One trade the Buffalo Bills need to pull off before the 2022 NFL Draft

The Buffalo Bills could be trade candidates as Super Bowl contenders with an MVP candidate at quarterback. Winning a Lombardi Trophy is difficult, and there are fine margins between success and failure. Looking around the league, there is one player who could bring their dreams a step closer to becoming a reality.

Few draft picks divided fans and analysts more than Josh Allen did when the Buffalo Bills took him with the 7th pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. Fast forward four years, and he’s one of the superstars of the league. General manager Brandon Beane has surrounded him with talent, and the roster looks set to compete for the foreseeable future.

The Buffalo Bills are ready to win now, though, and could decide that they’d prefer an instant impact player over a draft pick. The logic is simple enough – veterans are less of a risk, while rookies usually take time to acclimatize and develop.

There’s no doubt that there will be talent available at pick 25, with players like Jordan Davis expected to be available. It’s a pick that will appeal to teams going through a rebuild, though, and could be traded for an impact player.

Who should the Buffalo Bills trade for in the 2022 NFL Draft?

Enter Cameron Jordan.

The New Orleans Saints defensive end will be 33 by the time the season starts but is showing no signs of slowing down. He’s coming off a year with 12.5 sacks and now has 107 in his career. If you exclude his rookie season when he took the quarterback down only once, he has averaged 10.6 sacks across 10 seasons.

It would be tough for the Saints to lose one of their best-ever players, but they have been pushing their cap trouble down the line for a long time, and this season might be when they take the hit. The offensive genius behind much of their success, Sean Payton, retired as head coach. Dennis Allen was promoted into the role, and while he won’t want to lose a key part of his defense, he should be looking towards the future.

The Saints are entering the offseason without an established quarterback and with key contributors such as Terron Armstead and Marcus Williams bound for free agency. General manager Mickey Loomis has drafted well in recent years, and it could be a great opportunity to load up on draft picks to rebuild the roster.

What would it take for the Buffalo Bills to acquire Cameron Jordan?

Cameron Jordan’s contract situation isn’t ideal for the Saints to trade. Moving him before June will save them just under $2 million in 2022, although that will increase to almost $10 million in 2023. The Bills would be spending very little on him, though, which would allow the team to use the money elsewhere.

From the Saints’ perspective, holding off until June would enable them to save $15 million and would likely be much more appealing, although they would have to settle for a 2023 pick and might not recoup as much in draft capital.

Jordan would be a massive upgrade to a Bills pass rush, which is already one of the best in the NFL. The team will likely be in the playoffs again next season, and Beane will have seen a good pass rush’s impact on Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, two of the biggest obstacles they will need to overcome. Jordan’s age will limit his trade value, but a package of day two and three picks could be enough to interest the Saints.