Pre-Draft Press Conference: Beane Opens Up on Strategy, Depth, and Player Evaluations

Brandon Beane, Buffalo Bills GM
Pre-Draft Press Conference: Beane Opens Up on Strategy, Depth, and Player Evaluations | The Wandering Buffalo

Bills General Manager Brandon Beane spoke with the media on Tuesday, speaking for almost 45 minutes. He spent much of his time discussing the upcoming draft as well as speaking on the return of Tre’Davious White and the absence of James Cook. 

Of course we are all excited to see what the Bills do at pick 30 on Thursday night. After trading back in last year's draft many Bills fans are anxious to add a new first round pick in Buffalo, but early in the press conference Beane says that they don’t have 30 first round grades. He talked about how he often moves up because they are running out of first round grades and if they decide to stay put then the better value is to just move back. 

I do think Beane will be aggressive in this draft and I expect him to move up in the first round. He has a few big needs like cornerback and defensive line that I believe he will address early, but he did talk about how aggressive doesn’t mean reckless. “We have to be smart with how the board is falling…I wouldn’t want to go in and say hey let’s cash these picks in right away and move up three spots…when we really don’t need to.”

He was asked specifically about the value of a secondary player who will play every down versus a defensive lineman who we know the Bills love to rotate. He said you have to look at player versus player and determine the best value. If you can get an Aaron Donald type player then you get them, even if they will rotate, but when they drafted Tre’Davious White they drafted a guy who would follow the best receivers they played. If they make a first round pick at one of these positions it will tell us a lot about how they feel and the expectations for the player.

Beane was asked about the top end talent of this draft and teams have fewer first round grades does it make trades more complicated? Though different teams will have a different amount of first rounders on their board, Beane stressed the importance of staying true to their scouting and their board. “Build it for your team, we don’t grade for the league we grade for the Buffalo Bills, how we value players, how we use players.” 

If Beane does decide to trade up it will be interesting to see if he is willing to give up one of his second round picks to do so. When asked about the luxury of having two picks in the second round he said he loved it because he sees a lot of value in the second round. He also mentioned that he sees the defensive line as the strongest position in the draft.

He spent some time talking about how the transfer portal and NIL have changed the process for him. In many cases he is now talking to multiple schools about a player and can get three different stories. They have to do their due diligence to put the pieces together to figure out who the player is. 

He does say that because players are coming out of college with contracts and money that they are more professional. Visits are still important though because he wants to see how they come prepared, do they show up on time, do they communicate well? He also uses this time to get insights into how each player learns best. He later stressed this importance again because they need to understand how this player wants to learn in order to best develop them.

He mentioned that the evaluations of the players are not just about this year, but with an eye on the future as well. You may have a guy on an expiring contract and you can get his replacement in the building now while also adding depth. He mentioned how Terrel Bernard didn’t play much his rookie year, but became a starter in his second season for example. He said it is important to balance your needs versus depth. I couldn’t help but think he might be referencing James Cook here.

He spent some time talking about strategy later in the draft and how you get those players jerseys through special teams. Many of these players did not play special teams in college because they were starters so you have to evaluate them and determine if they can contribute in this area “Looking at how they are in speed and space, that is what a lot of ST is. Change of direction, straight line speed…the things they need at their position, how does that translate.” This is a huge aspect for them when they determine value, especially on day three.

He was asked if the suspensions of newly acquired Bills Michael Hoecht & Larry Ogunjobi would affect his draft board. He quickly said “No!” and stressed how they understand that those players will be out for six weeks, but they will be around for all of the off season programs and will be ready to go once they finish their suspensions.

He was asked about James Cook and confirmed that he was not in for voluntary workouts that began on Tuesday. “We can all assume he is not here because he is unhappy with his contract or whatever, but that is not fair…he hasn’t told me that.” He then stressed that it is voluntary, but they are looking forward to him playing.

Tre’Davious White was also discussed on several occasions. He talked about how great it is to have him back and the experience he brings to the room. They have lots of confidence in him, but made him no promises. They expect him to compete for a starting job and if he wins it then they will feel good for him. 

Injuries have certainly been a big part of White’s story the last few years and both parties know that when they released him that it was a business decision. Beane does like where he is at though and noticed how his play trended up last year.  “Felt like if you watch his film it really improved from the start of the year with the Rams to how he played down the stretch. He is another year off of injury.” 

If you thought that White may be on a track to convert to safety, you can probably move on from that one. Though Beane complimented his high football IQ, they have no plans to have him change positions and he is here to play cornerback.

He was asked late on about not only having White back, but also Dane Jackson. He spoke very highly of them and said they have “Bills Blue DNA.” These two players have started and won a lot of games with the Bills and he noted that it takes a lot of ingredients to create a winning team and a winning culture. 

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