Getty Former LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.
The Buffalo Bills have gained a reputation for moving up the first-round draft board in recent years to meet pressing needs, and this week’s Stefon Diggs trade could lead to an even bigger jump later this month.
The Bills shipped Diggs to the Houston Texans in a blockbuster move on April 3, voiding their offense of the No. 1 receiver and leading to what one insider believes will be a big draft-day trade. The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia predicted in a new mock draft that the Bills would move all the way up to No. 7 to snag one of this year’s top receiving prospects — LSU pass-catcher Malik Nabers.
“I continue to believe that anything, including a move like this one on draft day, is a real possibility for the Bills,” Buscaglia wrote “[Bills general manager Brandon] Beane has long been an aggressive draft-day trader when he’s excited about a prospect and how he’d fit their system. Now, with a gaping hole for a top target at wide receiver and where the Bills are in their build, this is the type of move Beane could rationalize as one that puts them over the top for the foreseeable future.”
Bills Start to Replace Stefon Diggs
The Bills lost their most productive receiver when they shipped Diggs to the Texans this week. Despite a late-season dropoff, Diggs still managed 107 catches for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Combined with the departure of No. 2 receiver Gabe Davis in free agency, the Bills have a lot of production to make up for in 2024.
Buscaglia predicted that it will start with a major move up the draft board to snag Nabers. He predicted the Bills would swing a trade with the Tennessee Titans for the No. 7 and No. 182 overall picks. In exchange, the Bills would swap their first-round pick this year, No. 28 overall, along with their second- and fourth-round picks this year and a first-round pick in 2025.
Malik Nabers will be a ____ next season?
Buscaglia compared it to the move the Atlanta Falcons made in 2011, sending a haul of draft picks to the Cleveland Browns so they could snag wide receiver Julio Jones.
“The Bills have one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Josh Allen, a still-talented roster around him, and a pretty good idea that they’ll be pushing for the playoffs at the very least in 2024,” Buscaglia wrote. “By arming him with a young receiver with elite potential on a rookie deal for the next four years, it gives the Bills a lot of flexibility for how they spend through the duration of the receiver’s rookie deal.”
Malik Nabers Earns Big Comparison
Nabers is getting plenty of interest in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. As Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports noted, he has made pre-draft visits with several teams including three that would pick ahead of the No. 7 spot.
Sullivan noted that Nabers has measurables similar to another former LSU star.
“Nabers’ measurables compare similarly to fellow LSU phenom and current Bengals superstar Ja’Marr Chase,” Sullivan wrote. “They are both 6 feet tall and weigh roughly 200 pounds. Nabers ran a 4.35 40-yard dash, while Chase logged a 4.38. They also had similar board jumps and verticals. For the Tigers last season, the All-American caught 89 balls for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns in 13 games.”