Brandon Beane On Bills’ First-Round Trades
Brandon Beane enjoyed a complicated night on his first draft as Bills GM. And he detailed the extensive process in an expansive piece by Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News.
The Bills were ready to give the Broncos an extra first- and second-round pick, Beane confirms of Mike Klis of 9News’ report that emerged on draft weekend. Denver and Buffalo’s GMs agreed to the swap at around 7pm CT on draft night — one that would have sent Buffalo’s Nos. 12 and 22 picks and one of its second-rounders to Denver in exchange for the No. 5 overall choice and a third-round pick — but John Elway told Beane the deal would be off if a certain player was still on the board.
Beane wondered if that player was Denzel Ward, but when a text message came alerting Beane that Bradley Chubb might fall past the Browns at No. 4, he began to worry about his plans to acquire Josh Allen.
“I was really nervous when Cleveland got on the clock. You’ve got your channels where you’re getting information outside of the draft room. Somebody told me, it’s down to Ward or Chubb,” Beane said, via Skurski. “Earlier in the day, people felt like they were probably going to go Chubb. That was my first four. I did say it was going to be Chubb, and we’ll go to Denver. I was wrong. Not until (the Browns) were on the clock did I get the text from somebody that said, ‘Hey, Ward may go here.’ I said (expletive).”
“I was a little bummed when Elway told me, ‘Hey, this is our guy.’ I felt like what I had to offer John was better than anybody else could offer. I felt like I was bidding against myself, basically.”
Beane became leery of the Dolphins and Cardinals moving up to No. 7 for Allen, whom Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller reported was their No. 1-rated quarterback, but he would no longer be willing to part with the No. 22 pick like he was in talks with the Broncos at No. 5. And he wasn’t willing to trade the Bills’ 2019 first-rounder.
“(Assistant GM) Joe (Schoen) would say, ‘(the Buccaneers) want this and this,’ and it included 22, and I said no,” Beane said. “It was just too much. I would have done 22 at five. I wasn’t doing it there. Because I knew nobody could be offering that. … That was the biggest obstacle I faced during the whole thing. Everybody wanted next year’s one leading up to the draft, and I wasn’t doing it.”
Beane and Schoen then approached the 49ers at No. 9, but John Lynch was zeroed in on Mike McGlinchey. However, Jason Licht called Beane back and said he would accept the offer of both of Buffalo’s second-round picks. The Bills collected a seventh-rounder from the Bucs as well.
“He said, ‘I’ll do it for the twos, but we’ve got to do it right now,’ ” Beane told Skurski. “I said alright, I need another pick, though. I need a player. I don’t care what it is, just give me your last pick, whatever it is. He said, ‘Alright, done.
“(The Broncos taking Chubb) was a blessing in disguise. I was tight after Denver’s pick. I was trying not to show it to the room, but I was tight. Joe and I, we were very tight.”
In passing on the chance to acquire additional first- and second-round picks, the Broncos are betting big on Chubb. Beane said he also spoke with the Giants and Browns about the Nos. 2 and 4 picks, and Skurski reports the only trade Beane would have made pre-draft was with the Giants at No. 2.
Skurski adds the Bills finalized their quarterback hierarchy following their April 13 Sam Darnold workout. Miller reported this week Darnold was the Bills’ top-rated quarterback, so it would have made sense for a trade to the second slot. Although, Darnold was still connected to the Browns at No. 1 at that point. The Bills were rumored to be targeting a top-five pick for weeks prior to the draft, but the Giants and Browns wanted more than Beane was willing to offer, per Skurski.
As for the Bills’ second Round 1 trade, Beane contacted the Packers at No. 14 and Raiders at No. 15. Green Bay ended up accepting a New Orleans offer that did include a 2019 first, and Oakland did not want to trade down again, per Skurski. Edmunds was the target because of the Bills’ situation at linebacker, Beane said, and the Ravens quickly agreed to a deal at No. 16.
“(Edmunds) was sticking out on our board, and it’s a need,” Beane said. “If a guy is sticking out on our board, and it’s really not a need, you might not do it. But with the hole we had there, and where he was on our board, it was a no-brainer. Even if we could have got to 14, we would have done it.”
