The Buffalo Bills added one of the best tight ends in this year’s NFL Draft with the selection of Dalton Kincaid in the first round on Thursday night. It would appear to be a luxury pick with Dawson Knox on the roster but the Bills seem to have a clear plan on how to utilize both players.
On Friday, the NFL Draft will continue with the second and third rounds. General manager Brandon Beane could go in a number of different directions with his two scheduled picks, number 59 in the second round and pick 91 in the third round.
The fact that the Bills only have two draft picks on Day 3 after the trade up in the first round to select Dalton Kincaid, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them look to trade back on some of these Day 2 picks to add additional draft capital.
However, these types of trades are tough to predict and for the sake of this article, I will assume the Buffalo Bills are making their currently scheduled picks.
Buffalo Bills select Daiyan Henley with Pick 59 in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft
In the second round, I think the Buffalo Bills will address their most glaring need which is at middle linebacker. The hope would be that Drew Sanders would still be available but I don’t think he will last this long and be available when it is Buffalo’s turn to pick.
With that in mind, the linebacker that would make the most sense is Daiyan Henley, who played this past season with Washington State. However, prior to that he played four seasons in Nevada where he began as a wide receiver before playing one season at safety before moving to linebacker.
He is an athletic linebacker that certainly can drop back into coverage and stay with most tight ends and running backs in the NFL. The biggest concern for the Buffalo Bills is that he does not have much experience at the position and is still learning.
Henley is probably someone the Buffalo Bills will need to develop and he may not be ready to make an impact until 2024. However, there is a lot of potential for him to eventually be a starter on this defense.
Buffalo Bills select Zacch Pickens with Pick 91 in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft
The Buffalo Bills stay on the defensive side of the ball in the third round and select defensive tackle Zacch Pickens out of South Carolina. In four seasons with the Gamecocks, he had 131 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, and 7.5 sacks.
By selecting Pickens here, the Buffalo Bills add a long-term answer to the position that could look drastically different this time next year. The team doesn’t have any player at the position under contract past this season.
As for Pickens, the scouting report on The Draft Network describes a player that was good at South Carolina but seemed to leave more to be desired. He wasn’t as dominant as many would hope but if he can develop as a rookie, he has the talent to be a starter for the Buffalo Bills in 2024.