Did NFL Screw Bills? GM Brandon Beane: Buffalo 'Got a Raw Deal' in Draft

The Buffalo Bills were expecting a third-round compensatory draft pick, but received a fourth-rounder instead. General manager Brandon Beane expressed his displeasure with the league's calculations.

NFL Combine / Stacy Revere/GettyImages

Call it a case of counting his chickens before they hatch, but Buffalo Bills' general manager Brandon Beane was not happy when the NFL announced this year's compensatory draft selections.

With linebacker Tremaine Edmunds's
departure factoring into the comp picks formula, the Bills were widely expected to receiver a third-round selection. Instead, they received a late fourth-rounder.

"It did surprise me," said Beane at the league meetings in Orlando. "I think us and San Francisco, we got a raw deal."

NFL Combine / Stacy Revere/GettyImages

Upon being awarded the No. 133 overall selection, the Bills went to the league for an explanation.

"We had separate zooms with the league trying to go through how it was calculated," said Beane. "By even their accounts, as we were checking with them through the year, we clearly had a third-rounder. It's with all the conversions, the voids and things like that. Numbers that are not really numbers."

The Bills objected, but the league dismissed their appeal according to Beane. As a result, Buffalo is currently without a Round 3 selection.

"It was a major blow because we had planned for that and I know San Fran felt the same way," said Beane.

The Bills shipped their original third-rounder to the Green Bay Packers as part of a mid-season trade for starting cornerback Rasul Douglas. Buffalo is equipped with 11 total picks, including three fifth-rounders and three sixth-round selections.

The 2024 NFL Draft is set for April 25-27 in Detroit.

Bills' 2024 Draft Picks

Round 1 — No. 28 overall

Round 2 — No. 60 overall

Round 4 — No. 128 overall

Round 4 — No. 133 overall

Round 5 — No. 144 overall

Round 5 — No. 160 overall

Round 5 — No. 163 overall

Round 6 — No. 189 overall

Round 6 — No. 200 overall

Round 6 — No. 204 overall

Round 7 — No. 243 overall