With less than three weeks until the commencement of the 2018 NFL Draft, draft analysts and pundits have continued to assume that the Buffalo Bills are interested in a trade up into the top ten picks of the draft in the pursuit of a franchise passer. However, those aforementioned analysts tend to disagree on how exactly high the team wants to go. Some suggest they could make it to all the way to the second pick of the draft, others seem to think the sixth or seventh pick would be high enough. In his most recent mock draft scenario, SB Nation’s own Dan Kadar has the Bills targeting the fourth pick, owned by the Cleveland Browns and taking the best quarterback left on the board in Josh Allen.
TRADE: 4. Buffalo Bills (via Cleveland Browns through Houston Texans): Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
Moving all the way down from the fourth pick to the 12th pick is big drop for the Browns, but they could get both of Buffalo’s first-round picks this year and maybe a little more.
The Bills could be compelled to move up on Allen because the Giants with the fifth pick could take him, or a team like Miami or Arizona could trade up. If the Bills really want a quarterback in the first round, they’re going to need to trade up to get him.
Grif’s take:
In an ideal world, the Bills wouldn’t need to trade up for Josh Allen. They would stay at the twelfth pick let chips fall where they may. Unfortunately, that mentality does not apply to quarterbacks. Kadar’s mock has Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, and Baker Mayfield all gone by the fourth pick, which almost necessitates a trade up by the team.
As we discussed in a series of articles last week, Allen is a prototypical, but overly aggressive and inconsistent passer. If drafted, it would be highly recommended that the Bills park him on the bench until he improves and demonstrates that he can handle a starting role. Treat him how the Kansas City Chiefs treated Patrick Mahomes. If all goes well, the team could have a real franchise passer.