[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbw1j59gmjw5gdj player_id=none image=https://billswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Didn’t get enough NFL draft speculation in early April? Let’s keep that ball rolling now.
Bleacher Report took a big-time look into the future recently, all the way to the 2022 NFL draft next year via a mock draft. In those way-too-early projections, the Bills, slated to pick at No. 28 overall, land a cornerback.
The pick is Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner.
Here’s B/R’s breakdown:
The Buffalo Bills now feature one of the NFL’s best all-around rosters. Concern does linger at cornerback opposite Tre’Davious White, though.
Levi Wallace returned to the team this offseason, but he did so on a one-year, $1.75 million deal. Those aren’t starting cornerback numbers.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane didn’t add much at the position courtesy of the draft. Racard Wildgoose joins the team after being a sixth-round selection. A real commitment to the position would be nice.
Cincinnati’s Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner may not look a typical first-round cornerback. He’s 6’2″ and quite slender at a listed 188 pounds. But Wallace isn’t the biggest defensive back, either. Gardner can cover with the best of them, though. According to Pro Football Focus, the two-time, first-team All-AAC defensive back hasn’t allowed a touchdown in 598 career coverage snaps.
As of now, Wallace has yet to convince the Bills that he’s their pick for the No. 2 cornerback job moving forward. Over the course of the past few summers, the Bills front office continues to bring in competition for him. However, as of now, he doesn’t have a huge challenge ahead of him before next season.
Wildgoose might better project as a slot cornerback in Buffalo’s defense, so as of now, Wallace will only have to hold Dane Jackson to start across from White in 2021. That is, if the Bills don’t sign further competition for him this offseason.
[lawrence-related id=81819,81806,81804,81796]