Giants Did Not Have Consensus On Draft’s Top QB
The Giants were enamored with Saquon Barkley to the point they didn’t waste much time turning in their card. And the team is now prepared to enter the season without a surefire heir apparent behind Eli Manning.
It turns out, Big Blue’s brass didn’t appear to have a consensus among which of the quarterbacks they would take, with Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reporting different sects of the Giants’ decision-makers preferred three separate signal-callers. And they didn’t feel strongly enough about one of them to pull the trigger at No. 2.
Mostly, the Giants were down to Sam Darnold or Josh Allen, with some Josh Rosen support in the building as well. Schwartz reports there wasn’t much love for Baker Mayfield among the new-look Giants power structure.
If it were up to Pat Shurmur, Allen would have been the quarterback pick — had the franchise been leaning in that direction. Upside drew Shurmur to Allen. However, the Giants would have selected Bradley Chubb if Barkley wasn’t available, per Schwartz.
The Giants placed the same grade on Barkley and Chubb, but the Penn State running back was listed atop Chubb’s name on Big Blue’s board. They proceeded accordingly, and are “ecstatic,” Schwartz writes.
Additionally, Schwartz lists second-round pick Will Hernandez as a near-surefire starter at guard. Hernandez caught the Giants’ eye at the Senior Bowl, and one staffer told Schwartz the the team’s consensus was the UTEP lineman’s Combine performance would not have him available by the time New York’s second-round window opened. The Giants signed Patrick Omameh in free agency and still have returning starter John Jerry on the roster. And Schwartz adds that Lorenzo Carter could well get a strong push to start ahead of free agency addition Kareem Martin, the latter’s knowledge of James Bettcher’s system notwithstanding.
AFC Draft Fallout: Browns, Jackson, Colts
The Browns listened to offers for their No. 4 overall pick, but the talks for that spot did not escalate too far. Four teams contacted John Dorsey about potentially moving into that position, Peter King of SI.com reports, noting just one offered a package including a 2019 first-rounder. King estimates the Cardinals were that team. However, Dorsey said the franchise interested in moving up to No. 4 was interested in a quarterback that the Browns GM knew going to be available.
“I’m coming up for one player and one player only, and that’s Baker Mayfield.” the anonymous exec told Dorsey, who relayed this to King. “I knew all along it wasn’t going to happen.”
Mayfield visited the Cardinals before the draft, and while it’s uncertain if they were the team that offered a 2019 first-rounder, their No. 15 draft position being the lowest of the QB-needy teams would make such a proposal logical. Arizona ended up with Josh Rosen, moving up five spots without having to sacrifice a first- or second-round pick to do so.
Here’s more from Cleveland and the rest of the latest draft fallout.
- New Browns vice president of football operations Alonzo Highsmith said for months he had Sam Darnold rated ahead of Baker Mayfield in a succession that went Darnold, Mayfield, Rosen, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. But Mayfield’s visit changed the new Cleveland exec’s tune. “From the start of this college football season to the end of the season, I had Darnold No. 1 and Baker No. 2. On our way through everything, you couldn’t tell me Darnold wasn’t the best,” Highsmith said (via Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository). “Then comes the part where you meet them off the field. You watch their workouts. You watch everything. And Baker blew me away. Highly, highly intelligent. Highly competitive. And he had a trait that some of the good ones have. I call it efficacy. That includes the power to effect other people. I thought that of all the quarterbacks I watched, he stood out far and above the other guys. When he walked into a room, you knew he was there.”
- Lamar Jackson‘s pre-draft process did not go smoothly, with CBS Sports’ Joel Corry reporting teams had trouble scheduling workouts and meetings with him. The quarterback also experienced difficulties breaking down plays on teams’ whiteboards at the Combine. Corry notes Jackson’s decision to not hire an agent could have cost him some money on his rookie contract, with the Ravens being able to get him at No. 32 after a contingent in their draft room lobbied for him at 16.
- Chris Ballard said, via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, the Colts‘ decision to make Quenton Nelson this year’s No. 6 overall pick was the easiest draft decision he’d made in 19 years (Twitter link). However, if Bradley Chubb would have remained on the board, Ballard admitted (via Holder, on Twitter) it would have been a much tougher call. Had the Broncos and Bills been able to swing a deal, the Colts would have been faced with that decision. But when the Bills contacted the Colts about a trade for No. 6, Ballard appeared to intimate he was fixated on Nelson.
