Maybe the only thing that is worse than picking the wrong prospect, is passing up on a player that you know could have provided an immediate impact for your team. For example, last year’s NFL Draft featured the trade of the draft between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs that involved Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
The Bills had the No. 28 overall pick, but decided to trade it the Chiefs who moved up from No. 32 to draft Worthy who broke the 40-yard dash record (4.21s). Buffalo had a big need at wide receiver and quite frankly, they could have used some speed on the offense. Instead, they opted to gift away that scenario to the one team that they cannot not take down in the playoffs.
Going into next week’s draft, the Bills currently have the No. 30 pick and there is a chance that they could pull yet the same move of trading back. However, they have some big needs on defense that they should be looking to address.
It’s no secret that the Bills could benefit from adding defensive line help, as well as pairing a cornerback with Christian Benford on the backend. Throughout this process, we have seen the Bills being linked to players like DT Kenneth Grant, CB Trey Amos, and CB Shavon Revel Jr.
Another player that has popped up on a few mock drafts is South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori. Now even though the Bills don’t need a safety, having Emmanwori in the secondary gives the Bills a bunch of new ways to play defense because he is such a versatile defender. He can lineup in centerfield, at linebacker, and even play man-to-man coverage outside the numbers. There’s no question that Emmanwori would be a great addition to Buffalo.
Well, in Jared Dubin’s mock draft from CBS Sports, the Bills are once again in a spot where they draft Emmanwori. Now even though it wouldn’t be a bad pick, it does look bad when you look at who the next two drafted players are.
Bills pass up on major defensive line help in recent NFL mock draft
After the Bills take Emmanwori, Dubin has the Chiefs taking Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, then the Eagles taking Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. Seeing that both of these players were available and the Bills decided to pass on them is a gigantic mistake.
When it comes to Harmon, his play looks similar to Chris Jones who is a future Hall of Famer for the Chiefs. Now the Chiefs would be able to get to pair Harmon with Jones and create a major force upfront for years to come. As for Pearce, he can lineup off the edge and fire off the ball and even drop into coverage if necessary. It would be a dream come-true for the Eagles to land him to end the first round.
Putting Harmon or Pearce on the Bills would give Buffalo a fantastic addition to their defensive line for years to come, whether it’s one or the other. You can’t go wrong with either choice. Let’s just hope that this type of scenario doesn’t happen.