One of the special talents that Brandon Beane has is finding talent in later rounds of the NFL Draft for the Buffalo Bills. After the first round, Beane and the front office are able to acquire talent that is overlooked. He officially took over the front office after the 2017 NFL Draft, a class that featured Tre’Davious White (first-round pick), as well as Dion Dawkins (second-round pick) and Matt Milano (fifth-round pick) all landing in Buffalo.
Under Beane, some of the notable players that have been drafted to Buffalo outside of the first round include Taron Johnson, Gabe Davis, Tyler Bass, Spencer Brown, Khalil Shakir, Christian Bernard, James Cook, Terrel Bernard and O’Cyrus Torrence. All of these players have made some sort of big impact at one point or another for the Bills. While most of these players are on their rookie deal, they have shown flashes of being great in a Bills uniform.
In this past draft, the Bills did make a first round pick after trading down twice. They would kick off the second round by drafting Keon Coleman out of Florida State. Beane addressed various positions on both sides of the ball and gave Sean McDermott young talent to work with for the future.
Players like Keon Coleman and Cole Bishop who were drafted in the second round could make an immediate impact for the Bills in 2024 just based on the positions they play. With a new wide receiver group and a new look safety in the secondary, Coleman and Bishop could be seeing a lot more playing time than anticipated. However, there is one rookie that will have to time to develop and learn from the veterans in front of him that are under contract with the Bills in 2024 and beyond.
DT DeWayne Carter lands in a perfect situation in Buffalo
The Bills drafted Carter in the third round to add to the defensive line room. This time last year, the Bills only had Ed Oliver under contract beyond the 2023 season. That has since changed as the front office was able to re-sign DaQuan Jones to a two-year deal and drafted Carter. While the Bills have other options at the position, including Olympic Gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson, Oliver and Jones will be the starters while Carter learns from the duo to improve for the future.
Carter has the best advantage because he does not need to start immediately and can learn from Oliver who is coming off a career year with career highs of 9.5 sacks, 51 total tackles, one interception and 16 QB hits. While Oliver has improved his pass rush from the interior, Jones serves as the true run-stopper who can take on double teams and allow the linebackers to fly in and make a play at the line of scrimmage.
Carter gets the best of both worlds with Oliver and Jones and what their strengths are. With already three years of leadership experience at Duke as a three-time captain, Carter can become a promising player for the Bills with the perfect mentors in front of him.