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Bills’ 3 best trade targets to round out 2024 roster

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Tim Crean | Last updated 5/25/24

The 2024 Buffalo Bills schedule is out and after the NFL draft, the team’s roster is nearly set. However, as we enter the brief quiet period between OTAs and training camp, there are still a few roster additions general manager Brandon Beane could make to improve the squad for next season. With that in mind, here are the three best Bills’ trade targets to round out the 2024 roster.

WR Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans

The 2024 Bills depth chart at wide receiver is still a work in progress. As of now, rookie second-round pick Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, and Curtis Samuel are the starters with journeymen like Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool, KJ Hamler, Mack Hollins, and unproven youngsters like Justin Shorter and Tyrell Shavers rounding out the room.

If the Bills have to go into the season with this as the group, so be it. But if there is an opportunity to add a young player with upside to the receiver room, Beane should jump at that chance.

Just two years ago, the Titans took Arkansas wideout Treylon Burks No. 22 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft with the pick they got from the Philadelphia Eagles for trading AJ Brown.

At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds with good speed and solid hands, Burks was supposed to be Brown 2.0. However, after two injury-filled seasons with just 49 total catches for 665 yards and one touchdown, he doesn’t look anything like the WR he replaced.

And as if things could get any worse for Burks with the Titans, his veteran wide receiver teammate, DeAndre Hopkins was asked if he thought the media was sleeping on Burks this offseason, and he said no (well, actually “nein,” which is no in German).

This seems to indicate that the franchise has lost faith in Burks, and if that’s the case, he may be on the trade block for 75 cents (or less) on the dollar. If so, the Bills should at least kick the tires of this potential trade target.

CB Greg Newsome II, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II (0) signals to the crowd to make some noise during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Cornerback is another position the Bills suffered losses at this offseason. The team let Tre’Davious White and Dane Jackson go to the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers, respectively.

Buffalo still has a decent group, with Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Taron Johnson, Kaiir Elam, and Cam Lewis, but the secondary overall is not as strong as it has been in recent years.

Last season, at the trade deadline, the Bills traded for Douglas and he made a big impact on the defense as well as some big plays down the stretch. Adding another corner this way if the price is right does make some sense.

Browns CB Greg Newsome II was a first-round pick (No. 26) in the 2021 NFL Draft. Entering his fourth season in the league, his contract is still at a relatively low $4.6 million cap hit for the 2024 season. The Browns did pick up his fifth-year option, so he’ll make $13.3 million in 2025, but even that isn’t bad for a starting CB if he can truly become one with a change of scenery.

S Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals

Potentially the biggest losses the Bills suffered this offseason were its two Pro Bowl safeties, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. These two formed arguably the best safety tandem in the game over the last seven seasons, and the Bills D will not be the same without them.

It made sense to let these two go. As good as they’ve been, they are both now 33 and have struggled with injuries the past two seasons, missing a combined 24 games in 2022 and 2023.

Buffalo also has a solid succession plan, elevating third safety Taylor Rapp to a starter and drafting Utah’s Cole Bishop in Round 2 with Damar Hamlin moving up to the No. 3 slot.

However, unless Bishop is excellent right away, the Bills don’t have a proven playmaker at the back of their defense anymore.

Enter Budda Baker who has been one of (if not) the best individual safety in the league the last seven seasons. Since coming into the league as a second-round pick in 2017, Baker has six Pro Bowl appearances and two All-Pro nods.

Baker’s biggest problem right now, though, is that he is sick of losing in the desert. The Cardinals are a dismal 43-61 since 2017. Last offseason, he asked the team for a trade. While he didn’t get one and has been relatively quiet this offseason, it stands to reason that last year’s 4-13 campaign didn’t make him want to stay in Arizona anymore.

If the Bills can trade for Baker and do so at a reasonable cost, he will make a huge difference on the defense and possibly make it a top-five unit next season.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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