{"id":864726,"date":"2026-04-12T10:27:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T10:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864726\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T10:27:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T10:27:28","slug":"nfl-mock-draft-sends-olaivavega-ioane-to-bills-but-history-says-otherwise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864726\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Mock Draft Sends Olaivavega Ioane to Bills, But History Says Otherwise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most mock drafts have the Buffalo Bills<\/a> targeting a wide receiver or pass rusher in the first round. Occasionally, a defensive tackle such as Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald is mentioned as a possibility.<\/p>\n

Pro Football Sports Network’s Alec Elijah takes a whole different approach in his recent 7-round mock, however. With McDonald off the board, as well as top receivers such as Omar Cooper Jr. and KC Concepcion, Elijah has Buffalo selecting Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane <\/a>at No. 26 overall.<\/p>\n

While guard might not be their most pressing need, the Bills need to replace David Edwards, who signed with the New Orleans Saints this offseason. Alec Anderson was re-signed this offseason<\/a> and will compete with former Carolina Panthers starter Austin Corbett<\/a>, but both players have question marks.<\/p>\n

Anderson has yet to be a full-time starter, although he did play well in the season finale when starting in place of Edwards. Corbett helped the Los Angeles Rams win a Super Bowl, but battled knee injuries during his time with the Panthers. Adding Ioane would provide a younger option with more stability. <\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills would add a plug-and-play starter with Olaivavega Ioane\"Penn<\/p>\n

Penn State Nittany Lions offensive lineman Olaivavega Ioane against the Boise State Broncos. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

What would really be intriguing for general manager Brandon Beane is the fact that Ioane has a high floor. He’s considered a plug-and-play starter, with Elijah saying he thrives in the run game.<\/p>\n

“He thrives on moving defenders off the ball in the run game, while also showing the balance and technique needed to hold up in pass protection,” Elijah wrote. “This feels like a plug-and-play addition that raises the floor of the entire unit from Day 1. For a Bills team with championship aspirations, adding a reliable interior presence like Ioane could be a quietly impactful move that pays off in a big way.”<\/p>\n

For fans, however, drafting a guard in Round 1 might be a tough sell, even if it’s one of the safest options.<\/p>\n

Going OL in Round 1 would be a break from tradition for Brandon Beane\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Even though selecting Ioane would be a safe pick, it might not be safe to bet on Buffalo actually making this move.<\/p>\n

History tells us that Beane doesn’t dedicate premium resources to the offensive line<\/a>. Throughout his tenure as the general manager, Beane has never used a first-round pick on an offensive lineman. The closest he has come was in 2019, when he selected Cody Ford 38th overall. He also used a second-round pick (No. 59 overall) on O’Cyrus Torrence.<\/p>\n

If that trend holds true, it’s far more likely that the Bills go in a different direction than what Elijah is predicting.<\/p>\n

Sign up to our\u00a0free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for the latest news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most mock drafts have the Buffalo Bills targeting a wide receiver or pass rusher in the first round.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864727,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,214,53,2086,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-864726","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-bills","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-buffalo","10":"tag-buffalo-bills","11":"tag-buffalobills","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116391265807759346","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}