Niagara Gazette

‘Jokes aside, the Bills need instant production from the No. 33 overall pick. Perhaps it’s unrealistic to assume he’s going to achieve 1,000 yards, but Buffalo can’t trade away Stefon Diggs and expect to survive without replacing his numbers in some fashion.’

‘It’s fair to feel tepid about replacing an All-Pro like Stefon Diggs with an unproven 20-year-old and maybe the decision will flop, but Beane’s track record shows he deserves the benefit of the doubt until shown otherwise. Beane crafted a roster that produced more wins (48) than anyone in the NFL but the Chiefs (51) over the last four seasons.’

‘The Bills are going to find out as early as the first rookie minicamp practice whether they made a mistake or not on certain players. But they took another step forward in accomplishing what’s necessary and that’s finding younger players who can produce at a cheaper price tag.’

‘Analysis: Coleman should slide into the lineup immediately and see a significant number of targets. Being Buffalo’s top target or gaining 1,000 yards might be a stretch as a rookie, but he’s not a player to bring along slowly.’

‘“Is he going to run away from people? Probably not,” Beane said. “It’s probably not his No. 1 strength. I think his play speed is definitely faster. We were able to get access to the GPS times. I would feel his play speed is closer to 4.5. Not 4.4, but plenty fast, separation ability, the ability to drop his weight … If he was true 4.4 game speed, he wouldn’t have been available.”’

‘It’s because the Bills clearly view receivers like most of the NFL teams: important but not vital. There was enough proof long before the draft, but the Bills put it on display again, disregarding the need to move up, and instead, trading back to get the guy they wanted in Florida State’s Keon Coleman.’

‘Beane has now made seven first-round trades in seven drafts since becoming Buffalo’s general manager, but for the first time Thursday, he traded back and did so twice. The Bills acquired the No. 32, No. 95 (third round) and No. 221 (seventh) in exchange for No. 28, No. 133 (fourth) and No. 248 (seventh).’

‘Most of Beane’s gambles have worked, with Allen becoming one of the top players in the NFL, while linebacker Tremaine Edmunds was a Pro Bowler with the Bills and earned a record contract with the Chicago Bears in 2023. Last year’s top pick, tight end Dalton Kincaid, looks worth the price, although the jury is still out on 2022 top pick Kaiir Elam.’

‘Buffalo could trade up to snag a receiver or trade down from the No. 28 pick. Here are some names to watch, regardless of where the Bills pick.’

‘“The draft here in Detroit is going to make a big step for us in making that old image go away and people having the new image of the city,” Gilbert told The Associated Press. “We’re going to be able to showcase Detroit like never before.” Green Bay, smaller in population than Buffalo, hosts the NFL draft next year. That should tell us something, a lot of somethings. Where’s our sports commission? What’s the status of our business community working with public unions and the area tourism agency to pull our NFL proposal together? Sadly, I’m not sure we’re anywhere near in shape enough to do such a thing.’

‘Thomas is considered by many to be out of reach for the Bills at No. 28, which has allowed Mitchell’s name to heat up, barring a trade. Between CBS, ESPN and NFL.com, Mitchell has been mocked to the Bills 20 times over the last two months and seven of eight analysts for CBS currently have him going to Buffalo.’

‘Only three players — Edmunds, Ed Oliver and Tre’Davious White — have played at least 50% of the defensive snaps as rookies since McDermott was hired by the Bills in 2017, a contrast to the eight rookies who managed that feat on offense. That may change this year.’

‘“If it makes sense, I’ll do it, but I don’t love it,” Beane said. “I just know that there were times in Carolina in some of my younger years where we did trade it and I felt more times we were disappointed later that we did it. Like that player we got didn’t put us all the way at the top and then you get to the next year’s draft and you’re picking 17 and you go, ‘Look who we could’ve just had.’”’

‘Diggs never attacked Allen or the franchise in his limited media availability last season, but his once effusive and unsolicited praise for the quarterback diminished. In public it seemed that it was a one-way relationship, as to this day, no one has revealed why Diggs was unhappy or why he needed to leave the facility on the first day of mandatory minicamp last year.’

‘“I think they should probably put an end to those conversations, but I don’t think that will happen because it’s very clickbait,” University at Buffalo sprints coach Jhad Jones said. “Every time it comes up, I see a lot of track coaches on social media get riled up about it and start Tweeting about it, talking about it on Facebook and on message boards, so it creates a great buzz that I think that they are trying to get.”’