After having another successful season that ended in an early playoff exit, the Buffalo Bills hope to finally get over the hump and at least compete in the Super Bowl next season. With the NFL Draft right around the corner, the franchise has a chance to add a marquee player to improve the roster. The latest rumors suggest that the front office could elect to trade up in the draft to find an immediate impact player.

Buffalo was named as one of the teams to keep an eye out for as a possible trade-up candidate in the upcoming draft, according to Field Yates of ESPN. Yates believes the Bills need to find a cornerback after the secondary allowed a 68.5% completion percentage on the season, which is one of the worst in the league. In his list of potential targets for the Bills, he includes Michigan Wolverines cornerback Will Johnson and Texas Longhorns star Jahdae Barron.

“Because of injuries to East Carolina's Shavon Revel Jr. (ACL) and Notre Dame's Benjamin Morrison (hip), there may not be as much cornerback action in the first round. Still, Buffalo could be motivated to move up in a number of different ways for one of the top players at the position. Names that I have circled that could make sense: Michigan's Will Johnson (major move up), Texas' Jahdae Barron (likely would require sliding into the teens), Kentucky's Maxwell Hairston (probably the 20s), and perhaps even Ole Miss' Trey Amos (likely only a few spots).”

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The Bills own the No. 30 pick overall in the NFL Draft. So, a trade-up into a spot to select either Johnson or Barron could force Buffalo to give up significant draft capital. The same can be said about Hairston, assuming Yates' assumption that these players are selected in the range he's predicting. However, if the front office can manage to make a trade-up just a few spots to find their guy, then that sounds realistic enough to happen.

Brandon Beane isn't afraid to move up in the draft whatsoever. The 48-year-old general manager has traded up in the first round on four occasions since being hired in 2017. The 2025 NFL Draft will be Beane's eighth time conducting the NFL Draft for the Bills.