Alphadawg7

Thanks John, always appreciate your posts. Couple follow up questions Is this person someone that for sure would know in the first place, or is it possible Beane is working on this and source wouldn't necessarily know yet? Lets assume he would definitely know, wouldn't it make more sense for them to say no at this stage since its not done? Or would this person always tell you the true answer no matter what? Just curious to the weight of their response...thanks again John!

Quick trade them Barkley and Zay for TY and Jacoby

Calm down it’s real and everywhere lol

It’s real!!!! Wow

Agreed...I think it will be 6 personally. Locks: Brown, Cole, and Roberts. That leaves 3 spots...and I think its going to be Duke, McKenzie and then one of Foster/Zay with the latter being traded (or maybe cut, but I think both would have trade value). I think Foster has more upside and they stick with him. But right now, I have a feeling Duke snaked someones job and its either Foster or Zay that will be affected. And if you look at the poll results right now (57 voters) it would be: Brown, Cole, Duke, Roberts, McKenzie and Foster with Zay on the outs.

Brown has barely played, not a fair comparison. And again the stat sheet is failing you. With the ones, Zay has done very little. Half that production came against scrubs last night playing in the 2nd half. In the first half, he let Josh Allen down and didnt even look for the ball on what was a sure first down throw had he just turned around for the ball. He dropped an Allen TD strike too last week. QB and coaches need to trust the WR, what has Zay done to earn that this preseason? We are talking about a guy whose supposed to be stepping up with the ones, and he has not done that. Brown has played well when on the field, not even close of a comparison. Watch games is all I can say...stop just looking at stat sheets and over looking the context. I dont mean that as a jerk, mean that the stat sheet doesn't tell the whole story. What matters is what Zay does against the competition he will be facing week 1, not against guys who won't be on rosters or will be backups at best. And in those situations, he has done nothing memorable and made some key mistakes, the same mistakes that have plagued him for 2 seasons. Question: When do we stop making excuses for a 2nd round 3rd year WR and expect him to show on the field he is better than he has been? I mean real question, as the excuse train is deep on Zay for someone who has yet to make his claim as a starting NFL WR.

I also created that post into its own thread too

Fair points, but I still think Foster would have gotten more snaps if he was battling.

Yup, and this was the basis of my February thread too. At this point, contracts will not factor into who they keep. They are all cheap that are competing for a spot and it will be the guys they feel are best suited for the team.

I just dont see them giving up on Foster after how he played the last 7 games last year. He's a 2nd year player, cheap, and has more upside than other WR on this team. But hey, I never thought a guy like Karlos Williams would get cut either after his rookie year, but it was Karlos the man who got himself cut. So maybe Foster has rubbed the coaches the wrong way...but still I think they would have played him a lot more like they did Zay last night if he was on the bubble to try and boost his trade value. Just my 2 cents

The only fantasy I see around here is your fantasy that Zay didnt drop passes

Already been done in other threads...I did that work, and posted it already. Not gonna do it again...not trying to be a jerk about that, just I am about to leave for my fantasy draft. If you want to your notes, sure go ahead and happy to read later. Mine can be found on this board in the other thread.

Last night, Foster was in on 2 snaps. For me, I think this tends to lend itself more to that he is safer than people think. I could be wrong, but my reasoning on this is that if his roster spot was truly in jeopardy, they would have surely given him more snaps for 2 key reasons. Maybe just gave him less work to give others more snaps and also take it easy on his foot and not risk aggrivating it. Evaluation - If he needed to win a spot, seems after his strong end last year they would have at least gotten him consistent snaps with the 2's at the very least as he seems to be a "gamer" last year when on the field in live action. Trade shopping value - After Fosters 7 game stretch last year after coming back to the roster, he would certainly have some trade value. Getting him more reps out there to give some more opportunities to make some plays this preseason before shopping him would have made sense. So to me, I think his spot is safer than people think and its Zay whose role is really in jeopardy. If Zay was locked in, they wouldn't risk him with the 2nd and 3rd units in the second half of the 3rd preseason game IMO. But hey, this is all just a guessing game to how the coaches may be thinking...just my 2 cents.

Sounds like someone needs to watch the video again..."uncatchable balls" LOL

He won't get cut over cap savings...if he is cut/traded its because they feel someone else deserves the shot more than him. People keep bringing up his low pay while overlooking that guys competing for his spot are just as cheap. His contract has 0% relevancy right now on whether he makes this roster. The guy who suit up week 1 with notable contracts are literal locks for this roster, Brown and Cole. Everyone else is cheap too...so Zay will only be on this team if the staff deems they WANT to keep him over one of the other guys. LMAO...its on film dude. I laugh so hard at this unwavering insistent the FILM never happened when you can watch it right now. No offense, but you denying in game footage of him dropping passes is about the most absurd thing I have ever seen on this board. Its 100% indisputable...like literally 100%. Keep trying though, respect to the commitment of utter blindness.

People keep bringing up the QB's...so are you saying its the QB's fault he dropped so many passes right in his hands?

