Breaking down one of the riskiest draft moves (pick or trading picks, trading back, etc.) by the Buffalo Bills over the past 25 years:
Round/overall selection: First, 22nd
Did the risk pay off: After selecting wide receiver Lee Evans at No. 13 with their original first-round selection in 2004, the Bills decided to swing a trade back into the first round to select quarterback J.P. Losman at No. 22 overall. The cost? The Bills' 2005 first-round pick, as well as their 2004 second- and fifth-round picks. In Losman, the Bills selected a quarterback in the first round for the first time since they took Jim Kelly in 1983 -- and the hope was that Losman would start down the track of replacing Kelly, who had retired following the 1996 season.
Losman provided an infusion of youth at a position in which the Bills had cycled through veteran starters Alex Van Pelt, Drew Bledsoe, Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson in previous seasons. Much like current Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, Losman drew attention for his athleticism and strong arm, but unlike Taylor, Losman proved turnover-prone and he never seemed to have the makeup of a starting NFL quarterback. The Bills selected their next quarterback project, Trent Edwards, in the third round of the 2007 draft and Losman's days in Buffalo were quickly numbered.
Was there a safer move: The Bills' original first-round selection in 2004 wasn't high enough to select one of the Pro Bowl quarterbacks taken in the first 11 picks of that draft: Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger. At that point, the Bills had to decide whether to continue to roll with Bledsoe as their starter or make a move on one of the second-tier quarterbacks in the 2004 draft: Losman, Matt Schaub or Luke McCown. They took the often-risky path of dealing a future first-round pick to add a second first-round pick in 2004. Had the Bills waited until their second-round pick to select a quarterback, they could have held onto their first-round pick in 2005. Buffalo held the 20th overall selection in 2005 and would have been in prime position to catch a quarterback from California who wound up sliding down to the Green Bay Packers at No. 24: Aaron Rodgers.