Buffalo Bills to work out E.J. Manuel

The Buffalo Bills are leaving no stone unturned in their search for a franchise quarterback, as Buddy Nix and Co. have seemingly worked out every quarterback in this draft class with franchise potential. Next on the list? According to Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News, the next man the Bills are checking out is former Florida State Seminoles standout E.J. Manuel.

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The NFL Network’s Mike Mayock actually moved Manuel past Matt Barkley on his list of QBs, and it seems like Manuel is gaining some ground as we head closer to the 2013 NFL Draft. That’s likely because scouts like Mayock would rather take a chance on an athletic guy, who can bring some upside in that regard and add another dimension to the offense.

In fact, Mayock is so high on Manuel that he ranked him as the second best QB in the draft behind only Geno Smith of the West Virginia Mountaineers. Smith will almost certainly keep that top spot, so it is interesting to see that Mayock values Manuel higher than guys like Barkley and supposed Bills favorite Ryan Nassib.

Manuel ran forty times of 4.62 and 4.63 at the 2013 NFL Combine, and he has an excellent combination of size (6’5″) and arm strength. The upside in his strength and athleticism make him a prime upside target for teams, and upside is the key word in a draft void of a sure-fire franchise QB; Smith is the closest thing to sure-fire. Like most of the other quarterbacks in this class, Manuel has a huge consistency issue.

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