Bills 'Need to Hit This Draft' Looking to Fill Two Holes

The Buffalo Bills must address two major needs in the first two rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft, fixing the roster around MVP finalist Josh Allen.

It's Super Bowl Week, but instead of preparing for a game, the Buffalo Bills are prepping for the NFL Draft.

For the salary cap-strapped Bills, this April's draft appears extra important for their ability to remain a top-flight contender. With glaring holes at defensive tackle and secondary wide receiver, general manager Brandon Beane would be best served to draft based upon need as opposed to the best player available approach.

"We need to hit this draft. We need to hit every draft. If you don't draft well when you get in this cap situation, then it really shows," said Beane at his end-of-the-season press conference.

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It's nothing that Beane hasn't done before. In fact, the Bills' boss did it at last year's draft in Kansas City. With Buffalo needing another offensive playmaker along with a starting guard, the team hit on tight end Dalton Kincaid and offensive lineman O'Cyrus Torrence.

As rookies, Kincaid made 73 receptions over 16 appearances while Torrence played every regular season offensive snap. They were the plug-and-play performers that the Bills tabbed them to be, helping quarterback Josh Allen lead the team to a fourth consecutive AFC East title.

"You're constantly changing the roster, but this is a quarterback league. I believe in the guy we got under center. It starts there. We got other players that have go help. He can't do it by himself," said Beane.

Fast forward to 2024 and the Bills again have two major needs and two Top-60 picks to address them. Regardless of the order in which they choose to do so, Buffalo needs to beef up the receiving corps and the interior of its defensive line.

With WR2 Gabe Davis likely unaffordable to the Bills in free agency, there are no proven options on the depth chart after Stefon Diggs. The unit seemingly lacks speed as well as a downfield threat capable of tracking down deep balls from the cannon-armed quarterback.

Georgia receiver Ladd McConkey's stock is rising after the Reese's Senior Bowl. Oregon's Troy Franklin and Florida State's Keon Coleman are two taller targets who could be available when the Bills pick at No. 28 overall.

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When it comes to the defensive line, the Bills are short of bodies. Ed Oliver is the lone defensive tackle under contract for 2024. On the edge, Leonard Floyd and AJ Epenesa are both free agents, but with the handsomely-paid Von Miller on the books and Greg Rousseau still on his rookie contract, Beane would be smart to focus on the interior first.

Illinois' Jer'Zhan Newton and Miami's Leonard Taylor may be gone by the time the Bills hit the clock in Round 1, but Texas' T'Vondre Sweat, Michigan's Kris Jenkins and Florida State's Braden Fiske are likely realistic late second-round targets. 

With Allen as the quarterback, there will always be the realistic hope of winning it all, but Beane must beef up the supporting cast and the best opportunity to do so is in the draft.