The Buffalo Bills have painted themselves in a bit of a corner heading into the 2024 NFL Draft. After trading Stefon Diggs for a ham sandwich (in 2025), the team pretty much has to go with a wide receiver in the first round. However, while general manager Brandon Beane may be tempted by wideouts like LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. or Texas’ Xavier Worthy, he must stay away.
Dramatic proclamations aside, the truth is that Diggs or no Diggs, Beane, and the Bills were probably going to take a WR in Round 1 anyway. The current Buffalo WR room includes Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Khalil Shakir, K.J. Hamler, Andy Isabella, Justin Shorter, Tyrell Shavers, and Bryan Thompson. That group can’t inspire all that much confidence in Josh Allen.
So, the Bills need a wideout, and, lo and behold, this year’s NFL draft is one of the strongest receiver classes in recent memory. Who should they draft? We’ll save that answer for another time. Here, we’ll look at the three players the Bills must avoid in the 2024 NFL Draft
WR Brian Thomas Jr., LSU
Saying the Bills should avoid Brian Thomas Jr. in the NFL draft is not a knock on Thomas. It is a knock on Beane and the Bills.
Thomas is an excellent receiver who gets less buzz than he should because he lined up opposite Malik Nabers at LSU. If the 6-foot-3, 209-pound pass-catcher with 4.33-second speed went to almost any other school pundits would talk about him a lot more than they are now.
That said, NFL scouts are talking about him, and after Nabers, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Rome Odunze come off the board, Thomas will be shortly behind. And that’s the reason Beane needs to avoid him.
If Thomas slips to No. 28, by all means, rush to the podium to hand Roger Goodell a card with Thomas’ name on it. That said, Beane just loves trading up a few spots to get a player he loves, and that is a bad move in the draft.
To go up to (likely) the teens to get Thomas, Beane would probably have to give up either next year’s first-round pick or multiple seconds, which would completely negate the benefit of the Diggs deal.
After purging a huge chunk of its roster, the Bills need to bring in as many pieces as they can in this draft, and trading away assets to move up for a player like Brian Thomas Jr. when others like Oregon’s Troy Franklin, Florida State’s Keon Coleman, or Texas’ Adonai Mitchell should be available at 28, is not a smart move.
WR Xavier Worthy, Texas
So far, we’ve mentioned Brian Thomas Jr., Troy Franklin, Keon Coleman, and Adonai Mitchell. What do they all have in common? They are all 6 feet or over and they have the body and the skill to be WR1s in the NFL.
Texas wideout Xavier Worthy is an impressive athlete as well. He ran a blazing 4.21-second 40 at the combine and he has legit ball skills. However, at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, Worthy will be a deep ball specialist at the next level, and that’s something the Bills have to stay away from in the 2024 NFL Draft, especially in Round 1.
A speedster like Worthy is tempting, especially when you think about him running go routes for Josh Allen and his rocket arm.
That said, going deep often is one of Allen’s worth instincts, and getting a receiver who encourages that is a mistake. Especially without Diggs, the Bills need WRs who can succeed at all three levels, and Worthy is not that player.
If Buffalo does take a pass-catcher who is a bit of s reach at 28 or even trades back to draft one, they should keep the well-rounded receiver in mind. That means players like Georgia’s Ladd McConkey or Michigan’s Roman Wilson could be in play, but Xavier Worthy should not be.
EDGE Chop Robinson, Penn State
The Bills need to take a receiver with their first pick, which means they need to stay away from all other positions, but especially defensive line.
Sean McDermott is a defensive-minded head coach, so there is always the temptation to keep building up the D and letting Allen just figure it out with his supreme talent on the other side of the ball. This would be a mistake.
Chop Robinson has some solid potential and could be a good pass rusher, but the Bills have already used a lot of NFL draft capital in D-lineman like Gregory Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, and Ed Oliver in the last few years. Those guys need to step up and let their improvement help the team. A new player is unnecessary so this isn’t just about Robinson. Avoiding (potentially excellent prospects) like Michigan DT Kris Jenkins or Illinois Jer’Zahn Newton is also the way to go.
If Beans and McDermott really want to take a non-WR in Round 1, the only players who would be acceptable picks are players like offensive linemen Graham Barton from Duke and Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon or defensive back Cooper DeJean from Iowa. Outside of these few massive value picks, the team must select a wideout first.
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