There were a lot of nervous Buffalo Bills fans going into the NFL Draft last Thursday because there was so much that could happen. Buffalo was entering the draft with just seven picks and a great amount of needs to fill. They were set to start their draft at No. 26, but then they would have had to wait until No. 91 to select again.
Instead of staying put at No. 26, the Bills ended up trading back three times and eventually went out of the first round. Buffalo clearly prioritized gaining extra draft capital and that they did do. Even though the Bills went into the draft with just seven picks, all of their trade-downs from the first to the final round made them gain three extra picks that helped them fill out their roster. Now, they are in a much better spot than they were a week ago.
The Bills managed to gain some impactful players in each round and they will now look to coach them up, hoping that they can become franchise players for years to come.
Most fans would agree that what the Bills did was very smart to do, but not everyone thinks that. Conor Orr from Sports Illustrated recently wrote about the Bills’ approach to the draft and Orr believes that Buffalo missed a chance to max out on their championship window that is currently open.
"At the risk of shaking a beehive, there seemed to be a pronounced discount for teams attempting to move up in this draft. Cleveland took a net loss in the Chiefs trade, for example, and while Buffalo had a much longer way to come up in this draft, I was curious why the team felt that trading back and accumulating more second, third, fourth and fifth-round selections in this draft without getting any 2027 capital felt like the best move." said Orr.
Bills were smart to take draft route they did to fill out roster
Buffalo was not in a position where they could make a huge splash and go all in for a player or two. With all of the coaching changes that came this offseason, mixing it with a new defensive scheme under Jim Leonhard, the Bills were very wise to keep trading back and gaining more picks to fill out the roster.
The Bills are still viewed as a Super Bowl contender simply because of having Josh Allen in his prime. However, their roster needed some major revamp and both free agency and the draft have helped them with that process.
While a scenario of the Bills doing the unthinkable of maximizing their championship window sounds like a dream, it would not have been the smart move to do long-term.
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