The Buffalo Bills will be hard-pressed to find a cornerback worth taking late in the first round of the NFL draft, according to ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.
Kiper projects the Bills will take Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson with the 25th overall pick in his latest first-round mock draft.
Kiper predicts three cornerbacks being taken in the top 12 overall. He has Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner of Cincinnati going to the New York Jets at No. 10; Derek Stingley Jr. of Louisiana State going to Washington at No. 11; and Trent McDuffie of the University of Washington going to Minnesota at No. 12. Kiper does not have another cornerback being drafted in the first round.
People are also reading…
Cornerback is the only position on the Bills’ roster where there is a starting position open. Tre’Davious White, coming back from knee surgery, might not be ready for the season opener. The other starter, Levi Wallace, signed as a free agent with Pittsburgh. Dane Jackson started the final eight games, counting playoffs, in place of White last season. The Bills surely will add some players to compete with Jackson.
“At corner there’s a lot of mixed opinion after the top three, which are Stingley or Gardner, in no particular order, and then McDuffie from Washington,” Kiper said on a media conference call this week. “The fourth corner is open – wide open. There’s a ton of opinions on who should be the fourth corner.”
Kiper doesn’t see one of the top three cornerbacks falling to the Bills – or even to New England, which picks No. 21 and has a big need at the position. The Patriots lost their best cornerback, J.C. Jackson, to the Chargers in free agency.
“I don’t think so,” Kiper said. “I think you’re looking at Trent McDuffie as the third corner taken, and I don’t think he’ll be there. Then you look – all the other guys are just a little iffy."
Of course, Kiper’s view is but one opinion, albeit a high-profile one.
NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah has a fourth corner, Washington’s Kyler Gordon, being taken 23rd overall. Analyst Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports projects two other cornerbacks going late in the first round – Florida’s Kaiir Elam at No. 29 and Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr. at No. 31.
The Ringer has Booth going No. 14, Elam going No. 21 and Gordon being taken by Buffalo at No. 25.
Still, Kiper said the corners beyond the top three have enough question marks for teams to be leery.
“Andrew Booth Jr. did not have a great year at Clemson,” Kiper said of the 2021 season. “I thought he could be a top-15 pick. He didn’t play like it. ... He’s not a guy I’d take that high. ... Kyler Gordon didn’t test great out of Washington.”
Another cornerback most analysts rate easily among the top 40 players in the draft is Auburn’s Roger McCreary, who has superb coverage skills. However, he is not big – measuring 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds at the scouting combine – and doesn’t have long arms, which the Bills like in cornerbacks.
“Roger McCreary of Auburn is more of a slot corner, but he didn’t play in the slot, so he’s a projection,” Kiper said. “Kaiir Elam out of Florida has length, but there’s too many penalties there. And a sleeper would be Zion McCollum out of Sam Houston State, who’s got great length, and he played well. He’s got incredible ball skills. Zion McCollum in the third or fourth round would be an incredible pick.”
Even if the Bills’ scouts agree with Kiper on the value of cornerback late in the first round, they should have plenty of other chances to fill the position.
The cornerback class is considered very deep, with good options potentially available in the second and third rounds and on the third day.
