Bills GM: Shaq Lawson won't require surgery, will start 'Day 1'

The Buffalo Bills made their head coach Rex Ryan a happy man by drafting Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson with the 19th overall pick.

Lawson is a friend of Ryan's son, Seth, who also played at Clemson, and the Bills coach will get to add a pass rusher who will start from Day 1.

There were concerns that Lawson would require surgery to an injured shoulder, but Bills general manager Doug Whaley confirmed to The Buffalo News that his medical staff had cleared the defensive end to play. The Bills view him as a starter heading into camp.

"He walks in as a Day 1 starter, opposite Jerry Hughes," Whaley told Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. "He can set the edge from the outside, he can rush speed-to-power, and that gives us two nice rushers off the edge. And then you've got the push in the middle with our defensive tackles."

Buffalo had been eyeing Lawson for a while and did not expect him to be available when they picked at 19.

"Very few times that you can go into a draft and have a really big need and that guy there standing out like a sore thumb is the guy you want and the guy that fills that need," Whaley said. "We're extremely excited to have Shaq Lawson. We never thought he'd drop to us at 19. ... We never thought we'd even have the chance to sniff the guy."