In the wake of trading Pro Bowl left offensive tackle Jason Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills are contemplating moving up from the No. 11 spot to try to acquire Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith, according to Adam Caplan of Scout.com.
To do so, the Bills would likely need to work a deal to leapfrog the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are reportedly very interested in the Outland Trophy award winner, too.
Smith, who has drawn heavy criticism for the way he has mishandled the draft process, remains a strong prospect based on his size, body of work against top competition and his potential upside if he matures.
There’s also a fair amount of risk involved with Smith, too, given his weight issues and questionable litany of decisions.
Smith drew increased scrutiny when he abruptly left the NFL Scouting Combine early without informing league and combine officials.
“I’m convinced and I think that most of the NFL is convinced that what we saw from Andre Smith at the combine was more about immaturity than about him being a bad kid,” NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said during a conference call. “And he needs to grow up a little bit and take things a little bit more seriously and stay in shape.”
