Brandon Beane has a process, fills needs via free agency, and drafts for the best available. So far, the needs have been filled, and now the draft is just around the corner. Beane has been known to make draft day moves, including moving up, but what would a trade-up look like and just how high up are we looking at? A few names that have been mentioned are Brian Thomas Jr, receiver out of LSU and he is a player the Bills may have to trade up for. Another name is UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu and he is a player that will likely go in the late teens.
The Bills need a top edge player and Latu fits that need. Sure, Buffalo could target one of the other edge defenders with the 28th pick or in the later rounds. However, historically if you want an elite edge rusher, you have to draft them high in the first round. The all-time sack leader Bruce Smith was a number one overall pick and other greats such as Reggie White, Joey Bosa, J.J. Watt, and Khalil Mack were all selected within the first 11 picks of the draft. There are exceptions, such as T.J. Watt, who was selected 30th overall, but this is the exception to the rule.
So, if Buffalo wanted to move up in the first round of the NFL draft and target Latu, what would such a deal look like? Most mock drafts I've seen have Latu going in the late teens, so for the sake of this article, we'll go with best best-case scenario and assume he is still on the board when the 19th pick comes around. This is where the Bills need to get, to make Latu the 19th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
According to Pro Football Reference, the 19th pick is worth 875 points and the 28th pick (where the Bills currently sit) is worth 660 points.
The Buffalo Bills give up the 28th and 60th overall picks
Buffalo needs to find another 215 points worth of picks to make this move work. Their 60th pick is worth 300 points, so packaging the 28th and 60th picks would get the deal done, and to even out the value, the Rams would have to include an additional pick, most likely the 99th overall selection. The deal would include the Bills sending their 28th and 60th picks, in exchange for receiving the Rams' 19th and 99th picks. If the deal lands the Bills Latu, is this a move you would be willing to make? Buffalo would get Latu but wouldn't draft again until the fourth round. If Beane made a move like this, I would think the most likely scenario would be another trade-up into the second or third round using the draft assets the Bills have in rounds four through seven.