The Buffalo Bills bolstered the trenches on both sides of the ball in free agency.
That could continue, according to at least one person that dives into the fancy stats.
In NFL.com’s analytics expert Cynthia Frelund‘s latest mock draft, offensive lineman Zion Johnson might be too hard to pass up in a scenario where he falls to pick No. 25. Buffalo selects the Boston College prospect there.
Here’s the breakdown:
I know the Bills are matching OG Ryan Bates’ offer sheet from the Bears, but the value of adding Johnson in the first — and then reinforcing other positions (like RB) later — creates the most wins. However, if any of the corners who are already gone in this exercise remain available on draft night, a switch makes sense.
Off the bat, cornerback is the position being watched by most in Buffalo. It’s hard to imagine the Bills not addressing that with their top pick currently, but there is a scenario where Johnson would make sense.
The Draft Network projects Johnson as a guard at the NFL level. That might help the Bills considering the middle of their offensive line use more competition even with Bates being re-signed and Rodger Saffold joining the team.
May the best man win such a training camp battle–it should bring the best out of everyone.
But even if Johnson doesn’t immediately start, he could be the team’s defacto “sixth lineman.” Johnson has versatility to backup numerous positions, so if he is not a Day 1 starter, he could still eventually get his chance after getting some time to watch. Last season the Bills did something similar with right tackle Spencer Brown.
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