JESSEFEFFER

The top of the DT group for reference: Dexter Lawrence Clemson 2019COMBINE 9.87 Ed Oliver Houston 2019COMBINE 9.87 Quinnen Williams Alabama 2019COMBINE 9.85 Renell Wren Arizona State 2019COMBINE 9.74 Jerry Tillery Notre Dame 2019COMBINE 9.72 Ray Smith Boston College 9.67 Alec Heldreth Clarion 9.57 Jalen Dalton North Carolina 9.09 Michael Dogbe Temple 9.03 Trysten Hill Central Florida 2019COMBINE 8.99 Jonathan Bonner Notre Dame 8.76 Khalen Saunders Western Illinois 2019COMBINE 8.56 Christian Wilkins Clemson 2019COMBINE 8.55

It is. I wonder what held him back at ND that is tied in to not being one of the elite of this draft. Many Bills related mock drafts have taken him quite late and if he's there in the 5th it seems like that's the type of shot you take.

David Montgomery. Credited with over 100 broken tackles last year and only 3 fumbles in almost 700 career touches. I liked James Conner two years ago and Robb Riddick is an all time favorite of mine. I want guys that grind out tough yards and help sustain offense with all around play. I do not favor dancers that look for daylight that never comes. Kahale Warring is an improving, athletic TE prospect that has an interesting back story and fits in the 3rd round. The Draft Network's Ledyard wrote: "Warring has the quickness and speed of a big wide receiver, but the length of a tight end and the biceps of a greek god. His routes and releases are already surprisingly polished, and while he can improve a bit as a blocker and continue to sharpen his ball skills, the work ethic and football character attributed to him at San Diego State bodes well for him reaching his high ceiling. Time this man gets the love he deserves as a top 100 prospect" Any player with a local connection. The BN had a story on them recently. The UB guys and those that played their high scholl ball here are interesting to me. I will follow all of them as they take their best shot at having an NFL career. Punter Mich Wishnowsky of Utah. Others mentioned him so I looked at his draft profile. Very atheltic, former Aussie Rules player, 3X Ray Guy finalist and apparently has some good directional kicking skills. I'd like the Bills to have a reliable punter that can handle the job without putting the team in bad situations with mishit or poorly placed punts. His athleticism may flash the way Moorman's did. Mitch Wishnowsky I'd bet he'd be a fun guy to have on the roster too.

Butler and Hurd are nice. Strange that the draft grades on them are all over the place but they look to be both ahtletically and physically what the Bills WR corp lacks. Oh, and that comment about the basketball team makes sense. I hadn't heard that before but it seems totally compatible with Beane's public comments about what types of WRs he wants on his roster.

My prefernce is that the Bills maneuver enough to get 5 picks in the top 100 and then take some combination of DE, DT, OT, WR, TE and RB with those 5. After all those veteran free agent signings, the roster needs an infusion of young talent that can realistically push some of those FA off the roster. Drafting a bunch of players destined for the practice squad at best does not do much to upgrade the roster. Trading up does nothing to help make that happen.

I am new to this metric and was seeking opinions on how much insight it actually provides. There is probably some correlation between what it measures and what the "ceiling" might be for any player. It does give some rather interesting scores and relative to the positional peer groups it must mean something. Here is the link to the site which I do as an attempt to conform to rules about using other people's data: RAS Scores This format can't be sorted which is very inconvenient so I copied it to an Excel file which can be sorted. I have seen other lists which has historical scores going back fifteen or twenty years which is would be a nice way of trying to look for a correlation. 1) Highest RAS is punter Mitch Wishnowsky with a 10! If you wanted to run a fake punt he might be the man. Austrailian Rules football says hello. I'd like the Bills to fix their punting for a decade and he'd be worth a late round pick to me just to add a 3rd option to the competiton. 2) Highest QB score is...............Tyree Jackson. 3) Surprisingsly poor scores for Irv Smith, Jr who is at 4.82 and Jace Sternberger at 5.25. Most of the other top guys are much higher. FYI, Stephen Carlson from Princeton (JHS alumnus) is an 8.26 whiich is why I was even looking to find this data as I was curious how he stacked up. 4) I would assume that it would be tough for a player to really out perform this score as most ingame matchups would really favor elite athleticism . Certainly QB and all it's unmeasurable but necessary traits and maybe RB (doesn't measure contact balance or vision) are likely exceptions. 5) Anyways it does provide something extra to discuss in terms of whom the Bills might be considering and whom they actually do select. 6) Amongst the RB class, Miles Sanders is a standout but his fumbling is a problem, imo. RAS 2019 NFL.xlsx

With the way Nate played in the preseason, starting Josh would have been a huge mistake, imo. When Josh struggled and they lost games, and we all knew that would happen, every veteran on the team would have thought/said "Why not Nate, he looked better, was the best of the 3 in preseason and he won the job." You do not want the veterans on the team to reject the rookie as the starter. As it was, after Baltimore, no one would be lobbying for Peterman to play.

