Bills Get Busy: Breaking Down the Recent Trades from the Buffalo Bills

Many followers of the Buffalo Bills believed that the team signing veteran Wide Receiver Anquan Boldin would be the biggest splash the team would make this pre-season. Friday afternoon the Bills would create an even larger stir, as they were the talk of the league on not just one, but two accounts. The Bills moved young and talented cornerback Ronald Darby to the Philadelphia, and the prized possession of the Doug Whaley run Buffalo Bills, Sammy Watkins, to the Los Angeles Rams. By moving two of their most talented young players, the message is clear: Head Coach Sean McDermott and General manager Brandon Beane are stripping down the current Bills roster and building their own team. The question that needs to be asked though is how well have they done so far?

Buffalo Bills acquire CB E.J Gaines and a 2nd Round Pick from the Los Angeles Rams for WR Sammy Watkins

The Los Angeles Rams last off-season made a large investment when they sent a first and two second round picks in 2016 accompanied by a first and a third in 2017 to the Tennessee Titans for the first overall pick in the draft (Jared Goff). The Rams are backing up their investment by going out and grabbing Sammy Watkins, who now becomes the most talented WR on their roster. The Buffalo Bills acquire CB E.J Gaines who had a breakout rookie season in 2014 before missing all of 2015 with a Lisfranc injury, and being just mediocre in 2016 while also suffering another injury, but to his thigh this time around.

Buffalo Bills Acquire WR Jordan Matthews and a 3rd Round Pick from the Philadelphia Eagles for CB Ronald Darby

The Buffalo Bills in this move found a great suitor, as the Philadelphia Eagles prior to this trade had an extremely porous secondary. The Eagles secondary still has questions surrounding it as they enter the 2017 season, but at least the acquisition of Ronald Darby marginally strengthens their cornerback position. The Buffalo Bills were able to scoop up possession receiver Jordan Matthews. While Matthews is by no means flashy, he is a solid option at receiver as he has exceeded 70 receptions and 800 yards in both 2015 and 2016. Matthews became expendable for the Eagles when they signed both Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith. The impressive performance in training camp by former first round pick WR Nelson Agholor also helped make the decision for the Eagles to trade Matthews easier.

The Skinny:

While any hope the fan base had of the team going for it in 2017 has been thrown out the window, the bigger picture looks like one that was painted by Pablo Picasso. Sure to the untrained eye trading two of their best young players makes it look a little distorted and leaves you scratching your head, but when you really look at it, you see that their is an underlying motive. Head Coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane are stripping down a Bills team that for long has been mediocre, and have now made it possible through the draft to bring in a group of players they feel will make the team successful. The team now possesses 2 1st round picks, 2 2nd round picks, and 2 3rd round picks for the 2018 NFL Draft which gives them a lot of flexibility for the upcoming offseason. The Bills now have the resources to have a very eventful and effective offseason which could result in them either using all of their draft picks, or trading up to fix the elusive Quarterback position which has been eluding them since Jim Kelly manned the position. With one of the most talented Quarterback's to enter the draft in the past five years, Sam Darnold entering the draft, the Buffalo Bills may have their sites set on finally addressing the 17 consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance elephant in the room, and that is something to get excited about.