Bills get WR Zay Jones, OT Dion Dawkins in NFL Draft by making deals

• East Carolina's Zay Jones caught 158 passes last season, including 22 in one game.
• Dion Dawkins has played both tackle and guard for Temple.

ORCHARD PARK – Anyone who pays an ounce of attention to the Bills knew unequivocally that Buffalo had screaming, glaring needs at two positions heading into the start of the 2017 NFL Draft - cornerback and wide receiver. And offensive line, specifically tackle, wasn’t far behind.

This was inarguable, and all it took was one look at the roster to see that Sammy Watkins was the only top-end receiver, Ronald Darby was the only starting-capable cornerback, and below-average Jordan Mills is the returning right tackle.

Thanks to a dizzying flurry of trades across Thursday and Friday night, the Bills addressed all three areas. It was a little crazy, all the flipping of picks, but in the end, the Bills knew exactly what their prime needs were, and they took an aggressive approach to shore them up.

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With first-round cornerback Tre’Davious White from LSU already in the building following a trade down with Kansas City on Thursday, the Bills were wheeling and dealing again in the second round Friday.

At the top of the round, they made a trade with the Rams, moving up seven spots from 44 to 37 in order to select East Carolina wide receiver Zay Jones. That transaction cost them the third-round pick they had previously acquired from the Chiefs (No. 91), and they swapped placed in the fifth round with the Rams (going down from 144 to 149).

And then the Bills traded up into the second round with the Falcons so they could select Temple offensive lineman Dion Dawkins at No. 63 overall. This deal cost them their own third-round pick (No. 75 overall), plus two of their four fifth-round picks, Nos. 149 and 156.

When the dust settled, this is where the Bills are heading into the final four rounds Saturday. They have no picks in the third or fourth round, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth. If they make no more trades, they will end up with only six draft choices added to the team, which is the number of picks they began this week.

However, based on what we’ve seen, new coach Sean McDermott may have a few more tricks up his sleeve to recoup picks. McDermott said he was going to sleep pretty well Thursday, and we can assume such will be the case Friday as all three of these players should be able to come into training camp at St. John Fisher College primed to fight for starting jobs.

“If you were to tell me after day two that we’d be sitting here with Tre White, Zay Jones and Dion Dawkins, I’d feel pretty good about it,” said McDermott. “And I was processing that before we made the moves. So I feel good about that. These guys are going to come in and compete and join our family."

The trade with the Rams was a maneuver McDermott felt was necessary to secure Jones. After three receivers went in the first nine picks Thursday night, the Bills weren’t taking any chances on an early second-round run on receivers, so it was worth it to trade up.

“We looked at it last night, the ice was getting awful thin at the wide receiver position,” said McDermott. “A few went early and there weren’t many around at this level. We valued Zay and we wanted to make sure we went and got our guy.”

It’s easy to understand why.

No one in the history of college football caught more passes than Jones did for East Carolina during his four-year career, 399 in all including a single-season record 158 last year. He did this in 50 games, with 41 starts.

“I don’t know if I’ve caught that many in my life,” McDermott joked, and he meant just playing around in the backyard. “You can’t ignore that. When the ball is thrown in his area he’s catching it. There’s not a lot of incompletions. We don’t like incompletions, they don’t move the chains very often.”

The Bills clearly coveted Jones, and you got the sense this was the case going back to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Jones had a great week of practice and then played well in the game, and the Bills came away impressed by the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder. Jones’ name started getting linked to Buffalo, and at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, the relationship grew.

One of the key factors in Jones being on the Bills’ radar was the fact that his receivers coach in 2016 at East Carolina, Phil McGeoghan, is now coaching receivers for McDermott in Buffalo.

“I wouldn’t say it was exactly why it went in this direction, but it certainly helps,” said McDermott. “You want to know these players. If I said having his ex-coach in the building didn’t help, I’d be lying to you.”

Jones said he spoke with McGeoghan in Indianapolis, and they expressed hope that they’d be able to work together again. “He said if he had the opportunity to coach me again he’d love it, and I told him if I could play for him again I’d love it,” said Jones. “He’s a great mentor, like a father figure the way he teaches, the way he commands a room. I have a lot of respect for him.”

Jones ran a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash at the combine, so he has the ability to make the big play such as taking a short pass and turning it into a home run. That will be useful in a Buffalo offense that relies on short passing. Also, Jones has lined up all across the formation.

“Position flexibility,” said McDermott. “He can move inside, can play outside, and that was a big part of it as well. He’s a guy who doesn’t play just one position.”

Jones is the son of former Cowboys linebacker Robert Jones, who won three Super Bowl rings in Dallas during his playing career, two of those coming against the Bills. He is also the nephew of former NFL quarterback Jeff Blake who played for several teams, most notably Cincinnati.

In Dawkins, the Bills have a lineman who also has versatility. He has played both tackle and guard, and on both the right and left side. This deal, though, cost the Bills a bit, plus it creates a vacuum between this pick and their next, which at this point is scheduled for the fifth round.

“We had a chance to add another good football player,” McDermott said of Dawkins, a 6-foot-4, 314-pounder. “I see him competing. The great part about Dion is he can play both tackle and guard. He’s done that, he’s been right and left and that’s important. He’ll go right into that mix.”

Of the possible wait between picks that has been created, McDermott acknowledged that if nothing comes about, it will be tough to sit and wait Saturday.

“We knew that,” he said. “That’s part of what you evaluate when you make this kind of move. You have to understand that’s the other end of the deal. At the same time, the caliber of the player had to be evaluated and we feel good about it.”

MAIORANA@Gannett.com

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