OldTimer1960

Agree - he may not be there by 56. Rankings are all over the place and likely to settle in some more as the draftniks get to hear from the NFL teams at the combine. I haven’t studied too much on Collin’s, but what I’ve seen looks to fit as a 1T. Besides being available at 56, what do you see that makes him risky? Late 2nd is when I think it would be nice to get Collins - which is where the Bills’ 2 2nd round picks are.

My proposed alternative might be Alfred Collin’s - hoping to nab him at 56.

That would be a nice haul to get Grant, Hairston and Watts.

I’ve watched a few of his (Tyleik Williams) games and I think you’re right that he isn’t a great pass rusher, but he is a better mover than I expected and I did see him hustle chasing plays and he was faster, more nimble than I thought he would be at that size.

Who do you see at DE lasting until the Bills’ 1st pick in round 2? I believe the pickings are going to be slim by pick 56. I do think there will be good DTs left at that spot. Still, I think Gunner laid out a case to go CB in the first because they will be picked over before 56. I think if they wait till pick 56 or later for DE, there will be guys who are better at run defense than pass rushing. All that said, I don’t yet have a favorite. I like Umanmielen as a pass rusher and TJ Sanders impressed me a lot, but he is lighter and probably not a fit next to Oliver. At CB, I think I would shy away from the injured Revel and Morrison unless they are super sure they will recover 100%. I get bad vibes remembering Shaq Lawson’s lost rookie season due to shoulder injury he had and they drafted him anyway. I think CB with hip or knee problems is a big risk - such a demanding position that requires hard cuts and change of direction. I know there is a long way to the draft still and the combine next week can change things, but I can’t see Umanmielen making it to pick 56.

Double dipping at DT is interesting given that it is probably the strongest group in the draft. I’m guessing you are planning for a starting CB in FA. I think at least 1 CB needs to be in their draft plans even if they sign a viable starting FA. I expect that they will lose Rasul Douglas and it will not surprise me if Elam is sent packing - he just isn’t working out.

Bond worries me some. He managed only 2 catches for 30 yards in his final 4 college games vs Texas A&M, Arizona State, Georgia and Ohio State. Maybe he was injured, but if not, that is pretty disappointing production in the final stretch against top competition. Hopefully, there is a good explanation for that down-turn.

I am starting to think it may be the same situation at DE - do you think they would find a good DE prospect at their first pick in round 2?

This would be a nice year to trade down out of round 1 into early round 2 and hopefully nab an extra early 4th. But with the dearth of viable QBs to trade up for I think it will be hard to find a trade partner.

I would not spend that much to move up for Grant, mainly because it is a very good DT class.

Do you see any similarities between Ezeiruaku and, say, Jerry Hughes? Very similar size, though I think Ezeiruaku has slightly longer arms - Hughes looked a little thicker in old college tapes. Maybe Ezeiruaku has more pass rush moves than Hughes did coming into the league?

I think Ezeiruaku will be a very good pass rusher, but for a team that already struggles to stop the run and has an undersized DT and small LBs I wonder if this would be a good match. Not much of a fan of the WR class as a whole, but for sure Bills need help there. IF Morrison is healthy, he would be a nice pick there. But, if he is healthy he won’t last that long.

Basham was a clear miss - though I'm still not sure why he can't find a niche. He should be at least a good run stopping Edge, but he apparently isn't any good if the Giants let him go, too. Who is the Harrison you are referring to? Is that Harrison Phillips? If yes, he is not a bust at all. While we'd all like more from AJ Epenesa, he is about average for what you find at the end of the 2nd round - he's respectable, but you wish he were better. Finally, Von was a big risk and it WAS working well until he tore up his knee. He is nowhere near the player he was even with the Bills before the knee injury. Sucks, but hard to blame Beane for that except if you want to take the angle that they shouldn't have invested that kind of $ in a FA - that was their "go all-in" shot. I know it's frustrating coming up just short in the playoffs, but don't forget what things were like for decades before McDermott and Beane arrived. They are 37-13 the past 3 seasons - that's f*cking good even if they came up short of the SB. But I don't see a #1 WR in the draft - at least that will be available near the Bills' first pick. I could see taking Mathew Golden, but no thanks on the others that high.

