MITCH HORUCY
Asst. Sports Editor
After three days, 257 picks and a lot of chaos, the 2024 draft season has come to an end.
The Bills made a total of 10 picks, including seven between rounds two and five.
As mentioned in my pre-draft article, this was an important draft for the Bills, and I believe they handled it fairly well.
The first selection the Bills made was a wide receiver out of Florida State, Keon Coleman.
This selection was made at pick 33 and not 28, however. The Bills made a trade with the Chiefs to move from 28 to 32, and then another with the Panthers to go from 32 to 33.
When it comes to this pick, I’m still not sold on it.
Although he’ll likely come in and start day one, I’m not sure he was the best move.
Coming in at 6’3”, 213 lbs, he’s a contested catch specialist who will stretch the field for the Bills’ offense. According to Bills general manager Brandon Beane, Coleman was the receiver Josh Allen wanted and Beane was able to deliver.
After running a 4.61 40-yard dash, people questioned his speed, especially since he would likely be asked to play outside receiver for a team. This worry was reasonable, as his 40-yard dash time was the second-slowest among wide receivers at this year’s combine. Luckily for Coleman, straight-line speed and play speed are two different things.
Next Gen Stats was able to record the speed at which receivers ran certain routes.
The routes that were measured were a slant, a dagger, a go and a slant strike route.
While running these routes, his speed amongst receivers ranked third and fourth, tied for second and second.
After his first visit to Orchard Park and introductory press conference, we were introduced to his fun and infectious personality. With a quarterback who is all about having fun, the sky’s the limit for this duo.
With their second second-round pick, the Bills selected safety Cole Bishop from the University of Utah.
While not as flashy, Bishop is a great selection and should be a week one starter.
He’ll likely be the replacement for Micah Hyde in the free safety position.
At 6’2”, 205 lbs, he has a nice frame that will allow him to step into the box, as well as being able to cover. His 4.45 40-yard dash at the combine was also good for the 86th percentile amongst safeties.
As the Bills went through a roster turnover, they lost five captains, including other team leaders.
Bishop was a captain at Utah and will bring new leadership to a defense that had the same starting safety duo for seven consecutive years.
Keeping the theme of leadership, the Bills selected a defensive tackle from Duke, DeWayne Carter, at pick 95.
At Duke, Carter was the first three-time captain in school history. On the field, he was awarded First Team All-ACC, team MVP and the team’s best defensive player while at Duke.
He won’t be a starter, as he’s behind Ed Oliver on the depth chart, but he’ll play a lot of snaps, as Sean McDermott is known to rotate defensive linemen.
At pick 128, the Bills took Kentucky running back Ray Davis.
Similar to Carter, Davis won’t start because the Bills found a gem in James Cook, but he will contribute to the team.
At 5’8”, 211 lbs, Davis is a tough-to-bring-down back who can wear down a defense. As a fifth-year senior at Kentucky, he averaged 5.7 yards per carry, along with 13 rushing touchdowns.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Davis is his pass-catching ability. This past season, he had 33 receptions for 323 yards and seven receiving touchdowns. His seven touchdowns through the air were the most amongst FBS running backs.
He may be able to find time on the field as a third-down back in this new Bills offense.
Heading into the back half of the team’s selections, the main emphasis is depth with upside.
In the fifth round, the Bills selected offensive lineman Sedric Van Pran-Granger from Georgia.
He made 44 consecutive starts at center for Georgia and was a part of the 2022 and 2023 teams that won back-to-back national championships.
With their next two selections, the Bills added talent to the defense with linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio and edge rusher Javon Solomon.
Ulofoshio fits the athletic off-ball linebacker style that McDermott likes to have.
He won’t play a lot of snaps but can contribute as a special teamer and add much-needed depth to the position.
Solomon led the nation in sacks last season at Troy with 16 and could make an impact on day one.
As mentioned previously, McDermott likes to rotate his defensive linemen, and Solomon could quickly contribute to that rotation.
With two of their last three picks, the Bills added depth to the offensive line with Tylan Grable and Travis Clayton.
Their other pick was used on a cornerback out of Penn State, Daequan Hardy.
A notable UDFA, or undrafted free agent, the Bills added is the son of former Bill and future Hall of Fame running back Frank Gore, Frank Gore Jr.
Gore Jr. has 30 total touchdowns over his collegiate career and could add some depth to the roster or practice squad.
Overall draft grade: B+.
While it was an interesting yet important year for the team, I think they added some players who could make an immediate impact as well as a few who can add immediate depth and turn into impact players.