We all know that—barring a trade—the Buffalo Bills hold the No. 9 overall selection Thursday night as the NFL Draft kicks off at 8 p.m. in Nashville, Tennessee.
Fans ready to put all the draft speculation and rumors to bed will be anxious for Buffalo to make its first of ten picks on Thursday. But when are the Bills expected to pick? Here’s our best guess.
In the first round, picks can take up to ten minutes, so if the teams ahead of Buffalo use up the maximum amount of time (eight teams picking times ten minutes apiece), it will be 81 minutes from the start of the first round of the draft at 8 p.m. Eastern until the Bills pick, putting general manager Brandon Beane on the clock at approximately 9:21 p.m. Eastern.
But on further analysis, Buffalo will be picking before that. Here’s what recent history has to say about when Buffalo will be on the clock:
- In 2018, the San Francisco 49ers went on the clock just before 9 p.m. Eastern to select Notre Dame tackle Mike McGlinchey.
- In 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals went on the clock shortly after 9 p.m. Eastern to select Washington wide receiver John Ross.
- In 2016, the Chicago Bears went on the clock shortly after 9 p.m. Eastern to draft Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd.
- In 2015, the New York Giants went on the clock just before 9 p.m. Eastern to select Miami tackle Ereck Flowers.
So the Bills will probably be on the clock sometime around 9 p.m. Eastern Thursday and have their pick in soon after that. That’s if they don’t trade up—something that’s a possibility given general manager Brandon Beane has shown a penchant for wheeling and dealing in the past. Stay tuned!