Bills Central

5 Bills in great situations to succeed following 2024 NFL Draft

Several players on the Buffalo Bills roster find themselves in advantageous positions to succeed following the 2024 NFL Draft.

Kyle Silagyi

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) protects the ball after a reception.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) protects the ball after a reception. / Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane made a concerted effort to ‘reset the clock’ in the 2024 NFL offseason, to shed veterans and salary cap commitment while re-centering his roster around young players who can potentially rise to prominence if given more significant roles. The executive added to this core of youth throughout the 2024 NFL Draft, adding 10 prospects who, surprisingly, all have legitimate paths to the team’s 53-man roster.

It wasn’t just Buffalo’s chances for sustainable success that improved throughout the 2024 NFL Draft; several players on the roster benefited from the Bills’ moves, with the team’s additions (or lack thereof) at several positions implying confidence in options already employed by the team. With that in mind, here are five Buffalo players—four of whom are returning from last season—who find themselves in great positions to succeed given the team’s selections in the 2024 NFL Draft.

WR Khalil Shakir

Jan 7, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) catches the
Jan 7, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) catches the / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo selected a pass-catcher with its highest-value choice of the draft after trading out of the first round entirely, grabbing Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman with the 33rd overall selection. The addition of Coleman in the second round would, in theory, suggest plans for high usage, something that would eat into the targets of the wideouts already on the Bills’ roster.

And this analysis is fair—Beane has already expressed hope that Coleman will serve as the team’s ‘X’ wide receiver straight away—but there are plenty of targets to go around in a revamped Buffalo receiving corps that moved on from veterans Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis in the offseason. Though the team added external reinforcements with the likes of Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, and Chase Claypool, it's the team's lack of significant free-agent investment—and decision to select just one pass-catcher in the 2024 draft—that suggests confidence in Khalil Shakir.

A fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Shakir has flashed over his first two professional seasons, catching 49 passes for 772 yards and three touchdowns. He earned quarterback Josh Allen’s trust as the 2023 season progressed, this demonstrated by his six-reception, 105-yard game in a Week 18 win over the Miami Dolphins and 10 receptions throughout the team’s two-game postseason run.

Related: Recent Bills draft class named one of NFL's best over last 15 years

It’s Shakir’s versatility and the lack of experienced competition on the depth chart that makes his situation so advantageous; though the vast majority of the former Boise State Bronco’s snaps came in the slot as opposed to out wide last season (476 compared to 184), he has shown the ability to line up—and succeed—in both spots. He projects as the starter regardless of where Buffalo’s coaching staff prefers him; the Bills have no real competition for him in the slot, and if offensive coordinator Joe Brady prefers him as a ‘Z’ wideout, he likely supplants Samuel on the depth chart given his knowledge of the offense and experience with Allen.

Buffalo’s current roster build suggests an interesting opportunity for Shakir; he likely won’t surpass Dalton Kincaid in targets (especially over the middle of the field) or supplant Coleman as Allen’s go-to target out wide, but his knowledge, experience, and versatility allow him to project as a key option in a Buffalo passing attack helmed by one of the best signal-callers in the league.

CB Christian Benford

Dec 31, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford (47) between
Dec 31, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford (47) between / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo’s current brass has a soft spot for late-round defensive backs, players who, more often than not, succeed thanks to head coach Sean McDermott’s ability to ‘coach up’ the cornerback and safety positions. The Bills did add a day-three defensive back in the 2024 draft, selecting Penn State defender Daequan Hardy in the sixth round. 

Buffalo, however, neglected to add an outside corner in the draft, as Hardy—at 5-foot-9, 179 pounds—projects as a nickel defender and special teamer. Its decision to not address the position suggests confidence in the boundary corners already on its roster, namely a late-round defensive back it took several years ago in Christian Benford.

The former Villanova defender has exceeded all expectations since being selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, consistently flashing as he’s established a stranglehold on a starting spot on the outside. He started 14 games for the team last season, notching 54 tackles and two interceptions while standing out as a tenacious defender the likes of which McDermott loves to feature in his defenses.

He entered the draft projected to start for the Bills alongside Rasul Douglas in the 2024 season, and given the team’s lack of movement at the position, that projection stands. It’s Benford's job to lose in training camp and preseason, and given the upward trajectory he’s been on throughout his young career, it’s difficult to imagine him losing the job anytime soon.

CB Kaiir Elam

Oct 16, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam (24) waves to fans
Oct 16, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam (24) waves to fans / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Benford is not the only boundary corner on Buffalo’s roster who benefits from the team's draft class, as its decision to not add an outside cornerback suggests confidence in Kaiir Elam as its primary depth option.

