"We'll think long-term more than short-term." - Brandon Beane
"You never want to lose your fastball. We wanted to make sure we didn't lose it, the play at the wide receiver position." - Sean McDermott
Listen closely enough to the general manager and head coach of the Buffalo Bills and you'll believe that wide receiver is on the table, if not even a likely outcome with the 30th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
I believe the Bills should pick a wide receiver in the first round. I believe Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore will be the best available on the board when Buffalo reaches No. 30 overall.
Why does receiver make sense for a Bills team that is as loaded at the position as they've ever been?
Just look to Beane's comments, "long-term more than short-term."
Emmanuel Sanders is 34-years-old and on a one-year deal. Cole Beasley is 32 and is likely a cap casualty candidate for 2022.
Gabriel Davis had as impressive of a rookie season as anyone could have hoped, but as someone who bought into Robert Foster two years ago and was burned, I wouldn't be so quick to assume Davis can be Robin to Stefon Diggs' Batman.
Who's catching passes from Josh Allen in 2022 and beyond? Diggs is the only pass-catcher they can definitively count on for a huge workload.
The Bills will have a need at their most important position in one year, outside of quarterback, and they can use the 30th pick to get ahead of it.
Get a guy in now to learn the offense, learn from veterans like Sanders and Beasley, and be ready to go for a larger role in 2022.
Who should that guy be?
By the time the Bills are up at 30, Ja'Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, and DeVonta Smith will surely be gone. Minnesota's Rashod Bateman and Ole Miss receiver Elijah Moore are also likely to be picked just ahead of the Bills.
In a talented and deep receiving class, I would put Moore as the sixth-best receiver, and the best available to the Bills.
Moore's skillset is exactly what the Bills are missing in their offense.
The Bills offense features no home run hitters with the ball in their hands. No one that can make two or three defenders miss and outrun defensive backs to the end zone. No Tyreek Hill-type player.
Moore is that Hill-type player. He is ludicrous with the ball in his hands. All you have to do is throw it to him in space and watch him go.
Moore has quick feet to make defenders miss in tight spaces, speed to break loose in the open field, and insane lower body power to bounce off tacklers.
A 4.29 40-time, 42.5-inch vertical, and a 600-pound squat add up to an athletic combination we've never seen before.
The hope with Moore on the Bills would be that he can contribute as a gadget player in 2021, and take on Beasley's role in the slot in 2022 and beyond.
However, there are concerns with drafting Moore.
For one, Moore has played just seven games since 2018, dealing with several soft tissue injuries. There's also a major question of whether Moore has position flexibility to play on the outside.
In 20 games at Purdue, Moore ran just 77 routes on the outside.
Even if it's not Moore, wide receiver is the best idea for the Bills in a runaway. It's a deep class and you have a long-term need.
Florida's Kadarius Toney, LSU's Terrace Marshall, and North Carolina's Dyami Brown are also candidates to be selected by the Bills at 30. Among that trio, Toney would be the best fit for Brian Daboll's offense. He, too, is a separator with great speed.
Those receivers would be nice, but they don't have those Hill-type skill sets. For that, you'll need the kid from Purdue.
Rondale Moore no matter what.