Grading every first-round pick of Buffalo Bills' current regime

2022 - Kaiir Elam

Elam was a very odd draft pick. In 2022, the worst kept secret was the Bills were drafting a CB. After the torn ACL Tre White suffered, the Bills needed a contingency plan for 2022 in case White couldn't return to full health.

So, they drafted Kaiir Elam as their 23rd overall pick. Coming out of Florida, it was widely known Elam was going to be a man-coverage cornerback. The Bills didn't run man coverage and still don't to this day. So Elam isn't really fitting in with this defense like he should be after year two.

Elam didn't see much time last year with an injury, and being a healthy scratch for a good amount of time after returning to health. They aren't going to force Elam to become a zone corner, so his skill set isn't going to magically fit into this defense in years three and four, making Elam a bad pick.

Grade: C-

2023 - Dalton Kincaid

A missing link to the Bills offense in 2024? The Bills are hoping Kincaid can capitalize on an impressive rookie year, where he totaled 673 yards and two TDs last year. After trading away Stefon Diggs, there are not too many players left on this offense that have familiarity with Josh Allen.

They're going to need Kincaid to take a big step forward and become a top TE in this league right away. After drafting him last year, there was talk he could play slot receiver and TE, even talk about two TE sets as McDermott has wanted for a while now. Using Kincaid as a "Swiss army knife" in this offense could open up a lot more possibilities as they transition into life without Stefon Diggs.

Overall, Beane has a lot to be proud of through the six drafts that he's commanded. And he'll look to do the same this year with the 28th overall pick with multiple holes to fill.

Grade: A