If the Buffalo Bills were trying to hide their desire to trade up for a franchise quarterback in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, they didn’t do a very good job.

The Bills traded starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns early in the offseason, replacing him with the inexperienced A.J. McCarron. They also traded left tackle Cordy Glenn and the 21st overall pick in the draft to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for the 12th overall pick, positioning themselves for an eventual move further up the board.

Trade rumors involving Buffalo ran rampant in the lead up to the draft. Pundit Dan Patrick stated that the Bills had talked to the Cleveland Browns regarding the availability of the first overall pick in mid-March. Weeks before the draft, it was reported Buffalo that had the “blueprint” for a draft-day trade in place with the New York Giants, a deal that involved in the second overall pick.

Ultimately, these rumors proved to be false. The Bills did, however, have a trade blueprint in place entering the draft… it just wasn’t with the Giants. Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane recently told The Buffalo News that he had a deal in place with the Denver Broncos for the fifth overall pick, a plan that was contingent on the Broncos’ top player being off of the board at five.

However, when Denver went on the clock at pick No. 5, North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb was starting them in the face. Broncos general manager John Elway decided to select the dangerous defender, canceling his deal with the Bills.

“John calls me and says, ‘All right, here’s what we’ll do,’” Beane told The Buffalo News. “We finalized the deal, but it’s contingent on his guy not being there. . . . I was a little bummed when Elway told me, ‘Hey, this is our guy.’ I felt like what I had to offer John was better than anybody else could offer. I felt like I was bidding against myself, basically.”

According to Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith, Buffalo would have sent its two first round picks (12 and 22) and a second-round pick to Denver in exchange for pick No. 5.

Elway’s decision was actually a blessing in disguise for the Bills. Beane would eventually acquire the seventh overall pick in the draft from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, parting ways with two-second rounds picks as opposed to a second first rounder. The executive was still able to select Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, who he would have taken had he been able to jump up to No. 5. He later used his second-first round pick to trade up yet again, landing Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds at pick No. 16.