WhitewalkerInPhilly

I wonder, while a lot of people are putting in bids, Mary Wilson can choose who to sell to. Money may not be the only story.

I know I've been repeating this ad nasuseam for a for months, but thank you for saying it succinctly and well. There are some playmakers I would take over Mathews, but I doubt they will be there at 9. If anything, our own defensive strategy is an example as to why you need two equally good tackles. The Rex Ryan/Mike Pettine defenses (of which I know of at least three games where we'll see it) loves generating pressure by mismatching personnel. They might drop a DT or DE into coverage so you can overload a vulnerable side with only a five man blitz. I can think of zero reason to keep two very good rookie tackle prospect at opposite ends of the line.

I can't say that I hate the idea. He had great hands in training camp, and I was hoping that he would scratch the roster. He's probably slowed a hair, but he had a decent time and he probably has a better shot of cracking the roster as a TE than as a WR.

you mean he would never agree to play the position he played for three years in college?

I agree about Lewan, just not for the reasons most people are saying. I am alright with getting an elite tackle prospect and keeping them on the right side, but they really should be staying there for a while. RT can get away with being a little bigger and more raw than the LT (a big reason people kept thinking Glenn should go there) so if you're not getting "elite" I can settle for "very solid" in rounds 2-3. *Twitch* And untwitch. I wouldn't want him at nine, but if the Bills traded back for a second or third round pick it may be a nice pickup.

Edited for changes as of 4/11/14.

for the pats to go into the spread, they will need at least 3-4 wr. in that case, i can't possibly imagine not being in the nickel or dime, in which case spikes and whoever is the slb should be on the bench and the nb and seacry should be in. not that teams won't scheme to try to get spikes in coverage but that specific example isn't the best one.

the pitch: 'we want e.j. to have 4 seconds to throw the ball, and be better than 20th in rushing yards per attempt considering we have a young qb and the best 1-2 rb punch in the league rignt now'

Agreed. While I really, really want Evans if Tampa snatching him (which they almost certainly will, barring Watkins dropping that far) means that it makes available a guy who was speculated to go top 5 for two years in a row, in a position that could definitely use an upgrade (OL that was 28th in sacks, 20th in yards per attempt) drops to 9th, I would not lose a wink of sleep taking him.

i've heard that he does. there's another highlight reel I posted a few pages back that shows that even when covered he can make a lot of incredible jump ball catches, even on ones that probably should have been intercepted.

From what I am hearing, and looking over what Manny Lawson's role was last year, I wouldn't be surprised if they rotate at the LDE position. Lawson was pretty much always an edge setter outside Branch and Hughes is great when he can speed rush. Either way, due to their builds I wouldn't be surprised if they line up at the 9 technique.

Honestly, I know these are all highlight reels, but I am generally impressed with what I've seen from Mike Williams. I don't know if the Bills are done in FA, but that looks pretty promising.

I'm not quite as sold as our defense being set but I see your point. I think at least three of our first five picks ought to be another big, physical receiving threat for EJ (I hear the draft is really deep for that) and two more people to bolster the line. With two more to fill in the shuffle at FS and DE/SLB I think this team would look more complete than we have seen in years.

The Bruins would likely be a stumbling block. It would be hard to trade a franchise like that for the Bills.

Man, I'm late to the party. But I did have the chance to look things over and deliberate before I joined in the fray. I love the move. Because of his contract set-up, he has a very low number for this year, and that has the very last of his guaranteed money. If Over the Cap is right (and they are usually pretty good) while his contract number is high (6.8 million cap hit), he can be cut without a dime of dead money. This means that A) He has a Pro Bowl season that justifies paying that much or B)He under-performs or is average and we cut him or C) He is average and we renegotiate his contract. In any case, we add a veteran to a position that sorely needed one. For people who are saying "He's not a "open even when covered"" guy, watch this reel from 2012: Admittedly, that is a lot of Vincent Jackson, but Williams knows how to position his body well to make the catch and has a truly dangerous vertical jump. Looking over his measurables he reminds me a lot of Sammy Watkins. He looks a hair slower (4.5 s to 4.4) while being a hair bigger (6'2 rounded as opposed to 6'1 rounded). All for the cost of a 6th round pick.

