My Grades for the Bills 2024 Draft

[gonzo1105]

2. (33) Keon Coleman WR  Florida State  B+ 

 

-  I know a lot of people hate this pick and he wasn't my # 1 choice either but he is a more dynamic Gabe Davis and lets be real the Buffalo Bills or any team drafting that late in the first round were not getting a day 1 bonafide # 1 WR. Coleman gets a lot of flake for a number of things including his lack of separation and he wont be a huge separator but he has great hands and body control and he is only 20 years old and will continue to get better because its in his DNA as the type of person. I watched him all 13 games and he has flaws but a lot of guys have flaws at this point in the draft

 

2. (60) Cole Bishop SAF Utah  A-

 

- Bishop was my favorite safety in this draft class. He is not the best safety as it sits right now but I believe he will be in 3 years especially now that he is under the Bills tutelage of coaching up defensive backs. He is a great in the box player, is super aggressive tackler and has an ability to cover TE's and slot WR's 1 on 1. He will need to be coached up in deep zone coverage but you could say that about the vast majority of safeties in this draft. He gets an A- because he's a safety and possibly could have gotten a guy later

 

3. (95) DeWayne Carter DT Duke B

 

- Carter is getting a lot of unnecessary flak from the people on this board. He is a ball of fire from the DT spot and has great size at 6'2 308. He is position versatile and can play the 3T or the 1T and he will probably get reps at both for the Bills but he will be primarily a 3T who can line up with Oliver in obvious passing situations. People think Carter was a reach here because most people in the scouting community had him as a 4th or 5th round prospect and I strongly disagree with that. I actually had him at pick 99 in my mock draft and felt he was worthy of this selection

 

4. (128) Ray Davis RB Kentucky A-

 

- I literally clapped my hands with excitement when this came across my screen as Ray Davis. He has been my personal favorite Running Back from this class for a long time and I'm an FSU fan and Trey Benson is in this draft. Davis is an older prospect but that doesn't matter when it comes to RB's when the vast majority of them only get 1 or 2 contracts anyways. Davis is a complete back who is a downhill compact runner, catches the ball smoothly out of the backfield, and is a pretty good running back in pass protection which is something current starting RB James Cook really struggles with.

 

5. (141) Sedrick Van Pran OC Georgia A+

 

- My 3 favorite picks were Van Pran, Davis, and Bishop with none being higher than Van Pran. He is not position versatile. He is strictly a center but for the people who were worried about David Edwards being in the starting lineup that got very shaky with this selection. I legit believe that Van Pran can come in and start at Center as a rookie moving McGovern back to his left guard spot. He has a ton of starts in college football and even though he has short arms he is built well to handle bigger DT's in the run game and is a solid pass protector as well.

 

5. (160)Edefuan Ulofoshio LB Washington C+

 

- I actually don't mind the value of Ulofoshio as I had him as a late 4th round value but he's a bottom of the roster candidate to play ST's as he's unlikely to crack the rotation at LB with Bernard, Milano, and Williams being the top 3. He's a good cover LB who again was a team captain for Washington. He'll compete for ST's reps with Baylon Spector and Nick Morrow for a roster spot. Now if Milano is not up to speed, this pick to me makes a lot more sense.

 

5. (168) Javon Solomon DE Troy B +

 

- From a pure football standpoint Solomon is a great mid round pick due to the way he played on the Edge in College. Its undeniable the ability he had to get to the QB at the G5 level but can he do it with how short and how light he is at the NFL level. He does have long arms which will help but will he get engulfed by bigger men in the NFL game. His ceiling is probably a sub package pass rusher

 

6. (204) Tyler Grable OT UCF B-

 

- Grable has started a lot of games and has the potential to stick as a Left Tackle in the NFL with his size and feet. What he needs to prove to the Bills is he can play both LT and RT in the NFL, if he can do that he has the potential to stick on the roster and unseat Ryan Van DeMark who is only a Left Tackle and doesn't have position versatility. If that happens look for the Bills to trade VanDeMark at cut down day next year.

 

6. (219) Daequan Hardy CB Penn State B

 

- Hardy is an undersized defensive back who doesn't mind sticking his nose in there and will probably be relegated solely to Nickle duty in the NFL. He will have to make this roster by showing that he can return punts in the NFL. If he proves that he can do that there may be a spot for him on this roster. If not he will either be the latest late round DB to get picked up on the waiver wire by another team or be relegated to the PS

 

7. (221) Travis Clayton OG INT Pathway INC

 

- He has never played a game of football so there is no possible grade to be had. I initially laughed at the pick but saw the video of him and could see him doing something down the line. I liked the pick even more when another poster, sorry I forget who, mentioned that international pathway players are exempt from a roster spot and can't be plucked away from a teams practice squad. That means the Bills have 3 years of control to decide if this guy can be anything or not in the future.

 

Conclusion:

 

I am much higher on this draft than the vast majority of the people on this board. My 3 favorite picks as I stated earlier were Van Pran, Bishop, and Davis but I am much higher on the selections of Coleman and Carter than most. My two least favorite picks were at OT and LB and I believe they took Clayton at 221 because they saw potential and had no other graded players at 221.  I think Coleman, Bishop, Carter, Davis, and Van Pran are absolute locks to make this roster. I think Ulofoshio has a chance at Special Teams as well as Hardy in year 1. Solomon will battle Kingsley Jonathon for the last DE spot and Grable will have to prove he can play both Tackle positions to stick on the roster. Clayton is just a wild card pick that they hope pays off in a couple of years. I think you also so that the Bills philosophy has shifted as they wanted to become a bigger more physical team this weekend than the finesse team they were seen as in the past.

 

Final Grade: B+

Edited April 27 by gonzo1105

[FireChans]

I’ll sum it up. D-

[SoonerBillsFan]

Good review.  I move Coleman to a solid A. He is going to be better than fans expect.

 

 

[LABILLBACKER]

Bishop, Davis and VPG are the best value picks. I hate the Coleman pick but I'll keep an open mind even if he's unable to get open. This was clearly a transition 1 year rebuild draft. Our odds of sliding into the playoffs are 50/50 but a SB is definitely out of the question. Next off season with Knox & Miller gone, BB will have more leverage to help Josh.

 

Grade C+

Edited April 28 by LABILLBACKER

[Shortchaz]

2 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Bishop, Davis and VPG are the best value picks. I hate the Coleman pick but I'll keep an open mind even if he's unable to get open. This was clearly a transition 1 year rebuild draft. Our odds of sliding into the playoffs are 50/50 but a SB is definitely out of the question. Next off season with Knox & Miller gone, BB will have more leverage to help Josh.

 

Grade C+

It was a safe, punt on 4 and three at the opponents 47 with a 7 point lead in the fourth, draft.