Brandon Beane Draft Do’s & Don’ts (2024)

One thing that you can expect from Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott on draft day is surprises. Between drafting third round running backs in consecutive years and trading two spots up in the first for a TE, who became an amazing asset but nonetheless perplexed fans who were praying for a first round WR. Brandon Beane is a genius when drafting for the long-term (i.e. Christian Benford, Taron Johnson, and Matt Milano). However, when it comes to immediate impact starters, he is subpar at best. Here are some “Do’s and Don’ts” to help Brandon Beane draft immediate impact players and avoid the mistakes of the past.

1.) DON’T: Draft RB within the first four rounds!

As noted in my earlier paragraph, Brandon Beane is a fan of drafting running backs early and often when given the chance, regardless of draft class quality or need. He drafted Devin Singletary and Zack Moss in back to back drafts and, two years later, drafted starting running back James Cook in the second round with praise from media and fans alike. Many of these decisions are not bad ones, yet they don’t tend to stick. They become stale and eventually get released or traded, as was the case with Devin Singletary and Zack Moss.

According to Ian Rapport (NFL Network), Frank Gore Jr. had a Combine interview with the Bills. He is the one Running Back prospect that makes the most sense to me for the Bills. He is almost a replica of his father, with quick feet, a compact build, and surprising burst. Brandon Beane can easily draft him in the late fifth or sixth round and not receive any boos or questions from the fanbase. A beloved legend’s son playing for his former team is always a best seller. In this fanbase, we love a good story!

2.) DO: Draft Edge Rusher in the first round!

I know I may get flack for this one, but I’m confident in my argument. So get your popcorn and take a seat, I’m gonna give you a show! Brandon Beane has a penchant for drafting Defensive Line early (i.e. Ed Oliver and Greg Rousseau). This 2024 Draft Class has a surprisingly low amount of high-end edge rushers, compared to other recent draft classes. Dallas Turner (Alabama), Chop Robinson (Penn State), Laiatu Latu (UCLA), and Jared Verse (Florida State) are, rightfully, seen as first round locks.

Brandon Beane needs to draft Chop Robinson in the bottom of the first round if he wants to get a true speed demon pass rusher; think a younger Leonard Floyd or present-day Myles Garrett. This defense is a lot of things, but one thing it’s not is pressure centralized. We need true All-American pass rushers and move away from run stopping disappointments like Shaq Lawson or Boogie Basham.

3.) DON’T: Draft a Kicker!

Special Teams will always be a sore subject for Bills fans, due to recent and historic blunders in big moments. Whether it’s the dreaded “Wide Right” in Super Bowl XXV or the more recent “Wide Right 2” in this last Divisional Round against the eventual Super Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Trusting a Kicker in the big moments is already a hard ask, specifically in do or die playoff moments against a storied rival. Odds are 50/50 that you’ll either be disappointed or happy and there is no in between. If Tyler Bass made that 44-yard field goal then we’d hail him as Buffalo’s Hero in our time of crisis. If he didn’t then we’d treat him exactly how he got treated briefly after the game.

Either way prospects like Cam Little (Arkansas) and Will Reichard (Alabama) shouldn’t even be on the Bills’ radar. After giving Tyler Bass a big extension last offseason, we shouldn’t be looking for an out after one big letdown. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past and bail on a player after one mistake. Tyler Bass is our Kicker for the foreseeable future and the Bills front office should act like it.

4.) DO: Double down on WR in the first four rounds!

Brandon Beane usually loves to double down and has a history of good (and bad) choices doing so. In 2021, the Bills drafted Miami Edge Rusher Gregory Rousseau in the first round and Carlos “Boogie” Basham out of Wake Forest in the second. The two had drastically different experiences as Buffalo Bills. Rousseau became a starting-caliber Edge Rusher, Basham never amassed more than five sacks in a season. In his third season, Basham was traded to the ex-Bills retirement home New York Giants, where he hasn’t been a focal point either.

In that same year, Brandon Beane doubled down on doubling down. He drafted two 6’8” Offensive Tackles Spencer Brown and Tommy Doyle to help shore the edges of the offensive line. This was another case of “one of these things is not like the other”. Tommy Doyle never cracked the starting lineup and spent 2023 on IR after tearing his ACL during a preseason game. Spencer Brown, on the other hand, has been the starting right tackle for almost three years. While some of his early play worried fans, he turned it around this past season and helped anchor this new-found wall of Bills Offensive Linemen.

