2017 NFL Draft: Buffalo Bills Early-April 7-Round Mock Draft
By Tyler Olson
Round 5, Pick 156: Josh Harvey-Clemons, SS – Louisville
Big safeties are becoming a norm in the NFL these days. Guys like Kam Chancellor and Dashon Goldson are just two good examples. Josh Harvey-Clemons is one of the next in line that NFL scouts are raving about. At 6-4 and 220 pounds, he’s a prototypical in-the-box safeties that are hard to gameplan around, but are perfect matchup scenario’s for guys like Rob Grownkowski and Julius Thomas, both of whom Buffalo will face twice a year in the AFC East.
Harvey-Clemons began his career at Georgia, coming in as a five-star linebacker recruit before multiple marijuana arrests forced Georgia to kick him off the team. He then transferred to Louisville and started two seasons for the Cardinals finishing with 144 tackles and three interceptions.
Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer are set to take over at safety, but Harvey-Clemons would fill a similar role in McDermott’s defense as Shaq Thompson played for him with the Carolina Panthers.
Round 5, Pick 171 (via Cowboys): Julie’n Davenport, OT – Bucknell
Buffalo has had a revolving door on the right side of their offensive line. Drafted in 2014, Seantrel Henderson has been a big disappointment playing poorly and getting suspended on two separate occasions. Jordan Mills has come in and taken over the spot in the last year and a half, though, starting in all 16 games last season.
At just 26 years old, Mills is young, but has been ultimately inconsistent throughout his five seasons as a pro. Julie’n Davenport won’t be ready to start right away, but the Bucknell product is projected to have a high ceiling. When he gets drafted, he’ll be the first Bucknell player drafted since 1969.
Round 6, Pick 195: Keionta Davis, DE – Chattanooga
Keionta Davis is your prototypical small-school project. He’s received a lot of praise this last season after his performance against Alabama in which he had four tackles, a half-sack and a forced fumble. That performance, along with the 31 sacks he had in his career at Chattanooga, garnered enough interest for a Reese’s Senior Bowl invite this past January.
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Buffalo doesn’t have a lot of depth at defensive end this season. The line will be a focus for Whaley and company with Shaq Lawson’s injury history, and Jerry Hughes and Kyle Williams aren’t getting any younger. The Bills thought they found some depth in Scott Crichton last week, but a failed physical put a halt to that. Davis could benefit from learning from the great veterans Buffalo has, but it’ll be a year or two before he’s truly ready to contribute.