The Athletic

The 2023 NFL Draft is officially one month away, meaning the entire NFL is honing in on one of the most critical yearly pieces of roster construction. And most recently, we at The Athletic conducted our second beat writer mock draft of the offseason and our first since all the free-agency movement. Operating with the mindset of Bills general manager Brandon Beane, I didn’t love what was available with the 27th selection and viewed the players at need positions as mostly second-round talent. So, I cast a line in some Slack channels, sat back and waited for interested trade parties. The Lions came calling, and after some back-and-forth proposals with our Lions beat writer Colton Pouncy, we ultimately agreed to a deal that netted the Bills an additional second-round pick. It moved the Bills’ earliest pick down to No. 48, but they now held three second-round selections in Nos. 48, 55 and 59.