ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane chose to add draft picks rather than make a selection by completing three trades and move entirely out of the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night.
Buffalo’s first scheduled pick is now 35th overall after the team opened the draft holding pick No. 26. In the process, the Bills added two selections, and improved their positioning in the third round.
The Bills moved up 25 spots in the third round — from No. 91 to No. 66 — while also adding the first pick of the fourth round (101).
The wheeling and dealing by Beane came after Buffalo had already traded its second-round pick to acquire receiver DJ Moore in a deal with Chicago last month.
The Bills now have nine selections, including four among the top 125 picks. Buffalo entered the draft with a total of seven selections, and just two in the top 125.
This marks the second time in three years Beane has traded back in the first round to add picks. In 2024, the Bills traded back twice before selecting receiver Keon Coleman with the first pick of the second round.
The Bills are in transition with offensive coordinator Joe Brady promoted in January to replace Sean McDermott, who was fired after nine seasons. With much of the Josh Allen-led offense returning intact, Buffalo had needs on defense, with the team making the switch to a 3-4 style under new coordinator Jim Leonhard.
The trades began with Buffalo passing up making the 26th pick and moving back two spots in a trade with Houston. The Bills also gave up the 91st selection to acquire two picks, Nos. 69 and 167, from the Texans.
Beane then traded the No. 28 pick to move back to 31 in a deal with New England. Buffalo also acquired a fourth-round selection (125) in the trade.
And Buffalo completed the night by trading picks No. 69 and 165 to Tennessee, and in return landing picks 66 and 101.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
Get ready for an exhilarating morning at the Third Annual Foster City 5k Fun Run on Saturday… Read moreFoster City 5k
Join us May 9th for the District 4 Toastmasters 2026 Conference - Eras of YOU: Renewing Huma… Read moreDistrict 4 Annual Conference - Eras of YOU Renewing Human Resilience in the Generative AI Era
Dirk van Ulden said:
guest792662073dcce25ebb0a5a75 said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
CoastalBoy said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.