The safety position for the Buffalo Bills is still in a state of flux. The team is awaiting confirmation from Aaron Williams if he’s going to be returning for the 2017 season following a string of issues with his neck that has left him on the Injured Reserve list for the past two seasons.

Even if Williams does come back, both he and 2016 starter Corey Graham are more suited to playing the strong safety role in Sean McDermott’s defense. In fact, Jonathan Dowling, currently recovering from an ACL tear, is the only player on the roster that could be considered a true free safety.

So, there could be a berth available in the starting lineup in a number of scenarios. The most popular avenue to fill that true center field role is Ohio State’s Malik Hooker but there could be a free agent acquisition capable of playing the role.

Bradley McDougald was recruited by Ohio State as a wide receiver but changed his commitment to the University of Kansas after Ohio State wanted to convert him to safety. By the end of his sophomore campaign, he was playing safety full-time for Kansas.

McDougald had a rough Combine workout in 2013 but ran much better at his Pro Day, clocking a 40-yard-dash of 4.51 seconds. He had a decent showing in his explosion and agility drills, recording a 33-inch vertical jump, a 4.33 short shuttle and 7.07 3-cone. Despite the improvement in his 40, he went undrafted. Following the 2013 draft, McDougald signed with the Kansas City Chiefs but played only one game for them before being released.

McDougald’s second chance came in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers were well rewarded with McDougald starting 36 games for them over the past three seasons. In that time, he’s racked up 228 tackles, five interceptions and 21 pass deflections.

There’s already a connection between the player and the Bills through Buffalo’s new defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. Frazier was McDougald’s DC in Tampa Bay for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He’s likely to be familiar with a large majority of the defensive concepts and verbiage used in Buffalo over the coming years.

As Frazier moved on, along with 2015 Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith, McDougald had his best season under new defensive coordinator Mike Smith. The multiple coverage defense Smith employed mixed up McDougald’s assignments and he thrived in the versatile role. McDougald played both free and strong safety with Smith calling Cover 2, Cover 3 and Quarters coverage the majority of the time.

McDougald can thrive playing a majority single-high safety role. He has impressive burst and shows the range to patrol the deep middle of the field. He transitions smoothly to routes developing in front of him. Having played wide receiver in high school and his early collegiate days, McDougald is comfortable with the ball in the air and has the ball skills to play it effectively.

If there’s one worry about McDougald being the last line of defense, it’s the occasional misread, getting sucked up toward the line of scrimmage on run fakes. His aggressive nature can be a blessing and a curse but he possesses decent recovery speed when he makes an error.

McDougald has solid instincts against the run but can get a little passive at times when playing with the big boys down in the box. His tackling technique is typically decent but he does occasionally get suckered into thinking he has to be an enforcer, abandoning proper technique for brute force. When he executes like he should, his open-field tackling and ability to break down in space is more than adequate for the safety position.

The 26-year-old McDougald played the 2016 season under a second-round restricted free agent tender so it’s clear that the Buccaneers have designated him as a player that they’d like to keep around. McDougald is free to hit the open market and would be wise to, especially after a decent season. If he does instruct his agent to look at deals elsewhere, Leslie Frazier could provide the Bills hierarchy with plenty of insider knowledge on an impressive player.