Alphadawg7

I don’t think that’s the case, I remember watching Embedded and both the pre draft and draft day war room footage seemed clear Greg was their guy even before Etienne was drafted. I am sure there was real interest in Etienne as they believed Rousseau could go as high as 20 they said. There’s even a clip early in the draft talking about looking at a trade up into that range. But, I think Etienne was behind Greg on their board and still would have been the pick even if both were available. Beane is seen telling McD earlier in the draft that Rousseau is who they are looking at to bring some size and pass rush ability to the edge.

My heart: Hughes, would love for him to get a ring here. Who could help the most: Beasley, still a good weapon on down and short, 3rd/4th down conversions.

Interesting as the buzz I have been getting still sticks to Willis being the first QB off the board. I haven't heard anything specific about McDuffie and Gordon in terms who is gonna go first, but it wouldn't surprise me if Gordon went first. I think they are relatively closely graded and IMHO probably get drafted relatively close together. I would be shocked if there was more than a 10-15 pick difference in where they go. So, just going to come down to whichever team is taking one of them first on who they prefer.

Watch Davis highlights, you’ll see it. And Diggs too. I’m not saying we can’t use another guy who has YAC ability, I was disagreeing it’s all related to personnel. Go watch a Josh Allen highlight reel and you will see what I am talking about in terms of the routes run and extension of plays where it’s not keying in on YAC. It’s not like our guys are catching passes frequently in spots to get YAC and then just not getting the yards.

Sorry you’re wrong. Diggs is a YAC guy, Davis showed he can be too, and so is McKenzie. The poster you are replying too is correct. YAC is as much scheme and routes called as it is players talent. And the route designs are often not called with YAC in my mind as they are at getting to an open spot. This is also greatly impacted by Josh Allens improvisation where the receivers break off routes and focus getting to a spot, comebacks, angles towards the sidelines, etc to give Josh a clean target on the scramble. Chiefs on the other hand run a ton of quick slant routes specifically designed for YAC which is why Mahomes leads the league in yards passing on passes at or behind the LOS by a wide margin. And Josh Allen is actually 3rd on that list too.

Dane is a good backup, ok starter. He can definitely be upgraded and we also don't know how Tre will play even when he is back, let alone knowing when he will actually be back. CB is without question the weakest unit right now and shallowest.

Thanks, yeah I think its safe to say he isn't on the Bills radar, thats is not the kind of player McD and Beane will tolerate in the locker room

Congrats, September 8th will make 15 years for me...wow how time flies.

Do you know what his characters issues might be by any chance, I didn't follow his first year with the Giants closely enough to know what they are.

No problem, just sharing what he told me with y’all. And yeah I had a feeling we were gonna be a Thanksgiving game again this year when I saw Detroit on the opponents list too. So nothing super ground breaking here by any means.

Like I said, take it for what it’s worth…a rumor at this point since it can’t be verified yet. But he works in the sports marketing department at the network and it was his boss that gave them the heads up.

Someone I know in media just tipped me off that the Bills are supposedly playing the Noon game on Thanksgiving in Detroit. They got a heads up today about it at the TV network he works at in Detroit. As with anything, take it for what it’s worth though.

Obviously I know a CB or two is coming no matter what this draft, I just would prefer one in the first 3 rounds. Again, not advocating to reach, just saying it’s a worrisome hole right now and taking one later doesn’t give me the same confidence as getting a better prospect. At the same time I won’t flip out if we don’t take one early though either. I want Beane to take the BPA every time we pick.

Like Mike Ditka...trade the whole draft for him. 🤣

I will run the Bills and trade up into the top 10 to take the Punt God. LFG, let it all burn haha

First Kudos on all the work bud, good stuff to read Curious why you don't separate Linebacker into MLB and OLB, which I think most ranking sites do and I think is important when looking at the LB rankings. And also, curious as to why you listed Ojabo as an "edge" vs a LB. I feel like I always see him classified as an OLB on ranking sites, and I think he plays as a OLB vs a dedicated edge rusher in the NFL too.

Another great mock you ran here Virgil, thanks for doing these, they are always fun and spur interesting back and forth discussion

I dont disagree that Tre likely makes the difference last year. But...Tre's a big question mark this year. There is no guarantee he doesn't have a set back, there is not certain time table for a return, and there is no way to know what level of play we will see from him this year. His injury often takes a while for a player to really come back all the way from, if they even come all the way back from it. And while I know "speed" is not the primary focus in McD's defense at CB, I am greatly concerned by our lack of it right now with how loaded the AFC is today. But hey, I love offense like anyone else. So I won't hate any offensive picks by any means. And I definitely do NOT want us to reach for a CB or any player ever. But if there is a WR and a CB on the board at 25 closely graded out, I think the CB should be a higher priority. I mean imagine adding another guy like Tre White opposite him the next several seasons on a rookie deal. Especially as the older guys like Hyde and Poyer eventually leave, potentially even sooner in Poyers case. For the record, if an incredible prospect like Garrett or Jameson falls to 25, I am fully on board snagging them.

I am admittedly concerned about the level of play once Tre is back as its not uncommon for these injuries like this to take a player a while to regain form. At RB, its possible to say upgrade from Devin with someone faster, but I also don't see it as a need. Devins stats last year were pretty impressive once he got carries. So I think maybe feed Devin the rock and add a speedy complimentary receiving back in the draft, like what they wanted from JD before having to sign the less impressive Duke. Dont get me wrong, I wont hate drafting say Hall or Walker, never opposed to adding weapons...I just am in the camp that is comfortable with Devin carrying the load this year and less comfortable with the state of our secondary. I know I am pounding the table here in this thread that defense is a bigger concern, which it is, but I am definitely not anti-offense either. Especially since Josh Allen is my favorite player of probably any sport to watch play all time already. But I also want to win a SB, and I have seen way too many offensive juggernaughts either not make the SB or lose in the SB because the opponents D shut them down, and/or their own D failed them. So makes me uncomfortable in the potent AFC to see the state of our CB situation right now, not to mention, Poyer situation is developing still too.

