Why Bills GM Brandon Beane is wrong about ‘sucking bad enough’ jibe
Following their postseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane addressed the media. A reporter asked him about adopting the Bengals roster construction strategy that allowed them to build one of the best and deepest wide receiver rooms in the NFL.
The Bengals have Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Both Chase and Higgins would be top wide receivers on most NFL offenses and Boyd as a third option seems somewhat unfair.
Beane responded with a bit of vitriol, saying:
"They have a good team. They right now are on the advantage of a rookie quarterback contract. They had some lean years, without having to get too much into their build.
"I don't want to suck bad enough to have to get Ja'Marr Chase. He's a heck of a talent. I would love to have him. But you gotta go through some lean years to do that."
Beane is referring to the fact that the Bengals were previously one of the NFL's worst teams. They selected Joe Burrow first-overall and added Chase with the fifth pick a year later.
The Bills haven't picked that low since they took Josh Allen in 2018, so his comment about not getting Chase isn't inaccurate.
However, getting a Chase-type player doesn't necessarily require an awful season.
Bills can find elite wideouts like Ja'Marr Chase in a lot of places
While they may not be quite on the same level as Ja'Marr Chase, GM Brandon Beane doesn't have to pick in the top 10 to land a player like him.
Justin Jefferson was taken 22nd overall. CeeDee Lamb was taken 17th. Brandon Aiyuk was taken 25th and Tee Higgins 33rd. That was all in the same draft.
Terry McLaurin fell to the third round. Deebo Samuel was a second-rounder, as was A.J. Brown. There are elite wide receivers to be had that aren't top 10 picks.
Additionally, the presence of Stefon Diggs (a Chase-caliber player) on the Bills proves that teams don't have to be bad to get elite wide receivers. They landed Diggs through a trade, and that pick went to Justin Jefferson.
Beane isn't wrong that being bad can help teams land good players, but he is wrong to say that getting elite receivers requires bad years.
Perhaps he needs to look at strengthening a wide receiver corps that proved to be a little bit lean after Diggs.