This is Version 2, since I did one in August, which lives here.
Here are six players I’ve identified as fits for our team at each pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. I’ll be doing my Pick Six every other month right up to the draft. Don’t get hung up on what round these players are in; it’s October.
RD1 — The Bills have 3 DEs with contracts that end when the 2024 season does. Their average age is 30. The last three columns on the right need some explanation. The right-most one is what class they’re in. The second to the right is Scout Score for 2024. If a scout goes to one of your games, that’s a point. If Beane goes, it’s 3 points, and so on. ScoutScore for 2023 is third column from the right, and ScoutScore for 2024 is in between Even though we acquired Amari Cooper, his draft was 10 years ago, and you need to keep looking for separation and YAC. Emeka Egbuka‘s that guy. Malaki Starks is my #1 Safety. A trade-up for J.T. Tuimoloau might be necessary, but grab him if you stay patient and he’s there when you pick. Tuimoloau has had the most Bills scout visits in the last 2 years, and is the second-fastest EDGE. James Pearce Jr. is faster, but 28 pounds lighter. Both share identical ScoutScores in 2024 as of this writing. Best Guess: Deone Walker is my favorite available DT1T (Mason Graham the DT3T, who’s a wrestler, will be long gone). Despite being double-teamed frequently, Walker is extremely produtive, finishing with 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks a season ago.
RD2 — Acquired from Minnesota for Diggs. The Bills have scouted Ohio State the most last year and this year, and you have Austin Johnson as a 31-year-old free agent. Kevin Winston Jr. had the best interview of the safeties. I think the Bills could stand another linebacker in the middle with toughness, height, and tackling skills like Danny Stutsman. Garrett Nussmeier completed 29 passes out of 34 passes for 304 yards and 2 TDs in this year’s scouted game vs No. 23 USC. He’s a vocal leader on the field, wields a big arm, and exudes a ton of confidence. Would Beane double-dip at EDGE and take Patrick Payton? He doubled up on EDGEs before, with Rousseau-Basham in 2021. Best guess: Tyleik Williams. He’s the draft’s fastest IDL, and often wins against double-teams, bad news if you play next to Ed Oliver. DaQuan Jones and Austin Johnson are getting up there in years, and Williams paired with DeWayne Carter is a move for the future.
RD2 — The Bills have spent an inordinate amount of time at Ohio State last year and this year. Our RB stable is pretty well stocked, but I like TreVeyon Henderson nonetheless. Henderson’s exceptional pass-blocking, playmaking ability, and versatility as a kick returner would give the Bills some options, including a trade. Best Guess: Barrett Carter. My most-intriguiing player in the draft, Carter is a versatile member of the back seven called by Dabo Swinney as “one of the best pure football players I’ve had in 20 years”. Think of whom Dabo has coached! Carter can be a traditional off-ball linebacker, a WILB, a larger safety with tackling aplomb, or a Taron type.
RD3 — Traded With Cleveland For Amari Freaking Cooper – This was a great move. Cooper’s value to the team over the next year will be more than any third-round ‘X’ receiver will be over the next 4-5 years.
RD4 — If you don’t take Deone Walker in RD1, look at the heavily-scouted Nazir Stackhouse here. Nick Singleton provides the thunder to James Cook and Ray Davis’s lightning. Singleton will be a Combine darling, as he runs a 4.18 short shuttle and jumps 10-1 in the broad. He power cleans 390 lbs. and broke Saquon Barkley’s program record for a RB with a 655 lb. squat. Best Guess: I’d like more beef in our back seven, and Jason Marshall Jr. of Florida fits the bill. The Bills have scouted three corners in my Top 250 who have sub-4.4 speed: Marshall and first rounder Benjamin Morrison, and Marshall outweighs Morrison by 25 pounds. While both have impressive interviews, Marshall was a Gatorade Man of the Month, was named game captain twice and amassed an impressive 30 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, three INTs, one fumble recovery, and one pass breakup in only 10 games last year.
RD4 — Billy Bowman, SS/KR from Oklahoma, boasts the fastest forty time among safeties, a searing 4.42. He showcases elite change-of-direction (COD) moves that Sean McDermott covets for disguising coverage, as well as for kick-return situations. Bowman’s an aggressive hitter, and while Taylor Rapp is only 26 years old and you have Cole Bishop in the wings, McDermott needs a more fearsome back end. Tyler Baron, EDGE, Miami is a good guess. In 2023, while at Tennessee, Baron ranked 4th in Pressures in the FBS with 29 after nine weeks. Germie Bernard was an attractive option until the Bills added Amari Cooper, and still might be a consideration as a backup ‘X’ receiver with kick-return talent. Best Guess: Akheem Mesidor joined Miami right after Greg Rousseau left, and promptly led Miami in sacks with 7 as a rotational guy in their IDL. His 16.5 career sacks is top 5 in the IDL class. Mesidor’s the fourth Hurricane in the last two decades with at least 3.5 sacks in a single game, and the first since Rousseau in 2019. His hometown of Ottawa makes Orchard Park the closest NFL stadium. You also have the Sean McDermott – Manny Diaz connection.