I did not say those losses were "all" solely on the defense though. But...the defense failed us in every game in the second half of those games at minimum. 2019 - In the second half, our defense gave up 17 consecutive points, including an 8 play TD drive late in the 4th. Then a 9 play game winning drive in OT to lose the game. I know it wasn't all the defenses fault, but giving up 20 points in 2nd half and OT sent us home as our offense wasn't yet at a place to carry the team. -NOTE: I will admit and add that this game was also greatly impacted by the refs. And honestly, our offense should have scored more points if not for those refs and Watson got away with 2 snaps after the clock hit zero in this game too. So I would say the offense also wasn't as bad as the score and stat sheet say because we had multiple drives screwed by awful decisions by the refs. 2020 - Our defense looked like a high school defense going against the Chiefs. Without exaggeration we looked like the worst defense in the league that game, Hill and Kelce were running wide open with yardage between them and defenders. Our defense played like it was a padless walkthrough and we looked like we did not belong on the same field with the Chiefs. Granted our offense struggled too, but our defense was one of the most embarrassing efforts I have seen during the McBeane era. 2021 - Our defense gave up 3 scores in like 3 minutes and 42 points and was unquestionably the most significant reason we lost. So, while its not solely on the defense, and its rarely solely on one player or one unit, but the defense was instrumental in those losses and didn't make the plays it needed in 2 OT losses and was completely out classed in another. Meanwhile, Josh Allen is now second in NFL history with QB Rating in the playoffs, behind only Mahomes by 1 point. They both actually passed Starr after this years game ironically. Our offense this past season averaged 41 points per game in the playoffs. Allen threw 9 TD's and no turnovers with almost 800 yards of offense. So if I had to grade, which side of the ball played a bigger role in us going home this year, it was the defense. And if you look at the past 2 playoff exits, the defense was atrocious in 2020's exit and it gave up 20 second half points in 2019. Offense had its own woes in 2019 and 2020 too, but Allen is on another level now, Davis is ready to take a big role, Knox has stepped into his own, we added a great slot guy in Crowder and weapon at TE in OJ Howard too. Devin busted out last year as well after he finally got carries. Saffold and Bates being here along with Kromer is only going to increase or run game even further. So its a lot easier to feel more comfortable with the state of the offense today before the draft than the holes we have on the D, not to mention the holes we could be facing next year of the D with big decisions on contracts looming on key players. And currently at CB, we have a former UDFA and 3rd string CB ready to take over who struggled against the Chiefs in the playoffs and a former all pro coming off a major injury that could prevent him from playing up to his standards this season as they are tricky to come all the way back from. So I think its more than reasonable to be concerned more about our pass defense that lacks speed right now heading into the draft. A defense that has a pass happy AFC West its gonna see in the playoffs, and the elite speed it will see twice this year from Miami. ' But let me reiterate to everyone, I do NOT want us to reach for any position. If BPA when we pick is offense, take the BPA. I am all for that, I never advocate for reaching. This is simply about what ideally we should do if the right CB is on the board with one of our first 2 picks. I didnt say it was only the defenses fault in all 3 games, but I should have better clarified that so I can see how you took it that way. I meant the defense was bad in all 3 games.

Except I’ve repeatedly said never reach, so there’s that too

If Wilson slides to 25 then I support taking him, I just still think he goes before our pick Come on, I am pretty sure I saw you complaining a lot about the defense this past year And again, we lost 3 consecutive playoff games in 3 straight seasons because of defense. I love offense...I love giving Josh weapons, but to pretend the offense was the issue and not the defense in our KC loss (again), is a false narrative. We had a NORMAL amount of punts but gave up an abnormal amount of points to KC. We scored 36 points in a loss...offense is not why we lost.

Its not completely unrelated, because people are all over this board pleading and arguing to take a WR or a RB at pick 25. People are on this board saying the will flip out if we take a CB round 1. So this isnt about this make believe draft, its about the people clamoring for offense, even back to back picks, who are many are literally the same people who whined for 2 years about Levi, our defense, wanted McD and Beane fired in both 2020 and 2021 every time our defense came up short. Who want Edmunds traded. Who want Poyer traded...etc etc. Who started thread after thread about the end of the KC game. So, I am just saying, dont sit here all off season and plead (not saying you, generalized statement) about drafting offense and then spend the season whining about the defense again like they did last year.

Youre worried about a lull in the middle season yet ignoring defense bounced us THREE consecutive years from the playoffs. PS: Our offense averaged 41 points per game in the playoffs with 3 total punts...Josh Allen had almost 800 yards and 9 TDs in 2 games with zero interceptions and zero fumbles. But tell me how the offense was the problem again...and not the 42 points we gave up including 3 scores in like 3 min to end the game. PPS: You dont think a first round CB helps? So you are basically saying Tre White would not have made a difference in that game? You really believe that? Come on. Might as well trade Tre White then, he wouldn't have made a difference right. Get rid of his contract and get some more draft picks to take more offensive players.

I didn’t say I wouldn’t be happy with those players, I’m saying it’s unrealistic. First of all, find it hard to believe Wilson falls to 25, he’s probably going top 10. But I do believe Beane will stay true to his board, so if a corner isn’t there he likes then I don’t think he would reach, nor should he. I just expect one to be there and don’t expect Wilson to be there.