ORCHARD PARK - From the moment Buffalo Bills president/general manager Brandon Beane sent his 2026 second-round pick to the Chicago Bears as part of the DJ Moore trade in March, it seemed like his pre-draft mission was to somehow get it back.

Thursday night, he executed three trades in the span of about 30 minutes, and not only did he avoid picking a player with his original first-round slot at No. 26 where the value wasn’t going to be great, he acquired the third choice in the second round, No. 35 overall, where the value will be excellent, no matter who he picks.

Beane did not meet with reporters after the trading frenzy was complete, but on Monday he had a press conference and he was asked about whether he’d consider trading out of the first round.

“I’ll always listen, yeah,” he said. “Don’t have the two, so yeah, we’ll see. We’ll see what’s there.”

Turns out there was plenty there and not only did Beane get back into the second round, he’s early in the second round. He also leaped forward 25 spots from his original third-rounder at No. 91 to No. 66.

When the night began, the Bills had only three of the first 126 picks. Now they have six in the first 126. There’s simply no reason why Bills fans should be upset.

Now, assuming he finally decides to actually pick someone as oppose to moving assets around the chessboard when the second round begins Friday night, who would be the best candidates? Here are a few ideas:

There were six edge rushers taken in the first round, but Howell was not one of them. It seems pretty clear why. His arm measurement at the scouting combine was revealed to be 30 ¼ inches, and historically speaking, that’s not good for edge rushers because NFL offensive tackles are usually long-armed and can get their hands on short-armed players more easily.

However, Howell would add the type of speed the Bills’ edge rusher group lacks, and now that we’re into the second round, the 2025 SEC defensive player of the year would be a better value pick.

The Bills’ edge/OLB depth chart includes Greg Rousseau, Bradley Chubb and Michael Hoecht, a solid threesome for sure, but all of them lack Howell’s speed. His 10-yard split at the combine was 1.58 seconds, tied for fastest among all edge rushers who tested with Ohio State’s Arvell Reese who went No. 5 to the Giants.

Many draft analysts don’t see the value in taking an off ball linebacker in the first round, and sure enough, the only one picked was Ohio State’s Sonny Styles at No. 7 to the Commanders. Styles was far and away the best off ball prospect, but Rodriguez may be next, and now he’s an excellent value if the Bills pick him at No. 35.

I really don’t understand the logic of not taking a linebacker early, especially in Buffalo’s case. Right now, the Bills have Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams as their starting inside linebackers. Bernard is undersized and injury prone, Williams is a liability in coverage and heading into the last year of his contract, and both have been inconsistent performers.

Besides Styles, Rodriguez is arguably the most complete linebacker in this class. He made plays all over the field for Texas Tech and was so good that he won three national defensive player awards, was Big 12 defensive player of the year, first-team All-America, and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Why is the first round too early for a player like that?

He needs to improve in coverage, but as Brady said recently, in today’s NFL you need linebackers who can do a little bit of everything, and that’s Rodriguez’s superpower.

Jake Golday, Cincinnati Bearcats: If he's still available late Friday night, and the Bills didn't grab a linebacker earlier, Brandon Beane should not hesitate to grab this guy.

Golday brings the type of versatility defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard would crave. At various points of his college career he's played as an outside linebacker, a middle linebacker, an edge rusher and even a slot defender.

Golday's got the size at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, plus the speed that saw him run the 40-yard dash in a decent for his size 4.62 seconds at the combine.

Josiah Trotter, Missouri Tigers: He may already be off the board by the time the Bills pick in Day 2, but you can’t ignore the bloodlines as his father, Jeremiah, was an All-Pro linebacker for the Eagles.

The 6-foot-1, 240-pound Trotter is the quintessential thumper, similar to current Bills linebacker Dorian Williams, only younger.

But like Williams, Trotter needs to develop in pass coverage. Until he does, he's only an early-downs player.