Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane is not going to let the Kansas City Chiefs rip his defense apart in 2025, as all of his first five selections in the 2025 NFL Draft were spent on either defensive linemen or cornerbacks in an effort to get more depth in key areas.
After selecting Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston at No. 30 overall, the Bills selected two defensive tackles in South Carolina's TJ Sanders and Kentucky's Deone Walker in the second and fourth rounds, respectively. Beane also added Arkansas defensive end Landon Jackson in the third round and two more corners in Ohio State's Jordan Hancock and Virginia Tech's Dorian Strong in the fifth and sixth rounds.
The Bills didn't select a wide receiver until the 240th pick, where they added Maryland's Kaden Prather. Some fans and media members may not have liked that allocation of resources, but Beane was willing to entertain them.
In an appearance on WGR 550, Beane exploded on fans who were upset about the lack of wide receiver talent brought in, saying the argument for taking wideouts was "dumb" while reminding everyone how much criticism their selection of Josh Allen garnered in 2018.
Brandon Beane rips those unhappy with Bills lack of WR talent
With Amari Cooper unlikely to return as he waits in free agency, Buffalo's base three-wideout offensive will likely feature the recently extended Khalil Shakir, developing 2024 second-rounder Keon Coleman, and former Los Angeles Chargers starter Josh Palmer after his free agent signing.
While this is far from an Air Coryell-level assemblage of pass-catching talent, paying Josh Allen the money they're paying him forced Buffalo to make concessions elsewhere on the roster. Last year's MVP has shown that he could perform well enough to win without a very expensive wide receiver class.
The Bills have more than enough draft capital to lean on if they want to make a trade and acquire someone who can suit up next to Allen in the middle of the season. Unless they neglected their declining defense in the early rounds, no wide receiver Beane could have selected would have been able to work their way into the base offense.
Beane has proven to be one of the better executives in the league over most of the last decade, which means he has earned one defense-heavy draft without the entire fanbase declaring it the greatest injustice ever put forth against the city of Buffalo.