Despite having Josh Allen under center, the Buffalo Bills are not a lock to win their fifth consecutive AFC East championship in 2024. They lost a lot of pieces from last year and have a great amount of new talents that will need to mesh together.
Brandon Beane was not able to go on a free agency frenzy like he has in the past. His biggest free agent signing (aside from extending Dion Dawkins’ contract) was bringing in wide receiver Curtis Samuel from the Washington Commanders on a three-year, $24 million deal.
The Bills were limited as to what they could do but they still managed to make the best of the situation. However, there were some moves that the Bills should have done better at some point in either free agency or the draft. They had the chance to bring in quality rookie talent who could transition well into the NFL. This is not to say that the players they drafted aren’t a good addition, but the Bills could have gone in a different direction to vastly improve the roster.
Here are the three moves the Buffalo Bills will regret from the 2024 offseason.
3.) Drafting RB Ray Davis over RB Braelon Allen
The Bills decided to draft a running back in Ray Davis from Kentucky to pair with James Cook. While it was a good move to address the running back position, the Bills may have picked the wrong running back. Davis played college football at Temple and Vanderbilt before ending up at the University of Kentucky. While he had a great season with the Wildcats, Davis is not the kind of running back that the Bills needed to pair with Cook.
Instead, the Bills should have taken a better look at Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen who was drafted by the New York Jets. Coming from a pro-style offense in Wisconsin, Allen was playing like he was already in the NFL. He stands at 6 '1" and 235 lbs and brings a physicality that would have been perfect for the cold weather up in Buffalo. Allen came up 16 yards shy of three consecutive 1,000+ rushing yard seasons with the Badgers. Allen would have been a fantastic fit for in-between the tackles in crucial run moments.
The Bills will now face the duo of Allen and Breece Hall when they take on the Jets in the future.
2.) Not signing/drafting more cornerback help
One of the tough decisions that Brandon Beane made this offseason was releasing cornerback Tre’Davious White, who is now with the Los Angeles Rams. As of right now, the Bills are set to go into the season with Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford as the starting cornerbacks. Buffalo also re-signed Cam Lewis and extended Taron Johnson’s contract. In the NFL Draft, Beane would draft just one cornerback in the sixth round in Daequan Hardy from Penn State.
The Bills are a little weak on the outside of the secondary and it is surprising that they did not sign or draft more cornerbacks. It would have been a great pickup if they were able to sign someone like Jeff Okudah who signed with the Houston Texans instead. Kaiir Elam has an uphill battle seeing as how he has struggled in his first two years with the Bills. Overall, the Bills should have addressed the cornerback spot more than they have.
1.) Not trading up for WR Brian Thomas Jr.
The biggest headline that faced the Bills going into the NFL Draft was getting wide receiver help. Once the Bills traded Stefon Diggs to the Texans, the possibility of the Bills getting a wideout became even greater. However, they took a different route than we expected when they traded back twice in the first round that would eventually get them out of the first round and have the first pick in the second round. With that pick, Beane ended the ongoing drama as to what the Bills would do and drafted Keon Coleman out of Florida State.
While it might work out with Coleman, the Bills had a chance to trade up and draft LSU receiver Brian Thomas Jr. who went to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 23, just five picks away from the Bills’ original first round pick. Even with Malik Nabers on the same team at LSU, Thomas still managed to lead the FBS with 17 receiving touchdowns and caught 68 passes for 1,177 yards with the Tigers.
Thomas was elite at LSU and instead of the Bills trading up to get him, he will now be catching passes from Trevor Lawrence to help elevate his game. The Jaguars and Bills could play in the playoffs down the road and having to defend Thomas will be a tough task.