Buffalo Bills: How the team can still get to the top of the draft

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New York Giants

If you think a guy can be your franchise quarterback for the next 15 years, you do whatever you can to go get him.

I have been all aboard this train for quite some time now, especially with this crop of quarterback talent. If you have ready any of my previous articles, you know I adore Josh Rosen. I think he is the best quarterback in this class and while his personality can rub some people the wrong way, I find it so engaging and refreshing. I want and think the Bills will draft him.

Getting up to No. 2 overall will cost the Bills everything they have been saving up, but why else would you acquire all of that capital to not move up? I get that you would be getting four to five impact players and potential starters to fill holes, but tell me how the Browns did with three first-round picks last season. That’s right, they didn’t win a game and didn’t take a quarterback with any of those picks.

The Bills have two options in getting to the Giants, assuming they are willing to listen to offers to move out.

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One is to give the Giants whatever they want and get them to move back. It would be enticing for New York to move back because in getting all of the picks they will have, they can get young impact talent that will help the team win now.

That talent is also cost controlled for years to help save on the cap. Those players can also help the team rebuild on the fly and build a young core.

Two is to trade to make another trade. This plan was set in motion when the team acquired No. 12 from the Bengals, signaling the team was making a deal to make a deal.

I doubt any of the teams in the top five were willing to drop all the way back to 21 and 22, so meeting a team with a top pick half way at 12 makes it easier to move back.

The Eagles did this a few years ago, trading from No. 13 to No. 8 to No. 2 to eventually select Carson Wentz. This sounds like a familiar scenario, but the Bills have much more ammo to make this move.

Another factor is the relationship that Brandon Beane and new Giants GM Dave Gettleman have. Beane served under Gettleman in Carolina and knows how Gettleman operates and what he looks for. Their positive relationship doesn’t mean that Gettleman won’t ask the farm for No. 2, but it could mean that Buffalo would get the last call before any trade offers are accepted.

The Trade: Option one – New York receives No. 12, No. 22, No. 56, No. 65, 2019 first / Buffalo receives No. 2 and No. 139

Option two – New York receives No. 6, No. 22, 2019 second / Buffalo receives No. 2 and No. 102

Option three – New York receives No. 4, No. 53, 2019 second / Buffalo receives No. 2 and 2019 fifth

The Pick: Josh Rosen/QB/UCLA

As much as this may cost, this is the best option.

Getting to No. 2 should be the goal. It allows you to control your own destiny and get the quarterback you want. As I stated before, I think Rosen is the guy for Buffalo. If they know he is their guy, they need to do whatever they can to get the Giants to move out from No. 2.

Using the trades made previously, the team can help shorten the gap to make it more enticing for the Giants to move back. I can imagine quarterbacks going one, two, and three in the draft if the Bills make it to No. 2. With the Giants moving back to No. 4 or No. 6 they can get Barkley or Nelson at either spot and get their impact player that they would have taken at No. 2.

Rosen can make every throw, run every offense, and be the face of a franchise because he isn’t scared to be. Every interview from former teammates I hear tells me he is a not what the media and NFL front offices say he is and he can bring a lot to the team and the community.

Next: Potential draft haul if Bills opt to keep picks

The long-term goal has been to get a franchise quarterback. Beane has done a fantastic job of moving pieces and follow the plan that they have had since last season’s draft in selecting their guy. Now it is time for him to finish the job.

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