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Bills GM Brandon Beane reveals why he didn't trade out of Round 1

Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane isn't afraid to make moves in the NFL draft. Last night, however, he stayed still.

Brian Letscher

Dec 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane reacts during the game.
Dec 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane reacts during the game. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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For an NFL general manager, the draft is a game of patience and nerve.

The clock is ticking, calls are being made, trades are happening. The safe thing to do is sit tight and take the best player available.

Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane has never played it safe and Thursday night's Round 1was no exception.

In five of his previous seven drafts, Beane has made a first round trade, most famously moving up five spots to grab future MVP Josh Allen in 2018. On Thursday night, the Bills had the 30th pick, teams were evidently calling to move back into the 1st round, but Beane held strong. Patient. He waited. And, boom, the perfect pick fell into his lap — Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston.

Maxwell Hairston
Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Kentucky Wildcats cornerback Maxwell Hairston s introduced at the NFL draft. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"You love when the grade matches the value and matches the need too," Beane told the team site, "You just don't know how it's going to fall. And again, that's why sometimes you make the decision if the grade doesn't match, maybe you trade back. And so, us staying there told you we believe he fits that value. And why trade back, especially when it's a position of need."

Buffalo does need help at corner. They extended starter Christian Benford and added former Bills Tre'davious White and Dane Jackson in free agency but it clearly wasn't enough to make Beane comfortable. Other highly rated corners such as Trey Amos of Ole Miss had been linked to the Bills, but Beane knew he had their man in Hairston. As for any question marks about Hairston's size, Beane had answers.

RELATED: Buffalo Bills' first-round pick Maxwell Hairston missing a key component

"We think first off he can match up," Beane said of Hairston. "He's got the speed and enough size. His size is not his number one thing, but he'll be fine there...But the speed he brings… it's rare to have recovery speed like that. Some guys run track fast, but they don't play fast. You saw 4.3 speed on film as a player, and you're always looking to add speed, as long as the football player matches it."

Beane and the Bills enter Friday with two Round 2 picks at 56th and 62nd overall, both later in the round, looking to fill needs at WR, EDGE and DT now they they have found their speed at CB.

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Brian Letscher
BRIAN LETSCHER

A Michigan native, Brian graduated from the University of Michigan in another century, where he earned a degree in economics and a Rose Bowl Championship ring while playing football for the Wolverines under Head Coach Gary Moeller. Brian went on to coach Division 1A football for several years before becoming a full-time writer and actor while maintaining an unhealthy interest in sports. He is currently developing a scripted television series, THOSE WHO STAY, based on a series of historical fiction articles he wrote about Bo Schembechler's Michigan football program as they struggle to unite and win the championship - which requires beating #1 Ohio State - during the tumultuous civil rights and anti-war movements of 1969.

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