hondo in seattle

I don't love this pick because any QB taken in the later rounds is typically a wasted pick. And yet... we had to pick a QB at some point. Both our QBs are nearing the end of their contracts and TT is not a proven franchise guy. Jones is raw but has shown flashes of brilliance. Let's say Roman and Lee mold him into a quality backup. Is he still a waste of a 4th round pick? How much is a good backup QB worth?

I think this is a great thread. So often fans - with 20/20 hindsight - say we should have take this Pro Bowler or that Pro Bowler instead of the bum we actually drafted. So let's say it now. For myself, I'm going to guess this: if I had the same input from the scouting staff that DW had, I probably would have picked Shaq too. As a Bills/NFL fan who doesn't study college game tape, I agree entirely with K-9:

Maybe true... but you're on the wrong board.

Agreed. I tend to see DW as an average GM in a very competitive field. Hence our 8-8 record last year. I'm hoping though that he continues to learn and grow.

With so many other urgent needs I chose Hogan of Stanford as a mid-to-late round low risk project. Weird mechanics but accurate and smart.

I'm impressed! I couldn't have done this, and doubt if I have 1/100th of your knowledge of college players. I guess you weren't swayed when Gruden said he'd be "shocked" if Hackenberg isn't a first round pick. You've ranked him #21 on your QB list!

Does JW have inside information? Or is he making an educated guess? It's hard to disagree. Our D was worse than our O last year and some players may be miscast in Rex's D. I'm surprised some gurus are guessing the Bills to pick a WR in the 1st round. I get the concerns about Robert Woods as a legit #2, but our D needs help more than our O. And Roman likes to run more than he likes to pass. Given the team priorities & philosophy, a WR at #19 would be odd. Pretty much everyone at the NFL website agrees with JW... http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/mock-drafts

Sports media is going the way of politics, transitioning from reasonable commentary and rational debate to partisan ranting and outrageous sensationalizing... Jamie Horowitz, the president of Fox Sports National Networks, toldMichael McCarthy of Sporting News in March that he was interested in bringing a personality like Bayless into the Fox family: I look at these "opinionists" like superstars in the NBA. You can probably name the dozen superstars who are out there. It's like asking the (Boston) Celtics, "Are you interested in Kevin Durant?" Yes, we're interested in all the superstars. Of course, I'm interested in Skip. I'm interested in Stephen A. and Michael (Smith) and Jemele [Hill] and (Tony) Kornheiser and (Michael) Wilbon. Just like ESPN and Fox were both interested in Colin [Cowherd]. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2635852-skip-bayless-to-leave-espn-latest-details-comments-and-reaction?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

Monday Morning M.D. (MMMD) - never saw this before. A former team physician writing a regular column focused on NFL injuries. Apparently, he makes predictions about player recoveries. Good find.

I haven't read all 20 pages of this thread so my apologies if my argument is not a new one... There's been some speculation that the Bills go WR in the first round. This would surprise me. Based on last years performance/rankings, we need more help on D than O. That would suggest drafting a defensive player would be a higher priority than an offensive player. Roman likes to run more than pass. That would suggest drafting a player to help the run game would be a higher priority than drafting someone to help the pass game. We already have one 1st rd WR. That would suggest we'd want to help a different position with a 1st rounder this year. If a WR is truly the BPA, so be it. I'm hoping for - and expecting - something else at 19.

Good find, bad news. I'm glad now that I wasn't big enough, fast enough, strong enough to play professionally. It's a terrible price some of these guys pay.

Very detailed analysis and - to me - surprisingly positive. Nice find.

While 12 Gauge would make a certain kind of sense (a project who could sit and learn behind TT), I'm not convinced LaConfora has any inside knowledge concerning the Bills draft plans. I think like many sportswriters, he overstates his sources. He mention "buzz" about the Bills liking Jones. Is this buzz what he hears from sportswriters? What he reads in the press? What he hears from other teams that may or may not have good information and may or may not be honest with a sportswriter? Or does he actually have a good source at OBD? I don't think it's the latter.

