For the price of two second-round selections and the 12th overall pick, the Buffalo Bills altered the course of the team. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers received it from general manager Brandon Beane in exchange for Josh Allen, the quarterback from Wyoming.

Since then, Allen has become one of the league’s best players, making Buffalo a consistent Super Bowl contender. The Bills obviously made the proper decision, and the two choices were lost to insignificance.

Since then, clubs have tried to emulate Beane’s strategy of moving up to get young quarterbacks. Due to unfavorable returns, the Carolina Panthers moved up to grab quarterback Bryce Young with the first overall choice in the previous season. The Chicago Bears could have to cope with another club. leading the draft this year, obtaining the selection that Carolina’s troubles had foreshadowed.

Beane mentioned at the NFL Scouting Combine that other clubs are trying to trade up to get quarterbacks in 2024, such as J.J. McCarthy, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels.

“I wouldn’t be here anyway if [trading up for Allen] didn’t work out,” Beane declared. “Who gives a (bleep) if it works out?”

Although that’s a funny answer, it makes a valid point.

Make a bold trade for a quarterback if you’re doing so. Get your man, then worry about the cost. No fan east of Lake Erie is angry about the two selections the Bills passed up, and they shouldn’t be.

Naturally, there is a risk involved in trading up. Had Allen failed, Beane would not have been in the picture

of a job before his rookie contract expired. But would he have lasted any longer with Tyrod Taylor manning the ship? Or a lesser quarterback found later in the draft?

Being aggressive for a potential franchise-changing player is sometimes necessary, and it’s hard to argue it wasn’t a good-process decision. Betting on traits is generally better practice than trading for intangibly-sound passers without the capacity to win on their own, and Allen had traits in spades.

Luckily, this class isn’t short on toolsy passers with the potential to win games at the next level. It takes two to trade, but don’t be surprised if draft day runs rampant with teams chasing down potential X-factors under center. It was the right call for Beane, and in all likelihood would be a good-process decision for whichever general manager is pulling the trigger this time around.