Buffalo Bills: Building a strong team through the draft

The Buffalo Bills have plenty of homegrown talents on the roster. Some stand out above the rest due to skills and draft position.

The Buffalo Bills have to focus on building through the NFL Draft. It is just the way things are, at least until the team is a perennial contender again.

Brandon Beane has done a great job of drafting so far for a team that has a problem with retaining top draft picks.

Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds were Beane’s first two first-round picks and their success, or failure, will come to define the GM’s tenure in Buffalo. As of right now, both stand out as rising homegrown talents.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com recently published a piece looking at one key homegrown talent from each team. Edmunds was his choice from the Bills.

From the article:

"As the game slowed down for Edmunds, his instincts, film study and pass coverage ability took over. If he builds on that progress to become the AFC’s answer to Carolina’s Luke Kuechly — with Matt Milano alongside as his version of what Thomas Davis was to Kuechly — the Bills’ defense will be tough to beat to the outside."

Edmunds becoming the anchor of the defense would be amazing. That could give the Bills three first-round picks leading the way on defense. Edmunds is the one in the middle, while Ed Oliver is up front and Tre’Davious White is on the outside.

Ultimately, Allen is probably the most important homegrown talent on the roster. And in recent franchise history. The defense can be dominant with all the young talent, but the team won’t go anywhere if Allen doesn’t progress and ends up being out of Buffalo in a few years.

That is a worst-case scenario and as of right now the team is set up to succeed thanks to Beane and his decision-making.

And once the team gets good again the free agents will come. Money and glory can usually outweigh any concerns about the weather.