Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is excited about his team’s first-round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft.
Technically, he doesn’t have an actually selection, but while speaking to reporters on Thursday via video call, Beane called his new No. 1 receiver just that.
“The way I’m treating it is, that’s our first-round pick,” Beane said.
As free agency started on March 16, the Bills lost their first rounder in a trade with the Vikings, along with a slew of other picks, but gained Stefon Diggs. Beane confirmed earlier speculation that the deal was a long time in the makings.
Reports indicated during the 2019 trade deadline that the Bills were interested in adding Diggs, but the price was too high at the time. Beane then reached out, and also confirmed what Saints wideout Emmanuel Sanders said this week. The Bills’ GM was looking into adding other piece via free agent signings, but he clearly reached out to the Vikings that day too, and felt more comfortable with the trade route.
Speaking of price tag, Beane also compared the price he paid for Diggs to the price he’d pay to move up in the draft. Beane said that he believed it would have cost Buffalo more to move up in the draft and find an immediate impact player such as Diggs.
Buffalo originally held the No. 22 overall pick in the first round of the upcoming draft. The Bills sent that pick, along with a fifth-round pick, sixth-round pick and 2021 fourth-round pick for Diggs and a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft.
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