BUFFALO (WBEN) - The past few months may have crawled by for football fans, but one of the NFL's biggest events on the calendar is finally here - the 2021 NFL Draft.
The first round of the draft is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Thursday in Cleveland, and it's been reported that a number of players are planning to attend.
The Jacksonville Jaguars won the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes by achieving the NFL's worst record (1-15, which is even more incredible considering they won their first game) and are slated to pick first. After topping the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers currently sit with the last pick of the first round.
In a much welcomed change for Bills Mafia, the Bills are currently slated to make one of the last selections of the evening as they possess the 30th overall pick, a byproduct of going to the AFC Championship Game. However, the lateness of the pick and lack of dire needs for the roster, combined with the higher level of uncertainty caused by the pandemic is pulling experts and fans in a myriad of directions.
"Without a doubt across the board, because of all of those factors, this is the most uncertainty I think surrounding the Bills in a long, long time," said Ryan Talbot, Bills writer for the Syracuse Post Standard. "It's a cliche, but I think Bills fans right now have to trust the process. Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott have done a really nice job of building up this roster via the draft and free agency."
While the roster is solid overall, many would argue the cornerback, edge rusher, tight end and running back positions could still stand some improvement.
Here are some of the players that have been mocked or linked to the Bills in recent weeks that could possibly satisfy some of those positions late in the first round.
CB - Asante Samuel Jr., Caleb Farley, Eric Stokes
EDGE - Jaelan Phillips, Gregory Rousseau, Azeez Ojulari, Jayson Oweh, Joe Tryon
RB - Travis Etienne, Najee Harris, Javonte Williams
Matt Parrino is the Bills beat reporter for syracuse.com, and in his mock draft he projected the Bills take Asante Samuel Jr., a cornerback out of Florida St., but he also suggested another option - that the Bills don't pick at 30 at all.
"What do you want to do to get to get the player that you covet if you're Brandon Beane?" Parrino asked. "Do you feel like one player in this first round, and you have enough of a good feeling on it based on your scouting and all the due diligence you've done over the past couple months, to make a move either up, or [depending] on how the board plays out, do you want to move back?"
Another popular suggestion is for the Bills to trade picks in this year's draft for picks in future years because there is so much uncertainty about medical evaluation of players stemming from no NFL combine.
Regardless, the NFL Draft is one of the most fun weekends of the year for football fans, and as now, Bills fans should be bracing for a long Thursday night if they intend to watch the Bills make their pick.
