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Should the Buffalo Bills pursue Patrick Mahomes during the draft?

One of the most intriguing questions that the Buffalo Bills will face this offseason is who will be their starting quarterback come Week 1 of the 2017 season. Current starter Tyrod Taylor is unwilling to negotiate his current contract leading many to believe that he will be cut. If that happens, the Bills will have to pursue one of the veterans likely to be avaliable during free agency.

What happens after that though? While having a veteran signal caller is nice and all, the reasons these players will be available is because of their poor play. In short, these players will not be long term solutions for the team. However, these players could be used as stopgap options while the team develops it’s future starter.


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Currently, the project player at the position looks to be Cardale Jones. Making his NFL debut at the end of last season, Jones proved that he has a long way to go before he is an NFL starter. However, with members of the front office apparently behind him, Jones could be seen as the future starter for this team.

That said, I am not a believer in Cardale Jones. While supporters of his point to his first three career starts in college — winning the Big Ten title, Sugar Bowl, and National Championship — I look to the struggles that he endured during the 2015 campaign. Eventually replaced as Ohio State’s starter, Jones decided to declare for the draft rather than spend another year fighting for the starting job at OSU.

With my lack of faith in Jones, I would like to see the Buffalo Bills go after a rookie quarterback during this year’s NFL Draft. That said, there are only two quarterbacks that I really like from this year’s draft class. Potential number one overall selection Mitch Trubisky and former Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

While Trubisky will almost certainly be out of the Bills draft range, Patrick Mahomes is someone that the Bills could trade down for and still select. Projected by some as a second round player, many are now saying that Mahomes could be taken in the first round due to the amount of love he is getting from some executives.

Not the traditional type of quarterback that many look for, Mahomes is a gunslinger in every sense of the word. Possessing a true canon for an arm, Mahomes can work both inside and outside the pocket while also capable at throwing a multitude of passes all over the field.

His biggest attribute though has to be his ability to throw the deep ball. Working in Texas Tech’s “throw it up” offense last season, Mahomes recorded 5,052 yards passing and 41 touchdown passes. While he will need to learn the much more complicated NFL playbook upon his arrival, Mahomes has all the skills that I look for in a quarterback.

With the team needing a stopgap no matter what decision they make outside of retaining Tyrod Taylor, adding Patrick Mahomes strikes me as the best option for this team. Playing him behind one of the free agent veterans next season, Mahomes would have the time to develop and could be a starter for this team by his second year in the league.

READ MORE: Released quarterbacks provide options for Bills

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