Grading the draft class for each AFC East team after 2024 NFL Draft

Buffalo Bills

Round 2, Pick 33-Keon Coleman, Wide Receiver, Florida State,
Round 2, Pick 60-Cole Bishop, Safety, Utah
Round 3, Pick 95-DeWayne Carter, Defensive Tackle, Duke
Round 4, Pick 128-Ray Davis, Running Back, Kentucky
Round 5, Pick 141-Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Center, Georgia
Round 5, Pick 160-Edefuan Ulofoshio, Linebacker, Washington
Round 5, Pick 168-Javon Solomon, Edge, Troy
Round 6, Pick 204-Tylan Grable, Offensive Tackle, UCF
Round 6, Pick 219-Daequan Hardy, Cornerback, Penn State
Round 7, Pick 221-Travis Clayton, Offensive Line, England

The draft for the Buffalo Bills was not the sexiest, nor did it net a whole bunch of high-upside players, but there was one thing Brandon Beane did right for the Bills. He moved around the board and made sure to draft both starting caliber players with the first three picks and also addressed the depth in other positions.

The drafting of a wide receiver was evident for the Bills, and they did that with their first pick. It wasn't a first-round receiver like most fans wanted, but it was their first priority. After moving out of the first round, Beane picked up a third-round pick and moved up significantly in the fifth round.

With their first selection, the Bills selected Keon Coleman, who throughout the entire draft process has been as polarizing as ever. With gaining extra capital in the draft while still getting their guy, this was a huge win for the Bills' front office.

Their next pick was another need, safety Cole Bishop out of Utah. Bishop was teammates with Dalton Kincaid at Utah, so Beane gathered intel from Kincaid about Bishop and if he could be an impact. The answer was a yes.

With both Kincaid and Bishop battling it out in practice at Utah, they both refined their craft. Thus, Bishop was a great neutralizer of tight ends in college. That is good news for this defense, considering the team that keeps knocking the Bills out of the playoffs has one of the best tight ends in the game in Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs.

The next two picks for the Bills are both good developmental/depth pieces. DeWayne Carter is a solid pick for the Bills, bolstering the depth of the interior of this defensive line. He also has great mentors in DaQuan Jones and Austin Johnson to learn behind. Carter was also a three-time team captain at Duke, the first three-time captain in Duke's history. This definitely helps the Bills considering they lost a lot of team captains to free agency.

The Bills then decided to take a running back in the fourth round to complement James Cook, and to get another younger/cheaper option at the position. Davis can be a good complement for Cook, being Davis is a shorter yet bigger running back to take on the short yardage/red zone duties.

The fifth round is where Beane got most of his value, with getting one of the better centers in this class with Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. He also acquired Washington linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio for linebacker/special-teams depth, and developmental edge rusher Javon Solomon out of Troy.

Van Pran-Granger is the steal of this class. Even though he is a center-only player, he has served as Georgia's center for the last three years, including their national titles in 2022 and 2023. Ulofoshio is a good get for linebacker depth, but in a crowded room with Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard at the top, there isn't much need for him to make an impact right away.

Javon Solomon is one of the better developmental edge prospects, and with needing both depth and impact players at this position, this is a pretty decent pick. With Von Miller's tutelage, Solomon can hopefully develop into one of the staples in this edge rusher room.

The last 3 picks for the Bills provided depth for the offensive line and the cornerback room. Tylan Grable is more of a raw prospect, but with Aaron Kromer as his offensive line coach, he could be a good depth piece, especially with 2024 being the final year of Spencer Brown's contract.

Daequan Hardy is a very nice pick. Not only does he provide cornerback depth, but he also provides punt return and kick return duties for Penn State. Hardy could help a lot with the new kickoff rule for the NFL this year encouraging more returns. The final pick for the Bills provides more interior offensive line depth, and they also get a fun prospect in former rugby player Travis Clayton. All in all, not a "sexy" draft for the Bills, but it was definitely a much-needed draft to help with the cap room for the Bills going forward.

Draft Grade: B+