2018 NFL Mock Draft: Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen top first round
By Brad Weiss
In the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills went to their board and drafted a quarterback. In fact, Pittsburgh signal-caller Nathan Peterman may actually start Week 1 for the team, due to the fact that Tyrod Taylor is still in concussion protocol. Peterman is a solid quarterback, with a nice skill set, but if the team makes a move away from Taylor, they have to grab a quarterback in the first round.
There are a handful of really good quarterbacks in this draft, but some regard Josh Allen as having the best skills to translate to the NFL game. Playing for Wyoming, Allen does not get a ton of national exposure, but he is definitely rated as one of the best quarterbacks in this draft class. He has struggled against better competition in college, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out leading up to the draft.
The Bills have a new head coach this season in Sean McDermott, who may want to big farewell to Taylor after the season. However, Taylor has proven to be an effective quarterback during his time in Buffalo, so it would not be shocking if they kept him as their guy. However, if they do turn the page, they certainly have the perfect draft to do so.
Buffalo will pick twice in the first round thanks to the trade they made with the Kansas City Chiefs in last April’s draft. This is a franchise that has really fallen on hard times, so having two first rounders could go a long way towards making them relevant again. At No. 6, Allen may be too good a talent to pass up, so the logical choice would be taking the big guy from Wyoming.