Bills draft targets: Michigan DE Kwity Paye is only realistic if they move up
One of the things the Buffalo Bills haven't been able to do in free agency is bolster their pass rush. And because this year's draft crop is widely considered deficient in elite edge rushers, it's unlikely they will be able to find an immediate contributor unless they move up from their spot at No. 30 in the first round.
That's exactly what Joe Marino of The Draft Network has them doing in his most recent mock draft, swapping first-round picks with the Indianapolis Colts and sending them their third-round pick to get to No. 21.
From there, they are able to get Michigan defensive end Kwity Paye.
Why?
"General manager Brandon Beane has been aggressive on the trade front since coming to Buffalo in 2017," Marino wrote, "and with a loaded roster returning 21 of 22 starters from last year’s 13-3 squad that reached the AFC Championship Game, he just might be inclined to again go get his guy.
"Buffalo needs to get younger and more dynamic at defensive end, and Paye is a fit. Paye has elite physical gifts that provide Buffalo with a chance to land a pass rusher that can be a difference-maker. If Buffalo is going to dethrone Kansas City in the AFC, they have to do a better job pressuring Patrick Mahomes than they did in either of the two matchups from 2020."
Paye has his issues, with experience ranking right at the top. He's played just 28 games in college, with 23.5 of his 97 total tackles coming behind the line of scrimmage. He finished his career with 11.5 sacks and just one forced fumble.
But the team that drafts him will count on being able to exploit his raw explosiveness and power and make him into a better pro than he was in college, where he didn't have a defined role, according to NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah. Jeremiah expects Paye to tear it up at his Pro Day on Friday.
"I thought Kwity Paye got paralyzed a little bit because they're playing him in zero technique, they're playing him in a three technique, then they moved him all over the dang place,” Jeremiah said on the Move the Sticks podcast. “Let the guy play over a tight end. Let him play on the edge. Let him beat those guys up and let him use all this twitch and explosiveness off the edge. Give him a runway.
"When you have that type of explosiveness, space is your friend. Give him a little bit of space between him and the offense. You see some of those flashes. I hated the way that they used him."
Paye is far from a finished product. He will have to be developed. But he has the skills to be able to contribute immediately as a situational pass rusher, perhaps operating more from the inside to start.
If the Bills get a dependable, three-down defensive end by the start of 2023, a first-round pick will have been worth it.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro.
