Buffalo Bills roster is strong, but cornerback is a need. Here are potential draft options

This is the fifth in a series of NFL Draft preview stories focused on position groups the Buffalo Bills may address. This installment looks at cornerback.

With the exception of the very top of the first round, mock drafters are generally guessing on every pick they forecast for each team. And by the time they get down into the range where the Buffalo Bills are scheduled to make their first selection at No. 25, it’s akin to hitting a bullseye while wearing a blindfold.

However, if they can’t get the exact player correct, mock drafters can often pinpoint the position group a team needs to fortify, and this year, the general consensus is that cornerback is where Buffalo should be focused.

I agree, and I’ve written it several times: I understand the temptation will be there to pick a wide receiver, and I wouldn’t argue against adding a weapon to Josh Allen’s arsenal. But the Bills have a strong foursome already in place, as opposed to cornerback where that isn’t even close to being the case.

The Bills really rolled the dice in 2021, going into the season with only Dane Jackson and Cam Lewis as boundary backups for starters Tre’Davious White and Levi Wallace.

More: Following a recent NFL Draft trend, the wide receiver group is plentiful and dynamic

Jackson held his own when he had to take over for White from Thanksgiving night on, but there are still some doubts about whether he can be a full-time starter, a role he’ll get the chance to earn now that Wallace is a Pittsburgh Steeler.

And White’s recovery from knee surgery could hold him back early in the year, so another starter might be needed. If the Bills don’t sign a second-tier veteran free agent, is Lewis really that guy? Or Siran Neal, Nick McCloud, Olaijah Griffin or Tim Harris. I think not.

► Jump to: Potential cornerback draft targets

Top of the Buffalo Bills cornerback depth chart

Tre’Davious White

Age when season starts: 27

Contract status: He is signed through 2025, and in 2022 he counts the most of any player on the roster against the cap at $16.4 million.

Inside the numbers: White is a premier player, one of the best CBs in team history. He has 16 career interceptions and per Pro Football Focus, across five years, he has allowed just a 56.0% completion rate into his coverage area. For comparison, the Rams’ Jalen Ramsey is at 56.9% in his six seasons.

Projected 2022 role: The No. 1 CB, but his injury clouds his early-season availability.

Dane Jackson

Age when season starts: 24

Contract status: Signed through this season with a minimal cap hit of $895,000.

Inside the numbers: Jackson played 291 regular season snaps in coverage in 2021 and allowed only 19 receptions, a 55.9 competition percentage, and no TDs.

Projected 2022 role: The 2020 seventh-round pick will compete to start at RCB in Wallace’s old spot.

Taron Johnson

Age when season starts: 26

Contract status: Signed through 2024 and carries a 2022 cap hit of $4.5 million.

Inside the numbers: Among 22 slot CBs last year who played at least 50% of snaps in the slot, Johnson ranked third in completions allowed per snap at one in every 14.

Projected 2022 role: He has become one of the best slot CBs in the NFL which is why the Bills extended his contract last season.

Siran Neal

Age when season starts: 28

Contract status: Was re-signed to a three-year deal before he hit the open market which carries a $2.273 million cap hit in 2022.

Inside the numbers: Has been mostly a core special teams player as he has played only 460 defensive snaps since 2018.

Projected 2022 role: Perhaps his re-signing means he’ll get more of a chance to play defense, but he’ll likely make his biggest contribution on special teams where he has 1,046 career snaps.

Cam Lewis

Age when season starts: 25

Contract status: Signed through 2022 and has a cap hit of $925,000 and if he’s cut, there is no dead cap cost.

Inside the numbers: The former University at Buffalo standout has seen minimal defensive playing time, just 130 snaps in two seasons.

Projected 2022 role: Will have to fight hard to make the team and could end up on the practice squad.

Potential cornerbacks Buffalo Bills could draft

I’ve always found it strange that Sean McDermott has not valued having a strong second cornerback playing opposite White, though Wallace did a nice job the past four years, especially as an undrafted free agent.

There are several veteran free agents still available including a group under 30 years old that includes Kevin King, Vernon Hargreaves, Fabian Moreau, Donte Deayon and Mackensie Alexander, all of whom played at least 28% of their former team’s defensive snaps in 2021.

At the top of the corner market, which will cost a little more, you have players such as Joe Haden, Jason Verrett, Kyle Fuller, Chris Harris Jr., and Bryce Callahan, all on the wrong side of 30.

If Bills GM Brandon Beane is holding out until later into the spring or even into the summer to sign someone on a team-friendly one-year deal, maybe he won’t take a corner in the first or second round. But this draft feels like the right time to invest a high pick in a rookie.

Here are five players the Bills might consider:

Andrew Booth, Clemson

Round Bills could take him: First, No. 25 overall pick.

Age when season starts: 21

Height/Weight: 6-foot, 194 pounds.

