Bills Post Draft Review

by LBzrule57 | 7 years ago | 1 Comments

Prior to the draft the Buffalo Bills roster was looking thin and even more devoid of talent than the 2017 Bills.  Going into Free Agency the team only had one Cornerback on the roster and that is Rookie now second year starter Tre'Davious White.  While the team added some reinforcements in free agency, the situation was looking bleak.  The team really helped itself with a stellar draft.  Let's look at who the Bills picked up with their picks.

 

Rd 1 Pick 1:  Florida WR Paul Smoot

Smoot was a very popular pick to the Bills in predraft guides.  The Bills ran to the podium with the pick.  The team needs a big time offensive playmaker than can take the top off of defenses and Smoot is that guy.  He's ready to play now. 

 

Smoot gives the Bills Elusiveness in the quick game with a 92 juke move.

 

 

He also gives the offense the ability to get behind the defense.  Press at your own risk.

 

Rd 1 Pick 2 DE Matthew Ambrose

Ambrose has been penciled in as the starter opposite Shaq Lawson.  Hughes can rest his legs and play in the sub-packages.  The Bills added some needed youth and depth to their defensive line and can now rotate players throughout a game.  The 6'7 Ambrose comes in with 86 finesse moves.  He plans to improve this before the season opener against the Jets.

 

 

From what we saw this kid is going to be the real deal.  He can run the arc, dip his shoulders and get around offensive tackles quickly.  We look for the Bills 4 man rush to be a great deal better this season.

 

Rd 2 Pick 1 RE Ikeem Smith (Formerly Ives)

 

The Bills added to their defensive line with Smith in the second round.  Smith is the star of the draft for the Bills.  He's a superstar.  The Bills will start him next to Marcel Dareus but also plan to move him and Ambrose around every week based on their opponents.

 

 

The great thing about Smith is he collapses the pocket from the middle.  He comes in with an 88 power move rating and plans to have that at 90 by the time the season begins.

 

After picking up Smith, the Bills made a run on Offensive linemen, all of whom will need just a little bit of work.  The one thing the Bills decided on with their line is they wanted both Fat and Strong Bodies.  However, this draft tended to force teams to choose between Fat vs Strong.  Most of the really fat guys had average strength and most of the smaller athletic linemen had great strength.  We'll see which one of these ends up working out best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What we can say with all of these linemen is that the initial contact favors the Bills.  After watching them in practice the push that they get upon initial contact is impressive.  Once these guys develop we'll have more.

 

Fans were concerned the Bills were going to be very thin in the secondary but the team found a gem in the 4th round.

 

Rd 4 Pick FS Gorden Klein

Klein has tremendous football IQ and will grow up quickly.  The Bills scouted him because of his height and ability to play zone, which they do run a great deal of.  Because of his versatility, the Bills have opted to pencil him in as the starting corner opposite of Tre'Davious White.

 

 

We look for the rookie to make a lot of plays for a team that actually struggled at this CB spot last year with Shareece Wright and EJ Gaines.  Gaines' biggest issue was he's 5'10.  Wright was just not fundamentally sound and pretty much stuck in his ways.  Klein makes up for both of them.  He's the prototypical mold for what the Bills look for at CB.

 

One last CB George Saffold

The Bills completed the defensive additions by adding another CB in the 7th round, George Saffold.  Saffold like Klein fits the prototype the Bills like.  He can play both Man and Zone, has decent speed and has the height and length to be disruptive.

 

Overall Analysis: The Coaching staff and GM are excited about these picks.  Some will take a little longer to see the field, while others will make an impact immediately.  The Bills added youth and depth along the defensive line; They added a playmaker in the secondary, a playmaker on offense and drafted for the future on the offensive line.

Tentative Draft Grade:  A-