The 2015 regular season is over, and that means it's time for legit 2016 NFL Draft analysis and predictions for the top 20 picks, which are now set. Picking No. 19 overall are the Buffalo Bills, and their season certainly was a disappointment. There are several different ways, but the Bills may be best off taking Notre Dame LB Jaylon Smith.
Early in the year, things were looking great for this Bills team. Tyrod Taylor was playing at a high level -- with or without Sammy Watkins in the lineup; the running game was looking great with the 1-2 punch of LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams; they had a defense that was one of the most feared in the league with guys like Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus, Kyle Williams and others on the line.
But it all started to fall apart and they never did quite recover. Injuries, regression and a simple lack of execution led to the collapse of the once-promising campaign.
They finished with only 21 sacks on the year, second worst in the NFL. That was for a multitude of reasons, whether it was guys not being healthy or guys just not playing well. Those three defensive linemen mentioned before combined for only eight sacks on the season. Kyle Williams was hurt for 10 games, but the other Williams and Dareus started 15 games apiece. Now is that because of an off year, or is it something more?
You have to consider the scheme changes. Rex Ryan came in as head coach and obviously brought his defense in place. Perhaps these guys don't fit in it well, or maybe they simply needed a season to learn it well. My guess is, they'll bring their level of play back up moving forward, and Kyle Williams will obviously be healthy again.
That said, they still need help on that side of the ball. A player who could still be available at this point and would give them a true playmaker at the second level is Jaylon Smith.
Smith is recovering from a horrible knee injury, but he had several years of tape that doesn't lie at Notre Dame, and was undoubtedly their best player on that side of the ball in 2015.
What Smith will do is replace the role of Kiko Alonso, who the Bills traded before the season for McCoy. He's a playmaking linebacker who projects to play inside in Ryan's defense. If the defensive line in front of him can return to dominance in 2015, Smith could step right in and be a difference-maker right away.
He more than likely won't be healthy during training camp and the preseason. Tearing your ACL and MCL takes at least eight months generally to recover from enough to play, if not longer. But once he is ready to go, he will be a major cog in this defense. In fact, he'd probably be the best athlete at linebacker that Ryan has ever had the privilege of coaching.
Smith has amazing speed for his size, and plays the run as well as any linebacker in college football. While he didn't have any interceptions in college, his ability to sit in a zone in the middle and make the play on the receiver is phenomenal. This would really help this defense to shut down the run, and make the opposing offense one-dimensional -- allowing those great pass rushers to pin their ears back and bounce back from a poor 2015.
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