Buffalo Bills on the clock as NFL Draft continues on TSN

The primary spherical of the 2024 NFL Draft got here and went with out the Buffalo Payments making a variety.

Basic supervisor Brandon Beane traded down twice on Thursday evening, with the second deal taking the Payments out of the primary spherical totally.

Whereas not all people in Payments Mafia is seemingly on board with the selections made, the Payments are set to kick off the proceedings in Spherical 2, now holding the thirty third general choice.

You may catch Rounds 2 and three of the 2024 NFL Draft LIVE on Friday with protection starting at 6pm et/3pm pt on TSN1/3, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.

Heading into the draft, the concept of the Payments making a transfer appeared like a really viable one, however the expectation was that the staff was trying to transfer up, somewhat than down. The present Payments roster is a markedly completely different one than the one which took the sector for the staff’s 27-24 season-ending loss to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in January within the AFC Divisional Spherical. Feeling the cap crunch, Beane made sweeping cuts that noticed the departures of stalwarts like centre Mitch Morse, security Jordan Poyer and cornerback Tre’Davious White. Then in free company, the staff misplaced vast receiver Gabe Davis and defensive finish Leonard Floyd.

The exclamation level on the truth that the staff was certainly coming into a brand new period got here with the Apr. 3 commerce of All-Professional Stefon Diggs, the staff’s main receiver for the previous 4 seasons, to the Houston Texans. All informed, 20 gamers on the 53-man roster for the Chiefs sport at the moment are former Payments.

Essentially the most urgent problem for Beane heading into the draft appeared to be discovering a brand new weapon for famous person quarterback Josh Allen. The staff added receivers Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins in free company, however the departures of Diggs and Davis left Allen with out his high goal and a big-bodied deep menace.

Sitting at 28 to begin Thursday evening, it was apparent that the staff would want to maneuver up in the event that they needed a crack on the three obtainable receivers perceived to be future No. 1s in Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers of LSU and Washington’s Rome Odunze. The Payments stood pat and all three had been gone by the point the ninth decide was made.

With the three star choices off the board, an unusually deep crop of receivers meant the Payments may nonetheless fill their want with high quality – even with the Jacksonville Jaguars nabbing LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. at 22. However when 28 got here round, the Payments moved the decide to their archrivals the Chiefs in a decide swap that noticed Buffalo seize an extra third-round choice as they moved all the way down to No. 32.

Eyebrows had been raised, although, once they Chiefs chosen speedy receiver Xavier Worthy out of Texas. Having set the brand new document within the 40 on the NFL Mix with a blistering 4.21 seconds, Worthy doubtlessly provides a dimension to the Tremendous Bowl champions’ offence that has been lacking for the reason that commerce of Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. If a deal that helped the Chiefs get higher wasn’t unhealthy sufficient for Payments followers, recall that the final time these two groups made a draft-day deal was in 2017 when Kansas Metropolis traded as much as No. 10 to pick a Texas Tech QB named Patrick Mahomes.

The Payments did not find yourself hanging on to No. 32, both. The staff then flipped it to the Carolina Panthers for a bundle that included the No. 33 choice. The Payments now head into the remainder of the draft with 10 picks in Rounds 2 to 7 and seem to have some choices in entrance of them as to the right way to proceed. Maintaining all of them is wise for a staff that’s cap-strapped. Bringing in gamers who can contribute shortly on rookie offers is a simple option to retool…offered that you simply hit on them, which is not in any respect a assure, particularly in later rounds.

There may be additionally the choice of packaging a few of these picks for a longtime participant like Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals or certainly one of San Francisco 49ers duo Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Whereas any of those gamers may instantly slot in as a brand new No. 1 receiver, there would nonetheless have to be some cap finagling to make it work and there is a good likelihood a viable path to that may show to be troublesome.

So who may they take at 32 ought to they hold that choice? There are a variety of intriguing receivers nonetheless on supply, together with Texas’s Adonai Mitchell, who would reply the necessity for measurement misplaced within the Davis departure, and the speedy Ladd McConkey from Georgia. Oregon’s Troy Franklin, Keon Coleman of Florida State and Michigan’s Roman Wilson are additionally nonetheless obtainable. It should be famous, although, that none of those gamers undertaking No. 1 upside.

As a lot as the necessity for a receiver appears paramount, the Payments actually have holes elsewhere. Two cornerbacks with first-round grades in Iowa’s Cooper DeJean and Kool-Assist McKinstry of Alabama may assist reshape a Payments secondary that continues to be in flux even with the addition of free-agent security Mike Edwards.

Defensive sort out Jer’Zhan Newton of Illinois won’t have had spectacular counting stats, however his uncooked expertise and talent make him a really intriguing possibility. Whereas offensive line assist is rarely attractive, the Payments at the moment plan to go into 2024 with Connor McGovern as a transformed centre with the discharge of Morse. With that being a doubtlessly iffy proposition, may the Payments flip to a pure centre within the type of Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson?

There may be, after all, this chance that the Payments will proceed to commerce down and accrue extra late-round alternatives. NFL Community’s Ian Rapoport reviews the staff is already taking calls from groups trying to transfer up. Beane has already confirmed able to zig when he was anticipated to zag throughout this draft. Might extra surprises be in retailer for these new-look Payments?