The Buffalo Bills could make any of these moves to continue improving their Super Bowl odds
The Buffalo Bills are 5-2 after Week 7 of the NFL season. Not all of those wins were pretty, and those two losses were certainly ugly ones, but the acquisition of Wide Receiver Amari Cooper should help in that regard.
Cooper gives this offense an elite separator and clear WR1 again which takes some pressure off of Quarterback Josh Allen, and moves everyone else down one spot in the pecking order.
But are the Bills done? It’s hard to say. Should they be done? No. For all of Buffalo’s positive attributes, they still feel like a step below the best teams in the league. With a QB like Allen, a team can always go on a run. But what other trades can Buffalo make to keep building a Super Bowl winner?
Bills Trade No. 1: Maxx Crosby takes the defense to a new level
The Bills spent the offseason letting veterans walk from the defensive side of the ball. What has been left is a solid group of young, developing players. And it’s working. Buffalo’s defense is eighth in points, tenth in DVOA, and 13th in EPA/play. It’s a good group. And even an average defense paired with an elite offense can win a Super Bowl. But…
Las Vegas Raiders Defensive End Maxx Crosby could take this unit to a whole new level. Crosby year after year is one of the league’s best overall defenders. He does it by rushing the passer, yes, but he’s also an elite run defender who never comes off the field. In the last two years, Crosby has led the league in Tackles For Loss (TFL), had at least 12.5 sacks, and played 93 percent or more of the snaps. So far this year Crosby is fifth in the league in sacks (6.5) and first in TFLs (10).
Crosby could take this defense from good to great, further increasing their margin for error in any given game.
Bills Trade No. 2: Azeez Ojulari isn’t a bad consolation prize
New York Giants Defensive End Azeez Ojulari is being talked about as a trade target around the league. He has four sacks already this year and had eight as a rookie in 2021. And as a former 50th overall pick there’s some real pedigree to go with that production and youth (still just 24).
Ojulari is a free agent after this year, but at just 24 he wouldn’t be a bad choice to invest in at such a premium position. This would give the Bills a chance to build a rapport with Ojulari before anyone else that might go after him in free agency, thus increasing their odds of having him on their team in 2025 (which is the first year they can save money by moving on from Von Miller).
Ojulari would likely cost just a Day 3 pick, and Buffalo just acquired an extra one of those in the Cooper trade. Should the team miss out on a bigger edge rusher like Crosby, or decide they don’t need a big investment, this would be an excellent second option if they wanted to go a bit smaller.
Bills Trade No. 3: Andrus Peat would add depth to the offensive line
The Bills made a big change to their offensive line this season by letting go of Center Mitch Morse. In doing so they moved Connor McGovern to center and brought David Edwards up to start in his place. The results have been mixed, but overall above the line.
The real problem is the depth along the offensive line. Behind their starters, the reserves are: Ryan Van Denmark, Alec Anderson, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, and Will Clapp. Those four players have 22 starts between them (21 to Will Clapp, who is listed as their third-string left guard).
Las Vegas Raiders Offensive Lineman Andrus Peat has 102 career starts and was named to three Pro Bowls between 2018-2020. But he played just 6 games in 2021 due to injury and didn’t really return to form until last season. Now he is a backup for the Raiders, who don’t have much use for a backup lineman at this point.
Buffalo should offer a Day 3 pick for Peat for some insurance. He can play guard and tackle so he can come in for most positions and play well. We’ve seen in the playoffs, and Super Bowl, an offensive line injury can make all the difference. Buffalo would be smart to protect themselves with veteran depth.