2014 NFL mock draft: Mike Evans to Buffalo Bills at No. 9

The Bills continue to rebuild under head coach Doug Marrone. Last year Buffalo drafted quarterback E.J. Manuel and gave him a pair of wide receivers in Marquise Goodwin and Robert Woods. The Bills also brought in linebacker Kiko Alonso, one of the bright spots of a solid defense.

Buffalo has been busy in free agency, adding a pair of linebackers in Keith Rivers and Brandon Spikes, along with cornerback Corey Graham and offensive lineman Chris Williams. Most recently, wide receiver Mike Williams was added via a trade. But he’s not the true No. 1 wideout this team needs. Could this pick fill that role?

”Priority No. 1 for the Bills in 2014 is to make sure that they are doing everything possible to develop E.J. Manuel into a bona fide NFL starting quarterback. In this scenario, they could arguably do that by taking either of the Texas A&M players: Evans, which I’ve done here, or tackle Jake Matthews, who would shore up a sore spot at right tackle. I’ll take the stud receiver prospect over the stud tackle prospect every time, and especially in this case -- even if the tackle might be a slightly better prospect.

Evans’ unique physical traits are a perfect fit for what Manuel needs in a receiver; his huge catch radius and rare ability to play the ball in the air will be massively beneficial for a quarterback who is not great with ball placement. He’s a perfect fit for the Bills’ West Coast-flavored passing attack that takes its deep shots off of play-action. Evans could quickly become Manuel’s go-to target in Buffalo.”

Matthews is the better prospect. He won’t make as big of a positive impact as Evans. As a rookie, Manuel completed only 58.8 percent of his passes because of some accuracy issues. Having a player like Evans, who can attack the ball and bring in bad throws, would push that percent over 60. He would give Buffalo a red zone target and another player who can get vertical. Sound choice given the board.

Up next is Sean Yuille from Pride of Detroit at 3 p.m. to make the choice for the Lions to finish off the top 10.