Bills Day 2 Draft Recap: Buffalo Selects O'Cyrus Torrence, Dorian Williams
The Buffalo Bills have completed Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft and made some interesting selections in the second and third rounds.
After snagging Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid by trading up to the No. 25 pick on Thursday, the Bills stayed put at picks No. 59 and 91 on Friday. Buffalo addressed its offensive line and added budding talent to its experienced defense with the selections, giving Bills Mafia a reason to satisfied with the draft haul three rounds in.
Let's take a look at the selections and what they had to say about getting drafted:
No. 59 - O'Cyrus Torrence, OG, Florida
Once Torrence went off the board to the Bills, it felt like some fate had been fulfilled given how often he was projected to land with Buffalo in the first round early during mock draft season.
So considering he landed to the Bills at the bottom of the second round despite having a ton of previous, first-round projections, Buffalo got arguably one of the highest-value so far in the draft.
In his college career, Torrence didn't allow a single sack. Last year at Florida, he didn't commit a single penalty. We're gonna have to check with our sources, but we're pretty sure that's impressive.
Even though he started at Louisiana before transferring to Florida, the increased type of elite and NFL-level competition didn't faze him. Torrence had to face off against multiple defensive lineman that have or will be selected in this year's draft, including former Georgia Bulldog and the Philadelphia Eagles' No. 9 pick, Jalen Carter.
"Sometimes you go from a lower level to SEC, which is probably the highest level in college football, and it wasn't too big for him," Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. "I expect that same transition here."
Beane also said Torrence will have to earn a starting role during training camp and preseason. But if he keeps playing up to the level of his competition, he'll give the Bills no choice but to start him.
"He'll have to come in here and earn the role, we're not gonna give him anything," Beane said.
Torrence will unfortunately allow a sack at some in his NFL career, but you wouldn't think so the way he talked about quarterback Josh Allen.
"I'm very much looking forward to blocking for Josh Allen," Torrence said Friday after being picked. "What offensive lineman don't want to do that?"
No. 91 - Dorian Williams, LB, Tulane
The Bills selected Williams midway through the third round, which is quite the surprise when looking back at the stage he and his teammates Tulane were at a year ago.
The Green Wave finished the 2021 season with a 2-12 record doing a complete 180 in 2022, going 12-2 and winning the Cotton Bowl over the talented USC Trojans. Williams was a major reason why, as he did a little bit of everything. Along with posting a career-high 17 tackles in that 46-45 win over USC, he led Tulane in tackles (131), sacks (five), was second in passes defended (seven), had two interceptions and forced two fumbles.
"He's a tackle machine, he's very athletic," Beane said.
He has his elite closing speed to thank, something he showed flashes of when he tied for the fourth-fastest 40 time among linebackers at the combine with a 4.49. This kind of 4-4 speed while rushing toward the quarterback or forcing running backs to cut it back inside could be a major reason why Beane said he'll be starting out at outside linebacker.
"We'll start him outside," Beane said. "We like to make them interchangeable. This system is more complex than the one he's coming from. Mentally from a football foundation he's got more ground to cover here. Year 1 we'll probably keep him outside."
This speed at the position will also come into play when Williams takes the field on special teams, as he could carve out a valuable role for himself in that phase when he's not in with the defense.
But his chances with the defense will come, and you can bet he'll make the most of it.
"I feel like I'm a high character guy, who plays sideline to sideline and makes plays to get the ball back for the offense," Williams said.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
Thanks for reading our SI-powered coverage of your Buffalo Bills ... Bills Mafia!
You're a member of Bills Mafia hungry for more Buffalo coverage? Read here.
