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At the end of another long evening of NFL Draft coverage, the Buffalo Bills decided the best move was to select no one in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Instead, president of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane coveted the value of trading back several times. It’s a situation
many had predicted for Buffalo, believing it to be their best option based on team needs at edge rusher, linebacker, defensive tackle, and even cornerback.
Similar to Sean McDermott’s first go at the draft, first-time head coach Joe Brady also stood down. Unlike McDermott, whose first pick was cornerback Tre’Davious White later in Round 1, Brady won’t have a first-round pick on his rookie resume to analyze.
Yet unlike requisite years of on-field data required to properly analyze and dissect any player drafted, it’s a bit easier to look back at trades involving pick opportunities. So where does that leave Rumblers following the Bills’ decision to trade back three separate times?
In total, those three trades back (from 26 to 28, then back to 31, and finally out of Round 1 to pick 35 overall), only shuffled the Bills back nine spots from their original slot. In the process, they turned picks 26, 91, and 165 into picks 35, 66, 101, 125, and 167 in this year’s draft.
For reference, here’s what the Bills have after passing out of Round 1 altogether:
Pick 35 (via trade) (Round 2, Pick 3)
Pick 66 (via trade) (Round 3, Pick 2)
Pick 101 (via trade) (Round 4, Pick 1)
Pick 125 (via pre-draft trade w/Chicago Bears) (Round 4, Pick 25
Pick 126 (Round 4, Pick 26)
Pick 167 (via trade) (Round 5, Pick 27)
Pick 168 (Round 5, Pick 28)
Pick 182 (via pre-draft trade w/Las Vegas Raiders for Taron Johnson) (Round 6, Pick 1)
Pick 220 (via pre-draft trade w/New York Jets for Brandon Codrington) (Round 7, Pick 4)
So tell us Rumblers, how would you grade the Bills’ decision to trade down three times and eventually out of the first round?
Vote now!
