In order to address critical needs, the Buffalo Bills have a history of rising up the first-round selection board; this week’s trade of Stefon Diggs may result in an even larger jump later in the month.
In a splashy move on April 3, the Bills traded Diggs to the Houston Texans, depriving their offense of their top receiver and setting the stage for what one insider predicts will be a major draft-day transaction. In a fresh mock draft, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic claimed that the Bills would jump all the way to No. 7 in order to select LSU pass-catcher Malik Nabers, one of this year’s best receiving prospects.
“I think the Bills could really do anything, even make a move like this on draft day,” Buscaglia wrote. “[General manager Brandon] Beane, who runs the Bills, has always been a very aggressive draft-day trader when he’s excited about a prospect and how well he fits into their system.” Now that the Bills have a huge void at wide receiver and where they are in their construction, Beane might argue that this is the kind of move that will elevate them to the top for the near future.
Bills Begin to Take Stefon Diggs’ Place
When the Bills traded Diggs to the Texans this week, they lost their most effective receiver. Diggs finished the previous season with 107 receptions for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns despite a late-season slump. The Bills will have a lot of work to do in 2024 to make up for the loss of No. 2 receiver Gabe Davis to free agency.
Buscaglia anticipated that in order to get Nabers, there would be a significant move made up the selection board. He projected that the Tennessee Titans and the Bills would pull off a trade for the No. 7 and No. 182 overall picks. The Bills would give up their first-round pick (No. 28 overall) this year, as well as their second- and fourth-round selections this year, and a first-round pick in 2025, in exchange.
Buscaglia said it was similar to the 2011 Atlanta Falcons trade of several draft picks to the Cleveland Browns in order to acquire wide out Julio Jones.
“The Bills possess one of the league’s best quarterbacks in Josh Allen, an exceptionally talented group surrounding him, and a reasonable expectation that they will contend for the postseason at the very least in 2024,” Buscaglia wrote. “It gives the Bills a lot of flexibility for how they spend throughout the receiver’s rookie deal by arming him with a young receiver with elite potential on a rookie deal for the next four years.”
Malik Nabers Gets Significant Comparative
In the weeks preceding the NFL Draft, Nabers is drawing a lot of attention. He has visited with a number of teams before to the draft, including three that would choose before the No. 7 pick, as Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports reported.
Nabers’ metrics are comparable to those of another former LSU standout, according to Sullivan.
“Nabers’ metrics are comparable to those of current Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase, another LSU standout,” Sullivan noted. Each of them stands six feet tall and weighs about 200 pounds. Chase recorded a 40-yard sprint time of 4.38, while Nabers ran a 4.35.
Their board leaps and verticals were very comparable. The All-American caught 89 passes for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Tigers in 13 games during the previous campaign.
