The NFL offseason has been underway for the Buffalo Bills for some time now. The league year does not officially end under March, but Super Bowl LIV between the Chiefs and 49ers is one day away.
Once the final whistle blows and the confetti hits the turf in Miami on Sunday, that’s the unofficial start of the NFL offseason for everyone.
To celebrate, Bills Wire’s Kyle Silagyi and Nick Wojton pushed Bills Mafia into the offseason with two dueling four-round mock drafts for Buffalo.
Take your pick between both below:
Kyle’s pick:
22. RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin
Though unlikely, there is a scenario where the top four-or-five wide receivers are off the board when Buffalo goes on the clock at pick No. 22.
Should this situation occur, the team should take a long look at Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor.
Though his stock has fallen in recent weeks, Taylor is still widely looked at as a top-three ballcarrier in this year’s class. A well-rounded back with elite vision, Taylor rushed for 6,174 yards and 50 touchdowns throughout his three years at Wisconsin, winning the Doak Walker Award as college football’s best running back in 2018 and 2019.
Taylor was a high-usage player in Madison; there was nothing creative about the way the Badgers got the ball into his hands. The majority of his runs went up the middle or off-tackle, and this suited the 21-year-old, as he was often able to identify holes with his first-class vision and make the most of them with his strong footwork.
Taylor has solid speed and power, and he projects to be an impactful running back at the next level straight away. He would immediately make Buffalo’s backfield one of the league’s brightest, as his downhill-style of running would effectively complement the open-field shiftiness of Devin Singletary.
Though wide receiver is undoubtedly a bigger need for the Bills, selecting Taylor would perhaps unintentionally help address that positional deficiency. With Taylor and Singletary manning the backfield, Buffalo would become a ground-oriented team, relying on the two backs to consistently move the ball. This would open up opportunities in the play-action passing game, creating more chances for wide receivers to get open on called passes through a commitment to the ground game.
Jonathan Taylor makes everything look smooth. Great footwork here to jump cut on this and break it the house.
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) January 29, 2020
Nick’s pick:
22. WR Tee Higgins, Clemson
The writing on the wall just seems too apparent ahead of April’s draft. The Bills needing a wide receiver isn’t anything new. The last time the Bills had a premium No. 1 wideout was back in Sammy Watkins’ days with the team.
While John Brown and Cole Beasley had profitable seasons with the Bills in 2019, Buffalo needs a top, young prospect in that group. Tee Higgins would be exactly that.
That writing has been there because for about a season or two, many draft pundits predicted the 2020 draft will be one of the deepest classes for the position, The Bills knew that too, so they’re going to take their swing and that’s why they didn’t last season.
In Higgins, Buffalo would get exactly what they need. That big-bodied target that quarterback Josh Allen has lacked. While the Bills would be smart to not just pin-point a guy that’s tall, realistically, Higgins’ pre-draft selection in mock drafts has been right around where the Bills pick. It wouldn’t be a reach and early outlooks appear the Bills choosing between Higgins and Colorado’s Laviska Shenault here, both talented receivers the Bills could use.
Tee Higgins … WOW! #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/5xlfsIkpSP
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 29, 2018