Realizing the need for a top-flight receiver... what will it take?
The idea of creating mock drafts is all about considering different scenarios that could occur within the draft while subsequently breaking down the sensibility of it all. No mock draft is ever perfect, which is why so many are produced annually in the highly anticipated lead-up to Round 1.
This Buffalo Bills mock draft will be no different, presenting a realistic scenario in place to see just how logistic it could be. Specifically, receiver has been a trending topic for weeks and the talk has reached a fever pitch since star wide receiver Stefon Diggs was traded to the Houston Texans. If the Bills are going to navigate a large trade to move up in Round 1 while forfeiting valuable assets in the process, the odds are extremely high that it would be for a receiver.
There’s a three-headed monster at the top of this year’s draft class that’s a near consensus in standing tall at the receiver position. It’s atypical to have true blue-chip receivers in one class that could all realistically be drafted in the top five of any given draft. Those three guys — Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio St); Malik Nabers (LSU); and Rome Odunze (Washington).
If Buffalo’s brass is looking to trade up, they need a dance partner to do so — a team willing to leap possibly 20 picks backwards to make it all work. One spot that does make sense is at pick No. 9, which belongs to the Chicago Bears. Of course, the Bears have the Carolina Panthers’ number-one overall selection after the Bryce Young trade from 2023 — and that pick is all but sealed to be quarterback Caleb Williams. Chicago has two picks in the top 10, then they’re only scheduled for two more selections the rest of the draft (No. 75 and No. 122 overall). If the Bears’ front office is looking to stockpile selections, this is a team that makes sense should one of the big three receivers tumble a bit.
Then there’s the trade package needed to move from 28 to No. 9 overall. General manager Brandon Beane and the front office may need to be a bit creative (if possible) with this trade. For our purposes here, consider this as a potential package:
Bears Receive: Pick No. 28 overall; Pick No. 60 Overall; Pick No. 133 Overall; 2025 first-round pick
Bills Receive: Pick No. 9 overall; Pick No. 75 overall
The Bills get to escape this scenario maintaining a Day Two pick with hopes of nailing a starter near that spot — essentially a pick swap with No. 60 and No. 75 overall. According to trade ups, it’s a bit of an overpay. But moving this far up into the top 10 is certainly going to be very expensive. Sometimes it’s the price of doing business with potential blue-chip players on the board.
With the ninth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select...
Rome Odunze, WR (Washington)
The most realistic “faller” of any among the wide receivers at this point appears to be Odunze, who is as complete a player as you’ll see at the position. The problem for him is that Harrison and Nabers would be No. 1 overall picks in some other draft classes. They’re the most special tandem of top prospects at the position to come out since Julio Jones and A.J. Green comprised one draft class in the 2011 NFL Draft.
By all accounts, you wouldn’t refer to Odunze as the flashiest receiver, and he doesn’t have the upside of Harrison or Nabers in my estimation as the best receiver in the league at any point. But he’s just a really good football player who teams are going to love throughout this process because he has so many translatable aspects to his game. Odunze comes to the NFL with a ready-made physical profile as someone who’s proven time and again that he can beat defenders with route running or as a true ball winner. He’s capable of it all. He doesn’t have a larger-than-life prowess like Harrison or a ridiculous lightning-bolt of burst and speed like Nabers. But he is a football player capable of doing anything you could ever want in a number-one guy at the spot.
I have strong feelings about Rome Odunze. pic.twitter.com/WyE7qUGGL6
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) April 2, 2024
Of course, for the Bills, they would also need to love Odunze enough to give up assets including a first-round selection in next year’s draft to acquire him. So the organization better sure be right if this is the guy they feel is worth moving up for.
They also need to hope he can even last to nine, which is far from a guarantee. There is a very real world where all three of these receivers are gone by pick No. 7 overall, and there’s no room for the Bills to move up that far even if they desire to do so.
It’s a chess game and there’s a very thin window of opportunity the team may have to make a move like this. It’s certainly not likely, but it would also be a bit foolish not to consider the opportunity the team could have to pursue a player who has high potential to be a number-one receiver on a rookie contract. The Bills sorely need affordable superstar talent (as does any team), and this represents a sliver of a chance to make it happen. It’s challenging to stomach the cost, but the returns could be monumental.