Buffalo Bills: Will They Make a Push for Mitchell Trubisky?

According to a report by the Sporting News’ Eric Galko, the Buffalo Bills have a strong interest in Mitchell Trubisky, but is he really the answer at quarterback?

Like a lot of sports media outlets, we have shared our most likely options for the Buffalo Bills to target in the first round, working on the assumption they stay at number 10. Of all the roster needs, we didn’t include a quarterback, based off our belief Tyrod Taylor will be given one more season to prove if he is the long-term solution in Western New York.

However, at least one person thinks the Bills will select a quarterback in the first round. Further, they believe the front office will move up in the draft order to secure their pick.

Eric Galko of the Sporting News, speculates the Bills have a strong interest in going after Mitchell Trubisky. This interest apparently goes back to during the 2016 college football season.

Further, Galko writes that the Bills were one of the teams Trubisky turned to for advice, when deciding whether to declare for the 2017 draft. The Sporting News contributor also speculates the team may trade with the Tennessee Titans, to move up to the fifth spot and strengthen their position to snag the 22-year old.

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Galko isn’t the only one making this claim, with Rotoworld’s Josh Norris predicting a similar strategy by the Bills. The question is, how realistic is this and more to the point, would it represent a smart move?

One thing we do know for sure, is owner Terry Pegula, general manager Doug Whaley and head coach Sean McDermott recently attended a private workout with Trubisky. The meeting was reported by Joe DiBiase of WGR 550.

On the one hand, this certainly helps add validity to Galko’s claim. Although this could be countered by the fact the Bills have worked out all the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft — with the exception of DeShaun Watson — alluding to merely performing their due diligence.

Predictably, the speculation doesn’t stop there, with some suggestion the Bills are setting up a smokescreen regarding their interest in a quarterback, before looking elsewhere to address another of their many needs. However, this is also countered by people saying Pegula’s attendance at the workouts proves his desire to resolve the most important position on the field.

Moving onto the prudence of such a move, selecting Trubisky so high comes with a lot of risk. And while you could argue this is the case with a lot of top draft picks, the risk seems more considerable in this case.

For a start, the Mentor, Ohio native has only a small sample size to consider, after only taking over as starting quarterback for North Carolina last season. Further, he does not have great awareness in the pocket.

On the flip side, Trubisky was spectacular during his limited time as a starter, evidenced by 3,748 passing yards and 30 touchdown throws, with another 303 yards and five scores on the ground. In addition, a lot of scouts are intrigued by his build and athleticism.

Perhaps the best way to describe the conundrum of the 2016 Third Team All-ACC selection, are these comments by an area scout for an AFC team, as reported by NFL.com:

"“There are times he looks like another Carson Wentz and then there are times he looks like Blaine Gabbert. He has starting qualities and he’ll go early, but he better get better at seeing blitzes and throwing hot or he’ll get eaten alive by the exotic packages they are throwing at quarterbacks these days.”"

Overall, the Bills are much better qualified than this writer, to decide whether or not they should position themselves to draft Trubisky with a high pick. Regardless, it seems best to steer clear of anyone who has been even remotely compared to Gabbert.

Next: Bills' Top 10 1st Round Draft Picks of All Time

What’s your take on the Bills’ apparent interest in Trubisky? Would you draft him with the number 10 pick — or higher — or look elsewhere, and why? Share your thoughts in the comments section.