Buffalo Bills
Battle card · first-round draft history, season-by-season record, and how Bills top picks have shaped the franchise.
R1 Picks
58
Hall of Famers
3
5.2% hit rate
Avg pick slot
16.1
Highest pick
#1
Walt Patulski · 1972
All-time record
433–441–2
0.495 win %
Playoff seasons
21
of 56
The Story
- Buffalo Bills have made 58 first-round selections and produced 3 Hall of Famers (5.2% hit rate).
- Their highest selection on record is #1 overall in 1972, when they took Walt Patulski.
- Across 56 seasons in this dataset they have a 433-441-2 record (0.495) and reached the playoffs 21 times.
- In seasons after holding at least one top-10 pick, Buffalo Bills added an average of 1.6 wins versus the prior year (15 such seasons in the data).
- Their most-drafted position group is DB, taken 14 times in Round 1.
- Clemson is their go-to talent pipeline, supplying 5 first-round picks.
- Their best season was 1990: 13-3-0 (+165 point differential).
- Their worst was 1971: 1-13-0 (-210 point differential).
Wins per Season
R1 Pick Slot by Year
Position Breakdown
Point Differential by Season
Impact of Top-10 Picks (Next-Season Wins Delta)
| Draft Year | Pick | Player | Prior-Year Wins | New-Year Wins | Delta | HoF? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | #4 | J.D. Hill | 3 | 1 | -2 | |
| 1972 | #1 | Walt Patulski | 1 | 4 | +3 | |
| 1973 | #7 | Paul Seymour | 4 | 9 | +5 | |
| 1978 | #5 | Terry Miller | 3 | 5 | +2 | |
| 1979 | #1 |
Tom Cousineau
+ #5 Jerry Butler
|
5 | 7 | +2 | |
| 1985 | #1 | Bruce Smith | 2 | 2 | +0 | HoF |
| 1987 | #8 | Shane Conlan | 4 | 7 | +3 | |
| 2002 | #4 | Mike Williams | 3 | 8 | +5 | |
| 2006 | #8 | Donte Whitner | 5 | 7 | +2 | |
| 2010 | #9 | C.J. Spiller | 6 | 4 | -2 | |
| 2011 | #3 | Marcell Dareus | 4 | 6 | +2 | |
| 2012 | #10 | Stephon Gilmore | 6 | 6 | +0 | |
| 2014 | #4 | Sammy Watkins | 6 | 9 | +3 | |
| 2018 | #7 | Josh Allen | 9 | 6 | -3 | |
| 2019 | #9 | Ed Oliver | 6 | 10 | +4 |
Hall of Fame Selections
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | #26 | Joe DeLamielleure | G | Michigan St. |
| 1983 | #14 | Jim Kelly | QB | Miami (FL) |
| 1985 | #1 | Bruce Smith | DE | Virginia Tech |
Every First-Round Pick
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College | HoF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | #5 | Al Cowlings | DE | USC | |
| 1971 | #4 | J.D. Hill | WR | Arizona St. | |
| 1972 | #1 | Walt Patulski | DE | Notre Dame | |
| 1973 | #7 | Paul Seymour | TE | Michigan | |
| 1973 | #26 | Joe DeLamielleure | G | Michigan St. | HoF |
| 1974 | #18 | Reuben Gant | TE | Oklahoma St. | |
| 1975 | #19 | Tom Ruud | LB | Nebraska | |
| 1976 | #18 | Mario Clark | DB | Oregon | |
| 1977 | #12 | Phil Dokes | DT | Oklahoma St. | |
| 1978 | #5 | Terry Miller | RB | Oklahoma St. | |
| 1979 | #1 | Tom Cousineau | LB | Ohio St. | |
| 1979 | #5 | Jerry Butler | WR | Clemson | |
| 1980 | #16 | Jim Ritcher | G | North Carolina St. | |
| 1981 | #28 | Booker Moore | RB | Penn St. | |
| 1982 | #19 | Perry Tuttle | WR | Clemson | |
| 1983 | #12 | Tony Hunter | TE | Notre Dame | |
| 1983 | #14 | Jim Kelly | QB | Miami (FL) | HoF |
| 1984 | #26 | Greg Bell | RB | Notre Dame | |
| 1985 | #1 | Bruce Smith | DE | Virginia Tech | HoF |
| 1985 | #14 | Derrick Burroughs | DB | Memphis | |
| 1986 | #16 | Ronnie Harmon | RB | Iowa | |
| 1986 | #20 | Will Wolford | T | Vanderbilt | |
| 1987 | #8 | Shane Conlan | LB | Penn St. | |
| 1990 | #16 | James Williams | DB | Fresno St. | |
| 1991 | #26 | Henry Jones | DB | Illinois | |
| 1992 | #27 | John Fina | T | Arizona | |
| 1993 | #28 | Thomas Smith | DB | North Carolina | |
| 1994 | #27 | Jeff Burris | DB | Notre Dame | |
| 1995 | #14 | Ruben Brown | G | Pittsburgh | |
| 1996 | #24 | Eric Moulds | WR | Mississippi St. | |
| 1997 | #23 | Antowain Smith | RB | Houston | |
| 1999 | #23 | Antoine Winfield | DB | Ohio St. | |
| 2000 | #26 | Erik Flowers | DE | Arizona St. | |
| 2001 | #21 | Nate Clements | DB | Ohio St. | |
| 2002 | #4 | Mike Williams | T | Texas | |
| 2003 | #23 | Willis McGahee | RB | Miami (FL) | |
| 2004 | #13 | Lee Evans | WR | Wisconsin | |
| 2004 | #22 | J.P. Losman | QB | Tulane | |
| 2006 | #8 | Donte Whitner | DB | Ohio St. | |
| 2006 | #26 | John McCargo | DT | North Carolina St. | |
| 2007 | #12 | Marshawn Lynch | RB | California | |
| 2008 | #11 | Leodis McKelvin | DB | Troy | |
| 2009 | #11 | Aaron Maybin | DE | Penn St. | |
| 2009 | #28 | Eric Wood | C | Louisville | |
| 2010 | #9 | C.J. Spiller | RB | Clemson | |
| 2011 | #3 | Marcell Dareus | DT | Alabama | |
| 2012 | #10 | Stephon Gilmore | DB | South Carolina | |
| 2013 | #16 | EJ Manuel | QB | Florida St. | |
| 2014 | #4 | Sammy Watkins | WR | Clemson | |
| 2016 | #19 | Shaq Lawson | DE | Clemson | |
| 2017 | #27 | Tre'Davious White | CB | LSU | |
| 2018 | #7 | Josh Allen | QB | Wyoming | |
| 2018 | #16 | Tremaine Edmunds | ILB | Virginia Tech | |
| 2019 | #9 | Ed Oliver | DT | Houston | |
| 2021 | #30 | Gregory Rousseau | DL | Miami (FL) | |
| 2022 | #23 | Kaiir Elam | CB | Florida | |
| 2023 | #25 | Dalton Kincaid | TE | Utah | |
| 2025 | #30 | Maxwell Hairston | CB | Kentucky |