The Satchel: Much ado about Brandon Beane’s draft, wide receivers, and more

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Shedeur Sanders wasn’t the first quarterback drafted, wasn’t the first quarterback the Cleveland Browns drafted, wasn’t the first University of Colorado player drafted, wasn’t even the first player with the last name Sanders drafted.

Yet you would think Shedeur Sanders was the first overall selection the way he dominated headlines this week. No player has generated more conversation.

Not because of merit, but because of all the drama.

Two weeks after his father, brash NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders, retired Shedeur’s No. 2 at the school, the talented-but-relatively-unaccomplished kid plummeted all the way to the fifth round before Cleveland called him. Shedeur now is the most infamous fourth-string rookie in the world as anecdotes continue to emerge about his pre-draft hauteur.

Friction sells, as we’ve experienced around Buffalo this week.

Submissions for The Satchel were open four days before I dipped inside, and guess what a colossal majority of the questions and comments were about. There were three whole mentions of first-round pick Max Hairston (one really was a question about Tre’Davious White), one mention of second-round pick T.J. Sanders and zero mentions of third-round pick Landon Jackson.

Prevalent was Bills general manager Brandon Beane’s interview Monday morning on WGR 550-AM, the team’s flagship station. Co-hosts Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase had been engineers on their “Wide Receiver Train,” a two-year bit that has approached a brand.

Well, the Bills drafted one receiver, Kaden Prather in the seventh round, and by the time Beane’s scheduled interview began, he’d heard enough, as Beane put it, “b——” about how he has handled the position.

Was Beane whining? Was he a justifiable hardo? Was it rewarding that he put a couple radio guys in their place? Was it anything at all?

Either way, Beane’s snippiness immediately became the primary Bills conversation, and it really has nothing to do with football. But I answer whatever questions you ask, so here are my answers.

The late Chuck Dickerson would be cackling hysterically.

My question about Beane’s comments is, do you think he was truly upset, or do you think it was very intentional and designed to send a message either inside the building or maybe outside? I believe it was intentional, though I am unsure who the intended audience was. — Hank G.

To me, it comes down to a human moment. Beane wanted to vent.

After months and months and months evaluating dozens of players at every position, conferencing with his scouting staff, constructing an overall strategy, meticulously assembling a draft board and then navigating three stressful days deciding who the next Bills will be, Beane agreed to a radio interview with two broadcasters who, in his mind, have distilled his job into a running bit that criticizes how he has handled wide receivers.

Here’s the thing about any draft: We have little clue how most of these players will work out. There are variables that not even Beane and his experienced staff can flawlessly predict. We media folks are privy to only a wee fraction of the intel gathered by NFL scouts and security.

How silly it must be to Beane that anyone would plant flags about the unknown, let alone try to turn it into a movement?

So Beane chose to emphasize — and, yes, he did belittle the show in the process — that bits like the “Wide Receiver Train” are unserious and done merely for content, that he doesn’t think the co-hosts are rooted in reality by repeatedly telling them “This isn’t fantasy football,” and that it’s dumb to kvetch over draft picks anyway because, for example, White once stanned for the Bills to draft Josh Rosen over Josh Allen.

Beane merely paraphrased Jim Mora’s legendary comment to New Orleans Saints reporters in 1989: “You don’t know what we’re trying to do. You don’t look at the films. You don’t know what happened. You really don’t know. You think you know, but you don’t know, and you never will, OK?”

I also think Beane would appreciate that critics show some faith when it comes to how he assembles a roster. For years, he has sorted through all the big receiver names — Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr., DeAndre Hopkins — that make fans reflexively say “Ooh, I want him!” and then feel tinges of resentment when Beane didn’t make the deal, only to eventually realize they probably didn’t want them after all.

Within the past year, Beane navigated the departure of Stefon Diggs beautifully. The Bills got as much out of Diggs as they could, realized the right time to move on and, despite roiling angst over not adding a superstar replacement last offseason, finished second to the Detroit Lions in scoring and sixth in yards per play, won a fifth straight AFC East title and reached the AFC Championship Game. For much of the season, especially as the weather turned frigid, it legitimately felt like this team finally could be the one.

And part of any draft strategy is weighing who’s still available in free agency. When the controversial interview occurred Monday morning, Beane already knew there was a good chance the Bills would sign Elijah Moore, who visited that day and agreed to terms Wednesday.

