WGR

‘Basham Jr. weighs in a 6-foot-3, 274 pounds with a ton of experience playing for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. In four years at Wake Forest, Basham Jr. notched 20.5 sacks, 173 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries in 45 games.’

‘“They’re definitely a hard-nosed defense,” Basham Jr. said. “…even when I play Madden, I play with the Bills. The defense is something I really love, I’m glad I’m a part of it now. That was the main thing I was thinking about when it was first going through my head. It’s a dream come true.”’

‘Before the 2020 season was postponed, Brown was named a preseason FCS All-American. In the years prior, Brown started 33 of the 34 games he played for Northern Iowa. Brown lined up as the starting right tackle for the Northern Iowa Panthers in every game during the 2019 season.’

‘“I know it’s a hardworking organization, hardworking team, and blue-collar,” Brown said. “That’s what I’m anxious to be a part of, it’s part of my background. I grew up on a farm in Lennox [Iowa], then went to Northern Iowa in a blue-collar city. Being a part of Bills Mafia is perfect for a kid that grew up in a small town in Iowa.”’

‘“We really liked [Rousseau] through the process,” Beane said on his Zoom conference call early Friday morning. “We spent multiple Zoom [meetings] with him, like we did a lot of guys. He’s a Grade-A young man, very mature for his age. He has the intangibles that we look for and he’s a guy that’s going to work. … We like who he is, and we think he’s a guy that in time will reach his potential.”’

‘“I kept thinking he [Basham Jr.] was going to get picked,” Beane said. “We had a deal agreed to with an NFC club. We told them if one player was there, which was Basham Jr, that we weren’t going to do the deal…. It would’ve moved us back into the third round and added some other picks. We felt like we were in a good spot.”’

‘“I couldn’t be any happier,” he said. “That is the one place I really wanted to go. I’m genuinely saying this.”’

‘It’s clear what the Bills plan was going into this draft, and why. After watching Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs beat them twice on their way to a Super Bowl appearance, including defeating the Bills in the AFC Championship Game, and only sacking Mahomes once in both games combined, Beane and head coach Sean McDermott obviously felt they needed to add, and maybe even overhaul, their pass rush, in multiple ways.’

‘Here are my top players who also fit their needs and scheme, by position…’.

‘Rousseau was thought, by many, to be one of the best pass rushers in the 2021 draft class. He was projected in many mock drafts to go somewhere in the middle part of the NFL Draft, but ended up slipping to the back end of Round 1 to the Bills, who could use another effective pass rusher.’

‘“We really liked [Rousseau] through the process,” Beane said. “We spent multiple Zoom [meetings] with him, like we did a lot of guys. He’s a grade-A young man, very mature for his age. He has the intangibles that we look for and he’s a guy that’s going to work …. We like who he is and we think he’s a guy that in time will reach his potential.”’

‘“I’m just a player that’s going to bring it all from day one,” Rousseau said. “I’m ready to go out there and compete. I’m also someone that’s going to give high effort at all times …. I’m going to be the best player I can be.”’

‘While he has great size and length at 6-foot-7, 266 pounds, it will most likely take him time to get acclimated to the speed of the NFL and the kind of offensive linemen he’ll face on a weekly basis. Bills fans shouldn’t expect Rousseau to walk onto the field in 2021 and collect double-digit sacks.’

‘Emmanuel Sanders is 34-years-old and on a one-year deal. Cole Beasley is 32 and is likely a cap casualty candidate for 2022.’

‘It will be costly for the Bills to trade up 8-10 spots. I can’t see them being able to go beyond that, given how cost prohibitive it would become coupled with teams not wanting to drop that far. So for this exercise I capped a Bills-trade up scenario at ten spots, to slot No. 20.’