Does picking up Mike Williams change your mind at all BB? If there is no one that is a perfect fit for our needs, Tampa now looks like a likely candidate for picking up Evans at 7, and that means there's a good chance a very talented player who isn't a perfect hit might slide to #9 and suddenly we have some tasty trade bait.

I think we need to chronicle this for posterity: an NFL fan outside of Buffalo doesn't think that EJ Manuel is the worst thing ever. To explain CR, the most popular member of the Buffalo Bills on this board is the backup quarterback, right up until the moment he becomes a starter. I do think that the Browns are going to be better with Pettine. I seem to remember that you guys had a decent defense in place, and Pettine is a very good coordinator. How much that transitions into Head Coach is kind of a crap shoot. For example, Pettine's replacement as the Bills DC is Jim Schwartz, the recently fired HC of the Lions. Phenomenal DC that couldn't make the transition. I would actually be rather shocked if you guys don't take a QB at #4. As an outsider, changing over your entire staff after one year sends a message of "I want to win, and I want to win NOW"(which I bet is refreshing) and nothing can bring change quicker than a QB. Cleveland is a nice town, and I hope that Buffalo follows in the tradition of rejuvenated Rust Belt cities. Best of luck when not playing each other/vying for the same wildcard spot.

Well, apparently this was serious. In a word: No. In two words: Hell no! Look, I understand the value of a punishing defensive line. And I would love to see a developmental player in rotation as a 4-3 DE, but I don't see anyone in the top 10 that I would love to have besides Clowney, who the Bills have almost zero chance of getting.

... i'm sorry, i don't know if this is serious or not.

I still keep hearing a lot of draftniks talking about sliding cordy over to rt. ignoring that, even with horrible play next to him the man showed a statistical improvement. hopefully with rivers things will look better.

That's my reaction too. Thad might, maybe, beat out EJ in an open contest last season. With an offseason of watching tape instead of prepping for the combine and having a QB coach who doesn't also have to split duties gameplanning for the entire offense, I have a feeling EJ pulls ahead. That said, I like Thad as a backup. I don't think that he's going to win games for you, but I also think that he isn't going to lose them for by throwing a pick 6 on the opponent's goal line *cough*Tuel*cough*.

To be honest, the reason why I want an upgrade at Tight End is because it's a position where it has recently helped young QBs. It's nice to have a big target over the middle of the field that can take the ball an extra 3-5 yards. It's the reason why the Colts drafted Coby Fleener to help with Andrew Luck. Notably, it really, really helped in the system most like what the Bills tried to run last year: Chip Kelly's offense for the Eagles. People can't seem to shut up about how Zack Ertz really helped the team and how excited they are to see him develop. Right now we have Chandler, who doesn't seem to have great chemistry with EJ and gets stopped pretty much exactly where he catches the ball and Moeaki, where we have no idea what we have yet. It would be nice to have some insurance.

i would love to see niklas at 41. great size, a nice, big open field target for ej who is going to help with the blocking from last year. i might even prefer him over ebron, since ebron isn't a great blocker, and it would mean that the bills got some great talent earlier on.

I'm living in Philly right now. A consensus that I was hearing in the days before Desean was released that that the Eagles had released all the veteran players that tended to help keep Desean in line (Vick and Jason Avaunt). When the Eagles picked up Darren Sproles, they gained someone who can function in a very similar role. For the record, pretty much every fan I have heard in Philly has called in to defend Desean, and says that losing him for nothing has weakened the team overall. If they wanted him gone, they wanted a 1st or 2nd round pick for him and are screaming that the Eagles let him go for nothing. Sound familiar?

Fixed. Point still stands.