During most of his 16-year stint with the Buffalo Bills, Russ Brandon has treated the completion of the NFL draft like the last day of finals, going straight from the team's Orchard Park, N.Y., training facility to a nearby restaurant and enjoying some celebratory munchies and cocktails with scouts, front-office executives and significant others.

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A good time is usually had by all, but Saturday night's gathering was especially fulfilling for Brandon, the CEO and president who last Jan. 1 was given full authority over the team's operations by 94-year-old owner Ralph Wilson. After identifying and landing a potential franchise quarterback while somehow maintaining the element of surprise, the Bills brought in a cast of supporting actors he believes can help get his playoff-starved franchise closer to the big stage.

From Brandon's perspective, the plan implemented by general manager Buddy Nix couldn't have played out more perfectly. And in an era of increasingly intrusive probes for information – just ask Nix, who last month was tricked into having a phone conversation with Tampa Bay Buccaneers counterpart Mark Dominik that ended up on a popular sports website – Brandon's commitment to clandestineness hit particularly close to home.

"There's so much awareness, so much coffee talk and so much false information out there, and I always get a kick out of it," Brandon said via telephone Saturday night during a short break from the post-draft festivities. "We really try to be an organization that sticks close to the vest and stays under the radar.

"So many people get involved in trying to figure out who's picking who, and that passion is what makes the game so great. My kids didn't even know what we were going to do. I told them, 'That's the way we roll.' "

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The secrecy paid off for the Bills, who picked up a pair of extra selections (in the second and seventh rounds) from the St. Louis Rams after trading down eight spots in Thursday's first round. When they took former Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel 16th overall, it was a surprise to virtually everyone outside the war room.

The Bills had conducted private workouts with five quarterbacks, and various reports linked them to Syracuse's Ryan Nassib, West Virginia's Geno Smith and USC's Matt Barkley. Nassib, who'd played for newly hired Bills coach Doug Marrone at the 'Cuse, was presumed to be the leading candidate.

Yet it was Manuel, a 6-foot-5, 237-pounder long on potential, who Brandon, Nix and Marrone agreed they had to have.

The Bills could have played it safe and taken Manuel eighth overall, but with the Rams eager to land West Virginia wideout Tavon Austin, an enticing gamble presented itself. Buffalo, which had only six picks heading into the draft, could pick up two additional selections by trading down with St. Louis.

Austin, according to a Rams source, was "at the top of [the Bills'] draft board, but they didn't want to take him. And they knew the Jets [picking ninth overall] wanted him. So, they could take their guy and risk facing [Austin] twice a year, or they could make the trade and get him out of the division."

The Bills did the deal, dropping down to 16 and sweating out the next eight selections.