NFL Draft rumors: Could the Bills trade up for a quarterback?

The Buffalo Bills have a question to answer at quarterback, so could they turn to the early part of April’s draft?

The Buffalo Bills ended a lengthy playoff drought last season, but they also remain firmly uncommitted to Tyrod Taylor as their starting quarterback. Trading or cutting him is inevitable, and 2017 fifth-round pick Nathan Peterman proved to be in over his head during his one start as a rookie.

The Bills will be in the market for a quarterback this offseason, and free agency seems the most likely path, with plenty of options out there.

But draft speculation season is upon us. Benjamin Allbright of 104.7 FM in Denver has come out with a theory that the Bills are pursuing potential trade partners in the top 10 overall spots, presumably with one of the top quarterback prospects as the target.

The Bills have two first-round picks in April: their own at No. 21 overall and No. 22 overall via a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs last year. So they have the proverbial ammo to make a significant move up on Day 1 if they want to.

Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen are all quarterbacks who could go in the first 10 picks of the draft. The Bills could sign a bridge signal caller in free agency, such as Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, Josh McCown or A.J. McCarron, then use their draft pick capital to move up and get a legitimate quarterback of the future.

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Which of those top signal caller prospects they would like the best is unclear, and subject to further speculation over the next two months.

But the Bills haven’t had a long-term answer at quarterback since Jim Kelly retired, and it’s clear the current regime doesn’t see Taylor as the guy. So using an early draft pick this year on a quarterback has to be on the radar, even if it’s at the early, highly speculative rumor stage right now.