Buffalo Bills must finally find their quarterback in NFL Draft

The Buffalo Bills haven’t had a franchise quarterback since Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season. This spring, they have to right that error.

It’s been a long time for the Bills. A very long time. Back in 1983, they selected a strong-armed quarterback out of the University of Miami (FL) in Jim Kelly, hoping to finally find the man who could take them to the promised land. After a brief stint in the USFL, Kelly came to Buffalo and brought the Bills four Super Bowl appearances, unfortunately ending without a ring.

Since then, it’s been a long, cold road for Buffalo. Rob Johnson. Drew Bledsoe. J.P. Losman. Trent Edwards. Ryan Fitzpatrick. EJ Manuel.

You get the point. Buffalo has been searching for that missing piece to help it compete among the elites, and this year, it finally has a realistic shot to make that happen.

The Bills have a ton of capital at their disposal come April 26. General manager Brandon Beane has multiple picks in the first, second and third rounds of the NFL Draft, including the 11th and 22nd-overall selections. Beane must be aggressive in packaging some of that ammunition to get into the top five for that golden arm.

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With Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield all believed to be top-10 worthy, Buffalo could potentially stand pat and get one of them. Then again, the Bills could very well get shutout at No. 11, so getting to second or fourth is both feasible and important. The New York Giants have hung an. “OPEN” sign on the second-overall choice, while Cleveland could very well move back from the fourth spot. It won’t be cheap for Buffalo, but that’s immaterial.

The Bills have to find their answer at center, and if they give up a hoard of picks to do it, nobody will care provided they land the right guy.