The Buffalo Bills Are Taking A WR In Round 1 Of The NFL Draft
The consensus among mock drafters all offseason was that the Buffalo Bills were going to select a wide receiver with their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. This was before they traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in exchange for a second-round pick in 2025. The Bills have now gone from wanting a number two receiver to needing a number one option.
In the four seasons Diggs played in Buffalo, he never caught fewer than 103 passes and racked up over 1,000 yards yearly. During that time, Josh Allen became the first quarterback to record 40 touchdowns in four consecutive seasons. Yes, some of those are rushing, but it's not a coincidence he set an NFL record after Diggs arrived in 2020.
The 2024 Draft is loaded at wide receiver, with playmakers available into round four. There are unrealistic options, realistic options, and options that should be avoided at all costs in round one. Let's look at each of those categories, and narrow down who it will be on April 25th.
Who They Won't Draft
There is a clear top three at wide receiver. In this draft. All of them are going to go in the top 15 picks, and will not be available to the Buffalo Bills at 28. Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze will be long gone by the time the Bills are on the clock. Don't expect the Bills to trade up and get one of them either.
A move from 28 to, let’s say, 10, depending on how the draft plays out, would likely cost the Bills three first-round picks and three second-round picks. They may have invested $258 million in quarterback Josh Allen, and they certainly want to give him weapons, but the Bills aren't selling the farm to get their thoroughbred some hay.
Who They Should Avoid
Since the combine, the trendy player people have going in round one, who has no business even being an afterthought in round one, is Texas receiver Xavier Worthy. A projected late second-round pick for the combine, there are those who feel that setting the record in the 40-yard dash makes him worthy of a day-one selection. It doesn't.
Speed kills, but it doesn't trump game film and numbers. Worthy is a sloppy route runner who can't create space with technique. He's also 5’10 and 165 pounds. He will be taken out of the game by bigger and more physical receivers.
The comparisons to Tyreek Hill need to stop because the Cheetah has about 40 pounds on him. Where they are the same, is that Hill was a fifth-round pick, and Worthy should be too. There is a reason he is still the 78th-ranked prospect on Pro Football Focus.
Who They Should Take
Brian Thomas Jr out of LSU would be a dream come true for the Bills. He’s 6’3 and 209 pounds and runs a 4.33 forty. He had 68 receptions for the Tigers in 2023 for 1,177 yards and 17 touchdowns. He's a big, fast, agile target from a college that produces great receivers.
He won't be on the board at 28, but he might be at 20, and trading up in that scenario might just cost a couple of second-round picks. He may be a step below the top three guys, but Thomas is three steps above the next tier of receivers. He is well worth what it would cost to get him.
Should the Bills choose to remain at 28 and just take who falls to them, they will be selecting from a group made up of Adonai Mitchell, Troy Franklin, Ladd McConkey, and Keon Coleman. All four could be productive in Buffalo, but all four are true number two receivers and would be asked to play the number one role, with Curtis Samuel being the second option.
They also have Dalton Kincaid at tight end, and while he will be targeted significantly more in 2024, we can't deny that the Bills first pick is going to be a wide receiver. Which one is anyone's guess, but whoever it is, they are going to have some monstrous cleats to fill.
Read More NFL News From Stadium Rant Here: NFL News
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS:
Order your favorite whiskey or spirit for the big game right to your doorstep and use code STADIUMRANT10 for a 10% discount at Caskers
Use code STADIUMRANT20 for a 20% discount at Bulletproof Coffee, SwingJuice, and Performix.
If you love to shotgun beers, use code STADIUMRANT10 at Wild Man Drinking Company.
MORE FROM STADIUM RANT:
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here.
Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our YouTube channel and subscribe!