The Buffalo Bills haven't had luck in terms of winning Super Bowls; they've actually had quite the opposite. Despite making four consecutive Super Bowls, the Bills unfathomably lost all of them.
While Buffalo doesn't have a Super Bowl to their name, they do a few players that were successful draft picks. The Bills are currently putting together a talented roster, but it's too early to tell if any of their current players will go down in history as all-time players in the team's history.
Given that the 2020 NFL Draft is approaching, this is an ideal time to discuss the best draft picks that Buffalo has made. Without wasting any more time, here are the best draft picks in Bills history.
O.J. Simpson
The Bills have featured some gifted running backs in their team's history. While he got into some legal issues off of the field, O.J. Simpson was once one of the best running backs in the NFL.
In the 1969 NFL Draft, Buffalo selected Simpson with the No. 1 pick out of USC. The former Trojan would scamper for 10,183 rushing yards and 57 rushing touchdowns in his nine years with the Bills.
Simpson finished his time with the Bills as Buffalo's second all-time leader in rushing yards and touchdowns. Most importantly, Simpson was a five-time All-Pro, one-time NFL MVP, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
Andre Reed
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Bills did see some success in their aerial attack. That was in large part due to Andre Reed being the team's No. 1 wide receiver for over 10 years.
During the 1985 NFL Draft, the Bills decided to select Reed with the No. 86 pick. As a small-college prospect from Kutztown (Pennsylvania), Reed made a name for himself in the NFL.
The former fourth-round pick would play 15 years with Buffalo, recording 941 receptions, 13,095 yards, and 86 touchdowns. After solidifying himself as the Bills' all-time leader in nearly every receiving category, Reed was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Thurman Thomas
While Simpson was once Buffalo's all-time leading rusher, it didn't take too long for his records to be broken. Nearly 20 years after the Bills drafted Simpson, they were able to select Thurman Thomas with the No. 40 pick in the 1988 NFL Draft.
Following his rookie season where he rushed for 881 yards, Thomas would rattle off eight consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. The Oklahoma State alum would end up playing 12 seasons with the Bills.
Thomas would rush for 11,938 yards in those 12 seasons, becoming the all-time leading rusher for the Bills. Besides having the title of Buffalo's all-time leading rusher, Thomas won the NFL's MVP Award once and made it into the Hall of Fame in 2007.
Jim Kelly
It goes without saying that the Bills have had decent success in drafting running backs. The same can't be said for the quarterback, with plenty of them failing to have much success in the NFL.
However, the Bills did hit the jackpot when they were able to draft Jim Kelly. Following a drought of being unable to find a franchise signal-caller, Buffalo selected Kelly with the No. 14 pick in the 1983 NFL Draft.
With Kelly under center, the Bills were able to make an appearance in the Super Bowl in four straight years in the 1990s. Despite having zero Super Bowl wins, Kelly is Buffalo's all-time leading passer with 35,467 yards and 237 touchdowns. As a result of his 11 seasons with the Bills, Kelly was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.
Bruce Smith
Throughout the history of the NFL, there have been a select few defensive players to be labeled the greatest of all time. With that being said, none of them were as productive as Bruce Smith.
In the same draft that the Bills got Andre Reed, they also were able to add Smith with the No. 1 pick of the draft. That's quite the draft haul, being able to have two Hall of Famers in one draft class. For Smith, he was one of the most dominant pass rushers the NFL has ever seen, notching 171 sacks with the Bills from 1985-1999.
The Virginia Tech product would also earn eight All-Pro honors, two Defensive Player of the Year Awards, and a bust in Canton when he was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 2009. Smith's 200 career sacks are still the most in NFL history.
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