With the 212th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select safety Damar Hamlin from the University of Pittsburgh.
Hamlin was the second of three sixth round picks for the Bills in this year's draft. Buffalo acquired the 212th pick from the Houston Texans in a trade that saw the Bills trading back from the 174th pick in the fifth round.
The native of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania was selected as a red-shirt senior out of Pittsburgh, where he put up respectable numbers with the Panthers. In 46 career games in college, Hamlin registered 275 total tackles, 10 of which coming for loss, while also defending 21 passes, collecting six interceptions and recovering a fumble.
This past season for Hamlin was a productive one, picking up 66 total tackles in 10 games with 3.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. That was good enough to earl Hamlin All-ACC Second-Team honors following the season.
"[Hamlin] has size and length, but is missing the speed to handle man coverage down the field," wrote Lance Zierlein at NFL.com. "He plays with good instincts and awareness when allowed to play with his eyes forward from off coverage and has adequate ball skills and solid ball production. He might have some man cover potential on tight ends but is more consistent from short zone and can be mismatched in space if asked to play deep. He's an aggressive, willing tackler in run support but he can often be found flying in too hot when filling downhill or missing the mark as an open-field tackler. There are traits and ball production to work with, which could make him a future backup."
The Bills will finish up the sixth round with their final pick of the round at No. 213 overall.