The Bills need to draft better to support Josh Allen in the hopes of claiming the first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. How would their draft haul have differed using the Wolf Sports big board?

 

Actual selections

2.35: EDGE T.J. Parker

2.62: CB Davison Igbinosun

4.102: OT Jude Bowry

4.125: WR Skyler Bell

4.126: LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr

5.167: S Jalon Kilgore

5.181: DL Zane Durant

7.220: CB Toriano Pride Jr.

7.239: P Tommy Doman

7.241: G Ar’maj Reed-Adams

 

Wolf Sports selections

2.35: LB CJ Allen

2.62: WR Chris Brazzell II

4.102: CB Keionte Scott

4.125: G DJ Campbell

4.126: LB Harold Perkins Jr.

5.167: DL Zane Durant

5.181: TE John Michael Gyllenborg

7.220: WR Deion Burks

7.239: WR J. Michael Sturdivant

7.241: CB Collin Wright

 

Thoughts

The main thing to note here is that Buffalo was trading back like crazy, but we would have done the opposite by being aggressive to find a way to get both CJ Allen and Germie Bernard as hopeful impact additions. However, based on the actual draft slots the Bills ended up having, Allen felt like the perfect fit for them in Round 2—especially if the team is counting on Keon Coleman to get a clean slate alongside DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir. It also might have been a better idea to keep their original second-round pick (instead of trading for Moore) and try to get all three of Allen, Bernard, and D’Angelo Ponds, which was possible with all three going later than they should have.

 

Instead, the Bills went with TJ Parker towards the top of the second round after trading back, and he’ll work in with Greg Rousseau and Bradley Chubb on the edge—so a case could have made that a speed complement such as Cashius Howell might have been a better option. In the third round, Buffalo took Davison Igbinosun in somewhat of a surprise pick that suggests they will stick with the heavy Cover-3 looks that Sean McDermott relied on for much of his tenure; we’ll see how Igbinoson factors in with Christian Benford and 2025 first-rounder Maxwell Hairston on the outside.

 

Our choice in Round 2—again, without being able to trade up—would have been Chris Brazzell II as a size/speed freak that Josh Allen has never had in his career. That would have been a very fun combination down the field, and it would have created more space for Moore, Shakir, Dalton Kincaid, and James Cook III in the short-to-intermediate game.

 

Overall, many fans were disappointed by how things played out on the first two nights of the draft, but they also feel the team locked in on Day 3. Our favorite selections were Zane Durant (our No. 41 overall prospect), Jalon Kilgore (No. 67), and Ar’maj Reed-Adams (No. 89)—all of whom went outside the top 150 selections. The team also has high hopes for Skyler Bell in Round 4, and it’s tough to ask for a better situation than catching passes from Josh Allen.

 

The main “miss” for Buffalo might have been passing on Keionte Scott when he slipped to Day 3, as he’s someone we compared to Ja’Quan McMillian—so the Miami product could have been a tone-setting, playmaking option in the slot for new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard as he comes over from Denver.

 

Of course, things will play out on the field this fall, but there have been too many misses in recent years under general manager Brandon Beane, and more questions will arise if the Bills can’t finally come out of the AFC with an all-world quarterback.