The case for the Bills trading down and out of the 1st round of the 2026 NFL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Fans don't enjoy when their team doesn't have a pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.
They'd probably like it even less if they thought their team, the Buffalo Bills, was slated to pick 26th, stayed up all night to see who they chose, then saw them trade down and out of the first round from that slot.
This isn't about one pick. This is about the draft as a whole. And unless someone blatantly obvious slides down the board, there's a strong case to be made for the Bills moving down.
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The Bills made the logical move this offseason to trade for a wide receiver to boost the offense for Josh Allen. They found that WR from the Chicago Bears. It cost a second-round pick to land Moore.
That means that after the Bills pick in the first round, they won't pick again until the third round, as things stand right now. The lack of a second-rounder is a large window that talent can't be acquired.
Now clearly, Moore essentially stands in as the pseudo-pick. But by the time the draft arrives, it starts feeling like a long, long time to wait between picks for Buffalo.
That's especially true when the defensive side of the ball has so many needs. They won't all be solved just with the 26th pick. The Bills will have to try and fill them with their later-round picks, too.
Now what if that No. 26 pick could be turned into the Colts' picks at 47 and 113? Or get greedy and say the Saints' picks at 42 and 73?
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It's all about who the trading-up team would see on the board that they want, but if there's an interested team, the Bills should pick up the phone and listen.
Buffalo's best hope from this draft is to come away with a handful of true contributors. They increase their odds of doing that, probably, by trading down from that first pick for multiple selections.
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