As soon as the NFL draft concludes Saturday, the grades will come out.
Those grades, of course, will be wildly premature. How can a class of players who have yet to take an NFL snap be graded?
Nevertheless, that won’t stop draftniks from immediately offering opinions on the job Buffalo Bills General Manager Brandon Beane and his counterparts did.
If we’re being fair, though, a draft class probably needs at least three seasons before it can be judged. With Beane entering his fourth draft with the Bills, that makes it a good time to look back on his first class now that those players have three full NFL seasons to their credit. Here is how The Buffalo News would grade each of those picks today:
First round, No. 7 overall: Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
Grade: A+
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Beane's first draft pick with the Bills easily remains the biggest – and best. Allen was one of the more polarizing prospects in recent memory. If we’re being honest, plenty of Bills fans hated this pick when it was made. Allen, though, has made believers out of the doubters. After a tough rookie season in which he was forced into the lineup perhaps before he was ready because Nathan Peterman proved incapable and Allen dealt with a painful elbow injury, he returned to show some promise over the final five games. Allen took a step forward in 2019, leading the Bills to the playoffs. His Thanksgiving Day performance against the Cowboys went a long way toward proving Allen was far from the “parody of a quarterback prospect” he was called by Football Outsiders ahead of the 2018 draft.
Allen, though, melted down in the playoff loss to Houston, leading to at least some doubt about whether he was going to be the long-term answer for the Bills. That was emphatically answered in 2020. Allen transformed himself into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, finishing second to Aaron Rodgers in the MVP race and leading the Bills to the AFC championship game. It’s only a matter of time before he receives a lucrative contract extension. Beane knew his job was probably on the line when he turned in the card for Allen. It’s proved to be a brilliant decision.
First round, No. 16 overall: Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech
Grade: B-
Edmunds has played a lot of football for the Bills, appearing in 50 of 52 games, postseason included. He’s made 322 tackles, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions, 24 passes defensed and two forced fumbles. The Bills have asked a lot of Edmunds, plugging him as their middle linebacker and signal caller of the defense right away. While Edmunds has not been a bust, it’s hard to shake the feeling he’s been somewhat underwhelming in his first three seasons.
While he’s made two Pro Bowls (one as an injury replacement), his physical tools that wow teammates and coaches have left some wanting more. Edmunds entered the NFL at just 19 years old, so it is fair to expect he’s still coming into his own. There is at least concern, though, that he never gets there. The Bills have a big decision to make on Edmunds’ fifth-year option just a couple days after the draft. It’s not a slam dunk they pick it up.
Third round, No. 96 overall: Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford
Grade: B-
Phillips played in all 16 games as a rookie, totaling 31 tackles and one fumble recovery as a part of the defensive line rotation. Just as he was starting to establish himself in this second season, however, he suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 against the Bengals, missing the rest of the year. Phillips returned in 2020, but not surprisingly, it took him a while to get going. He was a healthy inactive against the Chiefs in Week 6, ultimately playing in 12 games and finishing with 17 tackles and one fumble recovery.
Off the field, Phillips has been everything the Bills could have hoped for and more. On the field, though, he’s going to need to do more in his fourth season to be considered a priority to bring back.
Fourth round, No. 121 overall: Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State
Grade: B+
There is some recency bias at play here, but Johnson’s 101-yard pick-six to seal the divisional playoff victory against the Baltimore Ravens was easily one of the biggest plays in at least the past 20 years. Johnson also had a pick-six in a win against the Steelers during the regular season, so he showed some big-play ability during his third season.
Johnson’s biggest challenge with the Bills has been staying healthy. He plays with a physical style that sometimes doesn’t mesh with his size (5 feet, 11 inches and 192 pounds). Johnson, who missed nine games in his first two years, was benched in Week 6 of 2020 against the Chiefs, but to his credit did a nice job when he returned to the lineup. Given where he was picked and what’s asked of slot cornerbacks in the NFL, he’s been a solid selection.
Fifth round, No. 154 overall: Siran Neal, CB, Jacksonville State
Grade: B+
Neal did a little bit of everything defensively in college, so it took a while to find the right spot in Buffalo. After initially starting out as a safety, he’s carved out a role as Johnson’s primary backup at nickel cornerback. His biggest contributions, however, have come on special teams. He has 21 career tackles on special teams, easily the most on the team, and has developed into a key gunner.
Fifth round, No. 166 overall: Wyatt Teller, G, Virginia Tech
Grade: C
Good luck coming up with a fair grade for this pick. On one hand, Teller was a second-team All-Pro last season. On the other … it was with Cleveland. After appearing in eight games, including starting the final seven games of his rookie season, the Bills traded Teller and a 2021 seventh-round draft pick to Cleveland for fifth- and sixth-round picks in the 2020 draft before the start of the 2019 season. The fifth-round pick from Cleveland was part of the package used to acquire Stefon Diggs from Minnesota and the sixth turned into kicker Tyler Bass.
Teller has started 20 games for the Browns and since developed into one of the best guards in football. In that sense, Beane and his staff get an A for recognizing his potential … but get an F that is shared with the coaching staff for cutting bait on him too soon. Averaging those out for a C seems fair.
Sixth round, No. 187 overall: Ray-Ray McCloud, WR, Clemson
Grade: C
McCloud is another player who has played his best football since moving on from the Bills – albeit not close to the level of Teller. McCloud played in 10 games as a rookie, making one start and finishing with five catches for 36 yards and four punt returns for 20 yards. He lost his primary return job after fumbling twice during a disastrous loss to Houston in 2018 (the game in which Allen was hurt and Peterman came in, and, well you know the rest).
McCloud was claimed off waivers by the Panthers before the 2019 season, then brought back to the Bills’ practice squad for the rest of the year after he was waived. The Bills released McCloud again before the start of training camp last year, and he was out of the league for about a month before signing with the Steelers. He had a decent year with Pittsburgh, playing in all 16 games and making 20 catches for 77 yards. He also rushed four times for 65 yards and his first career touchdown. He took over as the Steelers’ primary returner, averaging 10.3 yards per punt return and 23.1 yards per kick return. He was re-signed last month.
Seventh round, No. 255 overall: Austin Proehl, WR, North Carolina
Grade: D
The only draft pick not to appear in at least one game for the Bills, Proehl being selected always felt a little bit like Beane was doing a favor for Austin’s dad, Ricky, the former NFL receiver who spent four seasons as Carolina’s wide receivers coach while Beane and Bills coach Sean McDermott were there. Proehl has spent time on the practice squad with Tennessee and the Los Angeles Rams and is currently on the San Francisco 49ers’ roster, but has yet to appear in a regular-season game.
Overall grade: A
Allen’s selection alone might keep Beane employed for another decade. When you hit on a franchise quarterback, it has a way of covering up missteps in other areas. This class wasn’t perfect – it would look a lot better if Edmunds reaches his ceiling – but it’s still pretty darn good.
