NFL mock draft roundup: Bills add future No. 1 WR in attempt to dethrone Chiefs
The NFL season is officially over the Buffalo Bills lost in the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Buffalo enters the offseason as a four-time defending AFC champion but has been unable to get past the Divisional Round since it reached the AFC Championship game − and was eliminated by the Chiefs − in January 2021.
The Bills have the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which will be held April 25-27 in Detroit.
Here is who experts are predicting the Bills select in the first round.
ESPN, Field Yates
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
No player scored more receiving touchdowns in 2023 than Thomas (17), and his deep speed and acceleration might be unparalleled in this class. The Bills have relied on Gabe Davis as a deep threat in recent seasons, but he is a free agent and has been an up-and-down contributor (nine games last season with two or fewer catches). Thomas would provide a vertical spark for Josh Allen and a Buffalo offense that did not produce a single play of 20-plus yards in its divisional round loss to Kansas City.
USA Today
Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
Dogged by drops in key spots, cap-strapped Buffalo has to look to the draft if it wants to reshape its receiving corps. More steady than explosive, Coleman could be just what Josh Allen needs.
NFL.com
Laiatu Latu, Edge, UCLA
PROJECTED TRADE WITH TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
The Bills send a fourth-round pick to the Buccaneers to select Latu , an edge rusher that they'll need if free agency wipes out the team's depth. Medical exams will be a factor in Latu ’s evaluation given the neck injury he suffered at Washington before transferring to UCLA.
CBS Sports, Ryan Wilson
Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
Bills fans desperately want WR help, so who am I to deny them of that? CB could be a consideration here, but Mitchell is the pick. The Texas WR is long and fast, but showed the ability to win on short and intermediate routes, too.
CBS Sports, Garrett Podell
Jer'Zhan Newton, DL, Illinois
Newton, a 2023 consensus All -American and the 2023 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, racked up 102 quarterback pressures the last two seasons, the most by an FBS defensive tackle in that span by 35 pressures. Buffalo will always have Kansas City in mind when building out their roster, and having a stout defensive tackle next to Ed Oliver who also has pass rush chops is critical for the Bills when they face Patrick Mahomes again.
CBS Sports, Chris Trapasso
Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon
Franklin is a tall speedster whose numbers increased in each of his three seasons at Oregon. There's some after-the-catch juice to his game, too. Precisely what the Bills need offensively.
Walter Football
Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina
Buffalo sorely needs a second receiver because Gabe Davis just isn’t cutting it most weeks. Xavier Legette has been a rising prospect. He is a massive receiver and has good speed for his size.
The Ringer
Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
Even if Stefon Diggs were perfectly content in Buffalo, the Bills would still need a WR2 opposite Diggs and slot WR Khalil Shakir. But given that Diggs is notably not content, the Bills really need to add to their outside WR room. Coleman is a big swing—he moves differently for a 6-4, 215-pound player, and his catch radius and playmaking are high-end WR1 stuff. He ran hot and cold at Florida State, but with Josh Allen throwing him the ball, could develop into a star.
FOX Sports
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
The Bills need to do something on the outside for Josh Allen. Stefon Diggs is 30 and Gabe Davis is a free agent. So, why not give him Thomas?
Pro Football Focus
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
With Gabe Davis a pending free agent, the Bills will need to address their outside receiver position. They have Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid to be productive players in the slot, but they need a vertical threat. That is perfect for Thomas’ skill set.
Sporting News
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
The Bills have two good young targets for Josh Allen in Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid, but Gabe Davis is a pending free agent and Stefon Diggs is showing signs of decline at 30. Thomas would give Allen the classic big-bodied No. 1 with his hands, strength, physicality and route-running prowess.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: NFL mock draft 2024: Bills needs offensive firepower to dethrone Chiefs
