Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘The Bills have two obvious areas of need as draft season gets underway:, wide receiver and edge rusher, and they could go either way with their first-round pick at No. 22 overall. Also, no one should be surprised if they take a cornerback.’

‘Based on what I saw in Mobile, here are a few the Bills might consider in those critical second and third rounds at their biggest positions of need, wide receiver and edge rusher.’

‘“I just want to come here — and it’s the perfect week to do it — to prove that I’m one of the best in the country at pass rushing,” he said. “I can put my hand down in a 3-4 scheme and I came from Utah in a 4-3 so probably right now I’m more comfortable on the edge in a 4-3, but left or right, either side doesn’t matter.”’

‘In fact, ESPN’s Todd McShay had the Bills taking Aiyuk in his first mock draft, published in late December, saying, “Yes, John Brown and Cole Beasley have been a big part of the Bills’ offense in quarterback Josh Allen’s second season, but that doesn’t mean the team doesn’t need more help on the offensive side of the ball. Aiyuk improves Buffalo’s receiving corps with his versatility and speed. But don’t be surprised if the Bills consider an edge rusher or cornerback here, either.”’

‘The Bills are here en masse with Beane, head coach Sean McDermott, coordinators Leslie Frazier and Brian Daboll, the top personnel men in the organization like Dan Morgan and Joe Schoen, and several assistant coaches, all keyed in on the three practices and, even more important, the interactions they get to have with whichever players they want.’

‘Quarterback: Tyrod Taylor.’

‘TE Tyler Kroft: He never recovered from the broken foot he suffered on the first day of spring workouts. He missed the first five games, then caught only six passes for 71 yards and a TD which, per his 2019 compensation, worked out to just under $1 million per reception.’

‘The first four picks — Ed Oliver, Cody Ford, Devin Singletary and Dawson Knox — made significant contributions to Buffalo’s 10-6, playoff-qualifying season. The last three, all taken in the sixth or seventh round — Jaquan Johnson, Darryl Johnson and Tommy Sweeney — played a combined 35 games in a variety of backup and special teams roles.’

‘The quarterbacks have grabbed many of the headlines but for Buffalo Bills fans it’s the supporting cast that will draw the most eyeballs.’

‘Yet, here we are, picking up the pieces from a 22-19 overtime defeat that, by all rights, should not have happened, especially if the defense did what it had been doing all year.’

‘Under McDermott and Washington, the Panthers finished in the Top 10 in overall defense four times. The Panthers were No. 1 in sacks in 2013 with 60, led by defensive ends Greg Hardy with 15 and Charles Johnson with 11. Carolina ranked No. 2 in sacks in 2016 and No. 3 in 2017.’

‘“Offensively, we did show some improvements,” said general manager Brandon Beane. “Josh improved, and we scored more points, but at the end of the day we didn’t score enough points.”’

‘Mom: Yeah, but they’re not a team, they don’t give a team effort. When one part is good, the other part isn’t. We need a team, not one person.’

‘“I wish I could go and give our fans an explanation, but I don’t want to go there, I can’t go there right now,” McDermott said. “The part I’ll say is that we had a chance to go up 20-0, and it got ruled that way at first and then it got changed. I have to go with what the ruling got changed to, that’s the way our league works.”‘

‘“The game did not end the way we wanted it to end, it did not go the way we wanted it to go,” said McDermott. “Because of that, it has been a painful couple of days for all of us. I recognize that, and my hope is that in time, if it’s handled the right way, the pain will turn into strength and that strength will turn into growth.”’