- Fort Hays State defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd will be stationed at defensive end in the Jets‘ 3-4 scheme, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News notes. Despite weighing 315 pounds, Shepherd will be in line to potentially take Muhammad Wilkerson‘s spot opposite Leonard Williams come training camp.
Bills Offered Broncos Two First-Rounders?
When the Browns chose Denzel Ward at No. 4 instead of Bradley Chubb, that nixed a Broncos-Bills trade. And Mike Klis of 9News reports Buffalo was set to give up both its No. 12 and No. 22 picks, in addition to a second-round selection, for the right to move up to No. 5.
Instead, the Broncos passed and chose Chubb, whom Klis notes the team had tied with Saquon Barkley as being the top player in the draft. But the Bills were also willing to part with one of their second-rounders — either No. 53 or No. 56 — in a deal that was going to involve Denver sending Buffalo one of its third-round choices (either No. 71 or No. 99).
So, the Broncos valued the N.C. State-honed pass rusher immensely, passing on additional first- and second-round picks in order to stay put.
The Bills’ package sent to the Buccaneers, for the right to draft Josh Allen at No. 7, included both second-rounders and a seventh-round selection. The offer to the Broncos containing the No. 22 choice — which Buffalo used to trade up and select Tremaine Edmunds — runs counter to a report from earlier on Thursday indicating Brandon Beane wasn’t willing to part with both of his first-round picks. But that report surfaced before the draft began; the events of the opening hour Thursday night could have changed things.
The Colts also called the Broncos about moving up to select Chubb, Klis reports, but John Elway elected to stay put and attempt to load up his team’s edge-rushing contingent. As for what was going to transpire if the Browns took Chubb and the Bills suddenly pulled their offer, the Broncos were likely to select either Quenton Nelson or Roquan Smith, per Klis.
Sam Darnold remained the quarterback Elway preferred, with Klis reporting the Broncos had cooled on Baker Mayfield to the point they wouldn’t have taken him at No. 5. While that didn’t end up mattering, it could be notable if Allen or Josh Rosen end up being long-term answers for their respective teams. The Broncos dropped out of the Kirk Cousins derby and signed Case Keenum to a two-year deal, making it less likely they were going to use their top offseason resource on another quarterback, and were not closely linked to either Allen or Rosen late in the pre-draft process.
Giants Could Still Trade No. 2 Pick
A trade of the No. 2 pick is still a possibility for the Giants, sources tell Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). If they keep the No. 2 pick, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley and NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb are viewed as the favorites to be selected. However, the potential presence of USC’s Sam Darnold could change things.
The Giants – and those around the Giants – would have better clarity on their plans if they knew what the Browns were planning to do with the No. 1 overall pick. The Browns have left everyone around the NFL guessing and no one knows for sure if they’ll go with Darnold, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, or perhaps even Wyoming’s Josh Allen. At this point, the entire world might find out the identity of the top pick together when commissioner Roger Goodell takes the podium tonight.
On paper, selecting Sam Darnold as Eli Manning’s successor would be a huge win for the G-Men, but they are reportedly less than enamored with this year’s QB crop. If the Giants are willing to pass up a chance to select Barkley or Chubb, they could net a tremendous haul to swap places with a team dead set on landing a QB.
Latest On Giants’ No. 2 Pick
As Round 1 looms in six days, Saquon Barkley has surged to the center of the Giants’ radar screen. While that interest is real, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv, this shouldn’t be viewed as a surefire pick.
There are some at Giants headquarters who think passing on a possible franchise quarterback “would be nuts,” per Vacchiano, who adds Sam Darnold likely remains the quarterback Big Blue would target (if he’s available). The Giants do not appear to be interested in Baker Mayfield or Josh Allen, and Vacchiano adds the team doesn’t seem to be as sure about this quarterback class as the one 14 years ago that produced their current starter.
Josh Rosen‘s stock may have taken a slight hit compared to where he was at the end of his final UCLA season, but one source informed Vacchiano he should not be ruled out of a New York selection. He was believed by some to be the favorite here early in the pre-draft process. A report earlier this month indicated the Giants were down on Rosen, but we are in peak smokescreen time.
