The Buffalo Bills sent shockwaves through the NFL on Wednesday by trading wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in a trade that netted Josh Allen’s club a 2025 second-round pick.
With Diggs and free agent defection Gabe Davis gone, Buffalo’s top wideouts are Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, and Justin Shorter. While no team ever wants to draft purely for need, the Bills will have to strongly consider adding a WR at the end of Round 1 in the 2024 NFL Draft.
We used Pro Football Network’s Mock Draft Simulator to determine Buffalo’s options at pick No. 28 before using the rest of the Bills’ selections to add depth pieces for what looks like a rebuilding roster.
Buffalo Bills 2024 NFL Draft Picks
Buffalo entered the 2024 NFL Draft with no third-round pick, having dealt that selection to the Green Bay Packers for CB Rasul Douglas last season.
With that in mind, we executed a trade-down in Round 1. The Bills moved from No. 28 to No. 32 while acquiring a second-round pick (No. 64) from the Kansas City Chiefs. Buffalo owned three fifth-rounders, so we felt comfortable sending a fourth (No. 128) back to K.C. in that deal.
- Round 1, Pick 32 (mock trade with KC): Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
- Round 2, Pick 60: Ja’Lynn Polk, WR, Washington
- Round 2, Pick 64 (mock trade with KC): Ruke Orhorhoro, DT, Clemson
- Round 4, Pick 133: Cam Hart, CB, Notre Dame
- Round 5, Pick 144 (from CHI): Zak Zinter, G, Michigan
- Round 5, Pick 160 (from GB): Jaylen Wright, RB, Tennessee
- Round 5, Pick 163: Jaylon Carlies, S, Missouri
- Round 7, Pick 200 (from DAL): Myles Cole, EDGE, Texas Tech
- Round 7, Pick 204: Sataoa Laumea, G, Utah
- Round 7, Pick 248: Jamree Kromah, DT, James Madison
Buffalo Bills 7-Round 2024 NFL Mock Draft
Round 1, Pick 32: Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
Adonai Mitchell would have made sense for the Bills solely as a replacement for Gabe Davis. Now that Buffalo has moved on from Diggs, Mitchell — who averaged more than 15 yards per catch and scored 11 touchdowns in 2023 — should be atop the club’s wish list.
Mitchell ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at 6’2″, 205 pounds, while his 9.99 Relative Athletic Score makes him one of the most athletic prospects in NFL Combine history. He’s a downfield threat who should immediately mesh with Allen, and his route-running may yet be underrated.
Round 2, Pick 60: Ja’Lynn Polk, WR, Washington
While Mitchell was primarily a perimeter receiver at Texas, Ja’Lynn Polk displayed more versatility at Washington. He’s not in the same class of athlete as his Huskies teammate Rome Odunze, but Polk is a malleable receiver who consistently increased his slot usage throughout his college career and played inside on 41.1% of his snaps in 2023.
Polk, who posted a 69-11,159-9 line last season, can beat man coverage and create consistent separation. But he’s also a willing blocker prepared to do the dirty work in Buffalo’s rushing attack.
Round 2, Pick 64: Ruke Orhorhoro, DT, Clemson
The Bills lost four defensive tackles this offseason — Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle, Linval Joseph, and Poona Ford — who played at least 100 snaps in 2023. Free agent additions Austin Johson and DeShawn Williams will pick up some of that work, but Buffalo needs more depth up front.
Ruke Orhorhoro comes from a Clemson defensive line factory that pumped out first-rounders Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy in 2022. He didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school but looked ready for the pros after posting 11.5 sacks and earning third-team All-ACC honors last year.
Round 4, Pick 133: Cam Hart, CB, Notre Dame
Cam Hart has been an offseason riser after a solid performance at February’s Senior Bowl. As PFN Draft Analyst Ian Cummings observed from Mobile, Ala., “Hart was able to win most of his 1-on-1 reps with his smothering length and patient, targeted physicality.”
MORE: Grading the Stefon Diggs Trade
Although the Bills will enter next year with Christian Benford, Rasul Douglas, and Taron Johnson as their nickel starters, they released Tre’Davious White and lost Dane Jackson in free agency this offseason. Hart becomes immediate depth with long-term starting potential.
Round 5, Pick 144: Zak Zinter, G, Michigan
While Zak Zinter earned first-team All-American honors and was a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy as college football’s best offensive lineman in 2023, his late-season broken tibia and fibula complicate his draft status.
Buffalo doesn’t need an immediate starter along its interior, so it can afford to take a chance on Zinter. The 6’5″, 309-pounder played right guard at Michigan but could profile as a center for the Bills, who weren’t afraid to deploy the 6’6″ Mitch Morse at the pivot for five seasons.
Round 5, Pick 160: Jaylen Wright, RB, Tennessee
Buffalo needs to find another RB to play behind James Cook. Jaylen Wright wasn’t necessarily the best fit for the Bills, but we couldn’t resist the value of landing PFN’s No. 112 prospect at pick No. 160.
Ideally, Buffalo will probably search for a more powerful back to complement Cook (think Damien Harris and Latavius Murray). Wright is more of a home-run hitter, but the Bills and offensive coordinator Joe Brady can find a role for a player who averaged 7.4 yards per attempt in 2023.
Round 5, Pick 163: Jaylon Carlies, S, Missouri
Jaylon Carlies is listed as a safety, but he might switch to linebacker in the NFL. He’s 6’3″ and nearly 230 pounds, which could allow him to hold up in the run game even if he struggles in coverage.
Buffalo lost LBs Tremaine Edmunds and Tyrel Dodson in free agency over the past two seasons and had little depth when injuries struck Matt Milano and others in 2023. Carlies is hardly a perfect prospect but could make sense as a TE specialist.
Round 7, Pick 200: Myles Cole, EDGE, Texas Tech
Length, length, length. That’s what the Bills like in their defensive ends (see: Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa), and that’s what Myles Cole offers in spades.
Cole was officially the longest prospect at the 2024 Senior Bowl, measuring 6’5″ and 272 pounds with absurd 36 3/8″ arms and a whopping 87″ wingspan. He’ll turn 24 on draft weekend, so his upside might be limited. But Cole could serve as a rotational piece early in his pro career.
Round 7, Pick 204: Sataoa Laumea, G, Utah
After double-dipping at WR in Rounds 1 and 2, the Bills hit the interior OL hard on Day 3. Zinter might have a higher ceiling, but Sataoa Laumea (6’4″, 319 pounds) might be a better fit for Buffalo, which has recently favored larger, stouter offensive linemen.
Laumea began his Utah career at right guard but ended it at right tackle. PFN’s Ian Cummings believes Laumea could play both spots in the NFL but would be a quicker learner at guard.
Round 7, Pick 248: Jamree Kromah, DT, James Madison
We’ve already noted how desperately the Bills need to add defensive tackle depth this offseason. Orhorhoro was a solid pick in Round 2, but there’s nothing wrong with taking a late-round shot at another athletic DT prospect.
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Jamree Kromah put up 10 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in 2023 while lining up all along James Madison’s defensive line. The former Rutgers DT is an explosive pass rusher — as evidenced by his 96th-percentile athletic testing — and is a worthwhile seventh-round lottery ticket.
All the 2024 NFL Draft resources you need — the draft order, the top QBs, the Top 100 prospects, and the full 2024 Big Board — right at your fingertips at Pro Football Network!