Buffalo Bills appear more likely to trade back in first round of NFL Draft

Under general manager Brandon Beane, the Buffalo Bills have been very active during the NFL Draft. In just the first round, the Buffalo Bills have made their original selection twice under Beane which was in 2019 when they selected Ed Oliver with the ninth overall pick and in 2021 when they drafted Greg Rousseau.

On Tuesday, general manager Brandon Beane met with the media and was asked a number of questions about the upcoming NFL Draft. As Dan Fetes with 13WHAM tweeted, Beane said they are “more likely” to trade back than trade up however he does get antsy during the NFL Draft.

Earlier this month, there were reports that the Buffalo Bills were ‘very possibly’ going to trade up in the first round which seems to contradict what Brandon Beane said on Tuesday.

One reason the Buffalo Bills could trade up in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft

While the Bills appear more likely to trade back from their 27th overall pick, and this certainly would help them add draft picks this year as they have only currently six, the team could trade up if a player with a first round grade starts to drop.

The reason the Buffalo Bills would consider that is that there are not many players with first round grades this year. According to Sal Capaccio of WGR550, Beane was not willing to give the number of players the Buffalo Bills have first round grades he did say it was “not great”.

Every NFL team is going to view players differently and in turn, give different grades. This could open the door for a player on whom the Buffalo Bills have a first round grade to fall to the point the Buffalo Bills could trade up to add that player.

This happened last year with Kaiir Elam, who was one of the last players who had a first round grade, and the Bills only had to trade up two spots to select him.

If history is any indication, the Bills are likely to make a trade in the first round but at this point, it seems anyone’s guess on which direction they go.