The Buffalo Bills have 3 draft picks in the first 2 rounds. It's a rare opportunity to hit it big
The Bills, with pick No. 30 in the first round and Nos. 56 (from Houston for receiver Stefon Diggs) and 62 in the second round, are one of only three teams with three selections in the top 62. What an opportunity for the Bills to add cost-controlled contributors who can ideally start right away...
Barring any major moves to trade up or down, the Buffalo Bills’ NFL draft landscape can be divided into four parts.
Lull: No picks from Nos. 1-29.
Flurry: Three picks from Nos. 30-62.
Lull: No picks from Nos. 63-108.
Flurry: Seven picks from Nos. 132-206.
The Bills, with pick No. 30 in the first round and Nos. 56 (from Houston for receiver Stefon Diggs) and 62 in the second round, are one of only three teams with three selections in the top 62.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane will enter his eighth draft with the team on April 24 armed with three of the top 62 picks. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Chicago has No. 10 in the first round and Nos. 39 (to complete a 2023 trade with Carolina) and 41 in the second round. Seattle has No. 18 in the first round and Nos. 50 and 52 (from Pittsburgh for receiver DK Metcalf) in the second round.
What an opportunity for the Bills to add cost-controlled contributors who can ideally start right away, particularly on defense.
“I do like the ammo that we’re going into the draft with,” general manager Brandon Beane said.
Since Beane started running the Bills’ draft in 2018, not only is this the first time he has three picks in the top 62, it is just the second time he has three picks in the top 75 (2019). Three premium slots to improve an up-against-the-salary-cap roster.
The urgency to stay put – and not trade down to add a third-round selection – semi-crystallized when Beane was asked at the NFL’s annual meeting last month about wanting to move down.
“Not a priority,” Beane said. “If we feel it’s going to be deep in the third and I’m concerned about what’s going to be there in the fourth, now we can maybe talk about moving up (into the third). Or if we’re sitting mid-second (round) and we’re going, ‘Man, we’ve got a ton of guys we still like here,’ (then) maybe we take one of those picks to move back and pick up something else.”
The last time the Bills had three picks in the top 62 was 2017 when they selected cornerback Tre’Davious White, receiver Zay Jones and left tackle Dion Dawkins. The Bills hit on White and Dawkins but traded Jones midway through his third season.
How have teams done with similar draft capital?
The Buffalo News looked at the Bills’ AFC East rivals (New England, Miami and the New York Jets) as well as perennial playoff teams Kansas City, Green Bay, Baltimore and Philadelphia to see how those teams fared having at least three picks in the range the Bills have this year.
The AFC East
Miami: In 2009, the Dolphins had picks 25, 44 and 61 and selected cornerback Vontae Davis, quarterback Pat White and cornerback Sean Smith. The tally is 1 for 3 – Davis was traded to Indianapolis after three years, White never started an NFL game and Smith played out his rookie deal and signed with Kansas City.In 2021, the Dolphins had four of the top 42 picks and went 4 for 4 with receiver Jaylen Waddle (No. 6), defensive end Jaelen Phillips (18), safety Jevon Holland (18) and guard Liam Eichenberg (42).
New England: From 2009-12, the Patriots had four of the top 62 picks in 2009 and 2010 and three of the top 48 picks in 2012.
The Patriots went 1 for 4 in 2009. They hit on offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer (No. 58), but missed on safety Patrick Chung (34), defensive tackle Ron Brace (40) and cornerback Darius Butler (41). They went 2 for 4 in 2010 with safety Devin McCourty (No. 27), tight end Rob Gronkowski (42) and linebackers Jermaine Cunningham (53) and Brandon Spikes (62). McCourty and Gronkowski were multi-time Super Bowl champions.
In 2012, they hit on defensive end Chandler Jones (No. 21) and linebacker Dont’a Hightower (25), but cornerback Tavon Wilson (48) started just four out of 54 games.
The real setback for New England was going 0 for 3 in 2018 with offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn (No. 23), running back Sony Michel (31) and cornerback Duke Dawson (56).
New York Jets: Mired in a 14-year playoff drought, the Jets have had 14 top-15 picks since 2012. The comparable year was 2012 when they had Nos. 16, 43 and 77 and went 1 for 3 with defensive end Quinton Coples, receiver Stephen Hill and linebacker Demario Davis. Coples played 3½ years for the Jets, Hill only two years and Davis started three years before eventually becoming a stalwart for New Orleans.
Kansas City
Since coach Andy Reid was hired in 2013, the only comparable to the Bills’ draft capital this month was 2022.The Chiefs went 3 for 4, hitting on cornerback Trent McDuffie (No. 21), defensive end George Karlaftis (30) and safety Bryan Cook (62). Receiver Skyy Moore (54) hasn’t made much of an impact.
Finding three defensive starters – McDuffie and Karlaftis – and one in his second year (Cook) would be a near-ideal scenario for the Bills.
Green Bay
Since 2005, the Packers have had five years with three picks from Nos. 22-62.The thing is, the Packers had more misses than hits in 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2022 (too early to grade the 2024 class). But their hits were big ones – Rodgers (No. 24 in 2005), receiver Jordy Nelson (36 in 2008), linebacker Nick Perry (28 in 2018), cornerback Casey Heyward (62 in 2012) and linebacker Quay Walker (22 in 2022).
Baltimore
Like the Bills with quarterback Josh Allen, the Ravens with quarterback Lamar Jackson have picked low in rounds 1-2.Since 2019, the Ravens’ comparable years to the Bills were 2020 (three picks in the top 71) and 2022 (four picks in the top 76).
In 2020, they went 2-1, hitting on linebacker Patrick Queen (No. 28) and defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (71). Running back J.K. Dobbins (55) was a miss because of injuries.
In 2022, they went 3-1 with hits on safety Kyle Hamilton (No. 14), center Tyler Linderbaum (25) and defensive tackle Travis Jones (76) and a miss on linebacker David Ojabo (45).
As long as Allen is playing at an MVP level for the Bills, they will always be low in the first and second rounds, which means this month’s draft is a bonus with the extra second-round pick.
They must capitalize.
Early draft capital
The Bills are one of only three teams with three picks in the opening two rounds of this month’s NFL draft (April 24-26):Team Picks (round)
Bills 30 (1), 56 (2), 63 (2)
Chicago 10 (1), 39 (2), 41 (2)
Seattle 18 (1), 50 (2), 52 (2)
