Ranking the last 10 first round picks in NFL Draft for the Buffalo Bills

#7-Shaq Lawson, 2016, Pick #19

The final year of the Rex Ryan era saw the Bills drafting a defensive edge at 19, With Ryan being a defensive minded coach, it was inevitable that he wanted to draft defense in the 1st round. Enter Shaq Lawson. Some of the better defensive players were off the board, including Joey Bosa (#3) and DeForest Buckner (#7).

So, with that, the Bills stayed put at 19 and picked Shaq. As a rookie, Shaq didn't make a huge impact, playing in 10 games, getting 13 tackles, 7 solo, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble. Needless to say, he did not make a huge impact out of the gate.

His second season proved to be more productive with 33 tackles, 17 solo, four sacks, and one forced fumble. His best season by far was the 2019 season (32 tackles, 21 solo, 6.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble). His 2019 season saw his highest sack total of his career thus far, which helped him to secure a decent contract from the Dolphins.

After one year with the Dolphins in 2020, he then played for the Jets in 2021. His production had declined in 2021, which helped the Bills to reacquire him for 2022 and 2023. These past 2 seasons, he has still been a good rotational piece, but not a solid starter, nor has he been in his entire career. For that reason, I give Shaq a C-.