Recently, the Buffalo Bills have done a good job of re-signing draft picks after their rookie contract by reaching extensions with players like Josh Allen, Ed Oliver, and Matt Milano.
However, that always hasn't been the case and the Bills have either seen players leave in free agency or trade away players before they had their breakout season. These are four draft picks that would go on to have productive seasons after leaving Buffalo.
4 Buffalo Bills draft picks who had breakout years with other teams
Wyatt Teller
Brandon Beane hasn't had many bad moves as general manager for the Buffalo Bills. The selection of Wyatt Teller in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft could have ended up being one of his best picks he has made.
However, the Bills would trade Teller prior to his second season to the Cleveland Browns and he has emerged as one of the best guards in the NFL. Over the past four seasons, he has either been selected as a second-team All-Pro or to the Pro Bowl.
While the Bills appear to have the answer at right guard with O'Cyrus Torrence, this has been a weakness for a few seasons that Teller absolutely could have fixed if he was still in Buffalo.
Zay Jones
In 2017, it was the first draft for Sean McDermott with the Buffalo Bills but Brandon Beane hadn't joined the team yet. This would be the final draft run by Doug Whaley and in the second round they tried to address the wide receiver position by selecting Zay Jones.
At the time, the Bills still have Sammy Watkins but were looking for a replacement for Robert Woods. The hope was that Jones could be that and he certainly had plenty of opportunity with 176 targets his first two seasons in the league.
However, he caught only 83 of them and had an abysmal catch rate of 47%. The Bills seemed like they saw enough and would trade Zay Jones during his third season to the Raiders. He last through the 2021 season with the Raiders before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars prior to the 2022 season.
That first year in Jacksonville would be a career year for him as he caught 82 passes, only one less than his first two seasons with the Bills, for 823 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He was released this offseason and will be looking to make an impact with the Arizona Cardinals.
Marshawn Lynch
Another player that the Buffalo Bills seemingly gave up on too soon was running back Marshawn Lynch. They drafted Lynch in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft and he quickly made an impact with over 1,000 rushing yards each of his first two seasons and 15 rushing touchdowns during that stretch.
However, the remainder of his time in Buffalo wasn't nearly as impactful as he was suspended the first three games of 2009 and had only 450 rushing yards and then suffered an ankle injury during the preseason of 2010 and played only four games.
At this point, the Bills already had another running back they drafted in the first round on the roster in C.J. Spiller, so Buffalo would trade Lynch to the Seattle Seahawks during the season. He would go on to have four straight seasons with Pro Bowl selections and double digit rushing touchdowns each season.
At that point, the Buffalo Bills were not really in a position to compete for a playoff spot so it made sense to trade him with his rookie contract almost up but it certainly was bitter sweet for fans to see him have success for another team.
Stephon Gilmore
The final player is Stephon Gilmore, who was selected 10th overall by the Buffalo Bills in the 2012 NFL Draft, and stepped in almost immediately as the starting cornerback. Gilmore was good during his time in Buffalo with nine interceptions and 62 passes defended in four seasons.
However, he would leave in free agency after the 2016 season and signed with the New England Patriots. He would go on to be a cornerstone for that defense and had four Pro Bowl nominations and won Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 when he led the league in interceptions with six and passes defended with 20.
Gilmore's departure came at a pivotal time for the Bills as that was the offseason that Sean McDermott took over as head coach. The Bills weren't ready to give the former first round pick a big contract and instead drafted his replacement with the selection of Tre'Davious White.
Stephon Gilmore is still playing and is currently a free agent that might open the door for him to return to the team that drafted him. While it is unlikely, it is still an option at this point leading up to the 2024 season.