The NFL offseason is picking up, and with the Bills’ brass is evaluating draft prospects after making a contract restructure and a few early new-deal signings with some of their own talent, general manager and president of football operations Brandon Beane is focused on getting as much exposure to draft prospects as possible.

“Sometimes that’s just breaking bread, sometimes it’s on the whiteboard, sometimes it’s watching plays, and you just pick up so many things,” he said.

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The front office and coaching staff are looking to get as much interaction and evaluation of talent they are scouting as possible, at the combine, Senior Bowl, individual Pro Days, or by way of the 30 allotted pre-draft visits each NFL team is allowed to have.

He expounded further during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” about what that process is and has been like so far for him.

“It’s been good. There’s been a good energy. We bring the position coach in as well. I kind of tee it off with them, just to kind of get them warmed up. Ask them a couple of things: Why did you come out early? Why did you transfer three times? You know the crazy world we’re in. Was it just money? Was it an opportunity or whatever it is?” Beane added.

As for the 2026 NFL Draft class, in particular, Beane said it’s not “top heavy” as he predicts the 2027 class to be. He also noted that it’s too early to tell how many first-round grades there are in this class. There are good depth players.

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“I definitely think there will be players day two and day three that can help us in various roles, whether it’s compet[ing] for a start[er] a really good backup,” Beane continued. “We’ll find good players with that first-round pick as well. You just don’t know if you’re technically going to be selecting out of your first round. It’s early to know that.”

Based on his comments, it does appear Beane and the coaching staff are looking at what talent they can acquire in the early rounds of the draft to make a difference this season, and what it will take to be ready when the time to select them comes.

“It’s really important to build your board right the next couple of months and let it speak to you what you need to do,” he shared.

He has said he plans to be aggressive this offseason and might seek to maximize the benefits of trading some current and/or future picks in order to get the players the Bills need and want. Beane has also noted this draft isn’t as “top-heavy” in terms of first-round grades as the 2027 class will be.

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“You’ve got a grade that you would say, ‘That’s a top 10 grade,’ and you’re at pick 18 to 20, and you’re going, ‘Man, there’s a big drop from there,'” Beane said as an example scenario. “That’s when you start to get aggressive and say, ‘I need to go up and use some assets.'”

He is also known not to turn down a trade back to gain assets as well, so moves up or down the board are on the table.

“That’s the point where you start saying, ‘What assets can we gain to go back,'” the GM said. “I try to put people around me to strap me down to the desk and if they think I’m getting out of line, to at least grab me before I do it and say, ‘Are you sure about this?'”

The Bills started making preliminary moves to begin getting under the projected cap range of $301.2 million to $305.7 million. They’ll know the finalized number ahead of the new league year on March 11.

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Beane’s contract restructure of right tackle Spencer Brown this week began the process, freeing up around $10 million in cap space. Restructures, releases, extensions, and trades are all on the radar as a means to create the rest of the optimal cap space to acquire the talent QB Josh Allen and the team need to get to the next level.

“We’re looking at every single avenue here,” Beane said. “We have a new staff, so we’re trying to make sure we’re thinking of everything and not just rushing to decisions.”

This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Brandon Beane breaks down Bills approach to 2026 NFL draft process