ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is on firmer ground defending his approach to the NFL draft this weekend, for failing to upgrade the team鈥檚 receiver position.
Beane got ahead of questions long before having to wait until Day 2 to submit Buffalo鈥檚 first pick, and before selecting Connecticut receiver Skyler Bell in the fourth round on Saturday.
Beane鈥檚 most significant draft decision came in early March.
Rather than risk a high pick on a receiver, and the time it might take for a prospect to develop, Beane took a surer route. He traded Buffalo鈥檚 second-round selection, 60th overall, , an eight-year veteran, who鈥檚 topped 1,100 yards four times.
Moore鈥檚 addition immediately upgrades a relatively no-name receiver group that鈥檚 lacked a proven downfield option since the Bills traded Stefon Diggs to Houston two years ago.
Aside from addressing a key need, Moore’s addition freed following head coach Sean McDermott鈥檚 firing in January.
Buffalo replaced McDermott by promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who envisioned the defense adopting the same attacking approach as his offense. Jim Leonhard takes over as coordinator and is switching the defense to a 3-4 scheme and the Bills not re-signing several veterans, including linebacker Matt Milano and tackle DaQuan Jones.
鈥淣o matter what type of system we鈥檙e running or who鈥檚 coaching the team, I felt we did need some infusion of youth on this defense,鈥� Beane said. 鈥淎nd I just think it鈥檚 more where the iteration of this roster is more than a coaching transition.鈥�
Beane began the draft by completing three trades to back out of the first round and acquire two selections and give Buffalo five of the top 126 picks, after having just two over that span entering the draft. And he used three of those choices to fill two of the defense鈥檚 most pressing needs in adding (35th), Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun (62) and inside linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr (126).
The Bills then filled offensive depth needs in rounding out their first five picks with Bell (125th) and Boston College tackle Jude Bowry (102). Overall, six of Buffalo鈥檚 10 selections were defensive players.
鈥淭he whole time it鈥檚 like, don鈥檛 forget we got DJ Moore,鈥� Brady said he kept reminding himself through the weekend.
Though Brady has an offensive background, he backed the defense-first approach in the days leading up to the draft.
鈥淚t was the best thing for our football team,鈥� Brady said. 鈥淎nytime that we stop an opposing offense and get the ball back to Josh (Allen), it helps the offense.鈥�
Tracking the trades
Beane completed seven trades during the draft, including three on Saturday.
Buffalo was scheduled to have the first pick of the fourth round, before moving back one spot to 102 and acquiring a 2027 seventh-round selection from the Raiders. Buffalo then dealt the 168th pick to Detroit, and acquired picks 181 (Penn State DT Zane Durant) and 213. The Bills then traded the 213th pick to Chicago to add No. 239 (Florida punter Tommy Doman) and 241 (Texas A&M guard Ar’maj Reed-Adams)
The Bills on Saturday also selected South Carolina safety Jalon Kilgore (167) and Missouri cornerback Toriano Pride (220).
Sounding the Bell
Bell finished second in the nation with 1,278 yards receiving at UConn, and was tied for third with 13 TDs.
Bell spent his first three college seasons at Wisconsin, and is reunited with Leonhard, who was the Badgers defensive coordinator and closed the 2022 season as interim head coach.
鈥淚 honestly can鈥檛 wait to see him. I鈥檓 probably gonna give him the craziest hug ever because that鈥檚 my guy,鈥� Bell said. 鈥淗e helped me with my development a lot my freshman year and my sophomore year.鈥�
No longer seeing yellow
Igbinosun acknowledged pressing too much in coverage, which led to him being flagged more than dozen times for defensive pass interference in 2024. He spent the following offseason studying tape, which led to him reducing the number of flags to four.
鈥淚 realized I wasn鈥檛 getting beat, people were not running past me,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o in 2025, I just relaxed when the ball was in the air, got my head around and made plays on the football.鈥�
Chasing down Klubnik
Parker welcomed Clemson teammate, quarterback Cade Klubnik, getting drafted by Buffalo鈥檚 AFC East rival New York Jets.
鈥淎in鈥檛 no practice now,鈥� the edge rusher said with a laugh, looking ahead to possibly have to face Klubnik. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to ease up any more.鈥�
In all seriousness, Parker congratulated the quarterback.
鈥淚鈥檓 super excited for him. He鈥檚 a hard worker. Unbelievable guy,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e鈥檒l come in right away and try to be a leader as much as possible.鈥�
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