Bills Central

Bills land $96 million wide receiver, defensive star in NFL redraft exercise

The Buffalo Bills could get talent on both sides of the ball if the league redrafted itself.

Jeremy Brener

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown takes the field for a play against the Los Angeles Rams.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown takes the field for a play against the Los Angeles Rams. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Buffalo Bills have a lot of talent on the roster, good enough to be one of the five best teams in the NFL.

FOX Sports contributors Henry McKenna and David Helman threw all of that out of the window in an exercise where the entire league gave up every player and redrafted based on the order of the 2025 NFL Draft.

With the No. 30 overall pick, the Bills selected Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown celebrates after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIX
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown celebrates after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIX. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"It feels like Brown is flying under the radar in 2025 because his numbers didn't jump off the screen in Philly's run-heavy offense last year," Helman writes.

"To be clear: that's a mistake. Heading into his seventh NFL season, Brown still looks like one of the most dominant, aggressive receivers in the game and can win in the red zone, in contested catch situations and with his run-after-catch ability. There's no question he's still worth this type of pick, even at the age of 28."

The Bills are able to get their top wideout, which should help whichever quarterback they end up selecting in this hypothetical scenario.

For the second round of the draft, the order reversed, which meant that the Bills were able to pick Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson at No. 35 overall.

RELATED: Revisiting Buffalo Bills' best draft class ever exactly 40 years ago

"I already have regrets about letting Hutchinson fall this far," Helman writes.

"He's only 24, and he'd likely have been the league's DPOY in 2024 had he stayed healthy, but that's the problem. I'm not totally scared off by the injury, but just enough to let him drop to the second round. I know the Bills need a quarterback, but having these two foundational pieces feels like as good of a start as you could ask for without one."

If the Bills had a No. 1 wide receiver and a top pass rusher, they might be able to challenge some of the best teams in the league. Luckily for the Bills, they don't need to dump their entire roster and can focus on filling in those needs at next week's draft.

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson in action during the game against the Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson in action during the game against the Dallas Cowboys. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

—  Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI  —

More Buffalo Bills News:

Published
Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several On SI sites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid and resides in Central Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

Home/News