INDIANAPOLIS - Friday morning, the two most interesting position groups every year at the NFL Scouting Combine - quarterbacks and wide receivers - will be paraded through the interview area where hundreds of reporters will pepper them with questions.

Most of them have already been put through the interview wringer this week by the brain trusts of every organization because each team is allowed to conduct as many as 45 one-on-one sessions for up to 20 minutes, often referred to as the league’s version of speed dating.

Each team reserves a suite at one of the various downtown Indianapolis hotels for this process, and while we don’t know the entire list of players the Buffalo Bills invited, we do know that several receivers were up there talking to Brandon Beane, Sean McDermott, other Bills coaches, and owner Terry Pegula because that’s clearly an area of need.

Sign up for the Bills Blast newsletter Delivered straight to your inbox, additional Bills analysis, insight, stats, quotes and team history from Sal Maiorana

National media members maddeningly keep asking whether Stefon Diggs is going to be traded despite the fact that it’s impossibly cost-prohibitive for the Bills to do that.

It happened again the other day and Beane patiently responded, “I expect him to be here. Nothing’s changed from that standpoint.” He showed great restraint in not saying something like, “Hey, do you have any clue what you’re asking about?”

So Diggs remains the No. 1 receiver, but the Bills have a dearth on the depth chart. They are prepared to lose Gabe Davis in free agency, Trent Sherfield is also a free agent who likely won’t return, and it’s very possible they cut Deonte Harty in order to save about $4.2 million on their tight salary cap.

That leaves Khalil Shakir and 2023 fifth-round pick Justin Shorter, who missed all of last year, as the only legitimate roster options next to Diggs. Shakir has turned out to be a nice fifth-round find from 2022, but it’s a stretch to project him as the No. 2 receiver, so the Bills need to pick someone in the draft, preferably in the first or second round.

Wide receiver pool is deep in first rounds of NFL Draft 2024

In what is now the norm in the draft, this is yet another great crop of receivers, a pool that could see 14 or 15 taken in the first three rounds, and that’s an opportunity the Bills can’t pass up.

The Bills lack size at the position, and they also lack speed, both factors in why their passing game was not explosive in 2024. Despite the greatness of Josh Allen, the Bills had only 49 pass completions of at least 20 yards which ranked 19th in the league, and only nine that went for 40 yards or more, tied for 13th.

“We’re always looking for that speed and explosiveness at various positions,” Beane said. “You want guys that can explode without the ball but you also want RAC (run after catch) players, guys that Josh can get the ball in their hands in space, stuff that Joe Brady can scheme up, and they can turn a five-yard pass into a 55-yard touchdown or a big gain.”

Last year, the Bills had to work too hard to score. They had 29 scoring drives that took 10 or more plays to complete (they had eight others that did not result in scores) and that was largely due to the fact that they didn’t bite off big chunks of yardage. The average of all their drives (181, of which they scored on 75) lasted 6.3 plays which tied for third-most in the league.

“We get a lot of that two-high shell and teams are going to make us go 9, 10, 11 plays,” Beane said, meaning Allen had to settle for perhaps too many underneath completions. “Anytime you can add a weapon that’s an explosive player, that can shorten (drives). Sometimes you want to control the clock, but sometimes you don’t want to have to go 10 plays every single time to get points.”

And in terms of size, the Bills’ pass catchers were credited by Pro Football Focus with 34 contested catches in 2023 which ranked tied for 12th-fewest in the league. That’s why it would be nice to add a receiver who can high point catches, but also use his body to out-leverage defenders. That is certainly not a strength of either Diggs or Shakir.

“You would love for them all to be 6-4, run a 4.42, have elite hands, football instincts, so you’re kind of weighing it all,” Beane said. “There are some size guys that are 6-3 that play like they’re 6-foot, and then you know we had a guy in Carolina that was 5-9 in Steve Smith, he played like he was 6-4. He could jump, he was strong, great at the contact point.

“We’re just looking for weapons. We need to know what they do well, how we can accentuate their skill set, and then just make sure we have a variety of things, not just have all quick guys, all big guys, or all fast guys. Just trying to have as many options as we can for Joe (Brady) to set the offense.”

What receivers might fit with the Bills draft plan?

Three of the players who could be available when the Bills make the 28th pick in the first round are LSU’s Brian Thomas, Oregon’s Troy Franklin, and Florida State’s Keon Coleman.

If they wait until the second round at pick No. 60, there’s a chance South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, Texas’ Xavier Worthy, Michigan’s Roman Wilson, Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk, and North Carolina’s Devontez Walker are sitting there.

If their draft profiles prove correct, any of these players would come to Buffalo and have an immediate opportunity to contribute as rookies.

The Bills have big-time needs on the defensive line, and that could be where Beane leans in the first round, but the GM who has never picked a receiver higher than the fourth round during his time in Buffalo - Davis was a fourth-rounder in 2020 - Beane has to break that trend.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out each Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills need to select a WR early in NFL Draft 2024: Here's why