The 2017 season was where the Buffalo Bills started to turn around as a franchise. It was the first year of Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane as the new regime in Buffalo, but Beane was not hired by the Bills until after the draft that year. His first year running the draft room for the Bills was in 2018.
Since then, Beane has been making the calls for the Bills and while he has had some misses like any other general manager, he has also helped deliver some great talent to Western New York. While fans do have the right to question the way that the Bills have drafted in recent memory, no one can deny the great talent that has been acquired by the Bills.
With that, we have the top five draft picks that the Bills have made under Brandon Beane, and fans should definitely know who is at the top of the list…
Ranking the Top 5 Bills draft picks under Brandon Beane
5.) CB Taron Johnson - 2018
All good things come to an end, and that applies to the Bills have a solid cornerback in Taron Johnson, who they drafted in the 4th round in 2018 out of Weber State. Johnson worked his way up to not just become a top corner for the Bills, but there was a time where he was the best nickel corner in the entire league.
Johnson had 572 total tackles with the Bills, along with six interceptions. There were only four seasons where he gave up more than ten yards per completion. Plus, who could ever forget is infamous 101-yard interception touchdown return against the Ravens in the 2020-2021 playoffs against the Ravens...
The Bills traded Johnson to the Las Vegas Raiders as part of a roster revamp now that Buffalo is heading into a new direction after Sean McDermott was shown the door after the playoffs.
4.) OT Spencer Brown - 2021
It was a rough first two years with Spencer Brown in Buffalo after being drafted in the third round in 2021. With inconsistent pass protection and dealing with injuries, it really did look like Buffalo missed big on Brown. Then once former offensive line coach Aaron Kromer got a better evaluation of Brown, things took a turn for the better starting in 2023.
Since that season, Brown has risen has one of the best right tackles in the game. He is solid in pass protection, and he’s even better in the run blocking. Brown has helped bring a ton of stability to the offensive line and he should continue to be one of the best for the foreseeable future.
3.) DT Ed Oliver -2019
Don’t get me wrong, Ed Oliver has had his moments that have left fans frustrated. However, fans have also seen Oliver be the best player on this defense. He has the ability to create pressure up the middle and bring the energy to get this defense fired up in the game. Coming out of the University of Houston in 2019, the Bills managed to draft him 9th overall.
His 2023 season was the kind of season that fans wanted to see out of him. He had 9.5 sacks to go with 51 total tackles and he also managed to get an interception. Last season, Oliver missed all but three games last season due to injury. If he is able to stay healthy, he should excel under Jim Leonhard.
2.) RB James Cook - 2022
The fact that the Bills were able to get James Cook late in the second round in 2022 was unbelievable. He joined a running back room that was led by Devin Singletary so he didn’t get a ton of production.
Since then, all he has done is become one of the top running backs in the league which has included three consecutive 1,000+ rushing yard seasons, including leading the league last season with 1,621 yards. Once Cook breaks into the second level, it becomes nearly unstoppable to stop him in the open field.
He is the best running back the Bills have had since LeSean McCoy and he is right in the middle of his prime.
1.) QB Josh Allen - 2018
No one is more worthy than Josh Allen at the top of this list. He is the face of the franchise who helped bring back pride to Buffalo football. He is the best quarterback in the league who can be unstoppable at times. He can throw touchdowns, run for them, and even catch them. He can do it all.
He has put on the Superman cape many times to carry the Bills and without Allen, the Bills are not the Super Bowl contender that they have built themselves up to be.
Going into the 2018 draft, fans knew that Buffalo was going for a quarterback. No one knew which one though. Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold went in the top three, and then the Bills made the trade up from No. 12 to No. 7 to acquire Allen, who would end up being the best quarterback from the draft class…yes, even ahead of Lamar Jackson.