Bills general manager Brandon Beane has had a knack for one certain type of trade in recent memory. Buffalo’s depth has started to become other teams treasure… sort of.
Beane has found a way to grab some later round draft picks for players via trade toward the end of training camps, especially along the offensive line. Fast forwarding ahead to a few weeks from now when teams will start getting ready to cut down their rosters ahead of the 2020 regular season, Bleacher Report recently named one team that could look to be Buffalo’s trade partner in this exact scenario again: The Falcons.
In an effort to bolster their efforts along the O-line, B/R recently said that the Falcons should look into sending a fifth-round pick to the Bills for offensive lineman Daryl Williams. Here’s their breakdown on the subject:
Alex Mack is a stalwart at center, and right guard Chris Lindstrom is a talented prospect coming off an injury-plagued rookie campaign. Left guard remains unsettled. Third-round rookie Matt Hennessy could start, but plenty of competition is forthcoming between the first-year blocker and veterans James Carpenter, Jamon Brown and Matt Gono.
Why not add one more to the mix? The Buffalo Bills are one of the few teams with O-line depth. The organization signed Darryl Williams, who can start at four of the five positions, to a one-year, $2.25 million free-agent deal this offseason. But only $250,000 is guaranteed, which makes him expendable.
For both the Bills and Falcons, this move could make plenty of sense. We’re currently unsure of what Buffalo’s starting O-line could look like, but so far reports out of training camp have Williams mostly in a second-string role. But along with Williams, the Bills have other viable options along the O-line that can provide depth.
The Bills are said to really like Ryan Bates, who they traded for during last year’s training camp. Then there’s Evan Boehm, Ike Boettger and Ty Nsekhe, all of which can play multiple spots along the O-line. In addition, we do have to consider Jon Feliciano. Once he’s healthy, he’s another piece for the Bills. Buffalo would still have plenty of players in place, both starting and depth spots alike, even without Williams in the fold.
But if Williams stays, some of these other mentioned names along the Bills’ O-line could also be trade candidates. Regardless of who it is, don’t be surprised if Beane pulls off what has become his trademark move, and perhaps the Falcons are a perfect type of fit for a trade. They’re a NFC team so making a trade with them makes sense. But then again, in this exact type of trade scenario, we’ve seen Beane even make a trade with the Patriots.
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