NFL Draft: Bills Still Targeting First-Round WR?
Curtis Samuel's signing should not affect the Buffalo Bills' first-round draft plan.
The Bills' free-agent receiver gives the Josh Allen-led offense an additional weapon to deploy, but the team still lacks a boundary option to line up opposite of WR1 Stefon Diggs.
The Bills have yet to replace the WR2 body type that the 6-2 Gabe Davis offered prior to signing as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In addition to an "X" type receiver, Buffalo could use a young heir apparent to occasionally spell the 30-year-old Diggs, who is under contract through 2027 with a potential out after the 2024 campaign according to Spotrac.
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Selecting at No. 28 overall in what's advertised as a receiver-heavy draft, the Bills could target LSU's Brian Thomas Jr. or a similar pass-catching prospect. Buffalo has an elite quarterback in his prime years, and placing more first-round playmakers around Josh Allen should theoretically translate into an increased offensive output.
Even if it requires trading up a few spots, Thomas seems like a good first-round fit for Buffalo. The 6-3 prospect, who ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, led all NCAA Division I FBS players with 17 touchdown receptions in 2023. He totaled 68 catches for 1,177 yards over 13 games in what was his third season at LSU.
The Bills weren't hesitant to move up to get their guy last year, leaping two spots to No. 25 overall and selecting tight end Dalton Kincaid one spot ahead of the Dallas Cowboys' turn.
Texas receiver Adonai Mitchell recorded a conference-leading 11 touchdown catches after transferring from Georgia. The 6-2 target, who gained 845 yards on 55 receptions in 14 appearances, saw his draft stock rise following a 4.34 40 time at the Combine.
Oregon's Troy Franklin, who ran the 40 in 4.41s, is another prospect up for late first-round consideration, but the 6-2 pass-catcher lacks the body mass that Thomas and Mitchell possess. In 13 games this past fall, he set Oregon's single-season records for receiving yards (1,383), touchdown receptions (14) and 100-yard receiving games (8). The Bills are reportedly using one of their 30 allotted pre-draft visits to host Franklin.
