Since Brandon Beane took over as the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, he has been known for getting ahead of the market with certain players to help create a little bit of financial flexibility. Now obviously, this isn’t always the case but for the most part, Beane has done a great job with that aspect of the job.
When it comes to the NFL Draft, that’s where you can make the argument that it isn’t Brandon Beane’s strongest area. Yes, he was the one that drafted Josh Allen which has been the best pick that he has ever made (and probably will ever make). In addition, Beane has drafted some later round talent that have helped the Bills build their current foundation.
With that being said, one of Beane’s biggest weaknesses is his ability to draft early talent in the first round. While he has drafted some solid talent, he’s also had some big time misses. Mike Renner from CBS Sports reminds Bills fans of arguably Beane’s biggest draft selection miss in 2022.
Bills fans will never forget about Brandon Beane's biggest draft miss up to this point
Renner recently ranked all of the first-round draft picks going back to the 2020 NFL Draft, and created three different tiers that ranged from the best picks to the worst ones. During this span, the Bills have only made four first-round selections and only one that stood out in the top tier was Greg Rousseau.
Then in the bottom tier was cornerback Kaiir Elam, who the Bills traded up to get in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Then in the middle tier was Dalton Kincaid and Maxwell Hairston.
Focusing on Elam, the Bills had a huge need at corner going into the 2022 season because not only was that unit completely down in the playoffs the year before, but Tre’Davious White had torn his ACL on Thanksgiving as well. So, going into that draft, Bills fans expected Beane to go after a corner.
Once the Chiefs traded up for Trent McDuffie, the Bills needed to act fast and they went out and got Elam. Now, McDuffie is a member of the Los Angeles Rams and Elam is in Kansas City.
Elam’s tenure in Buffalo was extremely rough. He played in no more than 13 games a season (only playing in 3 in 2023), and he was outshined by his fellow classmate in Christian Benford. He was a huge liability on the field, and when Benford went out with a concussion in the AFC championship game, Elam took over and it was a complete mess.
After the season ended, Elam was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, but then ended up on the Tennessee Titans to finish out the 2025 season. Now he will look to prove that he can still play in the NFL with one of Buffalo's biggest conference rivals.
That selection of Elam, especially when you throw in the fact that the Bills traded up for him, was a disaster because of who was picked behind him. You had players like Tyler Smith of the Cowboys, Tyler Linderbaum of the Ravens (now with the Raiders), Devin Lloyd of the Jaguars (now with the Panthers), and George Karlaftis of the Chiefs, all who ended up being picked after Elam.
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