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NFL Mock Draft 2014: Buffalo Bills Select Jake Matthews

With the ninth overall pick in the 2014 Canal Street Chronicles community mock draft, the Buffalo Bills (represented by Letloosethedogsofwar) select...

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M

The Bills are currently led by second-year head coach Doug Marrone, a former offensive line coach with the New York Jets (2002-2005) and Offensive Coordinator for our own New Orleans Saints (2006-2008). Coming from a background like his, one would expect Marrone to be lobbying hard for some O-Line studs to help him ramp up the running game and protect their young QB.

Well, that would be correct! With the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select Jake Matthews, offensive tackle, Texas A&M University.

Or that's what Sith Lord Goodell would be reading at the podium if I were entrusted with making the pick. Here's the analysis from nfl.com on Jake Matthews:

Strengths: Big, strong, athletic, natural bender. Exceptional technician. Explosive six-inch punch -- quick, active hands. Outstanding base, balance, body control and hand placement. Drives defenders off the ball -- outstanding run blocker. Explosive hip snap. Takes good angles to the second level. Plays with very good awareness -- shows very good athletic ability flipping his hips and adjusting to moving pockets with a jitterbug quarterback. Keen to recognize and quick to adjust to the blitz. Strong finisher -- displays a mean streak and seeks to finish. Has long-snapping experience. Hails from football royalty family -- third-generation NFLer. Tough competitor. Very focused and determined. Humble and grounded. Outstanding all-around character. Film junkie. Started in the SEC for 3-plus seasons. Extremely durable -- missed no time to injuries.

Weaknesses: Arm length appears too short -- limited reach and extension. Operated in a spread offense. Can do a better job sustaining (though was presented with a near-impossible task of knowing where the pocket would be to protect). Has only one year of experience at left tackle.

Draft Projection: Round 1 (top 10)

Bottom Line: Smart, tough, versatile franchise left tackle capable of playing all five positions on the line. Can plug into a starting lineup immediately and will play a long time at a consistently high level. One of the safest picks in the draft, Matthews' best position might even be center.

The selection of Matthews solidifies the Bills offensive line by removing Erik Pears from the Right Tackle position. Moving Cordy Glenn to Right Tackle to replace Pears, vacating the Left Tackle spot for Matthews would be one option, as would leaving Glenn at LT while letting Matthews take over the RT spot. I prefer the latter for the simple reason of not having a rookie protecting the blindside of your possibly-future franchise QB, EJ Manuel. The move allows for a more accurate picture to be gotten on the development of Manuel and stimulates a productive running game with CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson. Not a sexy pick, but stability comes first when building a team from the ground up.

With possibly the safest pick in the entire draft, the Bills draft an insurance policy for EJ Manuel. Let me know what you think of the selection in the comment section below, and be sure to vote!

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Thanks to all the CSC members who participated in this year's community mock draft. Without your help, none of this would be possible.

Below are the complete results from our community mock draft.

Catch up with all of the mock draft selections in our 2014 CSC Community Mock Draft Hub.

Pick Team Selection Team Representative Approval Rating
1 Houston Texans QB Teddy Bridgewater - Louisville
Tee Word 30%
2 St. Louis Rams DE Jadeveon Clowney - South Carolina Kevin Sean Held 57%
3 Jacksonville Jaguars QB Johnny Manziel - Texas A&M Alex Swift 59%
4 Cleveland Browns WR Sammy Watkins - Clemson Shadow Flash 80%
5 Oakland Raiders LB Khalil Mack - Buffalo Khannar 71%
6 Atlanta Falcons OT Greg Robinson - Auburn Dave Choate 80%
7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Blake Bortles - UCF russty
8 Minnesota Vikings CB Justin Gilbert - Oklahoma St. JackMarzullo
9 Buffalo Bills OT Jake Matthews - Texas A&M Letloosethedogsofwar
10 Detroit Lions
Monkey Poop Battle
11 Tennessee Titans
Lostastic
12 NY Giants
Khannar
13 St. Louis Rams
hooahsaint2.0
14 Chicago Bears
BlackandGold4ever
15 Pittsburgh Steelers
saintmanumit
16 Dallas Cowboys
Ryan Edwards
17 Baltimore Ravens
Tee Word
18 NY Jets
Monkey Poop Battle
19 Miami Dolphins
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20 Arizona Cardinals
Alex Swift
21 Green Bay Packers
BlackandGold4ever
22 Philadelphia Eagles
organictallman
23 Kansas City Chiefs
coldpizza
24 Cincinnati Bengals
coldpizza
25 San Diego Chargers
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26 Cleveland Browns
Shadow Flash
27 New Orleans Saints
Dave Cariello
28 Carolina Panthers
Ryan Edwards
29 New England Patriots
Shadow Flash
30 San Francisco 49ers
saintmanumit
31 Denver Broncos
---
32 Seattle Seahawks
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