2003Contenders

Here were my take-aways: 1. Allen is a natural passer (When it is all said and done, that was EJ's greatest failing; playing the QB position just never came natural to him) 2. He has off-the-charts talent 3. He is very bright and is very coachable 4. He played in a relatively pro style system and had responsibilities that many of the other rookie QBs did not 5. He still has plenty of work to do to prove that he can compete at the next level I am getting more and more excited about Josh Allen as a potential franchise QB. I would be even more excited if I were 100% convinced that the Bills offensive coaches have what it takes to coach him up.

Right after the draft I believe that Allen indicated that he would continue to work with Palmer on the side.

Guess you mean the 1983 draft, rather than the 1986 draft... Marino fell in that draft because allegations had been leaked to the press (reputedly by Miami) that he had a drug problem. The team that was most famously duped was the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that was originally planning on drafting the local kid.

And you know this how? It may be possible that Darnold was their first choice, but the Bills had been linked to Allen for months. Regardless, let's rejoice that the Broncos bailed on the initial trade agreement when Chubb was still on the board; otherwise, Edmunds would have been unavailable.

It also helps that Favre had Holmgren, Reid, Mooch, and Gruden all coaching him up in those early years in Green Bay. Hopefully Allen is given every opportunity to succeed with the coaching staff at hand.

He clearly has talent, but there are just so many red flags... There is a reason why the dude slipped in the draft. Let's not forget that he made it plain a few months back that he did not want Cleveland to draft him. Then he pouts that he did not go "1, 2 or 3"? He strikes me as a combination of Rob Johnson and Jay Cutler. They were both talented guys too. But RJ never learned the art of self-preservation, and Cutler's surly attitude was a turn-off to the point where he had coaches throwing him under the bus. I couldn't help but notice the visuals of Allen versus Rosen walking to the podium last night. Aside from the difference in their demeanor, the size difference was obvious. Allen looks like a guy that can take a licking and keep on ticking, whereas Rosen looks like one big hit would knock him out. I am feeling more and more like the Bills got this one right.

Also, forget about those antiquated trade charts that Jimmy Johnson popularized. The Jets set the price by giving up THREE 2nd rounders (which were/will be HIGH 2nd rounders, assuming the Jets are the Jets in 2018) to move up 3 spots (from 6 to 3). There was competition from Arizona and other teams for the Bucs' #7 pick, so paying the price of TWO mid-to-late 2nd rounders seems reasonable.

King's source is more or less echoing what Gil Brandt said a few weeks ago. Basically, he sees very little separating the 15th or 16th rated prospect from, say, the 50th. Lots of "value" to be found in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and this is a year where beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

Honestly, I understand why the Browns may want to keep everything close to the vest, but when you are picking #1 overall, there really is no reason to try to play mind games. I remember the "new" Browns inaugural draft back in 1999. They had decided on Tim Couch weeks before the draft but pretended to be interested in Akili Smith too, right up until a couple of days before the draft. At least back then there were $ issues in terms of what the #1 overall pick would command, but with the current rookie cap and slotting, that is no longer really an issue.

Sounds like Rudolph to me...

Exhibit A for why it may not be the end of the world if the Bills are unable to land one of those top QBs in the draft: 1985. Most pundits agree that was the best draft in team history -- and like this year, the Bills had 2 firsts, 2 seconds and 2 thirds. The team was terrible back then; had the #1 overall pick in the draft, and the QB situation was a mess. Ferguson was gone, and the team wound up playing through the season with journeyman Vince Ferragamo at QB. But guess what? Instead of selling the farm to draft a QB, they made great use of their picks to fortify other positions. Bruce and Andre -- both Hall of Famers -- came out of that draft. They waited until the 3rd round to address the QB position, and took a guy that was projected to be (and tuned out to be) a career backup. Youmay remember him, his name was Frank Reich. I guess my point is that there is so much hand-wringing going on about "worst possible scenarios" if, say, 5 QBs get drafted in the top 11. The way I see it, if 5 really do go before the Bills pick at 12, that means that a top-7 overall player at another position will be available at 12. Given the quotes I have read stating that some executives believe that there are 8 non-QB blue chip prospects in this draft, that would mean that at least 2 of them would still be available if indeed 4-5 QBs go before the Bills pick. As much as I would love to land that franchise QB we have all been clamoring for in this draft (and hoping one falls to us), there are so many other needs that could also be addressed. I could live with rolling the dice with McCarron and hoping to catch lightening in a bottle with a Faulk or Lauretta later in the draft if it means enhancing the lineup at 3-4 other positions. I, for one, will not be cursing Beane's name if he is somehow unable to draft one of those top 4-5 QBs, provided that he uses the picks we have wisely. Going back to 1985, that draft laid much of the ground work for the future Super Bowl teams, but the QB position was not truly addressed until the FOLLOWING year when the USFL collapsed, and Jim Kelly came to town.