RD4 — Comp Pick for Gabe Davis. If the Bills don’t take a 3-tech in this draft, I’ll eat my Bills bucket hat. Including Mesidor (above), four may be available with one of the Bills’ three RD4 picks, and I like them all: Shemar Turner (SEC), Rylie Mills (Notre Dame), and the wrestler, Aaron Graves (Big 10). Of these, Rylie Mills, the 4th-fastest defensive lineman, moved back to 3-technique this spring. With his long and athletic build, Mills could be Notre Dame’s best since Jerry Tillery. Standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 295 pounds, he made The Athletic’s Freaks List for his elite combination of strength, size, and explosiveness. There are also three OTs here, but the Bills enjoy a pretty full position room. However, I prefer to back up Dion Dawkins than Spencer Brown, as I trust Ryan VanDemark more than Tylan Grable, so, for my Best Bet, Kentucky LT Marques Cox gets the nod –and has the highest ScoutScore in this range. More athletic than Grable, Cox is a stalwart in pass protection, with exceptional arm length and a solid base that helps move defenders in the run game –he blocked for Ray Davis. You see the athleticism showcased in Kentucky’s 2023 scouted victory over Florida, where he nullified Princely Umanmielen’s sack attempts, allowing Ray Davis to run for 280 yards, 3 TD, at a 10.8 YPC clip.
RD5 — Comp Pick for Floyd. Haven’t picked a DT3T yet? Ritzie, Griffith, and Farmer add incredible depth to a loaded 3-tech class. While he hasn’t had credentialed Bills scouts at his games yet, I expect one or two to be at Thor Griffith‘s game Saturday. Griffith, a redshirt senior and former state champion wrestler, is a player Coach Sean McDermott will undoubtedly covet. Renowned as PFF’s highest-graded returning ACC interior defender, Griffith brings exceptional strength to Louisville in 2024 after an impressive career at Harvard. Over 30 games, he amassed 132 tackles, 33.5 TFLs, and 13.5 sacks, highlighted by a standout 2023 season with 55 tackles, 11 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks. His pressures generated is top five in the IDL class. Highest ScoutScore in this range is Clemson QB Cade Klubnik, a junior, who’s not likely to declare for 2025, in my opinion. Best Bet: The Bills have been kicking the tires of UNC’s DT3T Jahvaree Ritzie, who’s third in sacks in the ACC after just six weeks of this season. His daily practice mantra is “Let’s win a championship today.” Ritzie’s standout performance against Minnesota, scouted by the Bills, included 6 tackles, with 3 for loss, and an impressive 3 sacks, highlighting his relentless pursuit on the field. He had 2 tackles and 2 sacks in the other Bills-scouted game.
RD6 — Acquired for Boogie. The deep talent at CB will be a consideration here with Jordan Hancock and J.Q. Hardaway. Both were on the list of the 6 Top Breakout CBs in 2023 ranked by In-Game Athletcism (IGA) Score, and some already went high in the last draft. Best Bet: Why not replace Boogie with an absolute bull in run fits? J.J. Weaver overpowers players who outweigh him by 50 pounds. His ability to get push and stonewall the run game is remarkable, underlined by the explosive power in his hips and the forceful punch in his hands. He’s not only effective against the run; Weaver consistently ranks in the top 5 for sacks and tackles for loss (TFL) per game
RD6 — Best Bet: Major Burns, because of the connection he has with his LSU DB Coach, Jahmile Addae, now with the Bills. I see plenty of developmental upside in Lorenzo Styles Jr., a former WR, now CB behind Jordan Hancock. Styles is still learning the techniques of CB following the switch. documented 10’10” broad jump and has hit 22 MPH before. Speed, explosiveness, length — all in heavy supply. More EDGEs are likely to fall to Day 3, and I don’t see Beane getting fewer than 2 in the draft. Burch is getting plenty of buzz, but I want Fadil Diggs to come to the Bills, and wear #14, instantly making my Diggs jersey worth something again.
RD6 — Just Acquired in Amari Cooper Trade. What if the Bills strike gold of their own with a RD6 quarterback? Well Will Howard‘s going to a team that has an entrenched, Pro Bowl quarterback to hold the clipboard a couple of years, if you know of any teams like that. Phil Mafah, who in 2023 averaged 4.9 YPC vs AP-ranked teams with 5.73 Yards Per Reception. He’s my #2 passblocker in the draft. Mafah had 16 carries for 59 yards in a 2024 scouted game, a loss to GA. Best Bet: Bryce Anderson tallied five tackles, including 2.0 for loss, and forced a fumble in the 2023 scouted game against Auburn, and he helped lead the way with six tackles, adding a pair of PBUs against Arkansas.
Editor’s babble: Many thanks to Dean Kindig for his incredible work and contributions to our blog. You can also find Dean on Xwitter @TCBILLS_Astro.
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