Florida’s Barber Vaults Into Bills’ Swing-Tackle Radar After Gators’ Emotional Win Over LSU

Gainesville, Florida — The roar that shook Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Nov. 16 still echoed in Austin Barber’s ears when his cell phone lit up with a Zoom invitation from Buffalo. Less than 24 hours after the 6-foot-7 offensive lineman celebrated a hard-fought victory over LSU with teammate Jadan Baugh, the former Florida left tackle was back in interview mode, walking Bills scouts through 50 games of SEC film and a combine performance that graded out among the most athletic of the past four decades.

Barber’s 9.81 Relative Athletic Score ranks 32nd among 1,642 offensive tackles charted since 1987, and his 5.12-second 40-yard dash plus 9-foot-3 broad jump have cemented his status as a prime Day-3 target for a franchise suddenly in need of swing-tackle depth. The Bills lost reliable reserve Ryan Van Demark to a one-year, $4.27 million deal in Minnesota after deeming the $3.547 million right-of-first-refusal price prohibitive. General manager Brandon Beane, speaking at March’s league meetings, praised Van Demark’s development but conceded the price tag forced Buffalo to look elsewhere.

With Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown entrenched as starters, the understudy job is wide open. Sixth-round rookie Tylan Grable and 2025 seventh-rounder Chase Lundt are the lone incumbents, making a cost-controlled draft pick the logical path for a front office that prefers to cultivate its own linemen. Barber’s 25 consecutive starts to close his Gators career—initially at right tackle before locking down the blind side—fit the versatility Buffalo covets.

Analyst Lance Zierlein projects Barber as a swing tackle, mirroring the role Van Demark filled. The Bills have yet to host any offensive tackles on 30 visits, but New York Upstate’s Ryan Talbot confirmed the Zoom session with Barber, placing the Florida product among four mid-round options for Buffalo’s four-pick cluster between Nos. 126 and 182. Also on the radar: Boston College’s 6-foot-5 captain (21 starts) who posted a 9-foot-7 broad jump; Kansas right tackle Cruz, whose 9.99 RAS and 4.94-second 40 headline the athletic class; and Penn State’s 48-game veteran Shelton, already familiar to new Bills offensive assistant Trace McSorley.

For Barber, the timing is perfect. Saturday night he wore the Orange and Blue; this spring he could be protecting Josh Allen’s edge on Sundays.