If the Buffalo Bills want one of the top quarterbacks in the 2018 NFL Draft, they'll have the leverage to make it happen.
With Friday trades of WR Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams and CB Ronald Darby to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bills now hold two picks in each of the first three rounds in next year's draft. The club acquired the Kansas City Chiefs' first-round pick in the trade that allowed Kansas City to move up in this year's draft and select QB Patrick Mahomes. Friday's deal with the Rams brought back a second-round choice and CB E.J. Gaines for Watkins and a 2018 sixth-round pick. The trade with Philadelphia netted Buffalo WR Jordan Matthews and a 2018 third-rounder for Darby.
The draft outcome for Buffalo is that it will have plenty of flexibility to trade up if needed, and for a franchise that has new faces in both the general manager (Brandon Beane) and head coach (Sean McDermott) roles, the timing could be right for a first-round quarterback.
The 2018 draft is expected to be a very strong one for the quarterback position, although it remains to be seen which underclassmen will file for early draft eligibility. Among the top quarterback prospects in the college ranks are USC's Sam Darnold, UCLA's Josh Rosen, Wyoming's Josh Allen and Louisville's Lamar Jackson. Bills starting QB Tyrod Taylor has steadied the position for the Bills over the last two seasons after the club moved on from its previous first-round quarterback investment, EJ Manuel. But the Bills aren't beholden long-term to Taylor financially, with only $1 million of his contract guaranteed for 2018, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
The Bills have three quarterbacks on their roster: Taylor, nine-year veteran T.J. Yates and rookie Nathan Peterman, a fifth-round pick from Pitt selected in this year's draft.
The Bills aren't the only team that has stockpiled early selections in next year's draft. The Cleveland Browns have done so as well, with a pair of first-round selections and three picks in Round 2. The Browns invested a second-round pick at quarterback this year with Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer.
Of course, the Bills aren't necessarily making these moves with spending their top pick in 2018 on a QB in mind.
"(The Bills are) adding picks just because that's good business," said NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein. "But they'll have the capital to get a top quarterback if that's the direction they want to go."
Given the talent at the position that could be available, it might be tough to resist.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