I like the idea of Montez Sweat but he may not be up to the job. Besides the heart issue and the Michigan State issue (Weed and a bicycle?) is the way he makes sacks. They are pretty soft and not likely to separate the ball. He really needs to arrive at the QB with the intent of getting the ball out like Khalil Mack and Josh Allen who forced 11 fumbles at Kentucky. Montez forced only one at Mississippi State. This could be drill and coaching, but learning to use an off hand chop at the ball when approaching the tackle would be a start.

I skimmed through and did not see an answer to this. 1) No vetran QB on the roster to start the season. A mistake fixed by signing Barkley and Anderson. 2) Not retooling OL after departures of Wood, Igcognito and Glenn. I'd argue this was attempted but was done so on the cheap due to dead cap constraints. 3) Having big targets Benjamin and Holmes as WR1 and WR3 to start the season. I'd argue that they were not the wrong type of receiver to have, just that they were not good enough at it. The overall point is that Beane has been very agressive at fixing these roster mistakes and that it may continue to be adressed early in the draft, hence Metcalf/Williams talk.

No way that Whaley and his staff were going to call the shot on the Bills' next attempt at a franchise QB. Trading down and getting more ammo for the 2018 draft was all about deferring the QB choice to the next GM. That is typically a selling point to the next GM hire. The pool of prospective GMs that would be ok with not being able to select the HC nor the QB would be tiny. Whaley was a lameduck, Beane was lined up and the QB choice was deferred. Makes 100% sense to me.

The answer to the question is yes, they can wait. But, if there is a guy they really like as an all around, do it all kind of player they might need to take him in the 3rd from what I have seen in most rankings. I have seen David Miontgomery, the RB I favor, anywhere between 40 and 90 on most of the bigboards I have seen by the semiprofessional NFL Draft aficionados. I think RB is a pretty big need for 2019 and especially starting in 2020. I hope they are serious about getting someone they think can be special.

I think the 2020 roster needs 2 new RBs so get them on the roster this year. Maybe Love gets stashed on IR and shows up in 2020 ready to go and is had pretty cheaply on day 3. I really like Montgomery's style. The OP mentioned a break-a-way threat. I want a break-a-tackle threat that has all-around ability and can move the chains. More James Conner than LeSean McCoy. In a baseball analogy, I see the running game as being the tablesetter and the passing game being the homerun hitters. A running game that moves the chains gives the team more chances for other guys to make big plays. PFF said Montgomery set some kind of record with 100+ broken tackles and that's good enough for me. That's some tough running. Only 3 fumbles in nearly 700 touches is pretty dependable too.

I read your Allen report just to see how it stacked up with what we witnessed in his first year. I think you nailed it so it earns you some credibility on the 2019 guys and it's not like your evaluations look anything like the others I've seen.

I agree with this. It should be stickied somewhere everytime Mahomes does something great and the hindsight viewers kick in. I'd also add that there is no way that Doug Whaley and his lameduck staff would be entrusted to make that pick. It was clearly better to leave that decision to the next GM. I really, really hope that Josh Allen makes this story fade away into irrelevance.

Yes, he was very focused on that 3-cone drill. He almost became McDoormat because he was so up close and personal. That scene did look meaningful.

Alpha, I like the moves but not the players as much. Irv Smith is small and unathletic compared to the rest of the TE talent. That's not top 50 worthy, imo. It bothers me that AJ Brown outplayed Metcalf at the college level, in the same offense. Wilkens and Love could be good additions at the right price.

Well, I feel like you may have teed this up, but there was one other person involved in this story who did exactly that.

He was on record as liking Josh Allen prior to last year's draft. So it's not as if that. being impressed by his 2018 play and feeling like they could be a 2019 surprise are not 3 100% compatible opinions.

And trading with Denver might keep Miami's preferred QB from them which would be ok too. This makes sense to me altough I'd put a big X-WR ahead of olb.