Barkley is likely the No. 1 player on the Giants’ board, Vacchiano notes, adding that the team appears to prefer him to Bradley Chubb and may just view the Penn State sensation as an too much of a talent to pass up, regardless of positional value. ESPN’s Todd McShay has heard immense Barkley praise coming out of New York lately, and PFR readers’ early consensus is Barkley will be Big Apple-bound.
While the Giants are high on Chubb and Quenton Nelson, Vacchiano writes these two are likelier fits if they trade down, pointing to the Notre Dame guard in particular in a trade-down scenario. Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reported Nelson was a top-three player on New York’s board and a target if the team trades down. If the Giants were to move down and target Chubb, they probably wouldn’t be able to drop too far. Any trade-down move, though, may be less likely than the franchise just picking its preferred prospect.
“Why would we (trade down) and pass on either the best quarterback or best player on our board?” one Giants source told Vacchiano.
This is the highest pick the Giants have held since 1981, when they landed Lawrence Taylor, and Dave Gettleman has repeatedly said he would like a “gold jacket” player with his first pick as GM.
NFL Draft Rumors: Fitzpatrick, Jackson
Is the stock of Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick slipping? That’s the sense Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (on Twitter) gets. Mortensen, personally, feels that Fitzpatrick is one of the three or four best overall talents in this year’s draft and one “proven evaluator not picking in the top 10” tells Mort that Fitzpatrick, Bradley Chubb, Quenton Nelson, and Saquon Barkley made up this year’s top four.
Here’s the latest NFL Draft buzz:
- Several NFL sources tell Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that they really like Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson and Raanan expects there to be five QBs off the board in the top 20. Jackson is one of the more fascinating players in this year’s draft as some evaluators have written him off as an NFL QB, despite his tremendous athleticism.
- On Friday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reported that LSU stars Arden Key and Derrius Guice could slip in the draft due to off-field concerns. Within the same piece, Pelissero touches on UCF cornerback Mike Hughes and Florida wide receiver Antonio Callaway. Hughes left the UNC football program two years ago when he was accused of sexual assault, but he maintains his innocence and teams believe his version of events, Pelissero hears. Callaway, meanwhile, has a host of red flags that figure to tank his stock. Callaway was cleared of a sexual assault allegation, but he argued in his Title IX hearing that he was too “stoned” to have intercourse, which is troubling considering a past citation for marijuana. He was also charged with two third-degree felonies for his role in a credit card scam. Callaway might be one of the the most talented WRs in this year’s class, but he could fall late in the draft due to all of his issues. It also doesn’t help that Callaway didn’t impress at his pro day.
Poll: Who Will Be First Non-QB Selected?
Quarterbacks are dominating this year’s draft discussion even more than the NFL’s marquee position’s prospects usually do. With the possibility of four signal-callers going in the top five, it opens the door for a wide variety of scenarios.
But with this many passers projected to go high, teams that either do not need a quarterback (this would include the Browns at No. 4, if they keep their pick) — or franchises on the fence about selecting one in the top five (see: Giants, Broncos) — could find themselves in position to land an impact talent that may not have been available to them in another year.
There doesn’t seem to be a consensus about the top non-QB in this draft, either. Players like Saquon Barkley, Bradley Chubb and Quenton Nelson are high on draft boards. Denzel Ward may be as well, with Roquan Smith having visited teams holding top-10 picks. So, who goes first?
Chubb and Barkley have made the most noise here, with the latest coming out of the Big Apple aligning the Giants with the Penn State running back. Viewed as a superior talent when compared to recent No. 4 overall choices Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette, Barkley has been connected to the Giants at No. 2 and the Browns at No. 4. Although the Browns are not expected to bypass a quarterback at No. 1, Barkley’s name is the one mentioned as a possibility for Cleveland at No. 1 that isn’t a QB. And there may or may not be an issue with a Barkley-to-Cleveland scenario.
Viable running backs are obviously easier to obtain in later rounds than pass-rushing talent, and Chubb has visited the Giants and drawn praise from Hue Jackson as a possible No. 4 overall selection. James Bettcher doesn’t see a problem fitting the N.C. State defensive end into his 3-4 scheme at outside linebacker, and edge rushers are much more valuable commodities than running backs.
