Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane on the field before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Bills' GM Brandon Beane explains draft strategy on Rich Eisen Show

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Ronnie Eastham | Last updated May 8, 2025 12:53 PM ET

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane, was on the Rich Eisen Show, and naturally, the topic of not drafting a wide receiver early arose.

Eisen brought it up in response Beane's outburst at the folks at WGR. We've all heard it and seen the video, and it was certainly a warranted response.

Beane explained during the interview, "*just we felt in this draft, it wasn't a heavy receiver, like lined up top to bottom, you're going to be able to get, you know, future starters in the fourth round. And so, once you got past the first, you know, number of receivers, we were just like, man, we're just kind of adding to, not necessarily upgrading our group."

Beane added, "We've got pretty much everyone back for the most part. We swapped out a few pieces, which I think are going to help us even more." The Bills moved on from receivers Mack Hollins and Amari Cooper, and added Josh Palmer, Elijah Moore, and Laviska Shenault. They also selected receiver Kaden Prather in the seventh round of the draft.

Many fans agree with Beane about the defense as most were disappointed in the Bills' performance, not only in the playoffs but throughout the season, on that side of the ball.

During the interview with Eisen, Beane said, "felt it was a defensive-heavy draft and it lined up with some of our needs." He went on to say, "We needed D-line help, we needed additions in our secondary, and we thought we were able to find some pieces that will fit nicely here."

Every year at this time there are a subset of #Bills fans who insist that Brandon Beane is "bad at drafting".

It's nonsense. Yes, he has misses, everyone does, but the #Bills also have been one of the best teams during Beane's tenure in large part because of the draft.
— Hänsel (@UberHansen) April 8, 2025

Whether those pieces will fit nicely and answer some concerns about the number two corner, and the Bills' pass rush will not be known for several months. On paper, Beane and the Bills' draft strategy are exactly what the Bills needed. Now the question is, did they find the right pieces?