Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The "WR Train" is now running on a 24-hour shift every day leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft. All aboard, Buffalo Bills fans.
Our morning show with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase has talked much about the WR Train, and it is rolling down a hill, at this point. We can’t be sure general manager Brandon Beane knows where the brake is, or if he actually has any interest in using it.
Beane stunned the NFL and "Bills Mafia" on Wednesday morning, trading wideout Stefon Diggs and a couple of late-round picks to the Houston Texans for a second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, originally from the Minnesota Vikings.
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Make no mistake, this is, indeed, a good riddance trade by the Bills.
A huge cap number, declining production, an eagerness to do what the Chiefs did two years ago, maybe even cryptic tweets. All of those factors likely played some part in the Bills eating just over $31 million in dead money.
It’s only about $3 million and change more than what Diggs would have cost against the Bills' salary cap for the 2024 season, had they chosen to proceed with their No. 1 wideout. Fitting in the dead money isn’t a big challenge.
Replacing Diggs’ production? That’s the truly sticky part. It's the main reason I’m stunned by the move.
I never thought they could afford to eat that dead money, and find capable replacements for 100-plus catches and 1,000-plus yards each season.
A relatively modest free agent signing in Curtis Samuel? An even more modest signing of Mack Hollins? The continued breakout of Khalil Shakir? Dalton Kincaid in Year 2 at tight end?
OK, to some extent or another, all of those players will contribute to making up for the absence of Diggs.
That said, all of our attention should now be on not just the Bills taking a wide receiver in the first round of this year’s draft, but where exactly they end up picking said wide receiver.
We’ve seen Beane be aggressive to varying extents since he took over as general manager following the 2017 NFL Draft.
Most recently, we’ve seen him make relatively modest moves up the past couple of seasons. Beane was much more aggressive in 2018 when positioning himself to draft Josh Allen, swinging a couple of trades before ultimately settling in at seventh overall and getting his franchise quarterback.
I point all of this out as a way of saying I think we should be ready for anything and everything.
Trading way up, like say into the top-10, costs a couple of premium picks this year, and likely, at least, your first-rounder next year. While not my favorite idea by a longshot, I think Wednesday’s move with Diggs could be a sign they think they can land a wide receiver in the draft that can step in and produce immediately.
Remember, they already had a significant need at the position with Diggs on the team. Now with both Diggs and Gabe Davis removed, the urgency to land a more ready made player could push Beane to be super aggressive about moving way up.
There’s still the possibility that they’ve got their eyes on a player they think they can target closer to Pick 28, and either stay put or make the more modest move up into the low 20s to get their guy.
I also think the Diggs trade increases the likelihood that the Bills double dip on wide receiver in this draft.
Either way, the WR Train better get fueled up. It may be rolling downhill without brakes right now. But come draft night, that train may have a few hills to climb in order to replace what has been sent away this spring.
