The 2022 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, April 28. As a lead-up to the draft, we’ll be giving a team-by-team breakdown for positional needs. For each team, we’ll give an overview of the current depth chart and how big of a need each position is in the upcoming draft. You can find the rest of the team needs (as they’re updated) and the rest of our draft content in the 2022 NFL Draft hub.
What Picks do the Buffalo Bills have in 2022
The Buffalo Bills have nine picks.
Round 1 (25)
Round 2 (57)
Round 3 (89)
Round 4 (130)
Round 5 (168)
Round 6 (185)
Round 6 (203)
Round 7 (231)
Buffalo Bills Top POSITIONS OF NEED
Satellite RB, interior OL/WR depth, Outside CB
Buffalo Bills Strength of Schedule, 2022
The Buffalo Bills have the 13th hardest (20 out of 32) NFL strength of schedule for the 2022 season.
Buffalo Bills Offense
By Rich Hribar
QUARTERBACK
Josh Allen
Case Keenum
Matt Barkley
Josh Allen received his huge extension last offseason. Even with some regression off his blistering 2020 breakout, Allen was once again excellent overall in 2021, throwing 36 touchdown passes and passing for 4,407 yards.
Losing Mitchell Trubisky in free agency, the Bills added veteran Case Keenum as insurance behind Allen.
Quarterback is not a position that Buffalo needs to address in April.
RUNNING BACK
Devin Singletary
Zack Moss
Duke Johnson
Christian Wade
Reggie Gilliam (FB)
The Bills were third in the NFL in EPA added via rushing offense (58.0 points) in 2021, settling on a combo of Devin Singletary and Josh Allen as their primary ball carriers as the season progressed.
Singletary enters the final season of his rookie contract coming off a productive close to the 2021 season when he was given the keys to the backfield. Singletary accounted for 127-of-150 backfield touches for the Bills over their final seven games of the season.
Zack Moss has opened his career with 576 and 542 yards with five touchdowns in each season. He played just six total snaps in the two playoff games and was a healthy scratch in five games. Moss still has two cheap years left on his rookie deal that may prevent him from being cut outright, but it is hard to still have optimism for him after 2021.
Buffalo is once again rumored to be in the mix as one of the teams picking at the end of the first round that could select a running back, with Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker as the top options.
The team added Duke Johnson as an option to provide an added option as depth with pass catching experience, but this is also a running back class full of potential solid pass catchers that Buffalo can add if they do not want to pay a premium at the position.
The Bills have explored adding a dynamic pass catcher out of the backfield in each of the past two offseasons. Travis Etienne thought he was going to be selected by the Bills if the Jaguars didn’t select him a year ago, while Buffalo had a deal worked out with veteran J.D. McKissic during the legal tampering period before he reconsidered and returned to Washington.
Buffalo has only targeted their running backs 14% and 16% the past two seasons (both 27th in the league), but they also have not had a back that has added a lot to the offense in that department.
Out of 68 qualifying running backs, Singletary ranked 67th and Moss 56th in receiving grade per Pro Football Focus. Moss was 41st among that group in yards per route run (1.11) while Singletary was 67th (0.61).
If Buffalo is not going to pay up with premium draft capital, a player like Rachaad White would fit this mold.
White accounted for 20.9% of his team receptions and 19.5% of the receiving yards in 2021, the highest rates in this class. Not just a product of volume in the passing game, White also led this running back class in yards per route run (2.25).
White has the size (6’0” and 214 pounds) to be more than a satellite back at the next level while he posted a 74th percentile speed score and 87th percentile explosion score (vert plus broad) at the combine.
WIDE RECEIVER
Stefon Diggs
Gabriel Davis
Jamison Crowder
Isaiah McKenzie
Jake Kumerow
Marquez Stevenson
Tanner Gentry
Isaiah Hodgins
The Bills have Stefon Diggs locked up through the 2027 season, following suit with paying top dollar to feature NFL wideouts. Diggs was a carrying salary below $20 million over the next two seasons.
After posting 7.9 catches for 95.9 yards per game in his first season in Buffalo, Diggs averaged 6.1 receptions for 72.1 yards per game, still ranking 10th and 12th at his position in those categories.
Diggs also managed a career-high 10 touchdowns while averaging 9.7 targets per game (seventh). After receiving over 25% of the Buffalo targets in each of his first two seasons with the Bills, Diggs is a strong bet to once again be peppered with opportunity in 2022.
The Bills are moving on from both Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders, who ranked behind Diggs with 112 and 72 targets in 2021.
They have both spots covered immediately, elevating third-year wideout Gabriel Davis in place of Sanders and signing Jamison Crowder to a one-year deal this free agency to play inside.
I am more on the pro-side of the coin for Davis. My prospect model loved him coming out of college and all he has done is produce when called upon over his first two seasons in the league.
Only Jonathan Taylor (33) and Antonio Gibson (21) have scored more touchdowns than Davis (18) so far from the 2020 draft class.
Davis has only played two-thirds of the offensive snaps in 14 career games to open his career but has a 50-816-11 line in those games on 87 targets.
Crowder has only played one full season over his past five years in the league but is a proven veteran that can bridge the gap to a younger player while Isaiah McKenzie has also shown that he can step up and play slot receiver when needed.
While taking a wide receiver may seem like a luxury at the time, Buffalo runs an offense that always needs to continuously add wide receivers. Only the Rams ran more offensive plays (906) than the Bills did (883) using three or more wide receivers on the field, while they were also second in the league in plays using four or more wideouts (98).
TIGHT END
Dawson Knox
O.J. Howard
Tommy Sweeney
Quintin Morris
The Bills are solid in the tight end department.
After 52 catches for 676 yards and five touchdowns through two NFL seasons, Dawson Knox caught 49 passes for 587 yards and nine scores in 2021 on 71 targets.
