Bills have first pick of 2nd round of NFL Draft: Here's who they should target

ORCHARD PARK - Well, has everyone caught their breath yet?

The Buffalo Bills certainly put the fanbase through the wringer late Thursday night as general manager Brandon Beane executed two trades in the span of about 20 minutes that sent the Bills careening out of the first round of the NFL Draft.

Originally scheduled to pick 28th, Beane swapped places with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs who had the final pick of the round at No. 32.

Beane then made another deal, this time swapping places with the Panthers which gave Carolina that No. 32 spot, while Buffalo went down to No. 33 which happens to be the first pick of the second round which commences at 7 p.m. Friday.

Fans were going nuts wondering if Beane had lost his mind, but as he said, “We’re excited about tomorrow. Instead of having the one (second-round) pick, now we have three in the top 95.”

For now, because Beane may not be done maneuvering. He has 10 picks at his disposal, and he could package a few of those to move around the chess board again.

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

The Bills will go into the second round with picks 33 and 60; they now have a third-round pick at No. 95 from the Chiefs trade; they have a higher pick in the fourth round (128) than they originally had; they have five picks in the fifth round (141, 144, 160, 163); and one each in the sixth (204) and seventh (221).

So, now what happens?

Nothing has changed in terms of what the Bills need to procure in this draft. Wide receiver is every bit the same priority as it was Thursday, and they have several worthy players who they will get first crack at if that’s the direction they go to start Friday night.

Two players who several draft analysts graded as late first-round or early second-round picks are Georgia’s Ladd McConkey and Texas’ Adonai Mitchell. Other players considered second-round values are Oregon’s Troy Franklin, Florida State’s Keon Coleman, Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley, and Michigan’s Roman Wilson.

McConkey, Mitchell, Franklin and Coleman were all mocked to the Bills by analysts at the No. 28 pick, so if the analysts’ grades are to be taken seriously, any of those players would be nice value picks for Beane at No. 33.

Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry is a player who was considered a first-round pick, so if the Bills feel like they can wait until later to take a receiver, he’s a possibility at 33. Rasul Douglas will be a free agent after 2024, and 2022 first-round pick Kaiir Elam remains a mystery, so cornerback is actually a sneaky need.

There has been plenty of talk about defensive back Cooper Dejean who played corner at Iowa but has been projected as a potential safety in the NFL. At No. 33, he might not be the right call for Buffalo, so if Beane picks a wide receiver there, he could put together a trade up from No. 60 which is the Bills’ own second-rounder to get into position to pick Dejean.

Alabama edge rusher Chris Braswell is still out there and he is a second-round talent who could provide quality depth and be the player who takes over in 2025 when Von Miller is gone.

At defensive tackle, only one went in the first round, Texas’ Byron Murphy, so the Bills could add depth there with someone like Jer’Zhan Newton of Illinois or Michigan’s Kris Jenkins.

With Mitch Morse gone, Connor McGovern is switching to center and David Edwards is slated to take over at left guard. But is any of that etched in stone? No, so the Bills might want to take a look at center Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon who most analysts had as the second-best center behind Graham Barton who went in the first round to Tampa Bay.

Beane said that his staff had more players graded as second rounders than first rounders, so that would indicate their board is set up well for whatever is going to happen Friday.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out every other Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills draft: Top players available with first pick of 2nd round