Title-hungry Buffalo Bills should go for the kill with a wide receiver (again)

GM Brandon Beane has a golden opportunity in the first round to deliver MVP quarterback Josh Allen another weapon. There's no need to fight the current. Score early, score often, throw deep.

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Very rarely will you ever hear an NFL general manager rip a player to this degree in a press conference. Let alone 48 hours after a season ends. Let alone a rookie. But there was Brandon Beane — wounds from the latest Chiefs L still burning — challenging Keon Coleman in front of his entire title-starved fan base.

The team’s top draft pick in 2024 was not the same player post-injury that he was pre-injury.

He did not sanitize his words with any fluff. Beane admitted he was “disappointed” in Coleman’s return — the 6-foot-3, 213-pounder was not physical enough. Beane said Coleman needed to learn how to return from a midseason injury and fight his way back into the lineup. And if a media-savvy GM is speaking in these blunt terms publicly, one can only imagine the conversations conducted behind closed doors.

No player is fitted for a gold jacket or booted from the NFL after one season. Beane’s correct to note that a 21-year-old deserves “a little grace.” But the Bills will absolutely demand more out of their handpicked receiver from the ’24 draft. Of course, this is a team that could’ve traded up for LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr., who’d catch 87 balls for 1,282 yards with 10 touchdowns for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He could’ve stayed put and taken anyone from that next tier. Xavier Worthy and Ladd McConkey were both available.

During the same presser, of course, Beane declared that tight end Dalton Kincaid — his top pick in 2023 — must beef up.

OK, so Patrick Mahomes hardly broke a sweat against this Bills defense. Fans are growing numb to these wintry walks through the park. But after seeing how March shook out, PEDs ‘n all, the opinion here is that the Bills should draft a third straight pass catcher with their first selection. Josh Allen’s MVP season should only heighten the championship urgency, should only get Beane thinking through that QB lens even more. It’s on the Bills to maximize their greatest gift while they can.

Eight years ago, Sean McDermott installed Beane as his GM. These days, however, Beane has the juice in the draft room.

Across the street from a $2.1 billion stadium, he must learn hard into his $330 million asset next week.

This class lacks a Nabers-, Harrison-level talent at the top but should present several options at the bottom of the first round. Texas’ Matthew Golden, Missouri’s Luther Burden and Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka are all realistic options.

To win it all in February, teams must ask themselves hard questions in April.

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True, these Bills became the first team in NFL history to rush for 30+ TDs and throw for 30+ TDs. I get why Beane seems annoyed by questions concerning his offense. Players repeated the phrase “everyone eats” at One Bills Drive so many times last fall it’s a miracle the organization didn’t file a trademark and launch a full-fledged marketing campaign with Wegmans. Nobody on the roster even reached 850 receiving yards. The digs at Stefon Diggs became much, much less as subtle as the wins accumulated. There’s power to the collective. Buffalo wisely locked up Khalil Shakir at $13.2 million per year. Maybe free-agent pickup Josh Palmer is a diamond in the rough. Maybe Coleman answers the bell. Maybe good health leads to a more dangerous Curtis Samuel.

But it’s also lunacy to expect Buffalo to duplicate its absurd +28 turnover differential, equally absurd health on the offensive line and the same confluence of breaks in the AFC: zero resistance in the AFC East, Cincinnati’s heinous excuse for a “defense,” Mark Andrews’ fourth-quarter from football hell. This climb back to an AFC title game is steep.

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Georgia safety Malaki Starks sounds like a player created in a McDermott Lab. A cornerback might hit. A defensive tackle, too. But winning games is a hell of a lot easier when you’re in possession of a receiver capable of humiliating a defender any given play.

The Bills must ask themselves: Which skill-position player on their current offense scares the bejesus out of defensive coordinators?

Running back James Cook is one such player, but who knows if he’ll be around beyond 2025. The relationship between team and player took a bizarre turn this offseason. We can sit around and meticulously dissect the importance of a corner who can play man coverage or a D-tackle who can devour two blockers like a plate full of wings. Reality is, the Bills have taken swings on such players drafts past. There’s no guarantee the Bills defense will be any different next January. In their last five playoff defeats, to repeat, the Bills have allowed 22 touchdowns and nine field goals on 40 non-kneeldown drives. They’ve created only two turnovers, while allowing a staggering 4.15 points per drive.

Instead of fighting this current, play to your strength. It’s worth repeating for the 1,001^st time: Nothing matters more for the Bills than maximizing No. 17. Anything less is organizational malpractice. Beane has a golden opportunity in Round 1 to add more artillery.

The best comparison for these 2025 Bills remains the Indianapolis Colts two decades prior.

To slay Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, as he explained a year ago, GM Bill Polian started grading players on a playoff curve. “You want the guys who are going to play best in the biggest games,” Polian said. Most of all? He was obsessed with packing Peyton Manning’s huddle with as many weapons as he could. Those Colts also weren’t picking in the Top 5 of drafts but managed to fuel and re-fuel the roster with players that could eventually puncture Bill Belichick’s defense. Until, finally? Something clicked. Something changed. Manning once told me that tight end Dallas Clark was the variable who shifted this offense into a gear the sport had never seen before. His presence in the slot created matchup problems all over the field, which is why the gritty Clark is without question one of the most underrated players in modern history, too.

Ding, dong, the witch was dead with Clark’s six catches for 137 yards in an AFC title comeback for the ages.

Super Bowl contenders must stay on the hunt for that variable.