Throughout the draft, Beane and his staff weighed whether it was better to take a wideout from a weak class or select a higher-rated player at another position and sign Moore. A receiver taken on Saturday almost certainly wouldn’t contribute as much in 2025 as Moore and probably would be destined for the practice squad.

Should we be concerned about Brandon Beane’s comments about the WR discourse amongst fans? It comes off slightly condescending, and this is the first time I’ve heard something from him that sounds like it could be coming from the debacle that has been the Sabres front office. — Ben M.

In short, I wouldn’t be concerned, but Beane’s approach to the interview was a rare unforced error by someone who otherwise has been masterful at messaging.

Beane is the most accessible executive I’ve covered in my 32 years as a sports reporter. In 2021, he won the Pro Football Writers of America’s Horrigan Award, given to the league or club official who most helps us do our jobs. He’s one of the all-time nicest dudes in the NFL Industrial Complex. He’s polished and smart and an effective communicator.

But the GM didn’t do himself any favors Monday. He could have flipped his brain to autopilot and endured his 18 minutes through small talk and platitudes about the rookie class. As the co-hosts introduced Beane onto the program, you could tell they planned to yuk around for a little bit. Maybe that’s when Beane, fed up with being nagged about wide receivers, determined it was time to drop the hammer of knowledge.

In choosing verbal semi-violence, Beane put unneeded, long-term pressure on himself and the receiver corps. No longer merely one of many topics, receivers have become the hottest issue entering the 2025 campaign.

Most impacted by this development is sophomore Keon Coleman, already under the microscope. Beane and coach Sean McDermott have suggested Coleman must become a more dedicated professional. Oft-injured Curtis Samuel probably would’ve preferred tiptoeing into summer practices. The Joshua Palmer signing is more crucial now. Moore slips onto the team not as a depth receiver, but a key offseason acquisition.

We discussed Beane’s radio segment in my sports journalism course at Canisius University, and the students came away with fascinating points about Beane, the co-hosts and Bills’ public relations.

The class lauded White and DiBiase for keeping their cool long enough to produce 18 minutes of radio, but we also discussed the fine journalistic line between being a reporter and an opinion leader. The interview surely would not have been as turbulent if conducted by WGR reporter Sal Capaccio instead of morning show hosts who bang a drum. Given their remarks about Beane’s work, White and DiBiase should’ve been prepared for some pushback but sounded stunned. Their reaction might lend itself to Beane’s lulling reputation as a nice guy; the co-hosts didn’t expect Beane to go on the offensive.

Some students felt the interview was a blunder the Bills might be displeased with as an organization, but others liked the feistiness and wondered if beleaguered Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams would benefit from a similar approach with local media. My counterpoint was that Adams already has tried, but got skewered as whiny and defensive. He’ll wear the “palm trees” comment for the rest of his career.

Such is the difference in how winners and losers are perceived.

Do you think Beane got a talking-to from Pegula that might have gotten him mad enough to go off on Jeremy White? – Ken C.

No.

Didn’t Beane make the case for a clear No. 1 receiver when his rant went on about “there’s only one football”? – Mark K.

No.

Would Beane consider giving up 2026 draft capital for an impact deep threat? Should he go all in for this prime Josh year? – Chris C.

No.

Why do you think Beane hates good wide receivers so much nowadays? Does the nasty Diggs breakup mean Josh won’t ever have better than replacement-level targets to throw to? – Joseph M.

Where do you guys come up with this stuff?

It seems like everyone’s opinion of this draft boils down to whether you believe in Keon Coleman. So do you believe in Keon Coleman? – John G.

I wouldn’t bank on many receivers taken 33rd overall, but I’m not ready to write off Coleman either.

With the help of TruMedia, I ran the numbers of all receivers taken from 28th to 35th overall since the NFL’s 2002 realignment. The reason I chose 28th is because that was the Bills’ draft slot last year until trading with the Kansas City Chiefs, who selected Xavier Worthy. I chose 35th because it provides a little wiggle room without getting too far away from Coleman’s slot — so as to lean toward optimism (you’ll see why). I also stopped at 2022 so everybody has at least three years to grow, and inexperienced players such as Coleman, Worthy and Ladd McConkey don’t tamp down the numbers for not having played enough.

Average NFL game: five targets, three catches for 44 yards and 0.3 TDs.

Average NFL season: 13 games, 35 catches for 471 yards and three TDs.

Average NFL career: 77 games, 203 catches for 2,691 yards and 15 TDs.

The top five careers among the 21 receivers in this draft group belong to Jabar Gaffney, Kenny Britt, Hakeem Nicks, Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman. Old friend Kelvin Benjamin ranks 10th in receptions and eighth in receiving yards, making his career above average.