Including the postseason, Knox has now found the end zone at least once in 13 of his past 26 games played.
Knox still has room to grow outside of being a touchdown scorer as he was 20th among tight ends in targets per game (4.7) and 48th in target rate per route (14.0%).
Even if Knox remains a red zone threat, the team has also added O.J. Howard in hopes of resurrecting his career. Howard has never reached his potential after being the 19th pick in the 2017 draft, buried the past two seasons on Tampa Bay, catching 25 total passes.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LT: Dion Dawkins
LG: Ike Boettger/Ryan Bates/Jacob Capra
C: Mitch Morse/Greg Mancz
RG: Rodger Saffold/Cody Ford
RT: Spencer Brown/Tommy Doyle
Buffalo closed 2021 with a ranking disparity in terms of pass protection and run blocking. Per ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate, Buffalo ranked eighth in the league (64%) compared to 23rd in Run Block Win Rate (69%). Per Pro Football Focus, Buffalo ranked 14th in collective pass blocking grade compared to 27th in run blocking.
Buffalo is largely rolling the same offensive line back in 2022.
The only differences are that Daryl Williams (who led the team with 1,292 snaps) is still a free agent and Jon Feliciano (who only played 447 snaps) has signed with the Giants.
The team added veteran Rodger Saffold on a one-year deal to fill a void at guard.
All of Morse, Dawkins, Brown, Boettger, Ford, and Bates played 400 or more snaps in 2021. Only Boettger and Ford are set to be free agents after the 2022 season as well from that group.
With Saffold, Boettger, and Ford all on expiring deals, Buffalo is a solid bet to add an interior lineman on a rookie contract with one of their depth selections.
Buffalo Bills Defense
By Dan Pizzuta
Interior Defensive Line
Ed Oliver
Tim Settle
Jordan Phillips
Daquan Jones
Eli Ankou
Brandin Bryant
Ed Oliver might not have reached an Aaron Donald level of interior defender, but he’s been really good and 2021 was arguably his best season. He was seventh in ESPN’s Pass Rush Win Rate among defensive tackles, ninth in Run Stop Win Rate (the only defensive tackle in the top-10 of both), and ninth in pressure rate per SIS. With a fifth-year option, he’s under contract through 2023.
Tim Settle was buried on the depth chart on a loaded Washington defensive line but showed the ability to rush the passer from the inside when he had the opportunity. He’ll now get more playing time next to Oliver after signing with Buffalo this offseason.
Jordan Phillips had a breakout 2019 season with the Bills with 9.5 sacks (he has 10.5 combined in his other six seasons). He spent the past two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and returned to Buffalo in the offseason. DaQuan Jones also provides depth as a 320-pound lineman with enough juice to push the pocket.
EDGE
Von Miller
Gregory Rosseau
Shaq Lawson
AJ Epenesa
Carlos Basham
Mike Love
One of the biggest shocks of free agency was Von Miller signing with the Bills. Buffalo had spent the past two seasons building up a strong rotation of pass rushers that could go in and out of the game, but now they have a star to take over the position. Miller’s biggest highs came in the playoffs and he was 35th among edge rushers in pressure rate across the entire regular season.
Miller could take over as a constant presence along the line or he could rotate out more to keep him fresh for a late-season and playoff run. Over the past two drafts, the Bills have used early picks on Epenesa, Rousseau, and Basham. Rousseau led that group with 49% of the defensive snaps played, behind Mario Addison and Jerry Hughes, both free agents.
With that rotational approach, the Bills were sixth in Pass Rush Win Rate as a team.
Off-ball Linebacker
Matt Milano
Tremaine Edmonds
Tyler Matakevich
Tyrel Dodson
Marquel Lee
Andre Smith
Joe Giles-Harris
No team played more nickel defense than the Bills, 91.3% of their snaps. Ideally, the two linebackers always on the field are Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmonds. Those two have missed some time over the past few seasons, which does leave the need for a good third linebacker, even if in the best of circumstances he rarely sees the field.
Last year, that player was A.J. Klein who played a quarter of the defensive snaps, but he was released earlier this offseason. Tyrel Dodson played 7% and Tyler Matakevich played 4%. Buffalo could use some depth here just in case. It’s also worth noting Edmonds is playing in the final year of his rookie contract on a fifth-year option.
Cornerback
Tre’Davious White
Taron Johnson
Dane Jackson
Siran Neal
Cameron Lewis
Olaijah Griffin
Tom Harris
Tre’Davious White is one of the league’s best cornerbacks — he ranked 19th among corners in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap — but a torn ACL in late November could put the start of the season in some question. That matters because Levi Wallace (10th in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap) signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency.
With White healthy, one side is locked down, but the question for the other side remains open. 2020 seventh-round pick Dane Jackson filled in admirably over the second half of the season and could be an option.
Taron Johnson signed a three-year extension in 2021 that runs through 2024 and he’s turned into one of the league’s best slot corners. Johnson ranked seventh in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap.
Safety
Jordan Poyer
Micah Hyde
Jaquon Johnson
Damar Hamlin
Josh Thomas
With Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, the Bills have arguably the best safety duo in the league. With those two on the field, the Bills allowed just 22.2% of deep passes (20 or more air yards) to be completed with seven interceptions and no touchdowns allowed. The Bills were the only team to not allow a deep touchdown during the 2021 regular season.
Hyde played 95% of the defensive snaps in 2021 and Poyer played 91%. Hyde will be 32 years old in 2022 and is signed through 2023. Poyer will be 31 and 2022 is the final year of his current contract.
As is the case with the linebackers, the Bills will have just those players on the field if everything goes to plan. But given the age and contract status of the duo, more depth and planning for the future could be in play.