I posted this in the Duke thread, but thought this was more suited for the WR competition overall. This was interesting to read today as the 3rd preseason game tends to be the game that gives away the most information in camp/preseason battles. So here are my thoughts on what some of this MIGHT mean as obviously, no one really knows what the coaches are thinking. Duke - To me its clear they felt he deserved more time on the field and even got in with the ones and obviously with the twos. This is quite the climb in what was supposed to be a dress rehearsal, and he didnt disappoint. My Opinion: They liked what they saw of Duke and are seriously considering keeping him and Duke only helped those chances. He's really climbed up the depth chart, and I think he is going to make this team. I have no idea who will start opposite Brown, but it wouldn't surprise if he was in the conversation. Cole slashing the short and middle, Brown taking the top off, Duke as the sure handed possession guy and our TE's pressing the seams would make a very balanced and difficult offense to cover if they all do their jobs well. Zay - While Zay started with the ones, it seems like they aren't clear on what to do with him and I think they are really pondering both his role, and maybe place on this team. You don't risk a sure "starter" on the field in the 2nd half of a preseason game, especially when you have other guys to evaluate for the roster. My Opinion: Zay's "presumed" starter role is in serious jeopardy and may have already slipped out of his hands like a Josh Allen TD strike. And if he does officially fall out of the starter conversation, then his role and place on the team gets more shaky. And its possible they ran him in the 2nd half to try and get him involved to maybe try and boost some potential trade value too considering he had done mostly nothing in the first 2 games other than dropping a TD strike from Josh. McKenzie vs Ray Ray - I think this is a CLEAR indication that McKenzie has stepped out in front of Ray Ray with a nice lead. If they were still wavering on him, they would have given him more snaps in this battle. I don't see Ray Ray making this team right now as McKenzie has outplayed him in the games after Ray Ray had the more impressive camp. My Opinion: McKenzie makes the 53 over Ray Ray, assuming they keep enough WR's to merit keeping either. Robert Foster - For all the bubble talk for him, I think the snap count actually lends itself to possibly suggesting he's safer than some think. If he was fighting for a roster spot I just don't see them only giving him 2 snaps in the 3rd preseason game. For a guy that was a gamer last year, if they were starting to waver on him, I would think they would give him a lot of snaps for 2 reasons: To better evaluate him and also potentially showcase him for a trade as he would have trade value (rather than just cut him). My Opinion: Foster's seat isn't as hot as Zay's, but his role is still up in the air for sure and he's not safe. Everyone else: None of the other guys will be on this roster week 1. Cam Phillips had a strong camp, but Duke was the one moving up the depth charts the last 2 weeks and getting runs in with the 1's and 2's. Several of the WR's will be legit PS candidates though and I expect at least 2 make it there, maybe more. My Opinion: Cam, Sills and Easley would be guys I would keep an eye out for the PS.

Its all good...I edited but you replied before you got the edit. Didnt mean my first pass to sound snarky...was just trying to emphasize some points. But like I said, its all good.

Zay is good enough to play in the NFL, but the question is if he is good enough to be a big part of an offense or is he better suited as a depth player. Evidence so far to me suggests he's more likely to be a JAG WR (Just Another Guy), which is fine and could still have a long career. As a Bills fan though, I would rather take a chance on a guy like Duke who seems to do something specific exceptionally well (High point balls, contested catches, red zone threat) versus a guy who is just average or below average at everything. At least then, you have a dedicated role for Duke where he could excel as a possession guy versus a guy thats unreliable with his hands and doesn't have a part of his game that he excels at...at least not yet. I mean he can still get better of course.

Im not saying they should not keep Zay...you said no other WR could outplay him and cited Foster...yet Foster did out play him in the final 7 games. Zay not only had 2 TD's against Miami, but he also dropped a critical pass just before the Clay drop to end the game that basically cost us a win. So yes, he had multiple TDs, but you seem to forget he also helped us lose that same game. Then the other 2 TD game was in week 17 against a Miami team who mailed it in. If thats the best evidence to make his case in 31 career games as a starter, then thats not a strong foundation IMO. In 31 career games: No 100 games 22 games under 40 yards recieving Dropped the most passes on the team both years Has a horrible catch rate for his career

All good brother, you own me nothing. All the disagreement was fair and warranted...it was always going to be a split subject. But at least now, no one can say it was crazy or meritless as just about everything I wrote proved accurate. Now whether or not that all equates to Zay being traded (or cut as some others suggested), is still up in the air. But at least my thoughts have been validated.

Not so much a victory lap, more defending my honor haha. I mean people were in the shout box during this very game still saying I will never live that thread down lmao. I stand by that thread 100% regardless if Zay is on this team week 1 or not

Zay had 4 against MIAMI. Pump the brakes.

I hear ya, but if you recall the post...I said I thought Zay would be traded in preseason, not then the offseason. I made that post before Free Agency and I predicted we would bring in 2 to 3 new WR's, and we brought in 3 with Duke, Brown, and Cole. I said I thought he would get every shot at this team but would struggle to stand out against better competition. And if he slipped down the depth chart he could be a guy Beane would try and get some value for before being in a reserve role for a season would kill all trade value. Everything I suggested in February has pretty much gone that way so far. The only thing left, is will he be traded (or even cut, but I still doubt he would get outright cut). Brown took the top spot, Cole took the slot spot, and Zay has failed to lock down a starting spot and has not risen to the occasion anywhere during preseason and even dropped a TD last week and a first down this week with the ones. He still clearly has a shot to be a part of this team, but I think its proven out that the concerns I voiced then are still the concerns now and that his roster spot is not a lock.

If only someone had suggested that possibility in February around here... I bet if someone DID suggest that in February, then everyone would say "no way", "that is crazy", "he had a great 2nd year", "thats just a LAMP post", "Your thread title is wrong" and people would suggest he will never live that suggestion down forever. Good thing no one suggested that...???