The Buffalo Bills had an extremely busy first round for this year’s draft. The Bills entered the draft with the 12th overall, and 22nd overall picks in the first round. They did not keep either of these picks. First, the Bills were expected to trade up in the first round for a quarterback all week. There were thoughts they could trade up in the top five, but this did not happen. The Bills ended up waiting until 7, where they made a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bills had to decide between Josh Rosen and Josh Allen with this pick, and they ended up going with Allen. This was a major surprise. Most experts and scouts had Rosen going higher than Allen and gave Rosen a better NFL grade than Allen. The Bills obviously see something in Allen that most people do not to take him over Rosen. Allen has the strongest arm in the draft by far. This does bode well in Buffalo, where a strong arm is needed with the weather they have. His main criticism comes with his accuracy. Throughout college, he had under 60% completion in all 3 years he played at Wyoming. When asked about going to Buffalo, Allen said “I am going to make the Bills look like genius’ for doing this.” He will not be the day one starter and will sit behind AJ McCarron which is needed. He needs time to improve and adjust to the NFL. The Bills take a risk at 7, and only the future will tell if that risk will become a reward.
Next, the Bills traded up again, this time utilizing their 22nd pick. They made this trade with the Baltimore Ravens to move up 6 spots to number 16. This was a great pick, where they selected Tremaine Edmunds, the linebacker out of Virginia Tech. This is a player that has one of the highest ceilings in this year’s draft. He is 19 so he is extremely raw. He has so much time to improve and develop as a player. He was a dominant force last year at Virginia Tech. He fits the Buffalo scheme well and will be a fantastic addition to their defense that already is one of the best in the league. This pick is an absolute steal for the Bills. They will have Edmunds for years, and with what he is projected to be, he could end up being one of the best defensive players in the league.
In total, the Bills were probably the busiest team in the first round this year. They ended up making picks at 7 and 16. That did come with giving up some picks though. Buffalo ended up giving up their 12th and 22nd pick in the first round to trade up. They also lost both their second-round picks (53,56) and their third-round pick (65). On top of this, the Bills gained a fifth and seventh round pick from their trades. Both of their trades mad sense. They did not have to give up as much as first thought. Also, they were able to get a quarterback and still have another pick in the first round which is extremely impressive. Everything considered, the Bills were a winner in the first round. Value wise, Edmunds was one of the best picks in the round and they were able to get who they believe will be their franchise quarterback. Bills fans should be excited for the future after round one.