When I went to the army's Officer Candidate School, all but one of the candidates in my class were college grads. Some came from prestigious universities. So we laughed when an instructor told us that all training materials for enlisted soldiers were written at the 10th grade level. Then he told us that all officer training materials were written at the 12th grade level and that humbled us. He explained that to be effective, training has to make sense to everyone, not just to the best and brightest. Clarity for everyone is key. Even the least analytical player with the poorest memory needs to understand the scheme and know his assignment for each call.

Yeah, curious he replaced his agent at this point. Apparently the agent wasn't getting him what he wanted. To stay in Carolina???

Thanks for posting - I missed this too. I get how Rex would be conflicted. If I was a HC or coordinator, I'd want to out-scheme and out-smart my opponents. I could see myself falling into the trap of making things too complicated. But a lot of these players were not A students in college. And you want your D to make quick decisions and then act with aggression. Simple schemes executed with a high degree of violence and precision can be better than complicated schemes executed with self-doubt and confusion. The optimal balancing point between brilliant complexity and aggressive simplicity is tough to find. And it will vary from team to team, season to season, depending on the players. Rex has clearly reevaluated his defensive roster and is moving toward the simpler end of the continuum. Based on some of the things we've heard from the players and saw on the field last year, this is probably a wise move.

I'd rather be #1 on this list than #2 or #3. If we're going to be miserable, let's get some credit for it! Hopefully I live to see the day when we're not on this list at all.

While I'm a born and bred Bills fan originally from Cheektowaga, the Browns have been my second favorite NFL club since I was maybe 9 years old. Doubly cursed.

I'd love to bug DePodesta's phone. I wonder if he's rewritten the trade value chart yet. If not, I expect he will. I wonder what kind of analytics he's using this year to project the NFL performance of college players. Given all their needs, this seems like a good trade for the Browns despite their need for a QB. DePodesta may think there's a higher probability one of the mid-tier QBs will succeed in the NFL than Goff or Wentz. With all his picks (including #8), DePodesta can still grab a QB.

Actually, we're good. To slow Brady and adapt to the times, Rex is rolling out a new 3-1-7 scheme this season.

I recall Stevie Johnson not being in optimal shape because he didn't take the off-season seriously. I'd prefer Sammy in Buffalo wearing an ALL IN shirt. I'm hoping he's spending 6 hours/day in the gym where ever he is.

Rory Gallagher Iron City Houserockers

The political process in America is important. It's good for people to get involved. But as a leader, you shouldn't risk alienating members of your team by publicly supporting a political candidate, especially one this divisive. Trump doesn't poll well with minorities. Various polls among black voters show Trump's support ranging from 4-12%. I suspect Trump wouldn't poll well in the Bills locker room, Richie's support notwithstanding. When so many blacks - and others - consider Donald a racist, why would you risk damaging your connection with them by supporting him? When I was an army officer, the higher brass frowned on us making political statements. Publicly, we weren't Republicans or Democrats. We were simply Americans. Publicly, Rex shouldn't be a Trump or Clinton supporter. He should be a Bills supporter. http://www.factcheck.org/2016/02/trump-and-the-black-vote/

This is such an obvious point. And yet coaches often receive too much credit or too little. Dick Jauron, for example, was an uninspiring leader. But the poor guy did not have a very good roster to work with either. He was probably doomed from the beginning by the personnel department's failures. I think GRo did well with the players he had last year. But he needs to take a step forward this season.

Shame is the game is more or less sold out. So I'm going to spend $200+ per ticket on the off chance the Bills will win in Seattle. It would really suck to shell out that much money only to experience - in person - a devastating loss. The Hawks are something like 27-5 at CenturlyLink Field over the past 4 years. The cost and long odds are why I'd earn the right to gloat for years if the Bills did win.