It’d be an understatement to say that Elam’s NFL career hasn’t gotten off to an ideal start; he’s struggled, for various reasons, since being selected by the team in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, to the point that he’s been firmly supplanted on the depth chart by a corner who was picked in the sixth round of the same draft. His aggression and the general unrefined nature of his game have resulted in untimely penalties and a lack of trust from Buffalo’s coaching staff; he has, however, made big plays in key moments, notching interceptions in both the 2022 and 2023 postseasons.

Related: Jokes aside, Bills' signing of Chase Claypool is a low-risk, high-reward move

Many have questioned Elam’s long-term future in Western New York, but the team’s lack of additions at boundary corner in the 2024 NFL Draft suggests confidence in the former Florida Gator as the team’s primary depth option. He currently pencils in as the third outside corner on the team’s depth chart, firmly behind the aforementioned Benford and Douglas but ahead of Ja’Marcus Ingram, a former University at Buffalo defender who hasn’t fared well in live-game action.

It’s difficult to imagine Elam pushing Benford or Douglas for a starting role, but he’s at least in a great position to do so given the relative lack of competition at the position. The lack of depth also suggests a secure roster spot for the 23-year-old, something that was far from a certainty just a few weeks ago.

OL Alec Anderson

Buffalo tackle Alec Anderson (70) looks to pick up a block at the line during the Bills 27-24 win
Buffalo tackle Alec Anderson (70) looks to pick up a block at the line during the Bills 27-24 win / Shawn Dowd / USA TODAY NETWORK

Offensive lineman Alec Anderson returns to Buffalo after spending the entire 2023 season on the team’s active roster despite never taking a snap. The former UCLA Bruin, who signed with the Bills after going undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft, stuck around on the Bills’ 53-man unit thanks to his versatility; Buffalo’s coaching staff trusts the 24-year-old to play all five offensive line positions, an attribute that paves Anderson’s path to the roster again this year.

It’s the whole of the team’s offseason moves that place Anderson in an advantageous position. Buffalo demonstrably places great value in the idea of a ‘swing’ lineman who can slot in at all five positions, long rostering Ryan Bates in the role. The team dealt the 27-year-old to the Chicago Bears in the offseason, leaving Anderson as the most schematically experienced (and likely primary) ‘swing’ lineman on the roster.

The Bills’ haul in the 2024 NFL Draft also suggests confidence in Anderson; the team selected Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger in the fifth round, but the two-time National Champion perhaps projects solely as a center. Sixth-and-seventh-round tackles Tyler Grable and Travis Clayton are bets on athleticism, but they’re far from sure things; Clayton has never even taken a snap in an American football game.

The current makeup of Buffalo’s roster suggests that Anderson’s immediate and long-term roster spot is secure. Don’t expect to see him challenge the likes of Spencer Brown, O’Cyrus Torrence, or Connor McGovern for a starting job in training camp, but you can expect to see him slot in across the entire line behind them, an attribute that should allow him to stick around Western New York both now and for the foreseeable future.

DE Javon Solomon

Feb 28, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Troy defensive lineman Javon Solomon (DL47) talks to the media
Feb 28, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Troy defensive lineman Javon Solomon (DL47) talks to the media / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The sole rookie on this list, former Troy pass-rusher Javon Solomon earns a spot because his opportunity is simply too advantageous to ignore.

The biggest knock on the Trojans’ all-time sack leader coming out of college was his size—at 6-foot-1, 246 pounds, he lacks the build and otherworldly athletic profile (63rd percentile arm length, 51st percentile wingspan) of an elite NFL edge rusher. 

He makes up for his lack of ideal size and athleticism with power and tenacity, however, with most prognosticators agreeing that he projects as a reliable rotational defensive lineman and pass-rushing specialist. It’s this projection that makes his landing spot ideal, as Buffalo not only heavily rotates its linemen, but is also in need of a situational pass-rusher.

Related: Scouting the Enemies: Analysis of Bills' AFC East rivals' 2024 NFL Draft Classes

Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa are entrenched as the team’s starting defensive ends, with future Hall of Famer Von Miller penciled in behind them. The team’s depth chart at the position is wide open thereafter, with Solomon set to compete with the likes of Casey Toohill and the recently signed Dawuane Smoot for a contributing role. 

It’s not egregious to suggest that Solomon is currently the leader of this clubhouse; given his ability, youth, and draft capital, one could easily envision the 23-year-old not only earning a spot on the team’s roster, but establishing himself as its fourth defensive end.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI