Bills must find quarterback in draft
The Buffalo Bills have not had a franchise quarterback since 1996, when Jim Kelly was finishing up his Hall of Fame career. Since then, it’s been a mixture of decent and terrible, ranging from Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie, to J.P. Losman and EJ Manuel, to Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tyrod Taylor.
Not shockingly, Buffalo is looking for its first postseason win since 1995, back when Kelly beat Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in the 1995 AFC Wild Card round.
If the Bills are ever going to be more than a middling speed bump for real contenders, they must find what they’ve been missing for the last two decades. With the 21st and 22nd-overal selections in the 2018 NFL Draft, general manager Brandon Beane has the ammunition to move up should he want to.
Buffalo could have taken a quarterback in the first round last year, but traded back with the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead of choosing Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson, Buffalo moved back from 10th to 27th-overall and took cornerback Tre’Davious White. Kansas City took Mahomes, the Houston Texans took Watson two spots later, and both teams appear well setup for the future.
If Beane decides to release Taylor this offseason — something that has seemed destined to happen since benching him for Nathan Peterman against the Los Angeles Chargers — the Bills have to go young. There is little point in trying to acquire the services of Kirk Cousins, Josh McCown, AJ McCarron, Sam Bradford, Case Keenum or any other free-agent quarterback.
Why? Two reasons. Despite making the postseason for the first time since 1999, the Bills are nowhere near Super Bowl contender status. Buffalo need at least two ore weapons on offense, not to mention a hoard of playmakers on the defensive side. The Bills would be wasting both time and money by spending big cash on a quarterback either already in or past his prime.
Buffalo would be wise to trade up into the top 10, something that NFL insider Benjamin Allbright suggested is in its plans. The Bills would likely have to give up both first-round picks to do so, but if they believe a future star under center is waiting there, it has to be done.
With Josh Rosen, Josh Allen, baker mayfield and Sam Darnold all in the mix early in the draft, Buffalo should be aggressive. Landing one of them will both save cap space (thanks to the rookie wage scale) and give it a top-flight quarterback who can play for 15 years, instead of an expensive stopgap who can play for five.
The Bills have to take a risk and head toward the top of the draft. Otherwise, nothing will ever change for a franchise searching for its first taste of January success since the Clinton administration.
