by TYLER HATHAWAY
After selecting three players in the second and third round, seven other new players will be joining the Buffalo Bills after being selected by the team on day three of the NFL Draft on Saturday. Buffalo drafted Kentucky running back Ray Davis in the fourth round with pick 128, Georgia interior offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran-Granger in the fifth round with pick 141, Washington linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio in the fifth round with pick 160, Troy defensive end Javon Solomon in the fifth round with pick 168, UCF offensive tackle Tylan Gramble in the sixth round with pick 204, Penn State cornerback Daequan Hardy in the sixth round with pick 219, and offensive lineman Travis Clayton, a player from England who took part in the NFL International Player Pathway Program, in the seventh round with pick 221. Here’s a look into each player:
RAY DAVIS- Running back, Kentucky
Measuring in at four inches under six feet, Davis played two seasons at Temple (2019-2020) and two at Vanderbilt (2021-2022) before transferring to Kentucky. He produced 1,259 rushing yards, 243 receiving yards, and 11 total touchdowns during 16 games with the Owls and had 1,253 rushing yards, 196 receiving yards, and nine total touchdowns while playing for the Commodores. He was named to the All-SEC Second-team in 2023 after producing 1,129 rushing yards, 323 recieiving yards, and a single-season school record 21 total touchdowns. Against Florida he tied a single-game record with four rushing touchdowns while also scampering for 280 yards.
Davis will be behind Bills’ running back James Cook on the depth chart amongst other players such as Ty Johnson and free agent addition Darrynton Evans.
SEDRICK VAN PRAN-GRANGER- Interior offensive line, Georgia
The 311-pounder started 44 games in a row for a Bulldogs team that won two national championships. Van Pran-Granger was named to the All-SEC Second-team in 2022 and First-team in 2023. He was also a Second-team All-American that year and took home the SEC Jacobs Blocking trophy as the conference’s top offensive lineman. Van Pran-Granger was additionally a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, an honor bestowed to the nation’s best center.
Van Pran-Granger will compete amongst Connor McGovern and free agent acquisition Will Clapp to replace veteran center Mitch Morse, who left Buffalo in free agency.
EDEFUAN ULOFOSHIO– Linebacker, Washington
Ulofoshio began his career at the University of Washington as preferred walk-on in 2018, and after playing in three games as a freshman and 13 games including three starts as a red-shirt freshman in 2019 earned a scholarship. He was named to the 2020 All-Pac 12 Second-team after producing an FBS-leading 7.8 solo tackles per game and also recorded a sack and four pass break-ups. He accrued 51 tackles and two and a half tackles for loss over six starts in 2021 before missing the rest of the year due to injury. He was limited again due to injury in 2022, playing in five games as a reserve and registering 10 tackles. His final season with the Huskies in 2023 saw the linebacker record 94 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, and three pass-break ups. He was named a team captain and was a finalist for the Butkus Award, an honor given to the nation’s best linebackers. He was named to the All-Pac 12 First-team and was a Third-team All-American.
Ulofoshio will join a linebacker room that holds Bills’ such as Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, and Dorian Williams.
JAVON SOLOMON– Defensive end, Troy
Standing in at 6 feet, 1 inch tall, and weighing 246 pounds, Solomon was with Troy for five seasons. After red-shirting in 2019, the edge-rusher was named as an All-Sun Belt honorable mention once, made the Third-team once, and was a First-teamer twice over the next four years. Over that time Solomon registered 33 sacks, including an FBS-leading 16 in 2023. Other stats Solomon recorded over that four-year span include 179 tackles, 48.5 tackles for loss, two pass break ups, five forced fumbles, and an interception.
Solomon is joining a Buffalo defensive front that is made up of players such as Von Miller, Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, Greg Rousseau, and third-round pick DeWayne Carter.
TYLAN GRABLE- Offensive tackle, UCF
Grable spent three years at Jacksonville State before transferring to Central Florida in 2022. While at Jacksonville State in 2020, the 306-pounder started 10 games at left tackle and was named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference first team as well as being a Second-team FCS All-American. In 2021 he was named to the All-Atlantic Sun First-team after playing in nine games. He started all 27 games during his two seasons at UCF at left tackle and was named an All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2023.
Grable will be with fellow Bills tackles Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, and recent free agent addition La’El Collins.
DAEQUAN HARDY- Cornerback, Penn State
Hardy spent all five of his college seasons with the Nittany Lions. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2019 before playing in nine games as a reserve and tallying 10 tackles, two pass break-ups, and a sack as a redshirt freshman. The five foot seven inch tall corner led Penn State in pass break-ups with seven in 2021 over 13 games and also picked up 15 tackles, three tackles for loss, and two interceptions, one of which being returned for a touchdown. He again played in all 13 games in 2022 and tallied 13 tackles, four pass break-ups, an interception, a forced fumble, and half of a sack. His redshirt senior season in 2023 saw him be named as an All-Big Ten honorable mention as a cornerback and All-Big Ten second team as a return specialist after taking an FBS-leading two punt returns to the endzone. Hardy finished with a team-leading seven pass break-ups over 11 games while also adding 22 tackles, two interceptions, three tackles for loss, and a sack.
Hardy will compete amongst Bills corners’ Rasul Douglas, Kaiir Elam, Taron Johnson, and Christian Benford after Buffalo lost Tre’Davious White and Dane Jackson in free agency.
TRAVIS CLAYTON- Offensive tackle, International Player Pathway Program (England)
Clayton took a much different path to the NFL then the other rookies joining Buffalo. Hailing from Basingstoke, England, the former Eighth-tier rugby player has never played a real down of an American football. He began attending the NFL Academy in 2019 and recently graduated. Clayton has played various other sports such as the aforementioned rugby, boxing, soccer, rowing, and tennis. The Englishman stands in at six feet seven inches tall, weighs 303 pounds, and clocked a 4.79 second 40-time, the fastest Bills scouts had seen in a decade for an offensive lineman.
Clayton will join fellow draftee Tylan Grable and veterans such as Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, and La’el Collins at the tackle spots.
The Bills rookie mini-camp begins on May 9th, and runs through May 12th.
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