With less than 36 hours before Day One of the draft kicks off, Alabama safety Mark Barron’s draft stock is rising.
Schefter said via Twitter that a number of teams remain interested in Barron, namely the Bills, Panthers, Chiefs and Cowboys. He said that there’s a possibility that Barron could go as a top-6 player or to Carolina at No. 9. Buffalobills.com’s Chris Brown chose Barron for the Bills’ No. 1 pick in his mock draft released Wednesday, stating, “the Bills take the top player on the board and select the best safety to come out since Sean Taylor.”
Barron in the backfield could easily give the Bills’ defense the best grade in terms of improvement in the off-season. Greg Cosell of NFL Films said that Barron “offers tremendous scheme and position versatility,” and that Barron’s tight end coverage is his best talent. Bills National Scout Darrell Moody went a bit further Wednesday.
“I think he’s a complete football player,” Moody said, according to the Bills' website. ”He has an excellent body of work. He’s been a productive player in a very good league. He’s been a leader on a very good football team. He’s physical against the run. He can play the run from the strong safety position and he can also move to the LB position in the dime packages. He also has good cover skills against tight ends and running backs and I think he’s adequate even against wide receivers. He’s like most safeties in coverage. You might want to have a little help behind him against elite receivers. But I think his cover skills for a safety are real good.”
Barron’s big-hit ability, coupled with George Wilson’s playmaking ability, could spell danger for competing offenses over the top and down the middle.
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