Here’s the Bills news of note for April 13.
By Dominic LoVallo / Contributing Correspondent
1 – The consensus for Bills first-round selections
With the NFL draft two weeks away, more and more mock drafts will be released. On NFL.com, you can even make your own mock draft. SB Nation compiled the mock draft results from 29 different sources to make the ultimate mock draft.
A continuously updating system, mock drafts that include trades are not included and players may appear as the consensus pick more than once.
At the number 12 pick, the consensus for the Bills is quarterback Baker Mayfield. The QB out of Oklahoma, said to have a play style comparable to former Bills QB Doug Flutie on NFL.com, is also the consensus for the Denver Broncos at pick five.
If the Bills end up taking Mayfield in the upcoming draft, he will have the ability to start right away because of the open competition McDermott announced for the QB spot. If he doesn’t start, he will presumably sit behind AJ McCarron.
Behind Mayfield is QB Lamar Jackson, followed by Josh Allen. In general, the main consensus is that Buffalo will be taking a QB if available at the 12th overall selection.
At pick 22, The Bills consensus pick is linebacker Rashaan Evans. The 6-3 OLB out of Alabama has what it takes to be an instant starter for the Bills, and could help fill the void left by Preston Brown. He is also the consensus pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers at pick 28.
Following Evans, the highest projected picks are WR Courtland Sutton and LB Leighton Vander Esch.
Even with expert picks making up the consensus picks, it is not always so easy to get the picks right.
More often than not, mock drafts are wrong.
In 2017, Joe Marino of NDT Scouting had the most accurate mock draft of the year, according to Huddle Report, and he earned that title with a grand total of nine correct predictions of player-team pairings. Nine.
2 – Which potential draft pick is comparable to Charles Clay
A three-down tight end who can block and catch passes, Charles Clay is entering his fourth year with the Bills. The 6-3 TE caught 49 passes for 558 yards and two touchdowns.
CBS Sports believes draft prospect Ian Thomas plays a similar style of game to Clay.
A fun, three-down tight end with quality blocking ability, sound wiggle in space and the ability to make the occasional highlight reel grab, Thomas and Clay are very similar. Clay is a little smaller and more elusive, while Thomas has more power in his pads and is a better high-pointer.
At 6-5 and 259 lbs., the powerful TE out of Indiana has a well-rounded game. Last season, Thomas pulled in 25 receptions for 376 yards and five touchdowns.
Maybe the Bills will look to find a player to back-up under Clay this season, and maybe Thomas will be the option. Expect Thomas to go in the second or third round in the upcoming draft.
3 – Should the Bills keep the red color-rush uniforms?
In 2015, the Bills and Jets became two of the first teams to start wearing color-rush jerseys in designated color-rush games on Thursday nights. Now, the color-rush specific games may be on their way out, but what about the jerseys?
In a story on USA Today, the first line of the story says that Color Rush uniforms aren’t going away.
The Bills original color rush uniform had the team wearing all red with white helmets. This caused a controversy when the team faced off against the all green Jets during a Thursday night football game in 2015. This angered colorblind football fans across the country who saw only grey uniforms running across their television screens.
The Thursday Night Football staple may not be seen every week next season, but teams will have them as an option under an amended uniform policy that will be considered at the next NFL owners meetings in May, a person with direct knowledge of the issue told USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis. The person chose to remain anonymous because league owners have not yet approved the new policy.
So, for fans of the Bills all-red uniforms, they may not be seen on Thursday night, but they should still be around next season.