The Buffalo Bills made the first trade of the 2018 NFL Draft, moving up five spots to take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ No. 7 overall pick and select Wyoming’s Josh Allen.
Why the Bills traded with the Buccaneers for the No. 7 pick to take Josh Allen
The Buccaneers received two second-round picks to fall five picks in the first round.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
It’s not a surprising move as the Bills already crept closer to the top of the draft earlier in the spring when the team traded Cordy Glenn to the Cincinnati Bengals to move up from No. 22 to No. 12. Buffalo gave up a couple more picks to go up five spots and land a top 10 pick.
The move landed the Bills the quarterback they believe will be the team’s franchise star for years to come.
Why did the Bills make the trade?
Buffalo currently has AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman on the roster, setting up a wide open training camp battle this fall. But the reality is that the Bills didn’t have a franchise quarterback on the roster and wanted to make a significant investment at the position.
The last quarterback taken in the first three rounds by the team was EJ Manuel, a first-round pick in 2013 who didn’t stick in Buffalo very long.
With so much draft capital to work with, it made sense for the Bills to identify a passer in the class to go after and use their extra picks to go get him.
The question is whether or not Allen is worth the risk. The 6’5 quarterback has one of the best arms in NFL Draft history, but he had awful statistics in college and will presumably require a lot of time and growth before he’s ready to be the player the Bills hope he will be.
Ideally for Buffalo, McCarron or Peterman will prove they’re capable of starting long enough to give Allen that time.
Why did the Buccaneers make the trade?
Most mock drafts projected Tampa Bay to take Florida State safety Derwin James with the No. 7 pick.
But that’s early for a safety who may otherwise slip into the middle of the first round. By trading with Buffalo, the Buccaneers add two second-round picks and may get their target anyway. And if it isn’t James, there’s also Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick who could slip outside the top 10.
Tampa Bay has a lot of building to do on both sides of the ball and adding multiple second-round picks is a win for the franchise.
See More:
