The Bills have completed the process of signing their entire draft class. The team announced on Friday that each of their eight rookies have inked their initial deal.
That list includes first-round corner Kaiir Elam. The Bills made a small move up the board from 25th to 23rd to make sure they could select him. The former Florida Gator quickly emerged as key piece on the team’s defense, putting up solid production to go along with a pro-ready frame (six-foot-two, 195 pounds). With the secondary identified by many as the position group most in need of assistance, Elam could have a path to significant playing time with the Bills early on.
Another position which Buffalo made considerably stronger was that of running back. The team took Georgia tailback James Cook in the second round, adding competition for touches with Devin Singletary, Zack Moss and Duke Johnson. The younger brother of Vikings Pro Bowler Dalvin, Cook enjoyed a breakout season in his final campaign with the national champions. He topped 1,000 scrimmage yards for the first time, scoring 11 total touchdowns.
The rest of the Bills’ class contains depth options on both sides of the ball, as well as a special teams addition. The team drafted so-called ‘Punt God’ Matt Araiza in the sixth round. The San Diego State product averaged over 51 yards per punt during his college career, fielding kickoff and field goal duties as well.
With the entire class under contract, here is the complete list of Bills draftees:
- Round 1: No. 23 (from Cardinals through Ravens) Kaiir Elam, CB (Florida)
- Round 2: No. 63 (from Bengals) James Cook, RB (Georgia)
- Round 3: No. 89 Terrel Bernard, LB (Baylor) (signed)
- Round 5: No. 148 (from Bears) Khalil Shakir, WR (Boise State)
- Round 6: No. 180 (from Jaguars through Buccaneers) Matt Araiza, P (San Diego State)
- Round 6: No. 185 (from Panthers) Christian Benford, CB (Villanova)
- Round 6: No. 209 (from Bengals) Luke Tenuta, OT (Virginia Tech)
- Round 7: No. 231 (from Falcons) Baylon Spector, LB (Clemson)
I am a big fan of this draft class for what the Bills needed to do. From top to bottom when their name was called I think they hit the right pick for what they needed. Could they have possibly gone a different direction at a slot and got a better player that had dropped, maybe. I think overall they maximized their value at every pick and really filled some holes with quality high motor players. One of my top 5 classes in all the draft.