It is almost that time, Bills Mafia. The 2023 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and our Buffalo Bills are in an all-important offseason that screams, “Super Bowl or bust.”
General manager Brandon Beane hasn’t spilled his entire draft plans, of course, but we’ve heard rumblings over the past few weeks that he could be looking to move up in the first round. Or, could he be looking to trade back? We don’t know, but let’s focus on the trading up, for now.
That’s a bold strategy for a team that has just six picks all weekend, but again, this is a team that wants to win and wants to win now.
So, if Beane did opt to move up in the first round, just how would that look, and which players would he be targeting? The rumors state that Buffalo would look to move up for either an offensive skill player or offensive lineman. With that said, let’s get to our latest mock draft.
The Buffalo Bills make a trade up in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft in order to select a game-breaking talent
Beane and the Bills make a move to go up eight picks, trading with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The trade sees Buffalo give up three picks to move up, but the return on investment could come to fruition immediately for this Bills offense.
Buffalo selects the best running back prospect we’ve seen in the last three or four years, going with Texas standout Bijan Robinson. If you’re a fantasy football fanatic, you understand that this year’s dynasty draft is called the “Bijan Robinson draft.” In every single dynasty rookie draft, Robinson should be the clear-cut first overall selection.
Why?
It’s simple. He does everything at a high level. Run between the tackles, check. Run outside zone, check. Catch the football, check. Make defenders miss, or better yet, break the tackles altogether, check. He has very little about him that you could consider a true weakness.
Robinson’s explosiveness and game-changing nature are exactly what this Bills offense needs, and they’re going to look drastically different from Day 1 with Robinson in the back field.
Forget the injury-prone Damien Harris. He can take a back seat. James Cook will be a solid change-of-pace back and will still get his touches, but Robinson will be “the man.”
Here we are, with yet another big, bold move in the first round. The Bills are back, and this time, they move up with the Minnesota Vikings, sending Minnesota their first rounder in 2024, a sixth rounder in 2024 and a third-round pick in this year’s draft.
If the Bills saw Jordan Addison there at 23, then he should be the pick. But, Addison is good enough to be taken just before this point. Because of that, Beane gets desperate and makes another bold move to go up and snag Zay Flowers out of Boston College.
Flowers is an absolutely electric player, like the previously-mentioned Robinson. With this move, the Bills give up a first next year, but they also bank on the fact that it will be the very last pick in the 2024 draft.
If this offense adds both Robinson and Flowers, combined with Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Dawson Knox, Cook and Gabe Davis, look out. The speed and sheer route running from the receiving group is going to be off the charts. Allen will be in line for a career year, that’s for sure.
Flowers is one of the most exciting players in the draft, with the ball in his hands. He went for 78 receptions, 1077 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. With the Bills, he could very well come in and become the clear-cut WR2, moving Davis down the depth chart due to his inconsistencies. But, as a WR3, Davis could shine.
This offense just became even more elite.
It seems like an embarrassment of riches, but the Bills still have a second-round pick, and with it, they go after an edge rusher of the future. Not only are they thinking futuristically, but about the here and now. Veteran Von Miller is coming back from an ACL injury, as we know, and there isn’t an official timetable yet for his return.
Without Miller, it was mostly on the shoulders of Gregory Rousseau off the edge. The rest of the crew showed up in spurts, but not consistently. Rousseau needs another top-end talent to help take the pressure off him, and transfer that pressure to opposing quarterbacks.
USC’s Tuli Tuipulotu is an immense value here at pick no. 59, as he could go toward the top of the second round. But, in this mock, he was on the board, and an easy pick for Beane and company.
Tuipulotu’s production last year was off the charts, as he posted 22 tackles for loss including 13.5 sacks. He is the definition of a disruptive player and does it on a consistent basis. With him in the fold, the Bills can feel confident giving Miller the time he needs to get fully back to 100 percent. In the meantime, it’ll be a couple of young guys giving quarterbacks a hard time.
With the first of their fourth-round picks, the Bills take what will end up being their biggest steal. North Carolina State guard Chandler Zavala has been mocked as high as a late second-round pick but has averaged out to be a third-round prospect by many major outlets.
Here, they get him in the fourth round, much later than he should have gone. Zavala would fit well within the Bills’ heavy rushing scheme, as he is a drive blocker. He stands 6-foot-3, 322 pounds and is a tank of a man. He’ll give Ryan Bates a run for his money for that starting right guard job, which Bates needs.
With their second pick in the fourth round, the Bills get another tight end to pair with Dawson Knox, who is already one of the better at his position in the NFL. Luke Schoonmaker has great size at 6-foot-5, 251 pounds and is fairly quick, too. He possesses great footwork and can get in and out of his breaks well, giving the Bills yet another pass-catching tight end.
Funny enough, Schoonmaker has been compared to Knox, which is why his game might look familiar to Bills fans once he’s in a Buffalo jersey. One aspect that Schoonmaker excels in outside of the passing game is as a run blocker. He’s willing to do it, and he’s good at it. He finishes blocks and drives through the whistle, which some tight ends and receivers don’t always like to do.
With their selection in the fifth round, the Bills once again go with an edge rusher.
This isn’t just about finding someone to help ease the burden of the injured Von Miller. A.J. Epenesa is out of his rookie contract next year, as well. The Bills have to start planning for the future, and in a big way.
Viliami Fehoko is a cousin of Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea, and when you watch him play, there is no doubt about it. He plays with the same aggression and intensity, which is something Bills fans need to see out of guys not named Miller and Rousseau.
With their final pick in the draft, the Bills go out and get someone who could end up being one of the better backup quarterbacks in the league in UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He’s a fine passer within the pocket, but he’s also a dual-threat and ran for 12 touchdowns last year with the Bruins.
The Bills signed Kyle Allen to back up Allen, but going the younger route and finding someone who is more aligned with Allen’s strengths could be beneficial in the long run.