Bills C Sedrick Van Pran-Granger dubbed one of 2024 NFL Draft's 'best picks'

The Buffalo Bills may have uncovered themselves a hidden gem.

ESPN’s Matt Miller recently compiled a ranking of what he feels are the best 100 selections of the 2024 NFL Draft, including a handful of Buffalo draft picks on his list. The writer didn’t just list the top 100 selections and call it a day—he instead factored in his pre-draft ranking of the prospect, the pick with which they were selected, the situation they’re entering, and other contextual elements that can make or break a draft pick. 

Miller included two of the Bills’ 10 selections in his ranking; wide receiver Keon Coleman, whom Buffalo selected with the 33rd overall pick in the draft, expectedly fared well, coming in 31st on the list. The writer went on to praise one of the team’s more under-the-radar selections—its fifth-round selection of Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, whom Miller feels could challenge for a starting job straight away. He ranked the Bills’ selection of the Bulldog as the 55th-best pick of the draft.

“The Bills lost longtime center Mitch Morse in free agency and will give Van Pran-Granger every opportunity to take his place,” Miller wrote. “He's a powerful, easy-moving center with a boatload of SEC experience (44 starts).”

A three-year starter for Georgia, Van Pran-Granger played a lot of meaningful football for a team that lost only two games throughout his starting tenure. No, we’re not creating a “center wins” stat, but he was counted on to anchor a Bulldog offensive line that’s long been viewed as one of the best in the country—and he delivered.

He’s a tenacious competitor who perhaps slid in this year’s draft due to his lack of positional versatility; he, on paper, projects solely as a center and likely lacks the versatility to play guard. This isn’t necessarily a negative with regard to his professional landing spot, however; Buffalo moved on from longtime starting center Mitch Morse in the offseason, also trading depth swing lineman Ryan Bates, who has seen time at center in Buffalo, to the Chicago Bears.

Buffalo’s current plan is to slide Connor McGovern, who flashed for the team at left guard last season, over to fill its hole at center, with the recently re-signed David Edwards figuring to take over McGovern’s spot to his left. If the Bills ultimately elect to simply make one alteration to its offensive line instead of two and keep McGovern at left guard, it may be Van Pran-Granger who takes over center duties; journeyman Will Clapp is the only other center currently on Buffalo’s roster.

Even if Van Pran-Granger does not take over center duties in his rookie year, he appears to be the center of the future at One Bills Drive. To get a potential future starter with two National Championship rings and over 40 SEC starts under his belt in the fifth round is not a bad bit of business, hence why ESPN has identified the Bills’ selection of Van Pran-Granger as one of the best in this year’s draft.