Bills Mock Draft Links Buffalo to 'Day-One Starter'

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills get a new offensive weapon to work with in the latest mock draft from Peter King of NBC Sports, which projects North Carolina receiver Josh Downs in the 27th slot.

Josh Downs would have to switch his shade of blue from power to royal. But if that's the biggest adjustment he'd need to make in the potential transition from Chapel Hill to Orchard Park, the Buffalo Bills would likely be more than happy to work with that.

In the latest mock draft from Peter King of NBC Sports, one that opens the week of the selection gathering in Kansas City, the Bills partly counter their divisional rival's official obtaining of quarterback Aaron Rodgers by adding Downs, who is fresh off a successful three-year run with the Tar Heels.

King expresses trepidation about the idea of Downs being one of the receivers chosen during the opening round on Thursday night (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN/NFL Network). He believes the two-time All-ACC rep could be an immediate contributor in Western New York. 

"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," King said. "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."

To King's point, the Bills struggled in their final outing of the 2022-23 season, scoring only 10 points in the AFC Divisional playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The 325-yard tally they put up in the same game was one of four sub-400-yard efforts they had in their last seven games despite ranking second in total offense last year. 

Downs departs Chapel Hill as one of the most prolific receivers in Tar Heel history, finishing in the all-time top five in both receptions (202) and yardage (2,483). He knows what it's like to perform in big games, having capped off his college career with a 100-yard game in the ACC title game against Clemson (skipping the Tar Heels' appearance in the Music City Bowl). 

Slated to pick in the 27th slot on Thursday, the Bills have not chosen a receiver in the premier round since they went with Sammy Watkins as the fourth choice in 2014. Current XFL standout Austin Proehl, also a receiver, is the last Tar Heel they've chosen, going in the seventh round four years after Watkins.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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