Associated media – Associated media
By now, you probably understand what Bills general manager Brandon Beane is all about. He has a history of trading up. He did it for Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds, Cody Ford, Dawson Knox, Zack Moss, Kaiir Elam, Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid. That’s eight times in six drafts, four in the first round. To his credit, he actually has traded down during one draft, doing so twice in the 2022 second round before taking James Cook.
Beane said he had a trade to move down last year and would have done it if he couldn’t get Kincaid — but he didn’t. Despite giving us the information, he doesn’t get credit for doing the move, because ultimately, he did what he has always done in the first round. He chased after a player who excited him, just as he always said he’s open to doing.
“Right or wrong, I probably deserve criticism for trading up sometimes. I get that,” Beane said last week. “But if there’s a guy I like and I’m confident, I want to go to bed Thursday night [knowing] that I got him.”
Another nice little highlight from the 2022 pre-draft press conference is when Beane said, “I’m my own worst enemy with patience.”
One of his biggest reasonings in the past for moving up has been to select a first-round player who has a first-round grade. While holding the No. 28 pick, in this year’s class, the GM wasn’t shy about how many first-round grades they’ve given out this year.
“Not 28,” Beane said.
At the very least, the table is set for them to try to get aggressive. This year, Beane is armed with eight Day 3 picks, more than they’ve had in multiple drafts, but only one pick in the first and one in the second. To make any legitimate move up the board, they likely need to dip into either their 2025 first or one of their two second-round selections next year. Trading next year’s first-round pick is likely one of the biggest internal dilemmas Beane will have.
“I’m never going to say no. I don’t love trading future ones,” Beane said when asked, even discussing how they were at times forlorn over a deal in Carolina the following draft after sending away a future first.
But after all that, Beane finished the answer leaving the door wide open.
“But listen, we did it for Stefon Diggs when we traded for him and sat through that [draft],” Beane said. “If there’s something that makes too much sense… heck yeah.”
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