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One of the most rewarding feelings for any NFL personnel staff is finding players in the later rounds of the draft who go on to enjoy productive careers, even star careers, and the Buffalo Bills have come up with a bunch in their history.
"I think you're ultimately just trying to get the best football players you can," Bills general manager Brandon Beane said recently about not getting hung up with where a player is picked.
"I know it's talked about every year but we play the players that are good enough to play," coach Sean McDermott said. "Like we have no agenda on `Hey this player because he was drafted in this round, must play over the undrafted player.'"
The Beane/McDermott regime has unearthed several mid- to low-round success stories, but so have previous Bills' regimes.
1961 - C Al Bemiller (7th): The former Syracuse star played nine years in Buffalo and started 125 straight games.
1962 - LB Mike Stratton (13th): His 11-year Buffalo career was rewarded with a place on the Bills' Wall of Fame.
1962 - DE Tom Sestak (17th): Like Stratton, he wound up on the Bills' Wall of Fame and was the team's greatest defensive linemen until Bruce Smith came along.
1964 - K Pete Gogolak (12th): He only played two years in Buffalo, but he revolutionized the game with his soccer-style kicking motion.
1971 - WR Bobby Chandler (7th): His lack of speed knocked him down the draft board, but what a pair of hands he had.
1975 - RB Roland Hooks (10th): For seven years in Buffalo he was the ultimate utility man, a back who could run and catch, start or come off the bench.
1977 - CB Charlie Romes (12th): In 10 years he made 28 interceptions, fourth-best in team history.
1981 - RB Robb Riddick (10th): He ultimately replaced Hooks on the roster, and was the same type of reliable utility player.
1985 - WR Andre Reed (4th): He hailed from tiny Kutztown (Pa.) State and no one knew who he was, but now he's the Bills' all-time leading receiver.
1986 - DE Mark Pike (7th): Steve Tasker got all the glory and trips to the Pro Bowl, but Pike is Buffalo's all-time leading special teams tackler.
1987 - OT Howard Ballard (11th): The House was part of a very good offensive line that helped the Bills dominate the AFC in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
1988 - NT Jeff Wright (8th): Took Fred Smerlas' place in the middle and though he was undersized, he made a lot of plays.
1996 - TE Jay Riemersma (7th): He was a longshot to make the team, but the only Bills tight end who caught more passes was Pete Metzelaars.
2003 - CB/KR Terrence McGee (4th): Became a reliable starter while also becoming the team’s all-time leading kickoff returner with 5,450 yards and five TDs.
2006 - DT Kyle Williams (5th): One of the great mid-draft finds, he went on to play 13 seasons and had 609 tackles and 48.5 sacks.
2008 - WR Stevie Johnson (7th): No one thought anything about him after two years, but then he found his niche and became the first Bill to record three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
2017 - LB Matt Milano (5th): An undersized player who, when he’s not hurt, has been one of the best LBs in the NFL.
2018 - CB Taron Johnson (4th): Has established himself as one of the best nickel corners in the NFL during his first seven years.
2020 - WR Gabe Davis (4th): Inconsistency and injuries hurt him, but he caught 163 passes for 2,730 yards and 27 TDs in four years.
2020 - K Tyler Bass (6th): The end of 2023 didn’t go well, but he bounced back and was solid in 2024 and is well on his way to becoming one of the best kickers in team history.
2022 - WR Khalil Shakir (5th): In the last two seasons he has become Josh Allen's most trusted wide receiver target and he led the team in catches and yards in 2024.
2022 - CB Christian Benford (6th): That year the Bills picked Kaiir Elam in the first round and as it turned out, Benford was the much better player. He has now just signed a lucrative contract extension while Elam was traded to the Cowboys.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social. Sign up for his Bills Blast newsletter here: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills drafts: Best late-round picks through the years
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"I think you're ultimately just trying to get the best football players you can," Bills general manager Brandon Beane said recently about not getting hung up with where a player is picked.
"I know it's talked about every year but we play the players that are good enough to play," coach Sean McDermott said. "Like we have no agenda on `Hey this player because he was drafted in this round, must play over the undrafted player.'"
The Beane/McDermott regime has unearthed several mid- to low-round success stories, but so have previous Bills' regimes.
Best late-round picks of the Buffalo Bills
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1961 - C Al Bemiller (7th): The former Syracuse star played nine years in Buffalo and started 125 straight games.
1962 - LB Mike Stratton (13th): His 11-year Buffalo career was rewarded with a place on the Bills' Wall of Fame.
1962 - DE Tom Sestak (17th): Like Stratton, he wound up on the Bills' Wall of Fame and was the team's greatest defensive linemen until Bruce Smith came along.
1964 - K Pete Gogolak (12th): He only played two years in Buffalo, but he revolutionized the game with his soccer-style kicking motion.
1971 - WR Bobby Chandler (7th): His lack of speed knocked him down the draft board, but what a pair of hands he had.
1975 - RB Roland Hooks (10th): For seven years in Buffalo he was the ultimate utility man, a back who could run and catch, start or come off the bench.
1977 - CB Charlie Romes (12th): In 10 years he made 28 interceptions, fourth-best in team history.
1981 - RB Robb Riddick (10th): He ultimately replaced Hooks on the roster, and was the same type of reliable utility player.
1985 - WR Andre Reed (4th): He hailed from tiny Kutztown (Pa.) State and no one knew who he was, but now he's the Bills' all-time leading receiver.
1986 - DE Mark Pike (7th): Steve Tasker got all the glory and trips to the Pro Bowl, but Pike is Buffalo's all-time leading special teams tackler.
1987 - OT Howard Ballard (11th): The House was part of a very good offensive line that helped the Bills dominate the AFC in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
1988 - NT Jeff Wright (8th): Took Fred Smerlas' place in the middle and though he was undersized, he made a lot of plays.
You must be registered for see images attach
1996 - TE Jay Riemersma (7th): He was a longshot to make the team, but the only Bills tight end who caught more passes was Pete Metzelaars.
2003 - CB/KR Terrence McGee (4th): Became a reliable starter while also becoming the team’s all-time leading kickoff returner with 5,450 yards and five TDs.
2006 - DT Kyle Williams (5th): One of the great mid-draft finds, he went on to play 13 seasons and had 609 tackles and 48.5 sacks.
2008 - WR Stevie Johnson (7th): No one thought anything about him after two years, but then he found his niche and became the first Bill to record three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
2017 - LB Matt Milano (5th): An undersized player who, when he’s not hurt, has been one of the best LBs in the NFL.
2018 - CB Taron Johnson (4th): Has established himself as one of the best nickel corners in the NFL during his first seven years.
2020 - WR Gabe Davis (4th): Inconsistency and injuries hurt him, but he caught 163 passes for 2,730 yards and 27 TDs in four years.
2020 - K Tyler Bass (6th): The end of 2023 didn’t go well, but he bounced back and was solid in 2024 and is well on his way to becoming one of the best kickers in team history.
2022 - WR Khalil Shakir (5th): In the last two seasons he has become Josh Allen's most trusted wide receiver target and he led the team in catches and yards in 2024.
2022 - CB Christian Benford (6th): That year the Bills picked Kaiir Elam in the first round and as it turned out, Benford was the much better player. He has now just signed a lucrative contract extension while Elam was traded to the Cowboys.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social. Sign up for his Bills Blast newsletter here: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills drafts: Best late-round picks through the years
Continue reading...
