Why did Bills trade back, allowing Chiefs to get speedy WR Xavier Worthy?

The Buffalo Bills dished up a layup to the Kansas City Chiefs during the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night.

Patrick Mahomes needed another wide receiver after a season of lackluster weapons. Plus, last year’s top option, Rashee Rice, is likely to serve a multiple-game suspension after his alleged involvement in a six-car crash in Dallas. It was no mystery what the Chiefs wanted when they traded up from 32nd overall into the Bills slot at No. 28.

So why in the world did Buffalo move back?

The Bills also needed a receiver. And Texas wideout Xavier Worthy, the Chiefs’ selection, seemed like the kind of speedster who would make good use of Josh Allen’s howitzer. After all, Worthy set a combine record when he ran a 4.21 in the 40-yard dash.

That’s the first reason for a head-scratch.

But then there’s the much bigger reason: The Chiefs keep eliminating the Bills from the playoffs. And Buffalo helped Kansas City get another wideout, who could very well put up big numbers against the Bills defense in the coming seasons.

So the Bills must have gotten a major haul in return, right?

Eh. Not so much. 

Buffalo moved back a few spots in the first round in order to move up 38 spots from the fourth round into the third. They also swapped seventh-round picks. It was fair value.

“I could see them taking a receiver, but you don’t truly know,” Bills GM Brandon Beane said after Round 1. “But where they were moving from, I don’t think it mattered to us who they were picking. … We were picking at 28 and we weren’t near 28 first-round grades, so you know going in, there’s not necessarily a great chance that you’re going to pick there.”

Not only did Buffalo trade back to 32nd overall, but from there, the Bills traded out of the first round. The Carolina Panthers moved up one spot from No. 33 to nab South Carolina receiver Xavier Legette. That’s a financially significant drop for the Bills, who now lose the chance to have a fifth-year option on their pick’s rookie deal, which is a contract stipulation reserved only for first-round picks.

“I just looked at it as value, what we could get for moving back one,” Beane said. “And we’ll get a lot of calls for this pick at 33. Our phone’s already ringing. We’ll see what happens with that.”

He added: “Now we’ve got the two twos, a three, a four and four fives,” he said. “I think that gives us a chance to fill some roles or use ammo to move around again, depending on how the board falls.”

Beane said he had more players with a second-round grade than he had with a first. He didn’t add any more picks than what the Bills started with: Before the draft, they had 10; going into Day 2, they have 10. But Beane now has a third-round pick (which he lacked going into the draft). And he has an additional fifth-rounder.

He said the team did not explore moving up in the first round. If we take his word, then we can see Beane’s plan all along: Leverage his first-round pick to improve the value of his mid-round picks. It didn’t matter to the GM that he was trading with the team the Bills can’t seem to beat. It mattered that Beane put together what was best for Buffalo.

Former Patriots coach and GM Bill Belichick served as a draft analyst on “The Pat McAfee Show,” and he weighed in on the controversial trade. 

“I think you’ve gotta start with your team, and instead of worrying about how you’re going to mess everyone else up, [you ask], ‘What do we need to do the most?’ Belichick said. “If you worry too much about trying to mess everybody else up, then what are you doing with your team? I don’t know what Buffalo’s board is. I don’t know exactly what their overall strategy is, but I’m sure they have a good one. They’ve proven that. They’re doing what’s best for Buffalo. They can’t worry about what Kansas City is going to do.”

[RELATED: 2024 NFL Draft: Best players available in second round]

To Beane’s credit, I thought they would take either Texas receiver Adonai Mitchell or Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean at 28th overall. Both players will be on the board for Buffalo at 33rd, if the Bills decide to stay there. This isn’t to say they’ll take either player. Buffalo, after all, is fielding trade calls. And the top of their board could feature a different name. But it does seem they could get a good prospect at 33rd.

The question will be, down the line, whether they have any issues signing their top prospect to a second contract — if the opportunity ever arises. (They should be so lucky.) And without a doubt, every catch, every yard and every touchdown Worthy scores — particularly against the Bills — will probably sting even more considering Buffalo had a hand in sending him to Kansas City.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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