Albright's "Let's just say there are things that the public is unaware of" (assuming he knows what he is talking about) makes me wonder if Rosen is possibly off the Bills' draft board as well.

I wonder if the comment about all of the QBs having flaws is a way of prepping the fans for not trading up and drafting someone like Jackson, Rudolph or Faulk with a later pick.

True, but all of the guys on that list (other than Leftwich) went on to have successful NFL careers. In a draft like this, I would be willing to listen to his advice in terms of the various QB options.

Still not as good as 12, 53, 56 and 96 that he supposedly has the Bills giving up to get to 6. That is why it is funny (and a cop-out) that King is careful to specify what he has the Bills giving up to get to 6 but makes no mention of what the Cardinals with less ammunition, jumping up a pick higher and having to move up further (10 to 5 as opposed to 12 to 6) would have to give up. In order for the Cardinals to beat the Bills' deal deal, they would have to give up all of their top picks (as you say) from this year's draft PLUS next year's first.

All the smoke about the QBs leading up to the draft turns out to be just that, smoke. Only two QBs go in the first 10 picks, Darnold at #1 and Mayfield at #3. The Bills are on the clock at 12 and Bills nation goes insane because Rosen and Allen are still on the board. Instead, the Bills take... Lamar Jackson.

I think the key point was: "Anyway, when it's all added up, the Bills' defense did more for the team's success than anything Flutie accomplished. " I remember, especially in 1999, when the offense would struggle and the defense would keep the team in games. Flutie and the offense would manage to pull out a 13-10 type game with a late scoring drive, and the press would marvel over "Flutie Magic". RJ certainly wasn't the answer. He was everything you wanted from a physical standpoint: big, strong-armed, accurate, mobile. He just never developed any sort of pocket presence; he had no "timer" in his head and was missing natural instincts. Many of his knock-out hits came as a result of him running full speed into an on-coming pass rusher. Flutie's was a nice story: an underdog who seemed to make good in 1998. Even if he didn't play as well as his mythical reputation in Buffalo would suggest, the truth is that he did play well enough during that stretch back in 1998 when the future of the team's viability in Buffalo truly was in question. The PR folks at OBD were happy to promote the Flutie myth in exchange for unprecedented box seat sales. In the process they helped the already outlandish Flutie ego to get out of control. Every game the Bills won back then was because of "Flutie Magic", and every game they lost was someone else's fault. And Doug had no problem throwing his team mates under the bus, either. Had Dougie been saddled with the horrific defenses backing him up that, say, Fitz endured, Flutie's time in Buffalo would have just been another footnote.

There is an important distinction that you are missing. You are correct that it would not be lawful for the Seahawks to refuse to hire Kaepernick based on his political beliefs. However, they can certainly request that he NOT protest based on his beliefs while he is "on the clock". Also, using your analogy, it would not be lawful for the Seahawks to refuse to hire a player who is a proud gun owner, but they can certainly ask him to not to be passing out NRA promotional materials on the sidelines during games.

I always got the impression with Jordan Matthews that the Bills medical staff was privy to information that was not generally known to the rest of the league. A few weeks ago I heard Matthews himself admit that the Bills uncovered an undiagnosed degenerative leg issue last season.

