3 best moves by the Bills in the 2024 NFL Draft

For a long time, Poyer and Hyde made up arguably the best safety duo in the NFL. With both gone, however, the Bills need someone to fill at least one of their shoes. Cole Bishop should be able to do that. Bishop wore a lot of hats in college at Utah. He lined up all over the place and played a ton of roles for the Utes’ defense.

Not only should he be able to play a similar role for the Bills, but Buffalo needs his versatility. In addition to losing Hyde and Poyer in free agency, the Bills also had to waive former All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White as well as slot corner Dane Jackson and linebacker Tyrel Dodson.

Bishop can play everywhere. He can hold his own in coverage and is a dynamic player defending against the run. The Bills badly needed an infusion of talent and versatility in their secondary after losing so many key contributors there this offseason. Bishop checks both boxes.

Drafting Sedrick Van Pran-Granger

Another big loss for the Bills this offseason came on their offensive line. Their starting center, Mitch Morse, left in free agency for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Connor McGovern is currently slated to take Morse’s place in the starting lineup, but he’s a veteran journeyman who played guard for Buffalo a year ago. It’s more than possible that fifth-round rookie Sedrick Van Pran-Granger can challenge or even win the starting center job before the season kicks off.

Van Pran-Granger likely fell far longer than he should have during the draft. He was a lynchpin to Georgia’s offensive line over the last few years. He was one of four centers with at least 1,000 pass-block snaps to allow one sack or fewer over the last four years. Many regarded Van Pran-Granger as one of the best offensive linemen to return to college after the 2022 season.

The Bills needed to find under-the-radar gems in this year’s draft. They may have with Van Pran-Granger. It shouldn’t be a shock if he starts as a rookie.

Drafting Edefuan Ulofoshio

As mentioned earlier, one of the losses for Buffalo was linebacker Tyrel Dodson. The Bills still have solid depth at that position after signing Deion Jones. Starters Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard return as well. But Milano got hurt a year ago and the Bills’ defense began to crumble as a result. After drafting Edefuan Ulofoshio in the fifth round, maybe they’ll be more able to withstand adversity like that this year.

Ulofoshio will really help the Bills defend the pass. He registered the highest grade among linebackers in pass coverage a year ago according to PFF. That skill will certainly come in handy for a team that has struggled to contain Travis Kelce for years.

This year’s draft was all about finding depth and versatility for the Bills. Every one of their picks helped with that, even a fifth-rounder like Ulofoshio. He can help Buffalo right away.