Nelson is reportedly a top-three player on the Giants’ board, and Dave Gettleman has not made it a secret he wants an offensive line metamorphosis to take place under his watch. Nelson’s been tabbed a prospect on the Zack Martin tier. Should a quarterback rush occur ahead of them, the Broncos are also in need of a guard. Buzz about a Broncos/Nelson union has emerged, with Ward — the latest high-end cornerback Ohio State has developed — on that level as of late as well.
The Notre Dame-trained blocker being the first non-passer selected would be a massive change of direction. This century, only one team — the 2015 Redskins — took a guard in the top five. And Brandon Scherff was viewed as a tackle prospect at the time. Ward would also represent a major upset as the first position player taken as well, but former Buckeyes teammate Joey Bosa didn’t receive a ton of buzz to go No. 3 to the Chargers two years ago. And this program has produced some high-caliber corners in recent years, as Bradley Roby and Marshon Lattimore have shown.
Who will even make this pick? The Giants have visited with each of the top quarterbacks and have been mentioned as Sam Darnold fans for a while, so it’s not certain they’ll be making this pick. If the Browns take Josh Allen at No. 1 and trade their No. 4 pick to the Bills, the Broncos could be thrust into this role at No. 5.
So, which one of these prospects will hear his name called first? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!
Who will be the first non-quarterback taken in this year's draft?
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Saquon Barkley 70% (1,635)
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Bradley Chubb 28% (644)
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Quenton Nelson 1% (35)
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Other 1% (12)
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Denzel Ward 0% (10)
Total votes: 2,336
Latest On Giants At No. 2
With the Browns likely to take a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick of the upcoming draft, the Giants are generating a lot of discussion, as they could go in any number of directions with their No. 2 overall selection. According to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, the team is looking increasingly unlikely to take a signal-caller with that pick.
Though the MMQB’s Albert Breer notes general manager Dave Gettleman likes Sam Darnold and the coaches like Josh Allen, Schwartz cites a national scout who pegs Saquon Barkley as the pick.
“I thought all along this is the guy Dave wants,” the scout said. “And he might get him, if Cleveland is dumb enough not to take him at No. 1.”
The Penn State back is considered by the Giants to be a better player than the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott, who was the No. 4 overall pick in 2016. Schwartz says Barkley’s lack of off-the-field concerns and his ability to contribute in the passing game make him a solid selection at No. 2.
However, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com says he has been hearing more and more whispers that the Giants could trade the No. 2 selection (Twitter link). The Bills are one team that other writers believe could be the Giants’ trading partner in that scenario, as Buffalo could grab its quarterback of the future and New York could add a significant amount of draft capital while still being in position to select a top-flight player in the first round. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, meanwhile, hears that all options are on the table for Big Blue’s top pick, including a trade, a QB, Barkley, Bradley Chubb, and even Quenton Nelson (Twitter link).
Schwartz does name Chubb as a potential candidate for the Giants’ No. 2 pick, and Gettleman’s history would lend credence to that theory, as the former Panthers GM took defensive linemen with his first two picks with that franchise.
But Schwartz, unlike Miller, does not believe Nelson will be in play if the Giants keep their pick. Though he is a top-three player on their board, Schwartz hears that Nelson will only be considered in a trade-down scenario.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
NFL Draft Rumors: Broncos, Jones, Jaguars
The Broncos hosted USC running back Ronald Jones on a pre-draft visit on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Jones, a likely first or second round pick, is coming off of a Monday visit with the Redskins.
It’s very unlikely that Jones is in play at No. 5 overall, but the Broncos also hold the eighth pick in the second round (No. 40 overall), so Jones could be a consideration there.
Here’s the latest round of NFL Draft news:
- South Dakota State tight end Dallas Goedert visited with the Jaguars, Alex Marvez of The Sporting News tweets. All in all, Goedert says he has worked out for or visited with “15 to 20 teams.”
- Pittsburgh tackle Brian O’Neill met with the 49ers, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. As a former tight end, O’Neill has tremendous athleticism for the left tackle position.
- NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb says that he he does not have a visit lined up with the Browns and the same goes for Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. However, that doesn’t mean that either player is out of consideration for Cleveland. The Browns are apparently comfortable with the medicals and character of both players.
- The Patriots are hosting Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans now that his White House trip is over, Rapoport tweets.