Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
By Ben Axelrod on

When it comes to defending his work in the NFL Draft, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has quite the trump card.

After all, he was the executive who took a polarizing prospect in Josh Allen, who ultimately turned into one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks and the reigning league MVP.

On Monday morning, Beane appeared on WGR 550’s The Jeremy & Joe Show to discuss the Bills’ 2025 NFL Draft. But before the interview started, the 48-year-old executive went on the offensive, taking issue with the hosts’ criticisms of the state of the Bills’ wide receiver room.

“I was just listening to the last few minutes of your show before I came on waiting on here,” Beane said. “It sounds like 2018 all over with you guys.”

“How so?” co-host Jeremy White replied.

“Well you guys were bitching in 2018 about Josh Allen, you wanted Josh Rosen and now you guys are bitching that we don’t have a receiver. I don’t get it,” Beane responded. “We just scored 30 points in a row for eight straight games. A year ago, I get you guys asking why we didn’t have receivers, but I don’t understand it now. You just saw us lead the league in points. When you add all the postseason [games], no one scored more points than the Buffalo Bills, including the Super Bowl champions.

“So you just saw us do it without Stefon Diggs, same group. How is this group not better than last year’s group? Our job is to score points and win games. Where do we need to get better, defense? We did that. So I get it, you got to have a show, you got to have something to bitch about. But bitching about wide receiver is one of the dumbest arguments I’ve heard.”

After White pointed out that there were plenty of things that the hosts did like about the Bills draft and questioned the energy in which Beane was approaching them with, Beane continued to defend strategy.

“Let’s be realistic. Our job is not fantasy football, to trot out the best receivers,” he said. “You got Josh Allen. First thing you got to do is protect him. You can’t have everything. You can’t have Pro Bowl wide receivers and have a Pro Bowl offensive line and an All-Pro quarterback and three great running backs.

“Sure, I’d love to play fantasy football, but there’s one football, Jeremy, there’s one ball. You can’t give it to but so many people. So that’s where I’m like, I don’t understand this narrative. I felt it a little bit from a couple of the reporters in the [press conference]. Our job is to score points. It doesn’t matter what receivers, what quarterback, if you score points at the level we scored, that is winning football.”

While receiver did stand out as an obvious need for the Bills entering the draft, their situation at the position might not be as dire as many are making it out to be. Entering the 2025 season, Buffalo’s top three wideouts appear to be 2024 second-round pick Keon Coleman, free agent signee Joshua Palmer, and Khalil Shakir, who the team signed to a four-year, $60.2 million extension earlier this offseason.

Nevertheless, it’s understandable that those who cover the team would question its strategy of waiting until the seventh round to take its first and only wide receiver of the draft. And it’s equally understandable that Beane would return serve with his signature fire, especially considering his track record in Buffalo.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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