Don’t rule out a pass rusher falling to the Buffalo Bills in the early rounds of the 2023 NFL draft.
Despite having used recent early picks on defensive ends such as Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham and AJ Epenesa, the Bills have their eye on at least one that could be taken early: Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV.
According to Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline, McDonald had a pre-draft visit in Buffalo. McDonald also turned down opportunities to visit with other teams due to time constraints in order to make sure he got in one with the Bills:
Official 30 visit list for McDonald- Packers, Bears, Cowboys, Bucs, Eagles, Bills, Vikings, Giants, Cards, Seahawks, Chiefs. Had to turn down half dozen visits due to time retraints https://t.co/REsZutIDHk
— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) April 19, 2023
A productive and stat-padding pass rusher, McDonald played in 50 games at Iowa State and made 125 tackles, including 40.5 for loss, with 34 sacks, seven passes defended and 10 forced fumbles.
Draft analysis raves about McDonald’s explosiveness, agility and–of course–his stats. However, his size might be a concern for the Bills and a reason why he’s not touted among the early first-round pass rushers.
The redshirt senior clocks in at 6-foot-4 and 239 pounds. Because of that, draft analysts think McDonald is better suited to play outside linebacker in a three-player defensive front. Among those with that opinion are NFL.com and The Draft Network. Buffalo lines up with four defenders on the D-line.
But the Bills might be an optimal place for McDonald to end up if he’s still on the board in the second round where he’s projected to be taken. The Bills have Rousseau and Von Miller as their top players off the edge. McDonald would have time to hone his skills as a rookie in a rotational role.
The Bills allocating a pre-draft meeting with McDonald does express a level of interest in him as well. The team only has a certain number of them prior to the draft, so McDonald is a name to keep in mind.
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