Archives for April 2017

'For Jones, they made a deal with the Los Angeles Rams to jump from the 44th spot in the second round to 37th. The Bills also gave the Rams the 91st overall pick, in the third round, which they acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs to move down from 10th to 27th to grab White Thursday night. Buffalo also picked up the 149th overall selection, in Saturday's fifth round.'

'McDermott simply didn't see anyone at the position that convinced him needed to be on the roster this year, even as a backup. The plan is clearly to allow Tyrod Taylor to function as a bridge for the QB the Bills will likely pursue next year, when they have two first-round picks (including the one they picked up from Kansas City to allow the Chiefs to move up to No. 10 to take Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes).'

'"My whole deal, I want to be one of the best to go down and play defensive back," White said during a news conference Friday after arriving at One Bills Drive. "And I feel like, early in my career, for me in my rookie year to match up against those guys is a good stepping stone and it's a good learning curve. I feel like I'm going to come and I'm going to compete well and I'm going to try to make it hard for those guys, I know that.'

'"I just want to be different," White said. "My mindset is different. Growing up, I had a lot of family members and a lot of my best friends go the wrong route. I didn't want to do that. You'll hear me say over and over again, my purpose is to motivate and inspire.'

'I just feel I can bring some depth to this secondary. We already have some great players, some players that I’ve watched for some time in Micah Hyde – I watched him when he was in Green Bay. I’ve watched a lot of (Ronald) Darby when I was in college and he was at Florida State. He was another guy. And then we have Jordan Poyer here too. There’s definitely some guys that I’ve watched at LSU and I’m looking forward to just coming in and adding to the great players that we already have.'

'Recent history suggests not all of them will be around long. According to research from the website spotrac.com, the Bills have relinquished nearly 71 percent of the 55 players who they have drafted since 2010, the most in the NFL. "Relinquished" could mean the player signed as a free agent with another team, or was cut, traded or retired.'

'The fifth-year option would cost the Bills $13.258 million, which is guaranteed against injury. The franchise tag is expected to be roughly $3 million more.'

'Prices for individual game tickets at New Era Field will be categorized into five tiers – platinum, gold, silver, bronze and preseason – based on the Bills' opponent and time of the year.'

'Riddick, who is the brother of former Bill Robb Riddick and my favorite ESPN analyst, had the highest praise: He said White would have been the first corner he would have taken in the draft. That was saying something since Ohio State's Marshon Lattimore was the No. 11 pick by New Orleans, Alabama corner Marlon Humphrey was the 16th pick by Baltimore, USC's Adoree' Jackson was No. 18 by Tennessee and Ohio State's Gareon Conley was picked No. 24 by Oakland. (In his mock draft, Riddick had White being taken with the fifth pick.)'

'The Bills would love to come out of this year's draft with a starting right tackle, No. 2 receiver and weak-side linebacker. With three picks Friday, those positions will undoubtedly be under the microscope. Here is a look at five of the top available players heading into the draft's second day at the Bills' positions of need…'.

'Buffalo Bills – Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina. With a couple of teams ahead of them who could use a wide receiver, the Bills will probably have some anxious moments. If Jones gets to them, he fills an obvious need and will compete immediately to be the No. 2 receiver.'

'Thanks to a dizzying flurry of trades across Thursday and Friday night, the Bills addressed all three areas. It was a little crazy, all the flipping of picks, but in the end, the Bills knew exactly what their prime needs were, and they took an aggressive approach to shore them up.'

'His dad is Robert Jones, a Cowboys linebacker for 10 seasons, including three that ended in Super Bowl victories, two of them when Dallas beat Buffalo. Zay’s uncle is Jeff Blake who had a 14-year NFL career as a quarterback, making the Pro Bowl as a Bengal.'

'In addition to swapping second round picks, the Bills gave the Los Angeles Rams one of their third round picks, No. 91 overall, and received the Rams' fifth round pick, No. 149 overall, in return.'

'Jones fills a huge need for the Bills, who have Sammy Watkins and not much else at wide receiver. Jones will immediately compete with Philly Brown and Andre Holmes to be the No. 2 receiver in Buffalo, and it's not hard to envision him winning the job.'