Bills Take DE Shaq Lawson With First Round Pick

Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills opted to take a bit of a gamble with their first round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft taking DE Shaq Lawson out of Clemson.

Lawson is undoubtedly one of the most impressive defensive players in this year's draft, but a shoulder injury that may require surgery in the future was thought to be a hangup for some teams.

On the bright side, Lawson ran a 4.70 in the 40-yard dash at the combine - near the top of the list for D-lineman - and NFL.com reports:

Lawson played through the injury last season -- he wore a brace, and briefly had to leave the Tigers' showdown against Florida State in November after tweaking it. But the consensus All-American never missed a game because of it. In fact, Lawson played in all 41 games over his three seasons at Clemson.

In interviews with clubs, according to sources with three teams, he has been up front about the injury, and has impressed otherwise.

As the 19th overall pick in this year's draft, Lawson stands just shy of 6-3 and 270 lbs and is coming off a season with 12.5 sacks for a Clemson squad that played in the National Championship. After being selected, he said it was an important day for him as it was the five-year anniversary of his father's passing. He also said he was happy to be going to Buffalo to play with fellow Clemson alumni Sammy Watkins and Jonathan Meeks.

Earlier this offseason, the Bills lost four-time Pro Bowl DE Mario Williams to the Miami Dolphins via free agency.