Pro Football Focus has the Bills ending what seems like a yearly tradition under Sean McDermott in their latest 2021 NFL Draft mock.
Since McDermott took over the bench boss duties in Buffalo in 2017, he’s had a thing for addressing cornerback every offseason. That first year saw the Bills take cornerback Tre’Davious White at the draft.
Since then, the tradition has been to sign veterans to start across from White via one-year deals. It has been a rinse and repeat operation with guys like Vontae Davis or Josh Norman.
However, in PFF’s mock, that ends for the next few offseasons. With the No. 30 pick, the football analytics outlet pegs cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. to the Bills:
What Samuel lacks in size, he makes up for in athleticism and positional versatility. He’s an instinctive player who doesn’t shy away from contact if positioned in the slot or the box, and his movement skills give him an advantage over a lot of outside receivers when lined up at cornerback. He likely projects as a slot cornerback or safety at the next level at just 5-foot-10, 184 pounds, but he’s earned the best PFF coverage grade (82.8) of his career playing outside cornerback for FSU this season.
If the Bills were to go cornerback at the 2021 draft, we’d likely have an idea that they were going to do so prior to it.
Free agency begins in the middle of March, a month prior to the rookie selection extravaganza. If Buffalo does not sign a veteran around that time, we’ll likely have an idea that the team is eyeing one.
But Samuel is an interesting prospect considering his skill at the nickel spot. On some teams, the slot cornerback is not a full-time job. For Buffalo, it most certainly is as McDermott’s base defensive uses a lot of the position. Currently the Bills have Taron Johnson slotted as their starter in this role, but the Bills could stand to bring in some competition for him due to his inconsistencies. As mentioned by PFF, if Samuel didn’t play on the inside of the Bills defense, he could move over to the outside as well. The Bills love that kind of versatility.
So far, the Bills only have Dane Jackson at the No. 2 spot. Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Jackson will get a chance to compete for snaps there next season, but he should not be handed that job. The incumbent No. 2 cornerback is Levi Wallace, who is a restricted free agent, and Josh Norman, who is an unrestricted free agent as well. In this scenario, Wallace seems more likely to return which could setup a big training camp battle for playing time in Buffalo’s secondary.
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