‘”I mean, is it ever really our choice? No,” Dawkins said during a conversation with The Buffalo News during the start of the Bills’ offseason workouts and before last week’s draft. “As the left tackle, I’m going to strongly be confident in myself that if I just do what I’m supposed to do, that question would never come up. So, I feel like that I am a left tackle, that I’m special at tackle, but only God knows the future.’
Archives for April 2019
Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane on why he drafted Ed Oliver
‘”Ed is, first of all, he’s a competitor. He’s tough. He plays from the snap to the echo of the whistle. He fits Buffalo, how we do things. They used him in Houston a little different than how we’ll use him. He played a lot the zero right over the nose. For us, I think Sean will slide him in as a three tech in our defense, which is a very important piece for what we’re doing. You guys know we lost Kyle (Williams), and we were not able to answer that in free agency. I think this fell pretty good for us.”‘
Early Defensive Rookie of the Year, sack total O/U for Buffalo Bills first-round pick Ed Oliver
‘After talking with an oddsmaker, Cooley said Oliver’s over/under for total sacks during the 2019 regular season is set at 6.5. This is the same total as New York Jets’ No. 3 overall pick Quinnen Williams. Oakland Raiders defensive end Clelin Ferrell’s total sacks over/under is slightly lower at 5.5. The highest total sack odds at this time belong to Josh Allen of the Jacksonville Jaguars (O/U 7.0) and Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers (O/U 9.0).’
Tyree Jackson is the quarterback the NFL draft forgot
‘“He has a strong arm, and he’s got some mobility. I think he’s shown improvement during the year and he played in the Senior Bowl. It wasn’t too big for him, and I think he’s still an ascending player.”’
Franklin Regional grad Colin Jonov invited to Bills rookie minicamp
‘The 2014 Franklin Regional graduate spent the past season as a graduate transfer at Pitt, where he played in 11 games, mainly on special teams.’
Easley signs with NFL Buffalo Bills
‘“It’s where I wanted to go. The Bills have showed a lot of interest in me. Right as the NFL draft closed, the call came,” Easley said in a telephone interview on Sunday. “We watched the draft as a family at my grandma’s house in Iowa City so it was really special to have family and friends here with me.”’
Moral Stephens gets rookie minicamp invite from Buffalo
‘The veteran tight end wasn’t selected in this weekend’s NFL Draft, but Florida’s new coaching staff had positive things to say about his NFL potential after taking over in Gainesville.’
Beane: ‘We’re heading in the right direction’
‘”We do think we have filled a lot of holes between free agency and the draft, but I do think there are still spots that we can improve and get stronger. If there’s ways that I can at least add competition; we’ll pay attention to what happens. There will be some guys that will be released this month that teams drafted a player at their position and maybe their cap number is a little higher now than the team wants to hold on to or take a chance on an injury. There will be some guys out there still and if we think there’s a guy that fits, we’ll still look to add more competition between now and when we get to St. John Fisher.”‘
Marino: Ed Oliver “knows how to get in the backfield and make plays”
‘”Jerry Hughes used to be the only guy getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Now, you have at least two of those guys with [the addition of] Oliver.”‘
10 fun facts about the Bills’ 2019 draft class
‘“You know what’s crazy? I got on my horse the day of the draft,” said Oliver. “That morning, I wanted to go ride horses because it just eased my nerves. That whole day, I was relaxed. I wanted to go ride horses a little bit in the morning time, kind of get away a little bit. But when I came back to the Draft, I was fine. Got dressed, went out there. I wasn’t nervous one bit.”’
Bills Today: MMQB: The best Buffalo roster in years?
‘The Bills already seemed set at running back but still got Devin Singletary in the third round. They also doubled-up at tight end in this year’s draft. No one’s saying they’re going to compete for the AFC East crown with the Patriots still kicking, but Beane has put together one of the best Bills’ rosters in recent memory.’
Analysis: No WR pick makes Zay Jones, Robert Foster Bills draft winners
‘Jones is not going to catch 80 passes, not with more important targets at Josh Allen’s disposal. But he and Foster remain key cogs in the Bills attack. The Bills need one of them, or a combination of the two, to take a step forward.’
NFL Draft analysts give high grades to the Bills
‘This was a really solid first two days, headlined by Oliver, though I was surprised there was no receiver in the class. If Knox becomes a threat in the receiving game — and if Allen keeps developing — I like where the offense is headed.’
Did the Buffalo Bills have one of the best drafts in the NFL? The analysts say yes.
‘The offseason priority in Buffalo was clear: Help second-year quarterback Josh Allen. He was up and down in Year 1, but it was tough to fully evaluate him as the offense didn’t have much talent overall, particularly at receiver and tight end. GM Brandon Beane added wide receivers John Brown and Cole Beasley plus tight end Tyler Kroft to give Allen some better targets. The Bills also reshuffled their offensive line, with definite upgrades at center (Mitch Morse) and right tackle (Ty Nsekhe) and a few other low-cost moves.’
Sources: Bengals attempted to trade up for Buffalo Bills OT Cody Ford
‘Two sources informed NYUP that the Cincinnati Bengals tried to move up for Ford, but wouldn’t part with the necessary picks for the offensive tackle. Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com discussed the Bengals’ interest in a “first-round offensive lineman that slid” and noted that the team attempted to move up on the second night of the draft.’