Bills select Shaq Lawson with 19th pick in NFL draft
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) The Buffalo Bills addressed a significant pass-rushing need by selecting Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson with the 19th pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 269 pounds, Lawson was a consensus All-American last season in which he had 25 1/2 tackles for a loss and 12 1/2 sacks. Though relatively undersized for a defensive end, Lawson is regarded as a solid fit in an outside linebacker's role because of his athleticism and versatility.
An NFL draft scouting report referred to Lawson as being ''built like a tank.''
Lawson fills an immediate need on a defensive front seven that lost Mario Williams, who was cut last month.
The Bills are scheduled to have seven more selections through the next five rounds, starting with No. 49 on Friday.
He becomes the latest Clemson player to join the Bills after Buffalo selected receiver Sammy Watkins in the first round of the 2014 draft.
Coach Rex Ryan also has a connection to the Tigers, as his son Seth is entering his third season at Clemson.
Overall, Lawson had 46 1/2 tackles for a loss and 20 sacks in 41 games, including 16 starts, split over three seasons at Clemson.
The Bills are coming off an 8-8 finish in which they extended the NFL's longest active playoff drought to 16 seasons. They particularly need help on defense after their high-priced unit underperformed in Ryan's first season as coach last year.
Despite returning mostly intact, the defense dropped 15 spots from the previous season in finishing 19th in yards allowed, and managed just 21 sacks - a franchise low in a 16-game season. Williams led a chorus of public complaints emerging from the locker room by saying the team's personnel didn't fit Ryan's system.
Williams was cut and the Bills entered the draft lacking any depth at linebacker after failing to re-sign starter Nigel Bradham and backup Ty Powell.
Ryan has accepted some of the blame by saying he made the mistake of attempting to meld his system with the one the Bills used under former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in 2014. Ryan vows the unit will be much improved this year despite the loss of talent.
General manager Doug Whaley has said there's a good possibility the Bills will draft a quarterback. Tyrod Taylor is already pegged as the starter after he went 8-6 last year, but his future in Buffalo is uncertain. Taylor is entering the final year of his contract and the two sides have so far failed in an attempt to negotiate an extension.
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