Bills Central

Mayor DeWayne Carter?: Former NFL scout breaks down what to expect from Bills' 2024 NFL Draft class

Reese's Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy took to X to break down what fans can expect from the Buffalo Bills' 2024 NFL Draft class.

Kyle Silagyi

Feb 1, 2024; Mobile, AL, USA; National defensive lineman DeWayne Carter of Duke (90) grins after
Feb 1, 2024; Mobile, AL, USA; National defensive lineman DeWayne Carter of Duke (90) grins after / Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

A complementary rusher, a top merchandise mover, and a future politician—these are the elements that fans of the Buffalo Bills can expect from the team’s 2024 NFL Draft class.

Buffalo selected 10 prospects throughout the three-day event, none of which were necessarily ‘flashy’ but all of which addressed a discernible deficiency on its roster in some form or another. Half of the Bills’ draft class perhaps cemented themselves as targets—or initially popped up on the team’s radar— in Mobile, AL, as five of the prospects whom Buffalo grabbed in the 2024 NFL Draft played in the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl, an annual event in which collegiate prospects both renowned and undiscovered are invited to work with professional coaching staffs and make an impact on NFL front offices.

Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy recently took to X to break down what Bills fans can expect from these five particular players, projecting immediate and long-term roles for each prospect while indirectly putting Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown on the hot seat.

The Bills grabbed three-year Utah safety Cole Bishop with the 60th overall pick in the draft, a prospect Nagy described as “an athletic interchangeable safety” who should start straight away. Bishop, who tallied 197 tackles, 12 pass deflections, and three interceptions throughout his time in Salt Lake City, joins a Buffalo defensive backfield that moved on from Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer in the offseason, paving the way for the 21-year-old to compete with Taylor Rapp and the recently signed Mike Edwards for a starting job. Bishop’s versatility, noted by Nagy, will be advantageous in Western New York, as the Bills, for several years, deployed Hyde and Poyer interchangeably. The former scout also wrote that the defensive back has Pro Bowl potential and expects him to be a top jersey seller for the team.

Nagy sees locker room and political leadership in DeWayne Carter’s future, projecting Buffalo’s third-round pick as a reliable rotational three-technique who is “likely [an] eventual captain and mayor of Buffalo.” He even sees the disruptive former Duke Blue Devil “push[ing] for a starting job at some point as a rookie,” but this is perhaps a bit too optimistic; should Carter play three-tech, he’d be stuck behind Ed Oliver, who is currently signed to the Bills through the 2027 NFL season. That said, he should provide consistent tenacity in a rotational role; he notched 24.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks throughout his collegiate career.

Related: Which Bills UDFAs have best chance to make the roster?

Nagy was also complimentary of Buffalo’s fourth-and-fifth-round picks, calling Kentucky running back Ray Davis a “sneaky fantasy touchdown vulture” and Washington linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio a “top testing and A+ character three down backup” who can contribute straight away on special teams. Ulofoshio, who recorded a 9.55 relative athletic score, is a rangy linebacker the likes of which the Bills have featured in the middle of their defense since Sean McDermott arrived several years ago.

Nagy rounded out his draft recap with praise for Troy pass rusher Javon Solomon, who led college football with 18 total sacks in his senior season. Nagy expects him to win a rotational role straight away, which, given Buffalo’s lack of depth at defensive end, is perhaps more an expectation than a possibility; the executive likened him to a “looser version of Bryce Huff.”

Buffalo didn’t necessarily execute any blockbuster maneuvers throughout the 2024 NFL Draft, but all of its selections were calculated, and one could make a legitimate argument for all 10 of them making the 53-man roster. If Nagy’s projections manifest, ‘making the roster’ is just the start for several of these prospects.

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Kyle Silagyi

KYLE SILAGYI