As it is every year, the first round is on me.
Here is my final mock for the 2022 NFL Draft:
With the 25th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select:
Kyler Gordon - Cornerback - Washington
This pick represents three things that all come together for the Bills: need, value, and trends.
Let’s go through all three:
Need
It’s widely recognized that the biggest need on this championship-caliber roster is another outside cornerback.
There’s still uncertainty surrounding Tre’Davious White’s recovery from a torn ACL on Thanksgiving night. He’s only five months removed from that, and it’s unclear what his status will be to start the 2022 season, much less playing a full 17-game regular season, plus playoffs.
The Bills were unwilling to pay only $4 million a year to keep Levi Wallace, who instead signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. As of right now, Dane Jackson would start at that spot opposite White.
Jackson has performed well when called upon. He started with Wallace the rest of the season after White's injury. The team has plenty of confidence in him, and he might wind up being a really good NFL cornerback.
Beyond Jackson and White, on the outside, the only player with any experience at all is Siran Neal, who hardly ever plays defense. When he does, it’s usually in the slot.
Otherwise, it’s three practice squad players - Nick McCLoud, Olaijah Griffin, and Tim Harris, who’ve combined for four NFL games and no starts.
Value
Gordon is considered, by most draft analysts, to be a late-first to mid-second-round pick. Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Derek Stingley, Jr. are the consensus top-two cornerbacks in this draft. After that, Gordon is in the mix as one of the next three, along with his Washington teammate Trent McDuffie, Florida’s Kaiir Elam, and Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr.
Gordon was the first player mentioned by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday when he listed 11 players who “scouts are higher on than you might think.”
Trends
The Bills have loved drafting high-end athletic freaks the last few years, and Gordon certainly fits that mold. He’s still a bit undeveloped in some areas, but this Bills regime hasn’t shied away from those players, and has even embraced them, with confidence that their coaching and training staff can maximize the player’s ability and get the very best out of them. That’s how they approached it with players like Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds, Dawson Knox, Spencer Brown, and Gregory Rousseau.
At just North of 5-foot-11, Gordon can play in any scheme and doesn’t shy away from hitting or tackling, which is very important in head coach Sean McDermott’s defense and player DNA. He’s aggressive, sometimes overly, which can also be to his disadvantage, but he wants to make plays and compete down-in and down-out.
As mentioned above, the Bills allowed Wallace to leave via free agency, and it wouldn’t have been too costly to keep him. As solid as a player Wallace was for them for four years, that screams to me that they want something a bit different at the position.
Gordon represents a lot of the opposite of what Wallace is. Wallace is much more of a technician with patience. Gordon is still refining his technique, but is a possible first-rounder because of his explosiveness and aggressiveness. Wallace struggled with bigger, physical receivers. Gordon competes well with them. When Wallace was beaten early, it was tough for him to recover. Gordon can flip his hips and get right back on track.
Here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote about Gordon:
"Cornerback who comes with an elite, high-performance engine but a GPS still in the process of loading. Gordon's dynamic athletic qualities will show up in testing, but more importantly, they are all over his tape. His blend of play strength and explosive burst affects the passing game from press, off-man and zone coverages. He plays with an alpha demeanor and hitting is definitely part of his overall package. Gordon lacks polish and needs to play with better route recognition and anticipation, but if those elements click, his ball production could be near the top of the league as one of the top playmakers in the game."
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