Orchard Park, NY (WGR550) - The Buffalo Bills brought ten new players to their roster over the three-day NFL Draft this past weekend.
Of those ten, only three were offensive players. One was a punter.
Six were on the defensive side of the ball.
General manager and President of Football Operations Brandon Beane, speaking to reporters along with head coach Joe Brady Saturday night, acknowledged that having a new defensive coordinator and system played a bit of a role, but said it was a focus to get younger on that side of the ball, and that just happened to match up with what was available in this draft.
“We thought we needed, kind of like last year, more youth,” Beane said. “We looked for some speed, some size. Just some versatility.”
Prior to taking punter Tommy Doman, Jr. in the seventh-round, six of the team’s first eight picks were devoted to defenders, including their top two choices, edge-rusher T.J. Parker of Clemson and Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun.
“Just an infusion of some youth on the defensive side of the ball was something that, after we got through free agency, we kind of turned our direction to what the draft looks like, what we’ve already attained in free agency or re-signed on our team,” Beane said.
After selecting offensive tackle Jude Bowry out of Boston College and UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell with their first two of three selections in the fourth round, Beane and his staff really leaned into the defense, grabbing TCU linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr, followed by chess-piece safety Jalon Kilgore from South Carolina and Penn State defensive tackle Zane Durant.
All of which are expected to compete for playing time right away.
“We felt like there was more opportunities to compete at either starting roles or key backups on the defensive side of the ball,” Beane said. "And we also felt like there was enough depth in some of those positions in the draft.”
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