Buffalo Bills full 2019 NFL mock draft

Round 5 – Pick 147

Khalen Saunders, DT, Western Illinois

Khalen Saunders is a developmental prospect with tons of upside. His athleticism was on full display at the Senior Bowl where he was spotted doing a backflip at 324 pounds. He did what small school prospects need to do to be taken seriously at the next level and dominated his competition. His combine performance left some meat on the bone but the skill set is there. Saunders may never be an impact defensive tackle but as a rotational piece, there is a skill set to help a team.

Round 5 – Pick 158

Mecole Hardman, WR, Georgia

There are positions and situations where NFL teams are wise to utilize two draft picks on. For Buffalo in 2019 that is the wide receiver position. After grabbing a big, alpha type receiver in Hakeem Butler, they can follow up with a speedster who can take the top off a defense in Georgia’s Mecole Hardman.

With Josh Allen’s cannon of an arm, Hardman would be a perfect fit to run under those 70 yard passes that wowed scouts from Allen. Hardman lacked production but that can be attributed to a run-fist Georgia system and plenty of mouths to feed in the passing game. His speed (4.33 in the 40 yard dash) and athleticism give this offense someone who can create once the ball is in his hands. This is another smart pick to give Allen a number of different options in the passing game to help him grow in his second year.

Round 6 – Pick 181

Lonnie Johnson, CB, Kentucky

Like Erik McCoy earlier, the mock draft machine used for this caused some prospects to slip. Lonnie Johnson of Kentucky is a corner prospect who could sneak into day two.  There just aren’t many corners offering his size at almost 6-foot-2 with 325 inch arms in the league. Teams overvalue that length at corner, even with his 4.52 40 yard dash. His tape is up and down, and he is more developmental than ready to play at this point.  For Buffalo he would give them another defensive back to groom and grow, a specialty up there it seems. Johnson’s got starter potential and Buffalo would be a team that could get it out of him.

Round 7 – Pick 225

Travis Homer, RB, Miami

Buffalo ran through more running backs last year than any team in the league. There was some kind of bad juju on the running back room it seemed. In a deep, albeit not overly talented, running back class, Buffalo would be wise to grab one. An ideal player for the type of team the Bills are shaping up to be is Miami’s Travis Homer.

Homer is a do-it-all back who will be an excellent contributor for a team. Even as the starting running back for the Hurricanes, Homer was on almost every special teams unit. He was covering kicks and punts and being a blocker on the return teams. That is the kind of player that sticks around teams and adds value with his willingness to do it all. As a back he has enough juice to to get vertical and run by guys. He’s not the most agile of players but he knows what he does well and offers enough that a team is smart to take a chance adding him to their backfield.

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Round 7 – Pick 228

Sione Takitaki, LB, BYU

With their final pick, the Bills jump back to the defensive side of the ball. Trumaine Edmunds is the future at linebacker and gives Buffalo someone to man the middle of their defense. He’s flanked by the surprising Matt Milano and the aging Lorenzo Alexander. The unit as a whole could use depth and special teams players.

Sione Takitaki of BYU is an ideal fit in the seventh round. An undersized but athletic linebacker, Takitaki has had an up and down career in college. With that no stabilized, he will find a home on special teams and be a back of the end roster player.