2024 NFL draft: USA TODAY hands Bills below average grade

2024 NFL draft: USA TODAY hands Bills below average grade

May 10, 2024

The Buffalo Bills missed the mark a bit for our friends at USA TODAY.

Following the 2024 NFL draft, USA TODAY handed the Bills an average mark of “B” for the haul the team pulled in. Highlighting the class is Keon Coleman.

Coleman was Buffalo’s top selection in the second round. The Bills traded back twice and completely out of the first round.

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While USA TODAY doesn’t appear to disagree with the decision, there was some commentary against it. The preferred deal would have been moving in the other direction to select a prospect that was a bit more polarizing.

Overall, every team’s grade was marked side-by-side. Buffalo’s was at No. 19 overall, just in the below average range.

The breakdown from USA TODAY’s Nate Davis can be found below:

A team with a clear receiver need following the trade of Diggs and departure of Gabe Davis took some heat Thursday for dropping out of Round 1 rather than aggressively targeting a replacement. Yet in a deep wideout draft, GM Brandon Beane did just fine, getting Florida State’s Keon Coleman, arguably a first-round talent, at the top of Round 2 – and even if he isn’t a blazer, he’s fast enough, catches contested balls and will provide QB Josh Allen with a big target. Win, especially with a bonus of additional picks for a team that was depleted by salary-cap reckoning. Second-round S Cole Bishop is unlikely to make anyone forget Jordan Poyer or Micah Hyde. Third-round DT DeWayne Carter should have an impact on the pass rush and could quickly emerge as a new defensive leader. And while signing undrafted free agent RB Frank Gore Jr. will garner headlines, fourth-rounder Ray Davis (Kentucky) could be the one who makes hay while easing the load on James Cook.

Read all the best Bills coverage at the Democrat and Chronicle and Bills Wire.