The Buffalo Bills’ 2022 NFL draft class hasn’t gotten all the rage nationally. But that’s usually situational.
The New York Jets’ rookies are, but the Jets had three first-round picks plus many of them are expected to be Day 1 impact makers.
Regarding the Bills, top selection Kaiir Elam isn’t even at the top of his positional depth chart. Tre’Davious White is, so Elam will be overlooked even if he is a great prospect.
That’s just how draft season goes.
But one ESPN analyst dug through those weeds and did heap some big praise on Buffalo’s rookies.
The former world-wide leader got together a group for a roundtable discussion reflecting on the recent draft. One question posed was which team’s draft class will have biggest impact in 2022?
Fantasy football analyst Stephania Bell chose the Bills.
The breakdown:
The Bills entered the draft without many needs. But the “impact” of a rookie class should elevate the team to the next tier, which for Buffalo is the Super Bowl. The names added at the draft weren’t splashy, but the Bills added depth that could be critical to surviving a long season. They added a complement to cornerback Tre’Davious White and an interior linebacker to potentially plug a leak in their otherwise strong defense. This team, aided by their newbies, has a good shot to bring Buffalo its long-awaited title.
High praise, but the long-term depth for Buffalo is spot on.
The Bills did not have many weaknesses heading into the offseason, period, let alone the 2022 draft. Free agency came and future Hall of Famer Von Miller signed with the team.
Hard to knock and such club who adds a piece like that.
But when the Bills decided to specifically knock off their lone need in cornerback with Elam, the team then only really had niche options left to address at the draft. Those came in the form of a pass-catching running back in James Cook, or a hybrid linebacker like Terrel Bernard.
Hopefully the Bills’ depth won’t be tested much any year, especially one like 2022 which holds title aspirations for Buffalo–but if it does, the Bills will be ready thanks to their draft haul.
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