An antsy Brandon Beane trades up for an explosive wideout
It’s a new day at One Bills Drive with yet another long-standing cornerstone of the Buffalo Bills now gone after general manager Brandon Beane made the decision to trade star wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans for a 2025 second-round draft choice. Of course, the decision could not have been an easy one for the organization considering the team had already been strongly linked to taking a wide receiver with a priority pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Bills cut ties with another aging veteran who has eclipsed 30 in Diggs and consequently opened a significant hole on the roster at receiver. Beane has not had to go into any drafts with significant holes in several years, but this is certainly a new challenge for him that will require a strong result from the draft picks he makes.
There won’t be a shortage of options in the 2024 draft class, which is considered one of the best from a top flight talent and depth standpoint in recent memory. The Bills won’t have their pick of them all, but they will get their shot at most.
Imagine an antsy Brandon Beane whose number-one receiver at this very moment is either Curtis Samuel who has never truly been anything more than an effective number three in an offense as an explosive short-area option with gadget ability — or Khalil Shakir who is an emerging talent on one hand, but also one with 49 receptions to his name in two years of NFL play.
Beane loves to trade up for his guy. It’s happened in plenty of drafts to lock in a player he sees in his eyes as a “faller” they need to grab. It occurred just last year in the first round with Dalton Kincaid as the organization moved up two spots to secure the first tight end off the board.
There is one player who makes sense as a target barring an unforeseen wild Julio Jones-esque trade into the top five for one of the superb three options (Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze). Those top three have separated themselves with a tier between the next prospect who we will focus on today.
It’s unlikely said player would make it to the Bills at pick No. 28 overall. So, for realistic standards, let’s assume the Bills package one of either their own or the newly acquired 2025 second- and their own third-round selections to trade up to pick No. 14 with the New Orleans Saints.
With the 14th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select...
Brian Thomas Jr, WR (LSU)
The running mate of perceived top-five selection Malik Nabers isn’t so shabby in his own right. Thomas Jr. has one of the highest ceilings among this class, possessing a sincerely exciting combination of height, weight, and speed that the Bills are sorely in need of. He’s a big-play machine stacking up over 17 yards per catch in 2023 and 17 touchdowns that led FBS.
One of the problems with the Bills’ offense in 2023 was the lack of the big play. Stefon Diggs had previously been known as one of the best deep-ball receivers in the NFL, but the connection with star quarterback Josh Allen had been missing in addition to the infrequency of any receiver in the room uncovering vertically. That’s no issue for Thomas who made a living off of it this past year, routinely torching SEC corners.
Thomas has mastered the art of separating vertically and also being a ball winner at the catch point when need be. He’s exciting with room to grow in the short and intermediate areas, while crisping up his route-running in the intermediate areas. His length doesn’t make him a natural route runner, so a team will have to believe it can improve to invest that first-round pick into him. He’s not ready made for what he can be in two years. But that’s why he may go in this range within the teens instead of top 10 like his teammate. There is true flexibility in where he can line up across the formation, which matches up with the team’s current talent in that room with versatility from Samuel and Shakir. But Thomas can line up at the X spot, which separates him from those names.
I see the same thing as Nate. Brian Thomas Jr. didn't run breaking routes often at LSU, but if we extrapolate what he looks like on his hitch routes, screens, and YAC opps then we can see how he can develop a full route tree in 1-3 years. https://t.co/0aV24W0MBz pic.twitter.com/7xClKgzXfM
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) March 29, 2024
Trading up a significant amount of spots in the first round for any player other than a quarterback is always a tricky proposition because of the capital you must part with in the process. If the Bills were to conduct a trade like this, they sure better be right on the prospect. But if Thomas hits, he’s going to hit in a big way with what his current skill set shows can be unlocked in the NFL. The expectation shouldn’t be All-Pro from the jump as Thomas needs time to develop a hearty route tree to pair with his exceptional downfield athleticism and ball skills. The end result might be worth the patience.