Clearly, he is an idiot as everyone knows only QBs and WRs matter in today's NFL - just an attempt to be funny. It's good to see that defense and OL are being recognized as important. What the Eagles' D did to KC was impressive. At this point, I would like the Bills to go CB, DT, DE in some order with their first 3 picks. Fortunately, DT and DE appear fairly deep, but there seem to be only a few true difference-maker pass rushers at DE - but there should be a number of good run defenders who can get an occasional sack left at end of round 2.

Those are the positions I would like them to address. I do like Umanmielen from the games I've watched, but I'll be surprised if he makes it to the Bills' first pick in round 2 (I think 56). Likewise, I'll be very surprised if Trey Amos is around late in round 2. I might be convinced to move off of Tyleik Williams in round 1 and shoot for someone like Alfred Collins (Tex) in round 2 as the big run stuffer, but Williams is a good player. Just my thoughts - what you suggest would be very much welcomed!

You aren’t wrong, but do you think the Bills have the talent in the secondary to play a lot of man? I think that would just expose their secondary.

I disagree. I think McDermott is plenty driven to succeed. I think Beane went light on the D because he knew the talent level isn't top notch and, seriously, not many Ds have answers for Mahomes and KC. I will be very interested to see how the Eagles very good defense holds up today.

I am not as excited about Tre Harris, but maybe late 2nd is ok for him. He has demonstrated an ability to get deep and he has good size, but I’m not sure his route running is good enough. I’m not one who thinks 40 time is a great indicator of success, but if Harris can run under 4.5 that woud be fast enough for me to consider him. I would not think he would be in the mix at pick 30 - I know just my $.02 worth.

Yep, with little to no outside threat and no deep threat, there is a lot of traffic in the middle where Kincaid should be working.

I think the only WR worth pick 30 that may realistically be available is Mathew Golden. He is worth considering, but I think there will be better options available on defense. Golden is both quick and fast with decent size. In my view, he may be able to play flanker and inject some juice into the WR group. Beyond him, I haven’t yet seen any WR that really interests me in the first (that has a chance to be there) and nobody that really stands out for late round 2, either. Of course, I could be wrong and there is a lot of opportunity for someone to shine at the combine. I think there will be DTs worth late first and there probably will be good ones still around late round 2. i think they need to be looking at CB in late 1 or 2 as well.

They don’t have that much “draft capital”. They have pick 30 in round 1 and two picks late in round 2. They have 2 picks in the 4th (one fairly early and one near the end). They then have 3 6th rounders (together those might be worth a mid 5th). They may get 1 4th and 1 5th rounder compensatory picks for FA losses last year. So, no 3rd. Almost all of those picks are late in the round that they fall in. For example, their first and both seconds in trade might get them to about pick 11 in round 1. Alternatively, they might be able to trade both late 2nds to get to back end of round 1 (giving them 2 in the first). In the latter case they then would not have a pick for more than two full rounds. in my view, they might be better off trading down out of the first. There is supposedly good value in the 2nd and 3rd rounds this year and they likely are looking at 2nd round talent anyway at pick 30.

I would like it if they could do that and use early picks on edge and DT - 2 needs and 2 strong areas of the draft.

I think I read that Schwesinger was a walk-on and was so good that UCLA moved their starting MLB to DE to get Schwesinger on the field. That MLB to DE convert was Oluwafemi Oladejo who reports claim improved his stock a lot at the Senior Bowl.

I think Shemar Stewart is going to be very good. He has a lot of power, yet still has notable speed and agility. He might not be a high sack number guy, but he will de disruptive to offenses on passing downs and a killer in run D.

And likely that a CB will be an early pick in the draft.