Brandon Beane needs to, once again, be redundant and draft two receivers in the first four rounds. This may be his only real chance to do so and receive universal praise from the media and fanbase. Fans have been hounding and hollering for Beane to draft a first round receiver and it looks like he may actually do it in this class. So why not indulge the fanbase even more and give them two new shiny rookie playmakers to love? The outpour for Executive of the Year will be deafening!

Brian Thomas Jr. (LSU) is the early favorite of Bills Mafia. Some readers and writers, like myself, think we may not get a chance at the back end of Round 1. I’m here to comfort readers and tell you that, even if Thomas is gone, we still have hope. This receiver class is deeper than Barry White’s vocal range. We have speedsters (Xavier Worthy and Troy Franklin), YAC monsters (Xavier Legette, Malachi Corley and Adonai Mitchell), and the Big Bodied Gabe Davis Upgrades (Keon Coleman, Brendan Rice and Javon Baker). Any one of those guys I listed would be like choir music to a depleted Bills receiving corp. Many other draft analysts have guys like Keon Coleman and Adonai Mitchell as our prime targets in Round 1.

This draft analyst says that our best bet for the one-two draft punch is Troy Franklin in the first and Javon Baker in the upper fourth. Troy Franklin is only an inch shorter than Gabe Davis but is faster, quicker, and a better YAC weapon than Gabe ever could’ve been. Javon Baker is 6’1” and a surefire prototype for a Stefon Diggs replacement in the near future. If I’m Brandon Beane, I’d consider getting a future #1 receiver that does exactly the same thing my current #1 does. Javon could be that guy.

This double downing on weapons is what the Bills fanbase has needed for a long time. It’s time to embrace the mini rebuild… But let’s fast track it like Houston last year, drafting our entire future in one draft with the most picks that year.

5.) DON’T: Trade any future picks (unless it’s the right deal)!

The NFL has a huge problem when it comes to the reality of player trade value, pick wise. Two-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns was traded to the New York Giants for only a second and fifth rounders. Meanwhile, former 2022 first round pick Kenny Pickett was traded with a fourth for a third and two sevenths to become Philadelphia’s Backup QB. A franchise cornerstone should not have the same value as a failed first round quarterback.

That being said, the Bills need to take advantage of this flawed formula and hoard their future picks. Trade them for draft darlings that fall because of stupid medical problems but inevitably shine outside of their draft spot (i.e. Nakobe Dean or Dawand Jones) or affordable veterans that teams don’t know their true value, like DeAndre Hopkins at age 27 getting traded for a second, fourth, and an injury prone former fantasy star RB David Johnson.

Brandon Beane knows how to wheel and deal when it comes to getting fair value for trades. He got a fifth and Rasul Douglas, our new CB1, for only a 2024 third round pick. He doesn’t need to “F*ck them” future picks like the Rams to build a Super Bowl team. They have been rebuilding ever since that moment and lost almost every core starter from that Super Bowl three years later. Beane needs to keep the picks he has and wait for the trade market to ripen. Then, at the right moment, take a big juicy bite out of the NFL. The question now is if he will pull the trigger or surrender to McDermott’s style of “Conservative and Complimentary Football” in his own front office. It’s anyone’s guess but I’m excited to see the payoff.

6.) DO: Get as young as possible at every position!

Every contender taking the league by storm has achieved their success with relatively younger rosters (i.e. Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans). Our team finally realized paying aging or non-productive veterans like Poyer, Hyde, and Hines is not the way to go. Brandon Beane must’ve woken up and smelled the fire alarm, as he purged the team of $40M+ in cap space and re-signed the younger and/or more cost-efficient in-house free agents. Buffalo has also tried to follow this formula with additions such as Mike Edwards, Curtis Samuel, and Nicholas Morrow. We have to continue on the path of youth and cannonball into the fountain.

We have a league-high 11 picks. This is a unique opportunity to draft instant playmakers and franchise darlings for years to come. Similar to what Brandon Beane did in 2018 with Josh Allen, Ray-Ray McCloud, Siran Neal, Wyatt Teller, and Taron Johnson. Obviously Wyatt and Ray-Ray didn’t do much in Buffalo. But Teller became an All Pro/Pro Bowler in Cleveland and McCloud became a renowned return specialist for the Panthers, Steelers, and Niners.

When the draft analysts look back on this moment, they will either talk about how this class helped the Bills step into winner’s circle or how Brandon Beane missed the opportunity of a lifetime to create a true dynasty in the NFL. Terry Pegula will be re-evaluating his team after this season. I hope he will look back and see a shiny Lombardi trophy and a capable team looking back at him. Otherwise, Beane and McDermott will be at the Unemployment office, sharing remorseful glances.