ORCHARD PARK – Throughout the leadup to the NFL Draft, edge rusher was perhaps the most consistent position that mock drafters believed the Buffalo Bills should address.
Brandon Beane probably wasn’t listening to them, but he ultimately agreed when he selected Clemson edge rusher TJ Parker with the third pick of the second round, No. 35 overall.
Parker was considered a late first-round, early-second round value so Beane taking him in this spot makes sense, but he does seem to be a bit repetitive with the other edge rushers they have on the team because he’s not a player who has won with speed.
The fastest edge rusher who was still available was Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, but it appears the Bills might have been scared off by his unusually short 30 ¼-inch arms. Parker brings more size at 263 pounds, and length at 6-foot-3 with 33 ⅛-inch arms.
Given that Beane attacked a clear cut area of need, this was a decent start for the Bills, but I still would have preferred he had taken DT Kayden McDonald or LB Jacob Rodriguez, and both of those players went shortly thereafter.
GRADE: B-
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills address defensive need with TJ Parker. Here’s how we grade the pick
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
