Bills Central

Buffalo Bills predicted to battle Ravens over combine superstar in NFL draft

Recent mock drafts have both the Bills and Ravens eyeing this defensive difference maker. Could we be in for a draft day showdown?

Brian Letscher

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott shake hands following the game.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott shake hands following the game. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images
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Both the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens had incredible seasons on offense. Scoring points is not the problem. Both teams, however, gave up too many on defense.

The Ravens have to stop Josh Allen, the Bills have to stop Lamar Jackson, and both have to stop Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Naturally, each organization, just three picks apart at the end of Round 1 of the NFL draft, has been projected to target the same player: South Carolina safety, Nick Emmanwori.

Emmanwori wowed at last weekend's NFL combine. At 6' 3.5" and 220 pounds, the -First Team All-American paired a blazing 4.38 40-yard dash with a jump-out-of-the-gym 43" vertical leap — numbers the NFL hasn't seen from a safety in over twenty years. All of this has rocketed him up draft boards and put him at the end of the 1st round, going to either the Ravens or the Bills, depending on the mock draft.

Emmanwori would be a nice fit in Buffalo with the 30th pick, as The Athletic recently pointed out, "With the Bills officially past the Micah Hyde/Jordan Poyer safety era, they could use a high-energy performer to pair with Damar Hamlin. Emmanwori was all of that and more at South Carolina: This year, he had two pick sixes, and a third was called back because of a penalty away from the ball. He’d fit right in on Sean McDermott’s defense."

Nick Emmanwori
Nov 18, 2023; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back Nick Emmanwori (21) celebrates a play. / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

The Bills, however, may not have a chance to take Emmanwori. Their AFC rival, the Ravens, draft three spots earlier with the 27th pick -- one with which The Draft Network's Justin Melo predicts Baltimore will use the snag the stellar safety.

RELATED: Buffalo Bills projected to land massive defensive difference-maker in NFL draft

"The Ravens plan on parting ways with Marcus Williams this offseason," Melo wrote. "Nick Emmanwori is among the freakiest athletes we've seen in recent NFL Combines...[he] would improve the Ravens secondary."

With 88 total tackles and four picks — including two pick-sixes — in 2024, Emmanwori is much more than combine test numbers. If the draft plays out the way it's been predicted, and the Bills really want Emmanwori, they will likely need to make a move to pick before the Ravens -- a move that could pay big dividends come the playoffs.

Nick Emmanwori, Brock Bowers
Georgia tight end Brock Bowers (19) competes with South Carolina defensive back Nick Emmanwori (21). / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Brian Letscher
BRIAN LETSCHER

A Michigan native, Brian graduated from the University of Michigan in another century, where he earned a degree in economics and a Rose Bowl Championship ring while playing football for the Wolverines under Head Coach Gary Moeller. Brian went on to coach Division 1A football for several years before becoming a full-time writer and actor while maintaining an unhealthy interest in sports. He is currently developing a scripted television series, THOSE WHO STAY, based on a series of historical fiction articles he wrote about Bo Schembechler's Michigan football program as they struggle to unite and win the championship - which requires beating #1 Ohio State - during the tumultuous civil rights and anti-war movements of 1969.

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