There’s just one more day until the Buffalo Bills make a first-round selection in the 2024 NFL draft. With the consensus being the Bills need to draft a wide receiver, the big question seems to be which one.
ESPN insider Matt Miller predicts Buffalo swings big to land Washington’s Rome Odunze. “I think Buffalo would love to move heaven and earth to get Rome Odunze,” Miller revealed on “The Dan Patrick Show” on April 24. “I completely agree with this strategy.
“If you’re Buffalo, and you’ve gotten so close to taking over the AFC, but you can’t beat [Patrick] Mahomes and the Chiefs. You just can’t do it when it matters… So, why not go all in to try and do it?”
With superstar quarterback Josh Allen at the helm, Miller notes that Buffalo won’t have a high first-rounder in 2025 anyway. “If you could take this year’s first and next year’s first and get Rome Odunze in the top 10 potentially… I think Buffalo is one of the few teams where you can make that argument.
“You have the quarterback, you have the infrastructure. What you need is that rookie wide receiver, that guy making $5 million a year, who can be one of the top players in his position. So, why not go for broke?”
After making several calls around the league for intel, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler also linked Odunze to Buffalo. “The Bills will basically scour the Earth for receiver help this draft. Word is that they love Odunze and loosely know what it would take to acquire him,” Fowler wrote.
“Do I expect Buffalo to trade up for him? No, that’s a steep climb into the top 10. But that’s a window into the legwork that Buffalo is doing on the WR position.” The Buffalo News’ Jay Skurski, however, urges the Bills to make that steep climb.
“It would cost a boat load, but Odunze is a star who would be on a cost-controlled contract for five years. Do it. Meter: 10/10,” Skurski wrote.
Analysts Consider Rome Odunze a Perfect Fit for the Bills
Last season, Odunze recorded 92 receptions for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder is largely considered the No. 3 best wide receiver prospect behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers.
However, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia believes the Bills “may prefer the personality fit of Odunze” over Nabers. As for Harrison Jr., there isn’t a world where Buffalo can trade up that far to land him.
“If the Bills make a giant move up into the Top 10, Odunze appears to be everything the Bills both need and want out of a wide receiver prospect,” Buscaglia wrote. “With the potential to become their new top receiver, the size, contested catch and separation skills to make an impact, along with a reputation as a team leader, Odunze looks like the model of the “smart, selfless and versatile” mantra the Bills covet in the receiver room. It would take a 2025 1st to get Odunze.”
While trading away so much capital for unproven talent in the NFL may seem like a crazy move, the Bills just ate over $31 million in dead money to send Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans. After abruptly trading away his No. 1 wide receiver, Beane could be in the market to make another big splash at the NFL draft.
Bills GM Brandon Beane Said He’d Trade Away a First-Rounder If ‘It’s Worth It’
Beane told reporters on April 18 that he didn’t feel the team had a “glaring hole” after trading Diggs. However, few people bought the statement.
Allen’s top targets on the roster are Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, and tight end Dalton Kincaid. With Diggs and Gabe Davis gone, finding a deep-threat wide receiver seemed like a must.
Beane admitted they don’t have 28 first-round grades, which could force Buffalo to trade up. “I’ll never say never as far as trading a future one, but I never felt in the past that we ever felt it was worth it because you get to the draft next year and you lament not having one. But we did it for Diggs so if we feel it’s worth it, we’ll do it,” Beane said.
“If there is a guy I like and I’m confident in, I want to go to bed Thursday night (knowing) that I got him. If that happens again, I could do it. I can’t really tell you if we go up, go back or draft at 28. I have no idea how it’s going to fall.”
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