Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley has backed new wide receiver Sammy Watkins to help the team end their 14-year absence from the NFL playoffs.

The Bills have not featured in the post-season since 1999, which is the longest drought of its kind currently in the NFL.

They moved up five spots in order to acquire Watkins with the fourth overall pick in last night's Draft, sending their ninth overall pick along with their first and fourth-round 2015 selections to the Cleveland Browns.

"We thought it was a calculated risk and a risk we were willing to take. The high cost of not making the playoffs is something we weighed in and we thought this guy was going to get us to the playoffs," Whaley told reporters.

Whaley also played down speculation that Watkins's arrival could have a knock-on effect on Stevie Johnson, who was the team's leading receiver from 2010 to 2012 but struggled with injuries last season.

"Stevie Johnson is on our team. He is under contract and that is another weapon in our arsenal," he added.

Bills CEO Russ Brandon has also admitted that giving up so much to acquire Watkins was a "bold move" by the team.