The Jets' bold trade up to No. 3 in the 2018 NFL Draft left a division rival in an unenviable checkmate position.
Should the talent-starved Bills sacrifice their stockpile of draft capital to follow New York's lead, trading up for a top-five pick soon to be billed as the next face of the franchise?
Or is a 2017 playoff team better off hoping its preferred quarterback falls to No. 12, allowing general manager Brandon Beane to parlay his extra picks into a roster strong enough to make another postseason run?
Beane won't be fooled by the miraculous Week 17 Bengals victory that propelled his organization into its first playoff appearance since 1999.
It's a natural assumption that the Bills plan to move up in the draft, Beane acknowledged to NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala, but in his mind the roster is still in "rebuilding" mode and yet to "arrive" as a contender.
"I realize we have needs," Beane told Kinkhabwala, "and have to get better at a lot of spots."
So where does that leave a franchise with career backup AJ McCarron penciled in as the starting quarterback?
The idea that Beane intends to trade up is so ingrained in league circles that NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah has vowed to buy dinner for Rich Eisen if the Bills don't pick before their assigned 12th spot Thursday night.
If the field general of his dreams slips to the Browns, Broncos and Colts in the four-to-six range, Beane will be tempted to pull the trigger. If the coveted quarterback requires a treasure chest of picks to sell out for the Giants' No. 2 pick, however, Beane intends to resist the temptation, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported earlier this week.
Since taking the front-office reigns nearly a year ago, Beane has proven that he can deconstruct a roster. Sneaking into the postseason won't detract from his primary mission of reconstructing that roster.
