Bills' McDermott finds draft dance partner in mentor Andy Reid

ORCHARD PARK – The Buffalo Bills draft has piqued my interest this year due to its ability to mimic a best-selling spy novel.

Mystery, intrigue, drama.

You have the owner, Terry Pegula, pounding his fist on his desk I imagine, demanding answers for why the honeymoon is over with once adoring fans.

You have the general manager, Doug Whaley, working under a gag order, leaving us to wonder just how much power he has been stripped of and if he’ll keep his job past Sunday.

You have the new head coach, Sean McDermott, who plays his cards closer than a Texas Hold ‘em champion, ready to put his stamp on a mediocre team caught on a hamster wheel and could be the hero in this story if he can put his words into action.

More: Bills pick LSU CB Tre'Davious White in 1st round

More: Bills trade down in first round of NFL Draft

More: NFL Draft first-round picks, analysis

Offense, defense? Quarterback, wide receiver? Cornerback, linebacker?

And the answer for Round 1 is?

Cornerback/return specialist Tre'Davious White of LSU and the addition of two draft picks, one a first-rounder in 2018, the result of a plot twist nobody saw coming. A trade-down scenario that usually never materializes for Buffalo.

Sitting back with an ace card at No. 10 overall, the Bills’ leadership trio deftly turned what would’ve been a short wait to their first pick Thursday night into a long one and did it with a smile. I imagine it put a smile on a lot of fans, too.

Those who can understand the prudence in moving down the order and picking up more picks, which translate into more young players, cheaper labor and future bartering chips — all valuable things for a club trying to break from the throes of a 17-year playoff drought. Hey, you have to try something different.

First the details: The Bills sent their 10th pick to Kansas City for the Chiefs’ 27th pick in the first round, a third-round pick (91st) and — drum roll please — the Chiefs’ first-round pick next year.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

For years Bills’ executives have come out from behind closed doors to tell us there were no dance partners to be found in a trade-down scenario. For years we’ve seen Buffalo be the one giving away first-round picks to take shots with players they liked (quarterbacks Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe and J.P. Losman, wide receiver Sammy Watkins).

But not this time. This time the Bills found someone to tango down with, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, McDermott's mentor while with the Philadelphia Eagles.

I do agree there is some degree of concern.

With Buffalo’s 10th pick, Reid took Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a player the Bills did their due diligence on but obviously didn't feel has franchise potential. But how many times is Reid, one of the best coaches in the NFL with 173 career wins and a dozen playoff berths in 18 seasons, wrong? What did he see that the Bills didn’t in Mahomes?

McDermott (173 fewer wins than Reid) assured us he wouldn't be lying awake thinking he got fleeced by his old boss. And besides, it's McDermott who ended up with Reid's first-rounder next year to do business with in a quarterback class that generally is considered stronger than this one.

"You look at things and you say, 'What’s in the best interest of this organization?' ''  McDermott said. "That’s what I have to do. Andy has his own situation, we have our own situation here, that’s the nature of the draft. You stick by what’s important and what’s right for us and that’s what we did.''

The Bills' boldness meant they also passed on Deshaun Watson of national champion Clemson, one of the most productive quarterbacks in NCAA history. He went 12th overall to Houston. And yes, Ohio State’s Marshon Lattimore, the best cornerback in the draft, was still on the board had Buffalo just stood pat. He went 11th to New Orleans. So many big-name prospects going bye-bye from No. 10-26 as the night wore on.

But I’m OK with a move that was creative, allowing Buffalo to still grab a blue-chip talent of high character in White that fills a big hole at cornerback with the loss of Stephon Gilmore to rival New England near the end of Round 1. That landed an extra pick this year (giving the Bills eight overall). That produced a big bauble, that extra first-rounder to look forward to.

Frankly for a class of quarterbacks not widely applauded, it was shocking to see three go in the Top 12 Thursday starting with the first bombshell of the night when the Chicago Bears sent three picks to San Francisco to move up one spot, from 2 to 3, to pick North Carolina’s Mitch “Call Me Mitchell’’ Trubisky.

A year ago, the Bears passed on Dallas star rookie Dak Prescott three times in the fourth round. Amazing how a team can be haunted like that and forced into a desperate act. At least Trubisky was gone so Buffalo wasn’t tempted to reach for a player with 13 college starts.

I do suspect that Pegula, Whaley and McDermott would’ve held at 10 had one of the top three receivers in the draft still been there. But a run from 5-9 took Corey Davis, Mike Williams and John Ross off the board.

But think of this: Buffalo will likely be picking in the Top 10 again next year and packaged with Kansas City’s first they can move up and go after an even better quarterback prospect like USC’s Sam Darnold or UCLA's Josh Rosen.

"It was a unique situation,'' McDermott said. "You don't find those every day in the NFL.''

Don't Bills fans know. Time will tell if the mentor or the student got the better of the deal.