With the 25th pick in the POD Community Mock, the Bills select…

The Buffalo Bills sure could’ve used some better secondary play last year. So the Bills get slotted with a cornerback in our 2022 POD Community Mock Draft.

The Buffalo Bills have been working overtime to try and keep pace with the AFC arms race this offseason. Ooof, I probably shouldn’t have used the word overtime. That’s my bad, Bills Mafia.

Josh Allen and the rest of the Bills are likely still hurting from the sudden death of their 2021 season. Crap, I did it again.

Uh… the Bills are good. But they need to be better. Thankfully they have an equal amount of possessions when it comes to draft picks. Okay, that one was clearly on purpose.

Anyways, it’s the Bills’ turn in the Pride of Detroit Community Mock draft, and commenter jdpeterson34 is on the clock. Here’s a look at the selections in the draft thus far.

POD Community Mock Draft picks so far:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE, Michigan
2. Detroit Lions: Travon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
3. Houston Texans: Kayvon Thibodeaux, EDGE, Oregon
4. New York Jets: Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame
5. New York Giants: Evan Neal, OT, Alabama
6. Carolina Panthers: Ikem Ekwonu, OT, NC State
7. New York Giants: Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati
8. Atlanta Falcons: Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh
9. Seattle Seahawks: Malik Willis, QB, Liberty
10. New York Jets: Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State
11. Washington Commanders: Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU
12. Minnesota Vikings: Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington
13. Houston Texans: Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State
14. Baltimore Ravens: Jermaine Johnson, EDGE, Florida State
15. Philadelphia Eagles: Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia
16. Philadelphia Eagles: Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah
17. Los Angeles Chargers: Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa
18. New Orleans Saints: Drake London, WR, USC
19. Philadelphia Eagles: Daxton Hill, S, Michigan
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State
21. New England Patriots: Zion Johnson, iOL, Boston College
22. Green Bay Packers: George Karlaftis, EDGE, Purdue
23. Arizona Cardinals: Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
24. Dallas Cowboys: Kenyon Green, iOL, Texas A&M

With the 25th pick in the POD Community Mock, the Buffalo Bills have selected Andrew Booth, cornerback from Clemson.

Here’s jdpeterson34 with the explanation:

Thirteen seconds. All the Bills had to do in order to secure a trip to the AFC Championship game was to not give up 40 yards in 13 seconds. As we all know, mistakes were made by both staff and players. The secondary was egregious, and one of the main culprits was 2018-2021 starter Levi Wallace. He’s since sought greener pastures and a modest pay bump in Pittsburgh, and that’s why many Bills pundits are mocking cornerbacks to the Bills at the 25th pick.

This mock draft could be considered a “worst-case scenario” for the Bills. The top three cornerbacks (Ahmad Gardner, Derek Stingley, and Trent McDuffie) are all off the board, as well as Kenyon Green, who would be an immediate upgrade at right guard. Nevertheless, Andrew Booth is the best value at a position of need for the Bills, so he’s the pick in this mock draft.

Booth has good size (6-foot, 194 pounds) and unfortunately, due to a quad injury and a sports hernia, he was unable to test at the NFL Combine or Clemson’s pro day. This could work in the Bills’ favor though, because if Booth had tested well, he very well could have been selected before the 25th pick in this draft.

Booth is a former five-star recruit and a unanimous first-team All-ACC cornerback, and in the past two years, he logged five interceptions and nine passes broken up. While considered a little raw (he’s only started 15 games), Booth is only 21 and has a very high ceiling. He’s also best in zone coverage, which the Bills’ defense primarily uses. Once Tre’Davious White recovers from his knee injury, and if they draft Andrew Booth, the Bills’ secondary will be much improved, and it must improve in order to compete in a stacked AFC.

Erik’s thoughts:

The combination of Wallace’s departure and White’s injury makes this selection from jdpeterson34 a smart one. Not only is corner the Bills’ biggest need, but this is solid value to land Booth. On my draft board, the gap between Booth—my CB4—and the next available corner is quite significant—meaning if they wanted to land a corner, this was the last one who should be able to step into a starting role on the outside.

Other options to consider would be Arkansas’ wide receiver Treylon Burks and Penn State’s Jahan Dotson would also be a great fits and either would give the Bills another offensive weapon.

You can follow along with every pick + grades in our Community Mock Draft tracker.