Or, the Browns deal with the Bills directly, and the Bills manage to trade all the way up to #1. I know this is unlikely given the criticism that the Browns have received for failing to pull the trigger on top drawer QBs like Wentz. And there is a new GM in town for the Browns who appears to be competent. However, I still can't get it out of my head that the Browns opted to trade the #65 overall pick for Tyrod Taylor. Perhaps, a stretch -- but what if they really like Lamar Jackson as the heir apparent to Tyrod? They could wind up with the QB they want at 12, plus multiple other 1st and 2nd round picks from the Bills. This is all very unlikely, I know, but what if Beane went nuts and made Cleveland an offer they simply could not refuse?

Nice work, but I would argue that the 1998 draft was MUCH worse that you indicated. There was a reason that there was no 1st or 4th round pick that year -- and it was because those picks went to the Jaguars in exchange for ROB JOHNSON!

It also helps when the GM and coach are joined at the hip as McD and Beane appear to be. Whaley had no say in hiring Marrone, as that was primarily a Brandon decision. If Whaley had his way, the Bills' next coach would have been Hue Jackson, but the Pegulas (at Brandon's urging) hired Rex instead.

I really do think that there is a strong possibility that Mayfield slides on draft day -- maybe even to the point where guys like Jackson and Rudolph go ahead of him. I am not saying that SHOULD happen, but there are a variety of reasons for why this could happen: 1. NFL scouts and GM's have so many preconceptions about what an NFL QB looks like. Mayfield does not LOOK like a prototypical passer, and his height is going to be a serious issue for many of them. Everyone brings up Brees and Wilson as towering examples of QBs who have overcome being short in stature. However, neither of them were first round picks. Brees, in particular came out of Purdue with quite a pedigree; there was little to dislike about him OTHER than his height. 2. Say what you will, but the QB position is/has been/always will be a position in which personality matters. Every team views their starting QB as the face of the franchise, and it is very important that he represents that franchise in a positive light. Mayfield is a very polarizing figure. Depending upon your tastes, he may come across as confident and competitive. Or, he may come across as arrogant and immature. He certainly is much less polished in terms of his media presence than the other top QBs in this draft class. 3 Video clips like this one serve to crystallize preconceived notions. Worse, they make tangible the unseen and imagined. Ray Rice was dropped from the league only AFTER the video of his abuse popped up; Tunsil slid massively in the draft AFTER the video of him taking drugs was leaked. Both situations were known to have happened, but the videos in each situation served as greater damnations. It just takes one team or decision-maker for that team to fall in love with Mayfield and pull the trigger. So anything can happen. I just suspect that some of the more conservative suits in the NFL may be leery of investing a high first round draft pick on him. I can only imagine watching the heads explode around here should the Bills select Rudolph or Jackson -- with Mayfield still on the board.

Mayock, who has ties to the Giants, made this rather measured analysis the other day: The Giants believe that they are in a unique position this season to be drafting as high as 2. They (like many teams) also believe that there are 3-non QB top notch players in this draft: Barkley, Nelson and Chubb. All three would fill needs for the Giants. However, if there is one particular QB that the Giants are in love with, that trumps everything. So, first the Giants will have to wait and see what the Browns do. If the Browns take the QB that the Giants would be interested in, then the pick could be up for sale. That is because the Giants know that the #1 pick is a QB, the #2 pick (presumably traded to Buffalo) would be a QB and the Jets are almost certainly taking a QB at 3. Hence, all 3 of those non-QB studs would still be available at 4 and at least one would still be available at 6. That is why Mayock believes that the Giants would be interested in trading down if the QB they covet is gone before 2 -- but not interested in trading later than 6. Obviously, the Bills would have to work a deal to move up to 6 (or possibly 4 or 5) prior to the draft for any shot at getting to 2. Then on draft day they would have to work a deal with the Giants to move to 2. However, this presents a huge risk, as the Giants' decision to trade up or down will be dependent upon what the Browns do at 1. Maybe we will get lucky and the Browns will make their intentions regarding the #1 overall pick known ahead of time, and the Bills, Giants and another team (Colts, Broncos or Browns themselves) can work a three-way deal just before the draft.

In addition to 6 QBs going in the first round, I am also starting to get the sense that the order of the 6 could be really surprising. That is, I would not be at all surprised if one of the "Big 4" (Mayfield?) winds up dropping behind Rudolph and/or Jackson come draft day.