ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — By now, you’ve probably seen multiple stories assessing the draft of every NFL team.

They’re even more laughable than the onslaught of mock drafts with which we’re bombarded annually.

Yesterday, my check of seven draft appraisals pegged the Bills’ lottery as a solid B. Buffalo got grades from A down to B-minus. General manager Brandon Beane and his staff earned two As, two B-pluses, two Bs and that B-minus.

But the reality is, a dart board would offer about the same chances of success when trying to ascertain how well the 32 teams performed in the draft.

The flaw, you see, is that those assessments are based on how a player performed in college and the subjective perceptions of scouts via their grades. And, as we see, year-after-year, there are busts even in the “make hay” first through third rounds when teams expect to draft starters.

In this era of instant gratification when nobody wants to wait, a true assessment of any lottery still shouldn’t be done until three years after the fact.

FOR THE Bills, in Thursday night’s first round, the selection of a cornerback could have been predicted by an inmate in solitary, but rather than Andrew Booth, the most popular pre-draft pick for Buffalo, the choice was Kaiir Elam of Florida.

Beane traded up two spots, at the expense of a fourth-round pick going to Baltimore, to do it. Tellingly, when explaining the trade, the Bills’ fifth-year GM allowed that Elam was the last player on which Buffalo had a first-round grade.

In this case, he was apparently telling the truth as Booth fell to the 10th pick of the second round when the Vikings tabbed him.

But as with any drafted player, Elam (6-1½, 192) got mixed views.

One scout was quoted as saying, “I think he’s the best cornerback in the draft … he was the best I saw.”

But several others allowed, “He’s a soft player … marginal against the run.”

However, most scouts were complimentary of both his coverage skills and athleticism.

BUFFALO’S most controversial choice came in the second round when they took Georgia running back James Cook (5-11, 204).

In fairness, the draft’s two top-rated running backs were gone, Iowa State’s Breece Hall to the Jets at No. 36 and Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III to Seattle at 41.

So, picking 57th, the Bills traded down twice, then opted for a non-starter who wasn’t ranked in the Top 100 draftable players though they were admittedly seeking a specialist.

First they traded the 57th pick to Tampa Bay for the Bucs’ choice at 60 plus a sixth-round choice, then they dealt No. 60 to Cincinnati for the Bengals’ choice at 63, in addition to another sixth-round pick. Clearly, the Bills accessed Cook would still be there a half-dozen picks later and turned that instinct into two more draft picks.

Beane had talked about the need for a pass-catching back, a problem he thought was solved when Buffalo agreed to terms with Washington’s J.D. McKissic during free agency. However, when McKissic reneged and returned to the Commanders, the need returned.

Cook was a third-down back who was specifically charged with pass receiving.

“We see his best skill set as a sub (pass-catching, third-down) back,” Beane said, “but I think he can handle carries, too.”

And, it’s worth noting Georgia’s glittering running back pedigree includes Hershel Walker, Terrell Davis, Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.

Still, some scouts were critical of Buffalo taking a part-time back so early.

One said of Viking star Dalvin Cook’s younger brother, “He’s nowhere near Dalvin (as a player) … he’s a backup only. His issue is pass protection.”

But another conceded, “He’s an excellent receiver … certainly (Buffalo’s) best receiving back.”

THIRD-ROUND pick Terrel Bernard, the linebacker from Baylor was an interesting choice.

Though a bit undersized — 6-foot-1, 222 pounds — Bernard gets high marks for his intelligence, his score of 30 on the Wonderlic test the second highest among Buffalo’s draftees, a shade behind Buffalo’s sixth-round pick, punter Matt Araiza.

Among the scouts who commented about Bernard, the message was similar, “he’s small but extraordinarily smart … he could wear the great dot (calling defensive signals). There aren’t many NFL teams with three linebackers as good as him.”

The Bills hope that’s true.

(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)