Will the evening favor night owls or early risers?
After surviving the first couple waves of NFL free agency, we’re officially one week away from the NFL Draft in Green Bay, WI. The Buffalo Bills head into draft weekend with 10 picks overall.
Buffalo’s first pick of the draft is 30th overall. That is, of course, if they stay put and pick at 30 — unlike last year, when they moved back twice from 28 and out of Round 1 altogether. The draft begins at 8 p.m. EDT on April 24, so Bills Mafia should again prepare to wait around a while before Buffalo’s on the clock.
As shared by Thad Brown, here are the times (EDT) that teams selecting at 30 actually made their pick during the previous three drafts:
- 2022: 11:17 p.m. EDT
- 2023: 11:38 p.m. EDT
- 2024: 11:38 p.m. EDT
So on one hand it means a late night for The Mafia, many of whom will likely be staring at an early work day on Friday. However, the good news is that there’s no rush to get to the television right at 8 p.m. since a major trade up is very unlikely. There’s plenty of time for bedtime stories to put the kids to bed and even a chance to sneak in a movie if you’re not interested in what the other teams do.
Now, there is also a frustrating scenario to consider — the one we watched play out last year for the Bills as alluded to above. After waiting several hours to hear the Bills make their pick, general manager Brandon Beane traded out of the first round, meaning no pick to be heard on opening night of the draft.
As for Day 2 of the draft, Buffalo is set to make two picks in Round 2, and none in Round 3. Their bonus second-round pick comes courtesy of the Houston Texans and the trade that sent wide receiver Stefon Diggs to H-Town. Remember, that pick was originally held by the Minnesota Vikings.
The first of the two picks in Round 2 is at 56 overall, which, on average the last three years, happened around 8:52 p.m. EDT. Even better is that the second pick is 62nd overall, which you can expect to happen 20-25 minutes later.
How will you spend the night waiting for the Bills to finally make a pick?