Every Player Drafted To The Bills By Brandon Beane

The long-awaited draft is now over.  The Bills picked up 10 new players that will be headed to camp this summer.

The NFL Draft feels like it's filled with controversy every year.  Everyone seems to always know better how it should play out than the guy that they're paying to actually make the picks.

This year wasn't any different.

Why was this year a controversial draft?

Most of the time drafts are controversial because when a team's number is called, if they don't choose the player that everyone thinks they should choose then they think they're idiots.  Even though the team has been doing interviews and scouting these players for months, someone else always knows better.

This year, the Bills draft was controversial because when the Bills' number was called they didn't choose anyone.  They chose to trade their pick to none other than the Bills' biggest rival over the last couple of years, the Kansas City Chiefs.  Then, they did it again.  They didn't pick in the first round at all.

How has Beane done over the last couple of years?

Drafts really can't be analyzed until the players actually hit the field.  Some players that seemed like a steal can turn out to be huge busts.  Players that no one has heard of turn out to be stars.  But you won't know until the season actually gets underway.

When looking at Beane's track record, how many players are still with the Bills?  How many are even still in the league?  Did they turn out to be the stars that we thought they would?  Or are they busts?

When looking strictly at draft prospects (not counting trades or free agents) Beane has drafted 55 players during his time here.  If you count the 10 that he just drafted, 30 of them are now with the team.  That number will probably change in August after training camp is over.  That means that around 55% of the players he's drafted are still on the team.  18 of the players that he drafted have gone on to play for other teams.  Either they were cut by the Bills and went to another team, they were traded, or left during free agency.  That makes up about 33%.  Seven of the players that were drafted to the Bills during Beane's tenure are either currently free agents (just haven't signed with another team) or are no longer in football at all.

I would say that Beane has done a pretty dang good job at picking the players that he wants on this team.  Not only has he changed the culture, but he's been able to make the Bills competitive again.  Will he still be able to be this successful after this year's draft class?  We will see when the players hit the field this summer.