Inside the numbers: In 35 games, 15 as a starter, Booth was penalized just once in his Clemson career. Last year he had three picks and eight passes defensed and allowed 30 completions on 49 targets across 334 coverage snaps.

The skinny: Plenty of experience as a zone coverage CB at Clemson, and with a 77-inch wingspan he has the length to shrink passing lanes. Also has the man coverage skills to stick to receivers and make plays on the ball. Booth did have a problem with missed tackles which needs to get fixed. He came to Buffalo for a top-30 private visit.

What they’re saying: “Booth is a press corner with a smooth backpedal and great ball skills, but he can play off-man and zone, too. He picked off three passes in 2021 for the Tigers and would fit in nicely with a team ready to win a Super Bowl.” — Todd McShay, ESPN.

Trent McDuffie, Washington

Round Bills could take him: First, No. 25 overall pick.

Age when season starts: 22

Height/Weight: 5-foot-10, 193 pounds.

Inside the numbers: Last year, in 296 coverage snaps, he limited opposing QBs to a completion percentage of 44.0 when they threw his way.

The skinny: McDuffie is a great athlete with quickness, excellent lateral movement, and an aggressive nature. He lacks size, but he has the speed to handle the outside and he is also a willing and reliable tackler which isn’t always the case with corners. If there’s a run on WRs, he could slip down to the Bills, who did meet with him at the Combine, but it seems unlikely.

What they’re saying: “McDuffie is not the tallest or longest (his 29 3/4-inch arms are not ideal) corner in the draft. In fact, no corner with that lack of length has been drafted in the first round the past 20 years. Teams should upend that trend, though, and pick him in the top 25 because of his strong play in coverage and against the run.” — Chad Reuter, NFL.com.

Kaiir Elam, Florida

Round Bills could take him: Second, No. 57 overall pick.

Age when season starts: 22

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 191 pounds.

Inside the numbers: Over his last three seasons, he allowed a completion percentage of 46.0 on 113 targets, playing 959 snaps in coverage. He had six career picks and 26 passes defensed and has been a popular player for Buffalo in mock drafts.

The skinny: A high character player who represented Florida at the SEC Leadership Council in 2021 who also knows what NFL life is like as his father, Abram, played seven years in the league as a safety. Shortish arms (31 inches) and some penalty issues are potential problems, and he also missed three games last year with a knee injury.

What they’re saying: “Elam needs to tidy up his timing and processing issues, but he is a good-sized athlete with natural cover talent and NFL-ready intangibles. With his physicality for press-man, he compares favorably to Tampa Bay’s Carlton Davis when he was coming out of Auburn.” — Dane Brugler, The Athletic.

Tariq Woolen, Texas-San Antonio

Round Bills could take him: Second, No. 57 overall pick, maybe early third in a trade up scenario.

Age when season starts: 23

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 205 pounds.

Inside the numbers: Began his career as a WR and after two years switched to CB where he played 20 games with 16 starts and had 11 pass breakups and two picks.

The skinny: He has a lack of CB experience, plus he played at a lower division level at UTSA so he’s a tough evaluation for teams, but what an athlete he is. Woolen ran a blazing 4.26 in the 40 at the Combine, the fourth-fastest time in Combine history, and his 42-inch vertical leap tied for No. 1 this year. Given his speed, athleticism, and size (his 33 ⅝-inch arms is an attribute the Bills love), plus some untapped potential that could be developed, he definitely projects as an interesting sleeper.

What they’re saying: “The Bills love toolsy athletes with room to develop that aren’t finished products, just like Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds, and Ed Oliver. The Bills have a massive need at corner and Woolen fits their archetype in numerous ways. Woolen is a high-character prospect with elite traits that has earned his way onto the NFL’s radar.” — Joe Marino, The Draft Network.

Coby Bryant, Cincinnati

Round Bills could take him: Third, No. 89 overall pick.

Age when season starts: 23

Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 193 pounds.

Inside the numbers: Played five years at Cincinnati, 63 games and 50 starts, and in his last four seasons as a starter he totaled 45 pass breakups and 10 interceptions. In 2021 he was targeted 75 times on 493 coverage snaps and allowed a completion percentage of just 44.0.

The skinny: With expected high first-round pick Sauce Gardner playing the other CB side for the Bearcats, teams attacked Bryant and he held up just fine. He was a second-team AP All-American and he, not first-teamer Gardner, won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the nation.

What they’re saying: “Productive four-year starter whose experience sharpened his football IQ and leadership qualities. Bryant has good size and can be a real-time route reader, with above-average ball skills and an anticipatory brand of coverage. He will need help against NFL deep speed and could struggle in an off-man capacity when he has to transition and match route breaks throughout the game. Zone cover schemes that allow for a more linear, eyes-forward approach should play directly into his strengths.” — Lance Zierlein, NFL.com.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills draft needs 2022: Cornerback may be taken early