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Though Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season is officially in the books, the Monday Night Football showdown between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets already looks like one of the most consequential showdowns of the entire season, as its ramifications have already set the league by storm.
Throwing down in a “Battle of New York,” the top-two teams in the AFC East took it down to the wire, with a final drive interception thrown by Aaron Rodgers effectively sealing the win for Buffalo 23-20.
Now sitting pretty at 4-2, the Bills watched New York finally acquire Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders and decided to do them one better, acquiring a new WR1 of their own in the form of Amari Cooper, the former Cowboys Pro Bowler who has been woefully underutilized by the Cleveland Browns in 2024.
Suddenly being afforded a truly elite quarterback to throw to and a quality supporting cast should make life easier for Cooper as he looks to secure another 1,000-yard season, even if he has a pretty steep hill to get there.
But hey, just because the Bills have secured a new WR1 after saying goodbye to Stefon Diggs doesn't mean they have to be done with talent acquisition overall, as there are simply too many potential avenues on which Buffalo could improve its team moving forward, including on both sides of the ball.
1. Acquire Daniel Brunskill from the Titans for a sixth-round pick
With wide receiver officially off of the Bills' wishlist, the team needs to focus on their offensive line, which has been less than ideal through the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season.
While his sack total is actually down on the season, with Allen on pace to be sacked a career-low 22.6 times in 2024, that could change quickly, especially if one of the starters, David Edwards, O'Cyrus Torrence, or center Connor McGovern goes down with a season-ending injury or worse.
Enter Daniel Brunskill, the journeyman offensive lineman who has played professional snaps at all five spots along the offensive line.
Coming to fame as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, where he played center, right guard, and occasional swing tackle for Kyle Shanahan's offense, Brunskill signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with the Titans in 2023, reuniting with his former executive, Ran Carthon, in Tenessee. After starting 14 games as the Titans' right guard in 2023, Brunskill has shifted to reserve duty in 2024, backing up Dillon Radunz, Lloyd Cushenberry III, and Peter Skoronski while logging just the occasional offensive snap.
Now, for a team with playoff aspirations like the Bills, having a do-it-all interior lineman who can play a premier reserve role or even start if another player is having issues is a godsend, as the season won't suddenly fall apart if someone suffers an injury, but the Titans? The 1-4 Titans? Yeah, if one of their linemen were to suffer an injury, conventional wisdom would suggest the team would be better off playing a youngster in the hopes they develop instead of letting Brunskill soak up snaps on his way to a new team in 2025.
If the Titans go full-on fire sale, giving up something like a sixth-round pick for Brunskill could seriously benefit the Bills down the stretch.
2. Acquire Azeez Ojulari from the Giants for a conditional fifth
With wide receiver squared away, the Bills might now want to focus on procuring some help on the defensive side of the ball, be that in the defensive secondary, at linebacker, or on the defensive line.
In an ideal world, maybe the Bills could find a quality cornerback who can press at the line and hit opposite Rasul Douglas, but unless Tre'Davious White gets released by the Rams, which is possible, there really isn't an ideal fit on the market for what Buffalo likes to do. Sure, they could acquire a player like Emmanuel Forbes, who they have been linked to in the past, but he largely isn't playing for Washington because he's too slight and a liability against receivers like AJ Brown.
No, the Bills are stuck with only a few million dollars to spend and only a few sellers on the market, and as a result, they will have to pursue who is available and hope they can slide in at the right spot.
Fortunately, Azeez Ojulari from the New York Giants fits the Bills' bill, as he's a former second-round pick on the last year of his rookie contract on a team that simply doesn't want to play, let alone pay him long-term.
Standing 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Ojulari hit the ground running as a pro, picking up eight sacks and a forced fumble as a rookie in 2021 and 5.5 sacks plus three forced fumbles in 2022 before falling out of the Giants' starting lineup in 2023-24. Sure, he's played 155 snaps in 2024, good for 43 percent of the Giants' output, but he's firmly behind Kayvon Thibodeaux and Bobby Okereke on the depth chart, even if the former is currently on IR.
Could the Giants opt to keep him around for the final year of his rookie contract in the hopes that he breaks out? Would his agent be willing to accept a below-market contract if that happens in order to help out the Giants long-term? Technically both are possible, but neither feels particularly likely.
No, if the Giants receiver a compelling offer for Ojulari's services, call it a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick that goes up based on sack total or his contract status in 2025, they would probably accept it and would be right to do so, especially considering the Bills' seeming desire to go all in on the 2024 NFL season.
Bills Bonus: Amari Cooper is a worthy Stefon Diggs replacement
While some fans have questioned the idea of trading Diggs for a second-round pick only to then give up a three and change for Cooper, as they could have just kept the pride of Maryland and been done with it, fans shouldn't fret the price when the results are what truly matters.
Through the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season, the Bills didn't have a true X receiver. They tried Shakir at the position, gave Coleman a shot, and tried out Mack Hollins as a big, shoeless outside option, but through it all, whichever player drew the X spot consistently underperformed, and Allen was forced to throw inside or underneath as a result.
In Cooper, the Bills have landed a legitimate X who is presumably eager to play on a winner and will presumably be willing to have easier negotiations with the former Brown than they would have if Diggs was still in town. All in all, a worthy swap for more-or-less even assets.
