The Draft
Six picks in the first three rounds is an outstanding job by Brandon Beane in acquiring pieces to do whatever he wants. He can stay where he is with each pick, move one or two for players, or move several of them and players to move up.
He did an amazing job getting a third-round pick for Tyrod and unloading the $6 million roster bonus due at the beginning of the new league year. That pick makes up for the third he sent to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for Kelvin Benjamin.
The more that time passes and as we inch closer to the draft, the more I am convinced that Buffalo will make a move into the top five. They have the picks (six in the first three rounds) and the players (Cordy Glenn, Shaq Lawson, Charles Clay) to pair with those picks to move up.
It also doesn’t hurt that Brandon Beane has good relationships with teams in the top five.
To begin with, Beane was the assistant general manager under New York Giants new general manager Dave Gettleman for years in Carolina. The Giants recently traded away draft picks for Alec Ogletree and have little cap space.
New York also has a hole at left tackle, so the Bills could send away Glenn and a package of cost controlled picks to fill a depth-deficient team like the Giants who are in win-now mode. The Bills could also afford to take the dead cap hit of trading Glenn thanks to trading away Tyrod. The Giants own the second overall pick.
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Buffalo could also call the Browns again at fourth overall to swap picks. After sending a plethora of picks away on Friday for proven NFL talent, Cleveland could look to add more impact talent by picking up two additional firsts and an instant starter like Glenn.
There are several options for Beane and McDermott at the draft, and I think the option they take is the one that leads them to the top.