The Buffalo Bills were originally supposed to pick at number 57 on Friday night. After a trade down to pick 60 and another to pick 63, fans were beginning to get antsy but general manager Brandon Beane had a plan.
“We had several guys in the area we liked at positions of need,” said Beane, “so let’s slide down and see who’s still there.”
There were a lot of good players available at those two spots, but eventually Buffalo picked Georgia running back James Cook. With multiple mid-term needs and no glaring spots of necessity, the Bills had the luxury of playing their draft board a little. Guard, running back, wide receiver, tight end, linebacker, safety, and other spots were all on the table.
“Knowing I didn’t have a 4th, I wanted to add some assets and then see how it plays out tomorrow [Saturday],” said Beane.
Beane used his original fourth-round pick to trade up in the first round on Thursday night to select Kaiir Elam, their new cornerback from Florida. Moving a few spots ensured they got one of their guys with a first-round grade.
The Bills’ GM also mentioned that he could have traded down further, but that wasn’t something that he wanted to do. He didn’t want to go that far back.
To move from 57 to 60, the Bills should have received the equivalent of a fifth-round pick according to the Jimmy Johnson chart, but a sixth-rounder per the Pats Pulpit chart. They did receive a sixth-rounder, but at 180, it wasn’t enough to balance the scale. It seems like it was Beane getting what he could with multiple players on his board.
The same can be said to move from 60 to 63. The spread is equal to a high sixth-round pick on the Jimmy Johnson chart (24 points) or a mid-sixth according to the Pats Pulpit chart, but Buffalo got back a late sixth-rounder selection instead.
It just shows you that trades are approximate and the Bills were motivated to move down, or at least unmotivated to make the pick.
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