‘Nearly 11 years later, Laviska Jr. is the very picture of perseverance, a young man who understood at a very young age that life isn’t fair, and all you can do is what his father would want him to do.’
Archives for February 2020
Laviska Shenault thinks he’d fit with Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen is ‘great,’ & compares himself to Jarvis Landry
‘The 6-foot, 227-pound “Swiss army knife” of a wide out did a little bit of everything as a playmaker at the college level. Some of his favorite moments was when he tormented defenses out of the Wildcat formation. He can line up outside, in the slot or in the backfield and he’s usually a problem at every level with the ball in his hands.’
NFL Combine 2020: Potential Bills draft target Tee Higgins thinks he’ll run this blazing-fast 40 time
‘“My goal is to hit a 4.4.,” Higgins said Monday inside the Indiana Convention Center standing atop a podium just a few feet away from Colorado receiver Laviska Shenault, who could also be in play for the Bills at No. 22. “A lot of guys think I’m gonna run a 4.5 or 4.6 but I’m excited to change people’s minds.”’
2020 draft offers wide receiver solutions
‘“Let’s start with a guy who can catch the football. When these young man run the 40 that’s great but at the end of the day you have to be able to play the position and one of the key elements for playing the wide receiver position is being able to catch the football on a consistent basis,” the Bills head coach said.’
Cody Ford’s Former Teammate Reflects on Bills OL’s Skills
‘“When we first came in the U of H, I’m just thinking aw, this is just another guy,” said 2020 NFL prospect Josh Jones. “He’s got to put on his pants the same way we do, but then it was like the second day of pads, and he’s lined up at nose with the second team, running with the 2’s, dude sits there, lifts up our center, tosses him out of the way, hits the running back in the backfield, his helmet pops off and the ball flies in the air. I’m like alright he can go, he’s a good player. Then after that he saw me rising as one of the best offensive lineman so after that we just went at every single day, Oklahoma drills, one on one’s, just to get as many reps as we could against each other.”’
Why wide receiver draft prospects like what they see from the Buffalo Bills
‘”It’s a playoff team,” Higgins said. “It’s real cold up there, but I’m from Tennessee and it gets cold up in Tennessee. It’s just a team that’s hungry and you can tell they’re pushing for a Super Bowl really soon.”‘
Bills keeping their options open with Cody Ford along offensive line
‘”Nothing he did last season, even when he had some moments that weren’t his finest, said, ‘This guy can’t play right tackle for us,’ ” Beane said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine. “I don’t think he’ll ever be a left tackle, but he can play right tackle in the NFL.”’
Bills, free agent cornerback Josh Norman have had opening dialogue
‘“We’re very familiar with Josh. We had some great years with him,” Beane said. “I remember the day we drafted him and where he grew from. He is out there on the free agent market. We have looked into him and even talked to him. Nothing more than that to where we go. I’m sure he may have some teams that he’s looking at beyond Buffalo. … He’s in a spot where he’ll be able to choose where he wants to go. He’s officially a free agent. Beyond that I don’t know what his plan will be.”’
Brandon Beane at NFL combine: 9 takeaways from Bills GM’s briefing
‘“Receiver, of all the positions, probably comes in the Baskin Robbins’ 31 flavors,” Beane said. “Size, speed, length, run after catch, all sorts of variables. There’s really small guys that do a lot of the stuff Isaiah McKenzie does behind the line of scrimmage. There’s guys I call playing above the rim.”’
‘This is a great time’: Bills co-owner Kim Pegula gives advice to women seeking NFL careers
‘”There were coaches in there, there were GMs, there were owners, and the word that they used was ‘intentional,’ ” she said. “Clubs, ownership, people in decision-making need to be intentional about providing diversity and inclusion in our clubs. And what I’m saying to you is that this is a great time, because that is what the league is about, that’s what all our clubs are pushing. We are looking to be intentional, we’re looking to find that diverse group of workers at our clubs, whether in football or on the business side.”
Beane, McDermott excited to dig in on deep wide receiver class at NFL Combine
‘“Honestly, I’m looking for a good player,” general manager Brandon Beane said. “Receivers come in the Baskin-Robbins’ 31 flavors — size, speed, length, run after the catch. I think it will probably be the deepest (position) in the draft. We’re not just looking for speed or size. We’re looking for good players who can come in and fit with players that we have — John Brown, Cole Beasley and the rest of that group.”’
Bills paying attention to the XFL, hope it succeeds as a feeder league for NFL
‘“I love these other leagues,” Beane continued. “We don’t have a minor-league system like some of the other professional leagues do. For us, that’s another chance for guys to play football. You can run around and work guys out, but this is true simulation, helmets on, pads on, playing the game. We definitely do have an eye on the XFL.”’
NFL Combine 2020: What Bills GM and head coach said about ‘deep’ WR draft class
‘“There’s speed, there’s size guys, there’s underclassmen, there’s seniors that didn’t come out who are very good too. I think there could be a lot of guys drafted all the way through from 1 to 7 (rounds),” Beane said. “We were talking about it the other day. There’s going to be guys drafted on the third day of the draft who may come in and take a veteran’s spot on a team. It’s that deep.”’
NFL Combine 2020: Deciphering 7 Brandon Beane, Sean McDermott comments for offseason clues
‘The Bills won 10 games in 2019 and had the Houston Texans on the ropes – on the road – and almost collected the team’s first playoff win in 25 years. Last season means higher expectations for this one coming up in six months.’
NFL Combine 2020: Buffalo Bills meeting tracker
‘Buffalo will meet formally with 45 prospects this week, down from the 60 prospects teams used to be be able to meet with at the combine. Bills GM Brandon Beane said on Tuesday that the interview portion of the combine is valuable to the team as they continue preparations for the 2020 NFL Draft.’