The Buffalo Bills have an opportunity this week. Brandon Beane and company can show the NFL world that not only are they not going through a “rebuild,” but that they are committed to following the league trend of getting “younger and cheaper” and still have a Super Bowl caliber roster.
Since 2018, the Buffalo Bills have the best draft efficiency in the NFL, meaning that Brandon Beane has done the most with his draft picks. Not only have the Bills been successful with their first-round picks under the Beane administration, but it seems that Beane and company only get better as the draft goes on.
Day three of the draft is Brandon Beane’s time to shine. In rounds four through seven, he’s selected the likes of Taron Johnson, Wyatt Teller, Gabe Davis, Dane Jackson, Khalil Shakir and Christian Benford—all good, starting talent.
So, giving Brandon Beane the most opportunities to draft, i.e. the most draft picks, should be the Bills approach to this year’s draft. Afterall, young players are the most cost-effective and with the Bills current salary cap situation, this should be the theme we see this year.
The Bills positions of need this season are wide receiver, defensive line, edge, interior offensive line, safety and running back. Other than Curtis Samuel, Brandon Beane hasn’t had any big free agency splash-signings so far this offseason, so coming up big in the draft is imperative.
Who Should the Bills Draft?
As it stands today, the Bills have 10 draft picks. Here is a mock draft that supports the “younger and cheaper” motif and fills the Bills positional needs.
First Round (#28 overall pick): Bills trade to the Cardinals for their Second Round (#35 overall) and Third Round (#71 overall) picks
I projected the Bills to trade their 28th pick to the Cardinals in exchange for the Cardinal’s 35th and 71st pick. The Cardinals are a good suitor as they have an early second round pick and are not in the Bills conference.
Second Round (#35 overall pick): Adonai Mitchell, Wide Receiver, Texas
The 2024 wide receiver class is deep.
Adonai Mitchell is a receiver I’ve seen mocked to the Bills heavily.
Sean McDermott is on record of saying that the Bills need a receiver that provides matchup issues for other teams and Mitchell fits the bill. He’s a fast, fluid route runner with good size that makes red zone matchups difficult for other teams.
With the loss of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, all of Bills Mafia knows that a wide receiver early in the draft is a must.
Second Round (#60 overall pick): Kris Jenkins, Defensive Line, Michigan
Currently, the Bills have Ed Oliver, Daquan Jones and Austin Johnson on their active defensive line roster. McDermott likes to rotate heavily at this position and adding a young stud defensive lineman with team control for multiple years makes sense.
Kris Jenkins fits the Bills defensive line profile well. He is excellent at taking on double teams, very strong and has a quick lateral first step.
Third Round (#71 overall pick): Jaylen Wright, Running Back, Tennessee
The Bills are also thin at running back and have yet to sure-up the position in free agency.
After James Cook and Ty Johnson, there’s nobody and the Bills need depth at the position.
Jaylen Wright is an exceptional athlete who has good blocking concepts and would prove an asset to spell James Cook and Ty Johnson.
Fourth Round (#128 overall pick): Sione Vaki, Safety, Utah
The Poyer/Hyde era is over.
The Bills will likely start the season with Taylor Rapp and Mike Edwards as their starters and with Sean McDermott’s defensive concepts and his “safety whisperer” ability, the Bills should be alright.
But after Rapp and Edwards, the Bills have Cam Lewis and Damar Hamlin who aren’t proven safety commodities in the NFL.
Sione Vaki’s athleticism is apparent as he played running back, slot receiver and safety at Utah. He may be a “Swiss Army Knife” kind of player in the NFL.
Fourth Round (#133 overall pick): Mohamed Kamara, Defensive End, Colorado State
Greg Rousseau is great, AJ Epenesa is good and Von Miller is a crapshoot at this point. Also, Casey Toohill and Kingsley Jonathan add depth, but the Bills need another edge rusher.
Mohamed Kamara is a powerful, physical player who has some size issues, but would complement Greg Rousseau well.
Fifth Round (#144 overall pick): Isaiah Williams, Wide Receiver, Illinois
Yes, the Bills should double-dip at the wide receiver position. Will they wait to get their second guy until the fifth round? Who knows.
Isaiah Williams is projected to be a WR4/5 and would likely be a special teams contributor as well.
Fifth Round (#160 overall pick): Tyler Davis, Defensive Line, Clemson
Again, the Bills are looking for lasting depth at the defensive line position and Tyler Davis would provide that.
Fifth Round (#163 overall pick): Zak Zinter, Guard, Michigan
With the departure of Mitch Morse and Ryan Bates, the Bills are looking for some reliable depth at the interior offensive line.
As it stands right now, O’Cyrus Torrence and David Edwards would likely take over the guard positions with Connor McGovern moving to center.
After this, the only depth that is 53-man roster quality is center, Will Clapp.
Zac Zinter excels at man/gap schemes and would be a great fit for the Bills and offensive line coach, Aaron Kromer.
Sixth Round (#200 overall pick): Isaac Guerendo, Running Back, Louisville
Again, the Bills need running back depth.
Isaac Guerendo’s NFL floor is at a third-down back and would likely add special teams depth.
Sixth Round (#204 overall pick): Tip Reiman, Tight End, Illinois
The Bills have good tight end depth as it stands.
However, Tip Reiman has the size and physicality to be the Bills practice squad tight end.
Seventh Round (#248 overall pick): Carter Bradley, Quarterback, South Alabama
The consensus amongst Bills fans and Bills media is that the Bills need to draft a quarterback to develop and have under team control instead of spending valuable cap space on a backup for Josh Allen.
Carter Bradley would likely serve as a practice squad guy along with Shane Buechele.