Biggest positive of the draft? Biggest negative of the draft? – Jacob N.

The best aspect of Buffalo’s draft class was stocking the defensive shelves. Not only did the Bills draft a potential starting cornerback in the first round, but defensive tackles in the second and fourth rounds.

The best value pick was Jackson, the Arkansas edge rusher.

Jackson plays stiffly, but he’s 6-foot-6 and 264 pounds. He possesses a motor that makes scouts giddy and a pterodactyl wingspan. Our draft guru Dane Brugler and NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein gave Jackson a second-round grade. Fox Sports and CBS Sports each ranked Jackson the 52nd-best prospect, while ESPN had him 65th. Yet he was available when the Bills picked eight slots into the third round.

The biggest knocks on Buffalo’s draft class are receiver and linebacker, and while there has been greater scrutiny about Beane ignoring offense until Saturday, the inability to add linebacker depth is more significant. Serviceable linebackers can be found in the middle rounds. In 2018 and 2019 alone, 10 inside linebackers drafted in rounds four through six became starters, with several serving as reliable backups and special-teams contributors.

The Bills did not touch linebacker through the draft. Is that an endorsement of Dorian Williams? And does that mean we’re stuck with more Baylon Spector? – Joseph W.

Your question is why I would have expected some linebacker help, Joseph. While it’s true the Bills have one of the most dynamic linebacker duos with Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano, they’re also perhaps the most injury-prone. McDermott likes smaller, faster linebackers, and their fearless style makes Bernard and Milano vulnerable.

The Bills need Williams, and they’re OK with that because they like him.

Bernard missed four games last year with pectoral and quadriceps injuries, while a twisted ankle knocked him out of the 2023 playoffs. Milano’s extensive medical history sometimes feels too cruel to detail; his only full season came as a rookie in 2017.

Then there’s Spector, the 2022 seventh-round pick entering the final year of his rookie contract. Spector played only 11 games last year because of a calf injury. Hamstring and back problems hobbled him a season earlier.

In that regard, Williams has been a downright revelation. He has played all 39 games and started 14 since joining the Bills as a 2023 third-rounder.

Williams was the Bills’ best run defender last year. He tied Bernard for the team lead with 69 rushing tackles and led Buffalo with a rushing tackle on 23.3 percent of his snaps. Williams and Bernard also led all Bills non-defensive linemen with six tackles for losses, with all of Williams’ happening against the run.

But Williams has work to do. He missed a team-high 11 tackles and struggled in pass coverage. Opposing quarterbacks completed 43 of 59 attempts for 390 yards and three touchdowns against him for a 107.3 passer rating, although the average depth of target was only 4.6 yards downfield, shortest of any Bills defender targeted more than 10 times. He added four hurries and two QB knockdowns.

Removing the Allen selection from his draft record (which, granted, is a HUGE part of his overall record as GM), how would you grade Beane as an NFL GM eight-plus years in? Looking at his ability to draft and sign free agents with the need to pivot and adjust to industry over time, I’m going B-minus. – Kuji S.

I’m glad you concede that removing Allen from the equation changes the complexion of Beane’s grade. It’s like declaring Barry Sanders averaged 3.2 yards a carry when you remove all his breakaways. Beane deserves credit not only for choosing Allen, but also for the two trades the GM needed to make to pick seventh in 2018. Then the Bills had to decide on the right guy. But I understand the assignment, Kuji, tricky as it may be.

Every move from 2019 onward is rooted in a realization the most important position in sports was in place. Quarterback is the most vital piece of the roster’s foundation. Every move flows from there. So, really, it’s all interconnected.

My grade is an A-minus, the lone demerit from failing to reach a Super Bowl. Beane has built from the ashes and maintained a perennial contender, transitioning from a 17-year playoff drought to six straight postseason trips and five division titles in a row. The culture shift Beane and McDermott have orchestrated is extraordinary.

No doubt, the playoff losses have been crushing and there’s an undercurrent of fans who think Beane and McDermott have gotten enough time to hoist a Lombardi Trophy, that it’s time for someone else to give it a whirl (whomever those unmistakable replacements are, the cynics never say), but there are maybe four franchises in the NFL that wouldn’t trade places — and Buffalo wouldn’t be an automatic trade partner for any of those four.

