AFC Notes: Geno Smith, Joe Brady, Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

The Bills made the most trades in the NFL during the 2026 NFL Draft with seven. Mike Sando of The Athletic cites an anonymous executive who questions whether the approach enabled Buffalo to acquire good players. 

“Those picks you gain, whether it’s a third or fourth or something later, they were not going to net you any (good) players in this draft,” one executive said. 

Another executive thinks the changeover to new HC Joe Brady influenced some of their decision-making, but admits it was a strange draft to take that approach. 

“I do think there’s some element of regime change with (coach) Joe Brady and (GM) Brandon (Beane) wanting to make this his team and put in his stamp on it,” the executive said. “(Having) more picks probably helps do that. But again, this was a weird draft, in that it was terrible at the top and terrible at the bottom.”

The same executive doesn’t fault Buffalo for trying to accumulate picks, given the quality of this year’s class. 

There was no sweet spot to accumulate picks,” the executive said. “I do not really begrudge anybody’s strategy in this draft, because I don’t know what you were supposed to do to be effective.”

Jets

Jets OC Frank Reich last coached the Panthers for a short period but is now back in charge of an NFL offense and believes veteran QB Geno Smith is the perfect fit for his scheme.

“I’ve liked Geno from Day 1,” Reich said in his press conference, via Pro Football Talk. “When he was coming out of West Virginia, I had a high grade on Geno. I had not met Geno before here, and I’m kind of glad because I’m even more impressed with him, now meeting him in person. I feel his resilience, his toughness, I always think the No. 1 attribute in any quarterback that you need, especially if you want to come and turn something around, is you need someone who’s tough. I mean tough mentally, tough physically, and I feel that from Geno on every front. “I think his experience, the ups and downs that he’s been through, and he’s had great success, and had to deal with some tough seasons, and if you play in this league long enough, everyone’s going to face that. And if you are the person, if you’re the right kind of leader, then you come out of it better, and I think that’s the version of Geno Smith we’re getting. We’re getting the best version of who he is, and I think his best football’s ahead of him.”

Patriots

Veteran LB K.J. Britt told reporters he wanted to sign with New England and play for a players’ coach like HC Mike Vrabel, who he believes can help him improve and build at this point in his career.

“This is where I wanted to be. I wanted to come up here and work with guys that are like-minded because you have some prima-donnas in this league,” Britt said, via PatriotsWire.com. “Guys who like to play the game because of the fame that comes with it. You’ve got some guys who love to play the game because it’s a game, and it’s a game that you’ve been playing since you were young. And a lot of these guys, they love ball, love football. I had a few options, but ultimately, I wanted to come here because Coach Vrabel is a player’s coach. Played this game. He knows the ins and outs of this game. It’s a lot of stuff that y’all don’t know that we know that goes on behind closed doors. And once you get someone who you can relate with, who’s been through this, that’s what you want to be around at this point in your career.”

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