Bills' day-three pick named player who 'could make an instant impact as rookie'

One outlet has stated that Buffalo Bills center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger could play a significant role in his rookie season.

Mar 2, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Georgia offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (OL69) talks to the media during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Expecting offensive linemen selected on the third day of the NFL Draft to step in and log significant snaps immediately is seldom an astute prospect; given the general deficiency of stellar offensive linemen across the league, prospects who project as immediate starters, or as “plug-and-play” players, typically go early in the draft.

There is the occasional player who slips through the cracks, however, a player who may, for one reason or another, find themself available in the latter rounds of the draft despite having the talent and ability to immediately adopt a meaningful role. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, whom the Buffalo Bills selected in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, may fall into this category; though Buffalo did not select him until deep into day three, many pundits and prognosticators feel as though he may be a potential long-term starter for the team.

This is due largely to Van Pran-Granger’s pedigree; he started over 40 games throughout his time at Georgia, anchoring a dominant Bulldogs’ offensive line while earning first-team All-SEC honors in 2023. He won two National Championships throughout his time in Athens, and the 22-year-old is bringing this championship pedigree to a Buffalo offensive line room that lost stalwart center Mitch Morse in the offseason.

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Van Pran-Granger doesn’t project as an immediate starter for the Bills—left guard Connor McGovern is instead expected to slide over to center—but he could develop into Buffalo’s long-term starter at the position. There’s even a scenario where he does earn snaps as a rookie, a situation The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner could foresee occurring; the analyst wrote about Van Pran-Granger in a recent article breaking down draft sleepers who could make “instant impacts as rookies,” writing that the former Bulldog is talented enough to play straight away.

“I was probably higher on this center class than some, but even those who weren’t feeling the group as a whole could agree Van Pran-Granger was a great value in Round 5,” Baumgardner wrote. “A three-year starter, two-time national champion and two-time captain, Van Pran-Granger was the backbone of Georgia’s powerful and nasty rush attack after earning the starting job in 2021. He’s probably only a center in the NFL, which is likely why he fell as far as he did.

“However, the Bills needed center help and Van Pran-Granger is powerful enough to earn reps as an NFL starting offensive lineman right now. If he’s healthy, watch for him to turn heads early in fall camp once the pads come on.”

Even if Van Pran-Granger doesn’t earn snaps as a rookie, he would still serve as reliable center depth, which in and of itself is not bad value in the fifth round. If he is able to ultimately develop into a starter for Buffalo’s offensive line, his selection could prove to be one of the team’s more advantageous in the 2024 NFL Draft.