NFL analyst says Bills will 'regret' allowing Chiefs to select WR Xavier Worthy

You can’t play scared—but one outlet thought that the Buffalo Bills should’ve in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Mar 2, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy (WO40) ran an official time of 4.21 seconds to set a combine record during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

A significant portion of Bills Mafia did not hit the pillow with a smile on their face on the night of April 25.

They had just sat through several hours of the 2024 NFL Draft, their eyes glued to either the television screen or social media (or both) as they anxiously awaited the Buffalo Bills’ first selection. Fans were simply eager to see the team land a potential franchise cornerstone, to add a young and exciting player after an offseason in which the Bills parted ways with several stalwart starters.

Fans collectively held their breath when Buffalo went on the clock at pick No. 28. Some emptied their lungs and filled the air with expletives when it did not make the pick itself, instead trading the selection to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The decision was, expectedly, met with mixed reactions from fans; some thought that the value the Bills received in the deal (they turned a fourth-round pick into a third) was fair, while others fundamentally disagreed with the idea of trading with the team that has eliminated Buffalo in three out of the last four postseasons and allowing them to select a player they obviously coveted. That player would end up being Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who broke a record at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine by running a 4.21-second 40-yard dash.

Related: WATCH: NFL gives WR Keon Coleman a t-shirt with his Bills logo painting on it

The Bills would ultimately select a wide receiver themselves after trading down again, grabbing Florida State pass-catcher Keon Coleman with the 33rd overall pick in the draft. Those who were initially apprehensive about the trade down have largely come around thanks to the impact Coleman has already made on the Buffalo faithful, but some around the league still question the team’s decision to trade with a club it demonstrably struggles to overcome in the postseason.

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox falls into this category; in a recent article breaking down 10 moves made in the 2024 NFL offseason that teams will come to regret, the analyst suggested that Buffalo will ultimately have second thoughts about allowing Kansas City to select the receiver of its choosing.

“Here's a novel thought. If you're a viable AFC contender who has struggled to get past the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason, maybe trading down in the draft so that your conference rival can land the fastest receiver in combine history isn't such a great idea,” Knox wrote. ”. . . While the Bills may not regret landing Coleman instead of taking Worthy for themselves, actively helping the defending champions improve could prove to be a massive mistake.

“Kansas City must have sensed that it needed to trade up to get Worthy. If the team that has ended your postseason in three of the past four seasons comes calling for a specific player, maybe you shouldn't pick up the phone. The Bills did, and they'll regret doing so if Worthy helps the Chiefs win a third straight Lombardi Trophy.”

Related: WR Keon Coleman dubbed Bills' 'most dangerous' offseason addition

Knox’s argument brings to mind an old sports adage oft-used by players, coaches, and executives—”you can’t play scared.” When looking to trade down in the draft, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane simply looked for the best offer, not heavily considering the source of the deal. He thought about his team and what he needed to do to make it better, not actively caring about what another club was doing to improve themselves. The Chiefs presented an offer that Beane felt made the Bills better, and he accepted—at the end of the day, that’s really all an executive can be asked to do.

Beane spoke about his logic regarding the trade-down during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show in late April:

“Anytime we trade with someone, if people think you should take a player there—offense, defense, in this case, receiver—you’re always going to get criticized,” Beane said. “It’ll have to play out on the field, ultimately, with the players that we acquired [and] the player that they acquired. It’s not like we traded the player to Kansas City; I get that narrative, like if we had traded Stefon Diggs to Kansas City, ‘well, why would you trade him there?’

“You don’t truly know who someone is going to select when you trade with them. They’re not going to call and say, ‘Hey, we’re trading up, and we’re going to take this player.’ And if you don’t trade with them and you pick a different player, they can still trade up with someone else. I’ve never understood that narrative; I’m sure they didn’t just call the Buffalo Bills to trade up, they probably called some other teams, too.”