NFL insider says Bills have interest in specific WR that could be a 'day one starter'
The 2023 NFL Draft is just a couple of days away which means Buffalo Bills fans will finally know which player the franchise will grab with the No. 27 overall selection. Buffalo doesn't have a long list of needs that they still need to address. There are areas where the Bills can improve their roster […]
The 2023 NFL Draft is just a couple of days away which means Buffalo Bills fans will finally know which player the franchise will grab with the No. 27 overall selection.
Buffalo doesn't have a long list of needs that they still need to address.
There are areas where the Bills can improve their roster — both for the long-term and short-term — but if Buffalo didn't make a selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, they'd still be one of the top Super Bowl contenders in the league.
Longtime NFL insider Peter King provided some final draft nuggets this week in his "Football Morning in America" column. And he thinks the Bills will take a wide receiver with the No. 27 overall selection in the draft.
Specifically, King thinks the Bills will take North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Josh Downs. King noted that he knows the Bills like him and scouts think he can be a day-one starter in the slot.
From NBC Sports: Getting picked ahead of Quentin Johnston of TCU and Jalin Hyatt of Tennessee would be an upset, and I can’t predict with certainty this happens. But I know the Bills like him, and scouts think he can be a day-one starter in the slot, which would fit with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis outside. Imagine this production over the last two seasons in a per-game average: 8.1 receptions, 98.5 yards, 0.7 TDs. That’ll play in a Buffalo offense that fizzled toward the end of the 2022 season.
Downs, 5-foot-9/171 lbs, is a smaller wide receiver that excels at making defenders miss and making tough catches. The size is a concern, but former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, a similarly sized player who reached five Pro Bowls during his NFL career, recently gave Downs a major endorsement. Smith called Downs "the footwork king".
Downs could provide Bills quarterback Josh Allen with another dangerous weapon in the passing game. If he's still there when the Bills are on the clock with the No. 27 pick, I'd expect him to be the pick. That's not a certainty, but it definitely feels like it's trending in that direction.
