Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - With less than 24 hours until Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft gets underway in Las Vegas, the Buffalo Bills will be looking to add an immediate piece to, what looks to be, a Super Bowl ready roster with the 25th overall pick.
This is my second and final NFL Mock Draft ahead of Thursday night's draft at 8 p.m. ET:
With the first-five picks in the draft, the big change comes at the top.
Aidan Hutchinson goes to the Detroit Lions after all the smoke leads to the fire that is Travon Walker at No. 1 overall. Malik Willis will have to wait just a bit longer, as Hutchinson just fits too cleanly into what Dan Campbell wants to build with the Lions.
The Houston Texans grab, what may be, the best player available, and at a position of need and both New York teams grab perfect needs in Johnson and Neal respectively.
The Carolina Panthers doesn’t change much for me. They are still desperate, but a better quarterback is available to them. Willis has all the tools to be a NFL starter, but he will need time to develop.
The New York Giants get the other side of the trenches that should leave a rebuilding team feeling very good about having franchise cornerstones.
The first two wide receivers come off the board with the Atlanta Falcons filling, maybe, the biggest need in the NFL, and the New York Jets finally adding to a room they’ve been desperately trying to add to with high-end trades.
The Seattle Seahawks won't take a quarterback this year, and will instead take the best tackle available to help an offensive line that has seemingly always needed help.
The Washington Commanders' defense was one of the biggest disappointments this past season, but Gardner should help improve a very underachieving unit.
The Minnesota Vikings' biggest need is safety, and Kyle Hamilton is the best player on the board. This will be a very easy decision for the Vikings.
I think the Texans would be the winners of the first round if they end up with Derek Stingley Jr. with the 13th pick to go with Ikem Ekwonu at third overall. I wouldn’t mind at all if they took Stingley Jr. at No. 3, but they get him here at 13 to give themselves a shutdown corner. Ekwonu may also be the best overall player in this draft.
With a team desperate for talent, you can't ask for much better.
It seems likely that the Philadelphia Eagles will offload Jalen Reagor, so adding a receiver like Drake London here makes sense, especially for a team trying to find out what they have in quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The New Orleans Saints made their trade with the Eagles to likely move up for a quarterback, but in my mock, they don’t have to. Ridder offers potential, while the Saints offer a very good roster that won’t force Ridder to come in too early.
The Los Angeles Chargers continue to improve a bad defense, while the Eagles get their No. 2 corner to team with Darius Slay.
New Orleans then not only adds the best route runner in the draft in Chris Olave, but the Saints also get a No. 2 wideout to pair with Michael Thomas.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, like Carolina, feels desperate for a quarterback, regardless of the actual talent of this class. With Kenny Pickett right in their backyard, it all makes sense.
The Patriots need to get faster on defense, and Devin Lloyd does just that for them, immediately improving what is a very important part of the Patriots identity.
Green Bay finally adds a wide receiver in Round 1 with Burks, who can be used in a variety of different ways.
Both the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys add to their defenses instead of reaching for a wide receiver.
With the 25th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select:
Andrew Booth Jr. - Cornerback - Clemson
The Bills will not follow the rumors and draft a running back, but they also will not draft a wide receiver. I think the Bills finally run out of patience with grabbing one-year rentals and older players at the cornerback position.
Getting Booth Jr. allows the team to not rush Tre’Davious White back from a torn ACL, and it gives Buffalo the perfect complement to White.
Booth Jr. does have some injury concerns, but I don’t imagine this will scare off the Bills. Booth Jr. had double-hernia surgery, but the Bills have been exceptional at dealing with injuries over the past few years. I expect that to stay the same.
The Bills will still have wide receiver and running back options over the next 2-3 rounds, and the biggest hole on a Super Bowl ready roster is CB2. With Booth Jr., the Bills will fill that hole and not have to worry about that position for the foreseeable future.
The first round ends with the Kansas City Chiefs adding on both offense and defense. Jahan Dotson could fill the void left by Tyreek Hill, and Kyler Gordon will help a bad defensive unit.
The rest of the draft is filled out by trench guys, and Detroit gets their first round quarterback in Matt Corral, who has some of the higher upside in this draft class.