This element in Buffalo may be speed. A burner capable of chasing down Allen’s rockets. Last spring, Worthy expected to be a Buffalo Bill. When we sat down in New Orleans during Super Bowl week, the Chiefs’ human blur said he connected with OC Joe Brady on a deep level during his pre-draft visit to Orchard Park, NY. Upon flying home, he fully expected this franchise to draft him if they had the chance.

“Talking to them and the way it was talked upon, it was ‘We like you. If you’re there, we’re going to grab you,’” Worthy detailed. “And then the fact that they traded away the pick to the team that drafted me, it was like, ‘Oh, we didn’t want you.’ So it just struck a little fire under me.”

Rather than select the man who ran the fastest 40 in NFL Combine history, Beane traded the pick to Kansas City… traded down a second time… and selected Coleman. Beane sought a prototypical “X” option. Allen was a big fan, too. The Bills operated fearlessly on draft — time will tell if they chose the right receiver.

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This spring? Another Texas wideout could be the missing piece: Matthew Golden.

After two banal seasons at Houston, the 5-foot-11, 191-pounder supplanted Worthy as the deep threat in Austin. “Whenever they needed a play he’s the one that was that guy,” one scout told Bob McGinn. “He made the emotional plays for them. He will make a difference as he moves up a level.” Multiple scouts raved about Golden’s character. He’s a smooth operator as a route runner, ran a 4.29 at the Combine and — while the tape leaves some scouts yearning for more 4.2-like plays — Golden believes he simply wasn’t asked to reach top-end speed often in the scheme.

He shows all the signs of a quintessential late bloomer waiting to detonate in the pros.

After trading down in ‘24, the Bills may need to trade up for Golden in ‘25.

Either way, they’ll again have a full menu of options. It’s on Beane and his scouts to sort through the red flags.

Missouri’s Luther Burden is described by one scout as one of the worst practice players he’s ever seen. “If you take him,” another scout said, “you’re gritting your teeth that you’re going to have a (Sunday) player who isn’t going to add much to your team the other five, six days of the week.” But the talent? Scouts also see a Deebo Samuel-like machete. Perhaps this is that missing variable. Despite porous quarterback play, Burden put up numbers. This is the benefit of cultivating such a strong locker room. It allows you to take a calculated risk where required.

A prospect like Burden might’ve been a problem on Rex Ryan’s teams. Back when players were pissed at Mario Williams for quitting on the team, Percy Harvin vanished out of thin air, LeSean McCoy declared his females-only party was “no weird orgy thing” and Sammy Watkins justifiably demanded the ball 10 times per game. The chemistry (and work ethic) of today’s group is strong. A player like Burden would quickly see how he needs to function those other six days of the week.

There are similar diva concerns with Texas receiver Isaiah Bond. “But God,” a scout added, “he’s got an incredible skill set.”

Drafting a wide receiver should not be perceived as a luxury pick. It’s necessary because it’s impossible to wield too many weapons. We’ve seen contenders suffer wicked attrition at the position the last few years. The Green Bay Packers’ corps were whittled down to Bo Melton and Malik Heath by the end of their wild-card loss in Philadelphia. The Kansas City Chiefs got all of six games out of Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown last season, in addition to Travis Kelce rusting beyond repair. The Los Angeles Rams lost Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp for a chunk of the season.

Those Baltimore Ravens certainly believe they would’ve beat the Bills if their No. 1 receiver, Zay Flowers, was healthy.

The Bills owe it to Allen — to themselves — to throw as many darts at that receiver board as they can. They’ll never have a chance at a Ja’Marr Chase-like talent at the top of the draft, but that doesn’t mean you quit searching for a true No. 1.

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Beane should be able to add a body on the defensive line, too. He did enough in March to allow for a Round 1 swing on offense. If Joey Bosa can stay healthy for 75 percent of the season, he’s a bargain at $12 million. It was initially jarring to see the Bills signed two defensive linemen who’ll start the season on six-game suspensions in Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht. Not ideal, at all. But it’s always been about the playoffs for the Bills, not September or October.

All three players were signed to apply pressure on Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson when the season’s on the line.

Beane locked up Terrel Bernard, Greg Rousseau, Christian Benford long term. Bernard was the best money spent leaguewide the first 48 hours. More than any defensive rookie selected No. 30 overall, one, two or all three of these players launching into stardom will determine whether or not Buffalo’s defense delivers in the playoffs. Perhaps a few tweaks to the coaching staff help, too. The additions of Ryan Nielson (senior defensive assistant), Mike Pellegrino (nickelback coach), Jason Rebrovich (assistant defensive line) could all add some pop to the current group.

Again, think back to Polian’s Colts. After six playoff defeats, the group that finally won it all finished dead last in run defense… by a mile. The Jaguars spanked them for 375 rushing yards as late as Dec. 10, but they got hot at the right time. Playmakers stepped up in the postseason. Obviously every rule change since ‘06 has exponentially made the NFL more of an offensive game than Manning ever played in.

Buffalo doesn’t need to be a dominant defensive team. Not with Allen. The Bills spent the first six years of these regime relentlessly pumping the D-Line with both draft capital and lucrative free agent deals. It’s time for those receiving the ball from Allen to get the same attention. Load up while he’s still in his prime.

Take it from another Hall of Fame GM. Before Manning was Polian’s pride and joy, Ron Wolf risked all for Brett Favre. They won one championship together, but Wolf regrets not delivering the three-time MVP more weapons in Green Bay.

No way will Beane want to look back with the same what-if’s.

The offensive line in Buffalo is rock solid. Arguably the best in the AFC.

If Coleman toughens up, Kincaid gets stronger and the Bills infuse this lineup with another playmaker in the first round? It won’t matter how easily Mahomes wobbles up and down the field in the playoffs. The Bills will have the ball last, and score.

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