John Michael Schmitz might not make sense for Buffalo is that John Michael Schmitz is going to be 24 years old this season. If the Buffalo Bills plan to start Mitch Morse this season, and possibly next, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to draft such a polished player that is ready to start right away.

John Michael Schmitz is the best center in this year’s class but he doesn’t appear to be a good fit for what the Buffalo Bills would look for.