Draft grades: Bills trades are 'head scratcher' and experts rip deal with rival Chiefs (2024)

Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 2:58 AM·8 min read

The Buffalo Bills need a No. 1 wide receiver and were almost on the clock with the No. 28 pick in the NFL Draft.

Then Buffalo traded down twice and its trade partners took coveted wide receivers. The deals left the Bills without a first-round pick, although they have the first selection of the second round and moved up in multiple pick swaps.

Buffalo traded pick Nos. 28, 133 and 248 to arch rival Kansas City in exchange for Nos. 32, 95 and 221. Then the Bills flipped Nos. 32 and 200 for Nos. 33 and 141 in a trade with the Carolina Panthers.

Draft analysts were perplexed and Bills fans were frustrated.

"This is a very, very confusing move by the Bills," ESPN's draft broadcast reacted after Buffalo's trade with Kansas City, which has ended the Bills season in three of the past four years.

Buffalo Bills draft picks 2024: Round-by-round selections and analysis

The Chiefs used the Bills' original pick to select Texas speedster Xavier Worthy, who broke the 40-yard dash record in 4.21 seconds at the NFL Combine. Worthy gives Andy Reid and the back-to-back Super Bowl champions a weapon they hope will fit a Tyreek Hill mold. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrated the move with two emojis on Twitter.

The only one Worthy.
With the 28th pick in the NFL Draft, we have selected @XavierWorthy! pic.twitter.com/enRBDQAVA5
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 26, 2024

The last time the Bills traded down with the Chiefs in the first round, Kansas City took Patrick Mahomes at No. 10 overall in 2017.

Buffalo traded out of the first round in the trade with Carolina. The Panthers nabbed physical wide receiver Xavier Legette out of South Carolina.

"The Bills are probably the one as far as a head-scratcher is concerned," ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said. "Legette's profile to me fits exactly what Buffalo needs. That A.J. Brown prototype. That sounds like somebody Buffalo could use."

It is a deep wide receiver class and Texas' Adonai Mitchell, Florida State's Keon Coleman, Georgia's Ladd McConkey and Oregon's Troy Franklin are still on the board.

The Bills have 10 picks in Rounds 2 through 7.

Here is how draft experts graded the pick and Twitter reacted.

Bills trade with Chiefs

For The Win

It’s easy to drag the Bills for trading back without picking up too much in return, but Worthy wasn’t a fit for their offense that badly needs a bigger, more versatile wideout than the Texas star. Of course, giving the team that’s been a thorn in their side in the playoffs the added dimension the Chiefs need while extracting minimal value in return adds salt to that wound. It’s not great, no.

Bills grade: C

Sports Illustrated

This is essentially a pick swap. The Bills move down in round seven which is negligible by the trade value charts but get to move up 38 spots in round four from round three by moving down four spots in round one. That's a big win for the Bills but moving down with the Chiefs hasn't served them well before.

The last time they made a trade in round one had the Bills trading the Chiefs 10th overall in 2017 when they selected Patrick Mahomes. Will this hurt them like it did in 2017? Only time will tell.

Bills grade: B

Bills trade with Panthers

For The Win

Buffalo has plenty of holes to fill after shedding talent this offseason amidst a veteran lineup and salary crunch. The Bills also had a massive need at wideout, so trading back twice for minimal value while other teams drain the pool of talent at receiver is… not ideal.

Twitter reaction to the Bills draft trades

Rich get richer: Mahomes get Xavier Worthy, who is BLAZING FAST. Just silly speed. And Buffalo traded the opportunity to draft him???
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 26, 2024

The Buffalo Bills to their fans during the first round of the NFL Draft pic.twitter.com/nuYTuliu5Q
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) April 26, 2024

The Bills ultimately moved down only five spots from 28 to 33, and picked up a third-round pick, got a better fourth-round pick, added a fifth-rounder and now Beane has plenty of ammo to make more moves, maybe up. Why is everyone freaking out? There are several WRs right in the…
— Sal Maiorana (@salmaiorana) April 26, 2024

THE LAST TIME BUFFALO TRADED WITH KC THEY TRADED THE CHIEFS THE GREATEST PLAYER IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT AND THEY GOT BACK ZERO PLAYERS WHO ARE STILL ON THEIR TEAM.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) April 26, 2024

I have no idea who KC is picking, but I’m genuinely shocked Buffalo has the temerity to trade with KC again.
Good for them for the chutzpah, but my goodness this is like France coming back to Jefferson after the Louisiana Purchase and asking, “Any more business you want to do?”
— nick wright (@getnickwright) April 26, 2024

Chiefs, who need a WR, traded up to Buffalo’s spot at No. 28, where some thought the Bills would take a WR.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2024

Bills fans seeing their pick traded to the Chiefs... who just added another weapon for Mahomes pic.twitter.com/suEwwdvWGe
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 26, 2024

Remember the last time the Chiefs traded first round picks with the Bills? pic.twitter.com/HxaPAMkPGA
— New Heights (@newheightshow) April 26, 2024

So the Bills are going to get one of their WRs with a second-round grade that they would have picked at 28. They gained another Day 2 pick after losing their third-rounder for Rasul Douglas. They moved up in multiple later rounds, too.
And Bills fans are mad?
— Matt Warren (@MattRichWarren) April 26, 2024