News writers give their grades for the Bills draft

Jay Skurski

Logical. Sensible. Reasonable. Take your pick – any of those words provide a description of the Bills’ 2022 draft class. General Manager Brandon Beane had one primary objective early in the draft, which was to land a cornerback capable of competing for a starting job. Florida’s Kaiir Elam is that player, although moving up to secure him with the 23rd overall pick did cost Beane a fourth-rounder. That’s not a crazy price to pay to get a player who might be an opening-day starter on a Super Bowl contender.

After that, Beane had plenty of flexibility. He traded down twice in the second round, which showed he must have had several players he would have been good with drafting in that spot. Ultimately, in taking Georgia running back James Cook, he added a player who figures to add a pass-catching threat out of the backfield that the offense didn’t previously have.

The one real head-scratching pick Beane made was Baylor linebacker Terrel Bernard, and that had less to do with the player and more to do with where he was drafted. Bernard wasn’t viewed as a third-round prospect in many pre-draft rankings, but a legitimate backup to Matt Milano was a roster need, and Bernard certainly checks the “culture” box that matters to the Bills. If he can produce on special teams as a rookie, that’s a win.

Funny as it sounds, the Bills’ pick that may have been received best by the team’s fan base was that of a punter. Matt Araiza, “The Punt God,” isn’t a finished product, but he’s got a huge leg and is a fascinating prospect. It’s telling how deep the Bills’ roster is that the team’s fans weren’t only OK with Beane drafting a punter – they were actually clamoring for it.

My favorite pick of the draft is Boise State wide receiver Khalil Shakir in the fifth round. Beane said he would have taken Shakir with the 130th pick in the fourth round that he traded to Baltimore in the move up for Elam, so getting him in the fifth round was a big bonus. Shakir can be brought along slowly. The Bills taught Gabriel Davis every receiver position as a rookie in 2020, and taking the same approach with Shakir would make sense.

As with every draft, it will take a couple of years, at minimum, to get a feel for what these players can end up becoming. For now, though, each of them can be easily justified by Beane – not that he hasn’t already earned the benefit of the doubt. Grade: A-

Katherine Fitzgerald 

The Bills' draft was reasonable and methodical, which doesn’t necessarily mean it was wildly notable. That’s fine, and it’s a testament to all Beane has done to put the team in a strong position heading into the draft.

There were few glaring needs, though Beane joked that he was hearing from neighbors about the need to draft a cornerback for weeks. So he did. I like the Elam pick, and while I was curious in real time about trading up from No. 25 to No. 23, given the rest of the Bills’ haul, I think it worked out. The reasoning was sound too, from the team’s perspective; Beane said that Elam was the last player that they had a grade on for the first round. More so, I think the group of guys they got, paired with all the free agency work, has the Bills in a solid place.

Araiza is a fun pick, and I am interested to see how that pans out. Shakir is strong from where the Bills projected him, to where they still got him. I’m excited to see how they use Cook. Beane mentioned the comparison to J.D. McKissic in terms of versatility, signaling how significant that could be in whatever offense Ken Dorsey is cooking up. I like they were so adamant about getting a player with a skill set like this, and they stuck to that plan for weeks.

It’s clearly too early to say how any of these picks will pan out, but in a peculiar draft, I think they did well. Grade: B+

Mark Gaughan

I’ve never seen a Bills draft like this one in the sense that the team felt the need to address so few starting lineup positional needs. It’s a statement on what the Bills did in free agency and where they stand as a contender. The second-round pick never is going to be a full-time starter. I could be wrong, but I don’t see a path to a starting job for the third-round pick for the next two seasons.

Nevertheless, I like the draft, and it’s hard to significantly question Beane after the results of the past three seasons. You have to like the Elam pick. The Bills needed an elite talent at No. 2 cornerback to contend with all of the big-time passing weapons in the AFC overall and the AFC East, in particular. The receiving talent that the Dolphins and Jets have assembled is scary. Some of us rated Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr. a tad higher than Elam, but no draft analysts outside the NFL have a good handle on the draft’s medical reports. The Bills didn’t have a first-round grade on Booth. Fine. I wrote in The News’ draft preview “I love Elam.” There’s no quibbling with his physical tools or his personal makeup.

While Cook may not start, he should be an immediate contributor. He helps Josh Allen. Gotta like that.

In the third round, guys who we knew (or thought) were on the Bills’ radar and were on the board at pick No. 89 included: guards Sean Rhyan of UCLA and Dylan Parham of Memphis, Maryland safety Nick Cross, Ohio State tight end Jeremy Ruckert and Georgia linebacker Channing Tindall. All went later in the third round. Terrel Bernard was a surprise. Obviously, the Bills loved him more. He has almost identical size and speed to Matt Milano and impeccable character traits. Look at it this way: If Milano went down for even two weeks, it would be a big problem. Now, on paper, it is not a problem. The league is trending toward smaller, faster linebackers. The Bills’ second- and third-round picks put them on the leading end of strategic trends.

I had Shakir as the 12th best receiver. He was the 21st receiver taken, in the fifth round. Good-case scenario: He takes over for Jamison Crowder in the slot in 2023. The punter is an intriguing talent, and it’s always good to take a developmental cornerback. Grade: B+

Jason Wolf 

Love the selection of Florida cornerback Elam with the No. 23 overall pick in the first round. This guy has all the tools to succeed, from size to speed to experience in the SEC to years of tutelage from a father and uncle who played in the NFL. And he means business – those who know him best rave about his work ethic.

Elam’s addition to the roster addressed the Bills’ most glaring deficiency, with Levi Wallace leaving in free agency and Tre’Davious White returning from reconstructive knee surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered on Thanksgiving.

I’m less enthused about the Bills giving up a fourth-round pick to move up two spots to draft Elam. That could have been a real player. Notable Bills the team drafted in the fourth round or later include Matt Milano, Gabriel Davis, Taron Johnson, Siran Neal and Dane Jackson. Stefon Diggs, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde were Day 3 picks, albeit by other teams.

But since Elam was the last available guy the Bills had assigned a first-round grade, I get it. With their roster, it was better to be aggressive than sit back and potentially lose out.

Second-round pick Cook, the running back from Georgia and brother of Dalvin Cook, is an exciting addition who should have an immediate impact. Same goes for fifth-round pick Shakir, the slot receiver from Boise State.

Third-round pick Bernard, the linebacker from Baylor and Sugar Bowl MVP, looks like a Milano clone, which could make him an ideal backup as a rookie and future starter.

And Araiza, the Punt God, is the splashiest selection of a sixth-round pick in recent memory. Who else is looking forward to the punting competition in training camp? Everybody? Grade: A