One of the most surprising developments on Day 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft was that, when the Buffalo Bills came on the clock with the No. 28 overall pick, they elected to trade down -- and not just with any old trade partner. They traded down with the team that has knocked them out of the postseason in three consecutive years: the Kansas City Chiefs.
The two-time defending Super Bowl champions sent picks No. 32, 95, and 221 to Buffalo in exchange for Nos. 21, 133, and 248, and they then selected University of Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who blazed through the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in a record 4.21 seconds.
Famously, the last time the Bills traded out of a pick and the Chiefs moved up to take it, Kansas City landed a quarterback by the name of Patrick Mahomes. So, people were understandably skeptical of why the Bills would allow the Chiefs to move up into their spot again. After Round 1, Bills general manager Brandon Beane was asked why he would help his team's biggest rival land a player at a position of need, and one who fit the team so well.
"I could see them taking a receiver but you don't truly know," Beane said, according to NewYorkUpstate.com. "But where they were moving from, I don't think it mattered to us who they were picking. Now we've got the two 2s, a 3, a 4 and four 5s. I think that gives us a chance to fill some roles or use ammo to move around again, depending on how the board falls."
Buffalo proceeded to move down again from No. 32 to No. 33, and now has the top pick of the second round, along with Nos. 60 and 95 on Day 2. For a team that has a bunch of needs after an offseason roster purge designed to save cap space and get younger, that's a pretty good result. But if Worthy turns into a star for the Chiefs, there will surely be a lot of questions about why, exactly, the Bills were willing to trade with them again.
