The Buffalo Bills are in the market for some help on offense once against this offseason. The club made strides a year ago, but more have to be made.
Pro Football Focus, known for their deep-dive into football analytics numbers, produces traditional mock drafts like the rest.
But with their analytics background in mind, PFF released their first strictly analytics-based mock draft of the offseason. While the outlet does say this isn’t their exact guesses as to what each team will do realistically at the 2020 NFL Draft, it’s solely featured off of what the analytics say in regard to the player that could improve a team the most.
For the Bills, that analytical match is an offensive lineman who shined at the recent combine, Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland. Here’s how that match was made:
Cleveland’s impressive Combine workouts put his pass-blocking athleticism score in the same ballpark as Tyron Smith, David Bakhtiari and Laremy Tunsil. While he projects to give up a slightly higher pressure rate, beggars can’t be choosers after the poor performance of Cody Ford, who can move to guard.
Via the combine, Cleveland turned heads with a 4.93 second 40-yard dash time and a 7.26 second 3-cone drill. He has a 6-foot-6, 311-pound frame so those numbers are pretty ridiculous.
The biggest factor in this potential move could be moving Ford inside because Quinton Spain departs via free agency. The Bills have yet to re-sign him. But Cleveland did play at Boise State in college, so tabbing him at pick No. 22 could be a reach. The Bills have been known in recent years to move up early in the second round of the draft, so perhaps that could be the type of deal they make to land Cleveland, along with another selection at No. 22 overall.
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