Before the Buffalo Bills have even played a down of semi-organized preseason football ahead of the 2024 NFL season there are plenty of people who have strong opinions about the team’s biggest area(s) of need. Consider the countless articles written about the lack of proven talent in the receivers room. When Josh Allen is the quarterback, people will be quick to jump to conclusions about untested pass catchers.
One could argue that aside from Allen, every position on the team could benefit from an upgrade if the goal in an All-Pro-caliber talent. That’s highly unrealistic and unfair to scores of players who haven’t had enough time to prove their value, such as tight end Dalton Kincaid and even Terrell Bernard.
Kincaid and Bernard each had fantastic seasons as first-year starters with Buffalo. Even still, it’s fair to say they have yet to reach the pinnacle of their position. Should they be replaced? Blasphemy. No one is an All-Pro out of the box, and it’s often the role of coaching to coax such accolades out of players. That said, teams never stop looking to get better everywhere for myriad reasons, most of all the need for the next man up to adequately fill his predecessor’s shoes.
As such, falling back on recent paradigms that the Bills lack a bona fide field-stretching playmaker and that there’s always room for a defensive back in head coach Sean McDermott’s locker room are popular in any group chat on the subject.
Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t too early to take an earnest look at 2025 NFL Draft prospects and their fit with the Buffalo Bills? Though such exercises at this stage of the year have me most interested where the Bills slot in Round 1, learning about next spring’s pool of talent is a good idea.
Matt Miller, NFL Draft analyst with ESPN, recently released a 2025 NFL mock draft, providing his admittedly early first-round predictions. As mentioned above, I was curious to see where he believes Buffalo will finish the 2024 NFL season. Miller has the Bills picking 26th (ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals at 25), and with the next AFC team three stops in front of them at 29 (Baltimore Ravens). That implies the Bills will lose to the Ravens in the playoffs. At 31 are the Kansas City Chiefs, runners-up to the San Francisco 49ers in the next Super Bowl.
What does Miller see the Buffalo Bills doing, once again late in Round 1?
With the 26th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select:
Miller writes of Scourton:
“The Bills’ early top needs for 2025 look a lot like they did in 2024. But after selecting Keon Coleman to pair with Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel at receiver, GM Brandon Beane might opt to address the team’s pass rush, Buffalo’s other looming issue, next spring. Greg Rousseau is a talented player, but relying on Von Miller after this season isn’t a given. And Scourton posted 10 sacks at Purdue in 2023 and has the strength at 6-4 and 280 pounds to take over the SEC now that he’s at A&M. Turn on his tape against Michigan from last year, when he tallied two sacks, and you can see the impact he brings to a defense.”
You’ll find no argument from me about the Bills’ immediate and future needs at edge rusher. Though only Rousseau and Miller were mentioned, Buffalo doesn’t roster a true game-wrecking edge rusher at any level of the depth chart. Miller is of course the closest, but at 36 it’s likely his best days are well in the rearview mirror.
Without Miller, what’s the plan? Rousseau and Epenesa profile more in the defensive end mold of players who aren’t pressure artists, rather well-rounded edge linemen. Their profiles can, of course, evolve beyond what’s been decent to very good production to this point. That doesn’t change the team’s need to add blue-chip pass rushers. As such, it’s worth getting an early jump on next year’s prospects at the position.
A name new to me as of this writing, my first impression of Nic Scourton is that he’s full of hustle and twitch as a big defensive line prospect. Entering his junior year with Texas A&M, Scourton has much to prove despite a highly productive season in 2023. His requisite NFL size and explosive athleticism should allow Scourton to showcase just how well his talents will transfer to the NFL. That idea should be helped by moving him wider outside thanks to the Aggies’ defensive alignment.
In a write-up over at sister SB Nation site Rock M Nation, Nathan Hurst broke down what Scourton brings to the table.
Nic Scourton has made an impact at the Power 5 level from day one as an EDGE rusher. The Texas native received very little major interest out of high school, with Purdue as the only P5 school to offer him. He chose the Boilermakers and quickly made in-state schools regret not getting in on him sooner. As a true freshman, Scourton played in all 14 games for the Big 10 West champion Boilermakers, putting 15 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. His 15 tackles were the most for a freshman defensive lineman at Purdue since the Kansas City Chiefs’ former first round draft pick George Karlaftis did so in 2019.
Per Miller’s advice, here is film of every snap from Nic Scourton against Michigan in 2023:
Nic Scourton will turn 20 at the end of August, which means he has plenty of room to grow and develop as an edge rusher. Scourton’s Big Ten Conference-leading sack production in 2023 as a 19-year-old sophomore has ramped up the expectations for and number of eyes on him in 2024. Will he post similar or better numbers in a different scheme against SEC competition? That’s what everyone’s excited to find out in due time.
What do you have to say of the pick — are you familiar with Nic Scourton, excited by the potential, or hoping the Buffalo Bills choose to go in another direction?
