2023 Buffalo Bills Mock Draft: Round 6

Bryce Martino

Round 6: CB Riley Moss – Iowa

Riley Moss totaled 47 tackles, 11 PBUs, and one INT last season. Moss made a name for himself at the combine and senior bowl, running a 4.45s 40 with a 39” vertical jump. He has the ability to move over to Safety if a team like the Buffalo Bills really need him too. But, if he sticks at corner, CB3-4 would probably fit him the best.

Andrea Simon

Round 6: S Jay Ward – LSU

For my sixth round pick, I choose LSU DB Jay Ward. The 22-year-old could be a good option for a versatile player late in the game. While some teams may question his size, as he played undersized from the safety position at LSU, Ward also played corner, nickel, and even special teams. The Buffalo Bills could certainly use a player like this, who brings tenacity at the point of contact. 

Kevin Siracuse

Round 6: RT Warren McClendon – Georgia

The Bills can truly take the best player available, now that they’ve addressed all of the positions of need on their roster. With their final pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, I have them taking Warren McClendon to continue to beef up their offensive line while giving Spencer Brown some more competition.

McClendon was a three-year starter for Georgia, helping the Bulldogs win the National Championship last season while not allowing a sack (along with LT Broderick Jones). He posted a 71.2 PFF grade in 14 games started. The 6’4”, 300 pound right tackle has a lot of upper body strength and competitiveness that he uses to his advantage in the run game and in pass protection. I’ve seen some mocks where he gets selected in Round 3 and some where he gets lasts until Round 7. So if he’s there at #205, the Bills should not hesitate to draft McClendon and have him block for James Cook once again.

Jenna Carlson

Round 6: DE Thomas Incoom – Central Michigan

With the uncertainty surrounding Von Miller’s ACL recovery, the Bills will need to address the edge rusher position if they want to maintain their rotational depth. Just one week ago Shaq Lawson re-signed on a one-year deal with Buffalo, joining Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, and Boogie Basham in the DE room for the first half of the season (assuming Von starts on the PUP list). Looking into the future, Epenesa and Basham will be free agents in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Regardless of whether the Bills pick up a free agent or look to the draft for DE help, a move will need to be made to provide insurance for the defensive line. 

Thomas Incoom is a projected late round pick who is an inexpensive option for the Bills’ defensive line depth. Despite having a sturdy frame of 6’2”, 262 lbs, he ran a stunning 4.66s at the combine. His pass rush skills are quite underdeveloped though, and that might have to do with the level of competition that he faced in college and the fact that he has only played the edge position since 2018 (hustlebelt.com). Nevertheless, he finished with 11.5 sacks as an edge defender in the MAC (cmuchippewas.com). His aggressiveness off the snap is promising and he maintains strong upper body control as offensive linemen attempt to redirect his rush.

He does, however, fail to sneak around blocks and will often create his sacks off of generated pressure. Not that that is a bad thing—he just needs to refine his pass rush toolbox. On the bright side, what’s better than learning from future hall-of-famer Von Miller? As for playing the run, he could be more consistent in beating his blocks, but his strong pursuit when the runner gets space is more than satisfactory. I expect him to be a decent contributor in the d-line rotation if he is drafted by the Buffalo Bills.

Zach Vaughn

Round 6: QB Jake Haener – Fresno State

The Buffalo Bills have been content cycling through veteran backup QBs and hoping to not have to use them in the event Josh Allen goes down. However, even though they retained Matt Barkley and signed former Panther/Commander/Texan (and Josh Allen’s golf buddy) Kyle Allen, QB2 is still a question mark on this Bills roster. So, in the sixth round of this 2023 mock draft, Buffalo makes another minimal investment at backup QB (both in terms of draft capital and salary) with Fresno State QB Jake Haener.

While he is undersized and doesn’t have the strongest arm, Haener does have good passing instincts and football IQ, solid accuracy, and is a fierce competitor and leader of men (per Brentley Weissman/The Draft Network, Dane Brugler/The Athletic, Ian Cummings/Pro Football Network, and Lance Zierlein/NFL.com). He projects to be a top-tier backup QB in the vein of Taylor Heinicke (#IYKYK).

What do you think the Buffalo Bills should do in the sixth round #BillsMafia? Let us know on Twitter (Zach/@zvaughn2712, Kevin/@kevin_siracuse, Jenna/@cookedbyshakir, Andrea/@heyitsandreah, Bryce/@BillsByBryce, Iestyn/@IestynTHarris)!!!