Mike Tannenbaum has done his rounds in the front offices in the AFC East. He didn’t work with the Bills, but he was the general manager of the Jets, among other roles, and was the VP of Football Operations with the Dolphins.
Now with ESPN as analyst, Tannenbaum used his experience to construct a mock ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft. For the Bills’ first pick at No. 30 overall, his prediction is pass rusher Joseph Ossai.
The Texas product is a prospect that’s been mocked to the Bills a couple of times before. Here’s Tannenbaum’s breakdown on the pick:
Bringing in Matt Breida — when the Bills already have Devin Singletary and Zack Moss — doesn’t necessarily keep them from drafting a running back, but it certainly should in the first round. So the pivot is from speed on offense to speed on defense. Penn State’s Jayson Oweh fits the mold, but Ossai could be a big-time impact player for Buffalo. He is disruptive off the edge and flies around the field in run defense. Jerry Hughes is turning 33 before the 2021 season, so the pass-rush would benefit from depth.
One thing to know: Ossai — who led Texas in tackles for loss (20), sacks (5) and forced fumbles (3) in 2020 — first saw a football game when he was 10 years old after arriving to the United States from Nigeria.
In nine games with Texas last season, Ossai certainly got into the backfield. The one knock on the 6-foot-4 edge defender potentially to the Bills is his position. He played both with his hand in the dirt and as an off-ball linebacker in college, and he actually lists as a linebacker, not a defensive end.
But with the Bills, he’d have time to adapt to playing with his hand in the dirt full time. The defensive scheme run by Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott calls for a big rotation along the defensive line, which would allow Ossai to have any potential growing pains, kind of like AJ Epenesa had as a rookie in 2020. In the short term, Epenesa, Hughes and Mario Addison would allow Ossai to work his way into an impactful role, and on the flip side, there’s no ruling out Ossai coming in and contributing right away.
Perhaps most interestingly on Ossai isn’t his on-field work. It’s his draft status. Pro Football Focus was among several outlets that has mocked Ossai to the Bills, however, he was their Round 2 pick.
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