NFL insider Peter King: Bills like WR prospect Josh Downs, could pass on others for him
Longtime NFL insider for NBC Sports Peter King has a bold prediction for the Buffalo Bills ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.
In his weekly Monday column “Football Morning in America,” King has the Bills targeting wide receiver Josh Downs. But it’s the details that make all the difference here.
At the top, Downs is considered a borderline first-round talent. Buffalo has done plenty of homework on Downs ahead of the draft, having a meeting with him at the combine.
All considered, it’s King’s belief that Downs is a player on the Bills’ radar as early as the Round 1 selection at No. 27 overall. Even if other receivers are still on the board.
In a mock projection from King, he explains that Buffalo likes Downs… so much so, the insider believes even if the likes of Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt or TCU’s Quentin Johnston are on the board the pick would still be Downs.
The latter of those two, Johnston, is considered by some as the second-best wideout in the draft. Still, King sticks to what he’s heard, Buffalo might like Downs that much.
In all fairness, Downs is a different type of receiver than either Hyatt or Johnston. Both of them are deep, outside threats while Downs is a pure slot receiver.
And also worth noting, King previously gave a surprising All-Pro vote to a player in the Bills offense: Cole Beasley. He might just like the idea of Downs to Buffalo, too.
King’s full analysis on the possibility of Downs to the Bills in his final mock draft can be found below:
Getting picked ahead of Quentin Johnston of TCU and Jalin Hyatt of Tennessee would be an upset, and I can’t predict with certainty this happens. But I know the Bills like him, and scouts think he can be a day-one starter in the slot, which would fit with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis outside. Imagine this production over the last two seasons in a per-game average: 8.1 receptions, 98.5 yards, 0.7 TDs. That’ll play in a Buffalo offense that fizzled toward the end of the 2022 season.
