The Buffalo Bills earned a grade of A-minus from our friends over at the NFL Wire for their work done at the 2023 NFL draft.
For some, the Bills took an unconventional route at the draft. Even so, the value was found.
At the top, Buffalo traded up to select tight end Dalton Kincaid at the event. With Dawson Knox already playing on an extension, few saw that coming. However, the Bills have shown a desire in the past to run an offense with more two tight end sets but had trouble finding the right personnel. Not a problem anymore.
Perhaps the bigger surprise was not addressing the hole left by Tremaine Edmunds’ departure until the third round. But even that selection of Tulane’s Dorian Williams earned praise.
Here’s the full breakdown on the Bills’ 2023 NFL draft class from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar:
The Bills have had issues getting past the Chiefs in recent years, and the fact that the Chiefs have Travis Kelce is one of the primary reasons. So, the Bills went out and got the closest thing to Kelce in this class. Kincaid can demolish defenders in contested-catch situations, he can shred man and zone coverage with his route and spacing awareness, and he’s going to be Josh Allen’s new best buddy. Getting TE1 with the 25th pick? No problem there. Buffalo also needed beef in the offensive line, and this is about where Torrence should have gone — he’s a dominant earthdog who struggles with agility situations, but as he’s used to blocking for Anthony Richardson, Allen’s game will seem quite similar.
The loss of Tremaine Edmunds in free agency left the Bills in need of a linebacker, and Dorian Williams is one of the better run-and-chase guys in this class; perfect for a team that plays nickel about 90% of the time. Shorter, who stood out at times when I was watching Richardson’s tape, is a huge (6-foot-4, 229-pound) target who can really move in a straight line.
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