Inside The Bills

McShay’s final mock has QB to Bills

ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay has released his eighth, yes eighth mock draft, here on draft day and he’s got the Bills taking a quarterback.

McShay has Buffalo taking Ryan Nassib with the eighth pick.  He only has one quarterback coming off the board prior to Buffalo’s pick at eight with Cleveland taking Geno Smith with the sixth pick.

If that proves to be the case it’s likely that moving down becomes an option that’s a bit less risky if they want to wait on landing a quarterback.

Cosell mocks OLB to Bills

Quarterback has been the dominant pick for Buffalo at eight overall in the 2013 NFL draft, but that’s not the case with Yahoo Sports Greg Cosell’s mock draft.

Cosell has LSU OLB Barkevious Mingo to the Bills at 8. Here’s what he wrote about his pick for Buffalo.

8. Buffalo Bills: LSU DE/OLB Barkevious Mingo makes perfect sense for the Bills. They do not have a pass rusher at the linebacker position, and new DC Mike Pettine, formerly of the Jets, feature scheme multiplicity with athletic players who can align in different spots. Mingo flashed explosive traits, and the kind of closing speed you cannot teach. He’s a work in progress, not yet close to a finished product. He did not show elite body flexibility, with the ability to bend the edge. He needs an NFL weight room. But you put on the Clemson tape, and you see the kind of burst and speed that can impact games.

Mingo is a talented pass rusher, but young in the game and needs polish when it comes to the run game and dropping into coverage. His potential however, is likely to make him a top 10 pick. For more on Mingo check out our draft profile on the LSU pass rusher in our Draft Profile Tuesday morning on Buffalobills.com.

Breakdown of Bills mock drafts

There have been 79 mock drafts tracked here at Buffalobills.com in this pre-draft season and not surprisingly quarterback has been one of the most popular projections. There have also been some other interesting trends in all the 70-plus mock drafts tracked. Here’s a closer look.

With special thanks to Kevin Kearns in the Bills media relations department for compiling most of the information, here are some of the more interesting figures.

-          First mock draft charted was on December 12, 2011 from ESPN’s Todd McShay selecting Notre Dame LB Manti Te’o for the Bills.

-          38 drafts project that the Bills will select a quarterback. Wide receiver and offensive guard are the second most frequent positions, each appearing 10 times.

-          Most names selected for the Bills in mock drafts – West Virginia QB Geno Smith (18), Tennesee WR Cordarrelle Patterson (8), Alabama G Chance Warmack (8), USC QB Matt Barkley (7), Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib (6), Oregon DE Dion Jordan (5) and North Carolina St. QB Mike Glennon (5)

-          Since free agency began April 12, 34 mock drafts have been charted—18 of which have projected the Bills will select a quarterback. West Virginia QB Geno Smith accounts for nine of those selections.

-          There has been a recent trend projecting the Bills will draft an offensive guard, with six of the last 10 mocks charted projecting the Bills either select Alabama G Chance Warmack or North Carolina G Jonathan Cooper

-          Last 10 mock drafts tracked

• ESPN.com (April 4, Mel Kiper) – North Carolina G Jonathan Cooper
• WGR 550 (April 4, Joe Buscaglia) – USC QB Matt Barkley
• ESPN.com (April 4, Todd McShay) – LSU DE Barkevious Mingo
• Pro Football Talk (April 7, Mike Florio) – Alabama G Chance Warmack
• Houston Chronicle (April 7, John McClain) – North Carolina G Jonathan Cooper
• NFL.com (April 8, Bucky Brooks) – Alabama G Chance Warmack
• ESPN.com (April 10, Todd McShay) – Alabama G Chance Warmack
• NFL.com (April 10, Daniel Jeremiah) – West Virginia WR Tavon Austin
• WGR 550 (April 10, Joe Buscaglia) – Clemson WR DeAndre Hopkins
• Sports Illustrated (April 10, Don Banks) – Alabama G Chance Warmack

-          NFL.com has produced the most mock drafts – 26

-          Seven mock drafts include second round selections.  Selections include: QB Ryan Nassib (3), G/C Justin Pugh (2), QB Matt Barkley (1) and T/G Kyle Long (1)

A hybrid DE/LB for Bills in latest mock

NFL.com’s draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has published a new mock draft. He’s got Geno Smith going first overall to Kansas City, and he’s got a new option for the Bills at eighth overall.

Jeremiah has Buffalo taking Oregon DE Dion Jordan. Jordan is a unique physical talent and at 6’6″ and 243 pounds he played a hybrid role for the Ducks. He’s largely seen as a first-round prospect. What makes the pick for the Bills more interesting is Jeremiah worked in Baltimore scouting when Pettine was a linebackers coach with the Ravens.

McShay’s mock goes QB for Bills

ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay, joined colleague Mel Kiper in posting his latest mock draft Thursday. While Kiper chose a linebacker for the Bills with the eighth overall pick, McShay went the route of quarterback.

McShay picked West Virginia’s Geno Smith for Buffalo. He was also the first quarterback off McShay’s board. Here was his analysis.

Wide range of picks for Bills in mock drafts

With today (Jan. 15th) being the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the 2013 NFL draft, the mocks are coming fast and furious. NFL.com has four of their draftniks submit their initial mock drafts, and the picks for the Bills at eight are all over the board with only one of the four choosing a QB for Buffalo.

Here are the choices at eight overall for the four mock drafters for the Bills.

Bucky Brooks – QB Mike Glennon – N.C. State
Dan Jeremiah – WR Cordarelle Patterson – Tennessee
Charles Davis – ILB Manti Te’o – Notre Dame
Gil Brandt - LB Alec Ogletree – Georgia

Patterson is thought by some as too talented to pass up despite just one year at Tennessee at the FBS level. Glennon is a strict pocket passer, who doesn’t offer much in the way of escapability.

McShay mock goes WR for Bills

It’s become more and more popular with some of the more recent mock drafts, and ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay is leaning in that direction as well. After a bevy of offensive tackle picks at 10 for Buffalo, McShay goes wide receiver.

In McShay’s fourth mock draft he has the Bills taking Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd. Here’s what he wrote.

2 round mock goes OT, WR for Bills

One of the latest two-round mock drafts has Buffalo taking an offensive tackle at 10 and then a big WR with pick 41.

The Sideline View’s Mark Zierlein has the Bills taking Iowa OT Riley Reiff, a popular pick of late among draft prognosticators. Then in round 2 he’s got Buffalo taking Rutgers WR Mohamed Sanu.

Sanu (6’2″ 211) recently made up for a poor 40-time at the NFL Combine (4.67) with a 4.41 and 4.48 at the Rutgers pro day last week. His accurate 40 time is probably somewhere in between those two (4.45 or so). Most believes that solidifies him as a second-round pick, so there’s a good chance he’s on the board when the Bills are on the clock in round 2.

Sanu set a school record last season at Rutgers with 115 receptions for 1,206 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Bills mock leaders

Courtesy of the Bills media relations department here are the most popular selections made by draft prognosticators during the pre-draft process. Over 140 mock drafts have been tracked and here are the results as to which players have appeared the most in Buffalo’s draft slot at third overall.

37 – Von Miller
26 – Cam Newton
24 – Marcell Dareus
23 – Blaine Gabbert
8 – Da’Quan Bowers
7 – Patrick Peterson
4 – Nick Fairley
4 – Other
2 – Cameron Jordan
2 – Ryan Mallett
2 – Robert Quinn
1 – A.J. Green