Essentially from the moment that Doug Marrone was hired as Buffalo Bills head coach, his college quarterback - Ryan Nassib of Syracuse - has been mocked to the Bills on a seemingly daily basis. Nassib is available in this mock draft scenario, but I'm taking the Bills in a different direction.
2013 NFL mock draft: E.J. Manuel to Buffalo Bills
Will the Bills favor a safer pick (Ryan Nassib) over one with more upside?
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
| Team | Player | Position | Height | Weight | Class |
| 41. Buffalo Bills | E.J. Manuel, Florida State | QB | 6'5" | 237 | SR |
| Brian Galliford: "The signing of Kevin Kolb will buy the Bills some time at quarterback, even if it’s only the rough equivalent of half a season. An opportunity therefore exists for the team to forego safer quarterback prospects that could conceivably play right away (i.e. Ryan Nassib or perhaps Matt Barkley) in favor of a higher-risk, potentially higher-reward prospect. "In a quarterback class with no sure bets, Manuel is the closest thing to the athletic prototype for his position - and GM Buddy Nix loves him some athletic prototypes. Manuel is big with a strong arm, athletic and mobile, and arguably has as much upside as any quarterback available this year. It’s just my opinion, but I believe Manuel will be the top-rated quarterback on Buffalo’s draft board. With some time to spare and a dire need to draft its first developmental quarterback since J.P. Losman, the time to pull the trigger is now." |  | ||||
Here’s our own Dan Kadar to break down the pick:
The reasoning on why Manuel could be the pick for Buffalo is sound. The signing of Kolb to a team-friendly deal will be worth every penny if it allows Buffalo to go this direction and Manuel turns into a franchise quarterback. Of all the signal callers in the class, Manuel’s potential is just as good or better than anyone’s. There are flaws in his game. He struggles reading the middle of the field and pushes the ball into coverage. Manuel’s flaws are largely coachable, though. His natural athleticism and reputation for being a team leader cannot be.
That’s a wrap for the day. We’ll be back with three more picks (Nos. 42-44) tomorrow, starting once again at 9AM ET.
| # | Player | Pos. | College | Ht. | Wt. |
| 22 | Damontre Moore | DE | Texas A&M | 6'5" | 250 |
| 29 | Manti Te'o | LB | Notre Dame | 6'1" | 241 |
| 32 | Khaseem Greene | LB | Rutgers | 6'1" | 241 |
| 33 | Jamie Collins | LB | Southern Miss | 6'3" | 250 |
| 34 | Logan Ryan * | CB | Rutgers | 5'11" | 190 |
Bills picks
| Rd | # | Team | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1 | 8 | Buffalo Bills | Jarvis Jones | OLB | Georgia |
| 2 | 41 | Buffalo Bills | E.J. Manuel | QB | Florida State |
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