How Brandon Beane’s drafts have compared to other top GMs

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 27: General manager Brandon Beane of the Buffalo Bills speaks to the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on February 27, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images I recently laid out how Brandon Beane has drafted as the Buffalo Bills general manager relative to NFL-wide historical expectations for every single draft pick. The natural follow is to then compare Beane’s results to other perceived top GMs in the NFL, over the same time period.

I used 2018 – 2023 in the initial study. You can check that initial article for the complete methodology, but if you don’t feel like jumping back, here’s the TL;DR: I found the expected Weighted Approximate Value (wAV), which is a Pro Football Reference measure of how good a player has been in the NFL, for every draft pick number across 15 seasons and then compared that to the actual wAV for every player to get a “residual” for every pick Beane made in the 2018 – 2023 time frame. Believe me, I understand how it might feel like I’m belaboring the point by now, but many comments in the initial article asked about how the Bills’ results compared to the likes of the Chiefs, Eagles, and others.

Here’s how the Bills drafts have stacked up with the Chiefs, Ravens, Seahawks, Eagles, and Rams from 2018 – 2023, determined by residual per pick. vs. Kansas City Chiefs Now there is one major caveat here with Kansas City — Patrick Mahomes was drafted in 2017, but I only looked at 2018 – 2023 in the initial study.

However, for fairness, the Chiefs’ Round 1 Residual / Pick above did factor the 2017 Mahomes class. And the Residual / Pick for Kansas City in 2017 — which is not shown above — is 17. 44, so the Bills are still winners if comparing to Buffalo’s Josh Allen class of 2018.