Why aren’t kickers cross trained to perform both punting and kicking duties? It saves a roster spot. Surprising there hasn’t been a single kicker that handles both duties that I can recall. — Ajagg

Your question sent me to Pro Football Reference to find the NFL’s last true kicker-punter, not counting emergency service or the occasional punter who handled extra-long field goals. We’re talking full-time double duty.

The last with double-digit field goal and punt attempts in the same season was Frank Corral for the Los Angeles Rams almost half a century ago. He was good at both. He led the NFL in scoring and was voted second-team All-Pro as a rookie in 1978, went to the Super Bowl in his second season and added punting in his third and fourth seasons. Corral finished fourth in net punting in 1981, somehow recording only three touchbacks on 86 attempts. He concluded his career with three years in the USFL.

So why would we go from an effective two-way kicker to none?

Having the same player do both not only risks efficiency at each craft, but also tempts mayhem. An untimely injury would wipe out two positions. Happening in practice would be only marginally easier to deal with than in a game. Your team would have to scramble to sign replacements or to keep extras on the practice squad.

Another problem would be leg fatigue. Teams frequently bring extra kickers and punters to training camp simply to lessen the workload and keep each guy fresh. A combo kicker-punter would rep himself onto injured reserve.

Also, back in Corral’s day, teams began to maximize practice time by having their specialists work together. Back then, holders also were position players; Corral’s was All-Pro safety Nolan Cromwell. Some punters, meanwhile, still played other positions. Dallas Cowboys punter Danny White was their primary backup quarterback and eventually took over for Roger Staubach. Cincinnati Bengals punter Pat McInally played wide receiver. Miami Dolphins punter Larry Seiple and Chicago Bears punter Bob Parsons were tight ends. Long snapping was a regular player’s extra obligation.

But coaches hated pulling position players out of practice to work on special teams and gravitated toward the three-man unit that can work out in earnest all alone. Kickers, punters and long snappers honed their skills to incredible degrees. Accuracy improved. Inches became more precious.

Now, we’re probably never going back. The refinements are precious.

Bill Belichick, the erstwhile special-teams assistant, once delivered a sensational, 10-minute reply to a question about how long snappers became obligatory virtuosos. As part of the monologue, Belichick added his thoughts on why NFL kicking and punting don’t mix.

“At one level, it’s relatively easy to put your foot on the ball,” Belichick said. “But at this level, the difference in kicking mechanics and punting mechanics are so different that it’s really hard to be good at both.

“If a guy’s got a good leg and he’s a good athlete, can make good contact with the ball, there’s a point where, in high school or college, maybe it’s good enough. Maybe he’s the best guy on the team to do that. But I’d say at this level, that would be asking a lot. … To be at the kind of (proficiency) you want it to be at, to have the person split their time between the two of those, I think, is a lot to ask.

“I’m not saying it’s impossible or unheard of, but that’s why you don’t see it very much.”

What is the significance of changing strength and conditioning coaches? What are the positives/negatives? What is McDermott’s intent/goal with the new strength and conditioning coaches? — Matthew P.

The Bills were disappointed with their young players’ development last season. McDermott and Beane minced no words about tight end Dalton Kincaid’s lack of full-season readiness and how Coleman dealt with an in-season wrist injury. Rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter also went from starting consecutive games to being a healthy scratch in the playoffs despite recovering from an October wrist injury.

The switch from head strength and conditioning coach Eric Ciano after 15 years to assistant Will Greenberg is about implementing new concepts. Ciano’s not an old man, but he did join the Bills in 2010 along with head coach Chan Gailey after working together at Georgia Tech. Since then, every other strength staffer and athletic trainer — some having been there since the 1990s — had been churned under. Things get stale.

“Will’s been with us eight years, and he’s shown that he has great potential and is growth-minded,” McDermott said a month ago at the NFL owners meetings. “He thinks outside the box and is well-studied on the league and how we can maximize and get the most out of our players.”

McDermott also hired former Chiefs strength coach Barry Rubin, who previously was with the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, to assist Greenberg’s program.

“Being in his first year, there’s going to be some natural blind spots as there was for all of us in our first seasons,” McDermott said. “He’s got a senior staff around him, which should help as well. When you’re young — and Will’s going to do great — you think you can change the world all in one idea or with all the ideas you’ve stored up all these years for this opportunity. Will does have a number of ideas.

“The key is that you get somebody next to you that can say, ‘Hey, let’s keep it inside the guardrails once in a while.’ They can all work together on sharing ideas and best practices.”

Which adjective would you use to describe the Bills entering training camp? – Alex C.

Restless.

(Top photo of Brandon Beane: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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