I really like this and I have suggested such a move as well, although I don't think the Bills can get a straight, stand alone 3rd (#71?) but maybe have to surrender one of theirs in the 4th in the deal. One goal would be to get more picks in the top 100 and this helps. The bigger goal is to convert day 3 picks into meaningful roster assets and fewer 2019 bodies. Getting the same guy at #10 as they would at #9 is a great selling point to such a deal and Sweat would be ok with me if his medicals check. If the Broncos like Haskins or Locke, then it makes sense for Elway to pull the trigger ont the cheap and try to quiet the mob of their fans upset with his post Manning QB moves. Now, if there are 3 to 6 players the Bills feel are of equal value, then trading to 13, 15 or 17 makes sense and would help their roster build even more, just as Alpha suggests. With 5 in the top 100 (an edge has to be in the top 50, imo) they could get something like: DT or DE (Sweat, Oliver, Burns, Wilkens) // WR (Butler, Harry, or which other flavor they like) or DL again if one fell // TE (Warring, Oliver, Sternberger // RB (Montgomery, Sanders, Harris, or whoever they think is best available and a likely consensus top 5) and DL (Saunders, Wren with whom they have been connected.) If their is an OT they like at any of these spots, that would be great too. Five picks in the top 100 gives them a real shot at 5 players who can upgrade their 2019 roster. Now convert other day 3 picks to franchise assets like 2020 picks, a talented player that is an IR candidate (like a RB such as Bryce Love, as Alpha suggested) and a top punter like Mitch Wisnowski (an athletic former Aussie rules player with great directional kicking ability) who gives them a 3rd chance to better their ST from last year. Next year it's likely they will need to replace Gore and McCoy and it makes sense to get them on the team this year if the price is right.

Having a 2nd year starting QB on a rookie contract is the new pathway to roster/franchise reivival. There is so much pressure on a rookie QB to transition to the NFL game that it's really unfair to expect much from them. The 2nd year is the year where everything can come together and often in spectacular fashion. Coaching stability, roster upgrades, an entire offseason of preparation and unquestioned alpha QB status is all there (++++) to help improve Josh's 2nd season performance. There's almost no way his performance can't be improved in ways obvious to all.

Considering the sum total of off season roster building and its impact on the future of the franchise, i think this year rates ahead of last year. But, last year's draft was more important than this year's so I sense from where the lack of enthusiasm originates. But, two things have helped boost my interest: The mock draft similators (never played with them much prior , they are fun and they do boost one's knowledge of what's available) and the sheer number of different players mocked to the Bills @ 9. Off the top of my head, Oliver, Sweat, Hockenson, Metcalf, Gary, Fant, Dillard, Wilkerson, Taylor, Williams (X3), Murphy. These are just the ones mocked to the Bills by the professional opinions (not that they are any better than ours.)

My goal would be to get the most out of their current picks on day 3, where the 7 players they might take can't all make the roster. They can do this by attempting the following: 1) More day 2 picks. Instead of 3 in the top 100, I would much like to see 5 taken there to really upgrade the roster with young talent. They can trade down into the middle of the first but up into the 3rd at the same time. There are so many different educated guesses as to whom the Bills might take @ 9 which tells me that many of those same players would be there @ 15 or 17. 2) Convert 2019 picks into upgraded 2020 picks. 3) Draft an talented but injured player for a redshirt year on IR. Bryce Love makes some sense because they look to have bigger RB needs for the 2020 roster. 4) Draft a punter. Maybe the best punter in the draft who they think might win the job. Some have lobbied for Mitch Wisnowski who is an interesting athletic, ex Aussie Rules player and 3 time Ray Guy finalist from Utah. Just make another move to improve their chances to have better special teams play this year and an Australian accent in the post game locker room would be awesome. Cue the Men at Work tune: "I come from a land down underWhere beer does flow and men chunderCan't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?You better run, you better take cover, yeah"

The demand for media content continues to surprise me. I remember a time, and it does not seem too long ago, where the daily dose of NFL content was either a Felser or Northrup story in that day's Buffalo News. Those were the days of the TV Guide, The Sporting News and daily newspaper boxscores as important resources for sports fans. Many more folks making a living by generating NFL related content for mass consumption, all year round. But, that's across the board in all news genres. I do not know how newspapers can survive the internet.

'll put this in here for an FYI. WNY football fans may remember that in 2014 Jamestown and Cansius met for a game following state championship seasons. One of the best players on the field that day was Stephen Carlson of JHS. He caught 5 for 126 and had 13 tackles in the game won by Canisius. He just finished his college career at Princeton and bulked up to 240 lbs. by Princeton's Pro Day in an attempt to get an NFL shot at TE. He's trying to get to 245 lbs. by the time of the draft and below are his Pro Day test results compared to Irv Smith Jrs' combine numbers. I think he'll get a FA signing at least. He's 6'4.1". 40 BP VJ BJ 3-cone 20 60 4.70 18 32.5 123 7.01 4.40 12.26 4.63 19 32.5 110 7.32 4.33 12.44