It’s officially draft season and the Buffalo Bills are getting ready to figure out who they will be bringing to Buffalo to help build this championship roster. General manager Brandon Beane has ten picks to utilize but don’t be surprised to see the Bills make a move to move up if someone starts slipping down the board.
It’s not uncommon for the Bills to trade up in the draft. They did in 2022 to select CB Kaiir Elam, and then in 2023 to select TE Dalton Kincaid. With ten picks in their pocket, don’t be surprised when a trade alert comes up on the screen and it shows that the Bills are trading up.
The biggest needs for the Bills heading into the draft are all on defense. They need defensive line depth (with Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi set to be suspended for six games) and they need to find a CB2, as well as depth at cornerback as well. The defense has been the Bills’ achilles heel at times the last couple of years and they have fallen apart in crucial moments of the playoffs. Enough is enough.
In a recent NFL mock draft by Dylan Wasserman of Pro Football Focus (PFF), the Bills not only solidified their CB2 spot but they got one of the best corners in this draft class with Michigan cornerback Will Johnson. However, Johnson didn’t fall to No. 30.
Wasserman had the Bills trading up to No. 19 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they gave Tampa No. 30 and No. 62 picks. If that’s all that it takes to move up 11 picks, this is a major steal for the Bills. The fact that the Bills didn’t have to give up both second round picks is amazing, and that would be the type of magic that Brandon Beane would pull off.
"The Bills have plenty of defensive depth but lack star power and are extremely thin at cornerback. With an extra second-round pick at their disposal, they should trade up and grab a potential star like Johnson. While he’s had some recent injury issues, he earned an elite 91.3 PFF coverage grade during his three seasons at Michigan."Dylan Wasserman, PFF
CB Will Johnson would be a huge steal at No. 19 for Bills
Johnson was a fantastic cornerback for the Wolverines, averaging 3 interceptions per year and he also had 2 defensive touchdowns this past season. He’s a big corner at 6’ 2” who can lock down weapons in both the press and the zone.
Would the Bills move up 11 spots for a defensive back? Well, considering the fact that Sean McDermott likes to have his secondary as one of his strong suits, it wouldn’t be a big surprise. However, I highly doubt that it will only take a second-round pick to move that far.