mjt328

Inside Linebacker Easily the weakest spot on the roster. But if the Bills haven't made a move yet, I think we are just going to see a change in defensive philosophy towards this position. They are going to try rolling with Tyrel Dodson as the initial starter... hope Terrel Bernard takes the job in training camp... and then rely on AJ Klein as an emergency fallback. If you really think about it, the Bills got screwed at ILB this year. They would have been foolish to give Tremaine Edmunds the contract he got from the Bears. The options to replace him in Free Agency were extremely slim. And this year's draft class was not only very weak, but had zero chance of falling favorably our way. Defensive Tackle We are in very good shape for 2023. Nobody is signed for next year, but we still have plenty of time to give extensions to anyone who deserves it. Running Back Short of having an elite/star runner, you really can't ask for more from the Bills group. They have a strong mix of veterans, young guys, pass catchers, power backs, etc. They are fine here. Offensive Line Guard was probably over-addressed this offseason. We are still good at LT with Dion Dawkins and C with Mitch Morse. The excesses at Guard give us the option to slide Ryan Bates over if Morse gets another concussion. The only weak spot is Right Tackle. I wouldn't mind getting a veteran fallback in the event he doesn't progress this season. In my opinion, the Bills still need to bring in another Edge Rusher. We clearly didn't get enough out of Shaq Lawson, AJ Epenesa and Boogie Basham last year down the stretch. As of right now, one of those guys is pretty much guaranteed to start the season. My guess is that Beane is probably waiting to get a health report on Von Miller before making a move. There are also a half-dozen veteran guys still on the market who could potentially fit this need. Yannick Ngakou, Justin Houston, Leonard Floyd, etc. Maybe he waits for the season to get closer before adding one of these guys.

I caught the Jim Rome interview, and was going to post the same thing. At this point, I think Bills fans just need to accept that our coaching staff just sees the that position in a different light. The days of Mike Singletary, Junior Seau and Ray Lewis are long-gone. We have no interest in that kind of player in our defensive system. The big complaint with Tremaine Edmunds was that (despite his large size), he wasn't really great at taking on blockers and plugging the run. His greatest value always came in coverage and preventing throws over the short/middle of the field. He always played more like an OLB. It was always going to be tough to get a replacement with Edmunds physical characteristics. But with us drafting Terrell Bernard last year and Dorian Williams this year, I think it's pretty clear that we are still more concerned with stopping the pass. If that means being undersized compared to the traditional MLBs around the league, then so be it. For now, I think the plan is for Tyrell Dodson to start. Hopefully Bernard or Williams eventually takes the job. If everyone sucks, we have AJ Klein as a fallback.

Trading Ed Oliver gets us extra cap space for 2023. Probably not quite that much, since you also need to spend something to sign a decent replacement. Assuming there is still anyone out there on the market. If you are worried about re-signing Micah Hyde in 2024, then just don't give Oliver a long-term extension. If he walks in free agency, then we have that extra cap space available next year regardless. Looking to the future is great. But at some point, you do need to think about fielding the best team today. We already have a huge question mark in the middle of our defense at linebacker. Do we really want to downgrade our D-Line too, just for some extra cap space?

My opinion on this team is a mixed-bag. This front office and coaching staff did a fantastic job turning around a franchise, which was a total embarrassment for over 20 years. The main reason is obviously (finally) landing a franchise-QB in Josh Allen, something which eluded the previous regimes. But it also extends to the drastic change in culture and confidence inside the locker room. Players around the NFL actually want to to be in Buffalo and expect to win here. With that said... it's just tough to win a Super Bowl. For all the things Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott have done right, they have done just enough wrong to keep us from getting over the final hurdle. A few too many ineffective draft picks. A few too many bad free agent signings. Some bad coaching decisions at key times. Sprinkled in with some bad luck. I'm not trying to be a negative person. I think Beane has done a good job this offseason with very tight resources. But I can't pretend that guys like Connor McDermott and Deonte Harty are going to be the key puzzle pieces that push us past the finish line. I also can't ignore the strong rosters being constructed by the Jets and Dolphins, or that the Chiefs and Bengals still have everything needed to contend. Hoping I'm wrong, but I just don't know if the Bills have done enough.

In our defensive scheme, the two starting Defensive Tackles have different roles. Poona Ford was signed to backup DaQuan Jones at the 1-Tech spot. This was the position that Star Lotulelei manned for a few years, and is more about occupying blockers than getting penetration. Ed Oliver plays the 3-Tech spot. His backups are Jordan Phillips and Tim Settle.

So you would be OK with trading our starting 3-Tech Defensive Tackle for a late round draft pick, with the only benefit being that we gained some extra cap space? This is also keeping in mind that: 1. The only other 3-Tech DTs on our roster are Jordan Phillips (always hurt) and Tim Settle (below average) 2. All the best free agents have been gone for months, and that $10 million would really only help sign veteran cap casualties. In my opinion, our best bet is hoping Oliver plays great this season (similar to Tremaine Edmunds). We reap the benefits of that great play for 2023. If he wants to re-sign then great. If not, we can get a 3rd-4th Round compensatory pick next season in return... which is higher than we would probably get trading him away right now.

All the people pushing to trade Ed Oliver... What kind of return do you think the Bills can get?

It's not the huge deal everyone is making it out to be. There is probably a 99% chance that DaQuan Jones gets re-signed, long before Free Agency next year. That immediately locks down one starting spot. Jordan Phillips and Tim Settle seem to be OK without long-term deals, and just going along with the 1-year contracts. Neither generates much interest on the open market, and can always be a fallback option. The only question mark really is Ed Oliver. And I think he will get the Tremaine Edmunds treatment. Play out the 5th Year. Offer him a fair deal to stay on the team. If he decides to leave, then we address the position next year.

Only Dallas knows for sure if they were going to take Dalton Kincaid at their pick. And they are certainly aren't going to reveal that information to the public, because it makes them look bad. So whatever Jerry Jones says now means absolutely nothing. With that said, I've read over tons of mock drafts over the last few weeks. There was a very strong assumption amongst anyone plugged into the Cowboys that they were targeting Tight End early in the draft. Of course it could have been a smokescreen. But the information sitting out there suggested Dallas at least could be looking at Kincaid. Now if you listen to Brandon Beane, there were multiple offers to trade-down on the table. He didn't expect anyone they had a 1st Round grade on to reach Pick #27. The Bills were fully expecting to trade back. But when Kincaid unexpectedly dropped to #25, and he was the last person with a 1st Round grade they had, Beane decided to make the move. Time will tell if the Bills scouting on Kincaid was correct. And ultimately that is all that matters. But based on the grades Beane had, and the reasonable expectation that Dallas could take him, I do believe the trade-up was a smart move.

We will see. Many of us had record-setting hopes for the 2022 offense, and things didn't quite work out that way. - Ken Dorsey had pretty bad struggles in his first year as OC - Josh Allen wasn't able to stay on the level he played during the postseason - Gabe Davis wasn't quite ready for the #2 WR role - Cole Beasley was more important than most realized - Rodger Saffold was not the upgrade we hoped for at LG - Spencer Brown failed to take a step forward in development Our hopes for improvement are pinned heavily on Dorsey figuring things out, and our "low-key" free agent signings being diamonds in the rough.

In terms of the player himself, Dalton Kincaid was a fantastic pick. One of the better Tight End prospects in the last several years. Universally considered a mid/late first round guy. Very possible the best offensive weapon available when the Bills were on the clock last night. Just like many others on the board though, my concerns are not about Kincaid the player. It's more about Ken Dorsey and how effective our offensive coordinator can be in properly utilizing his skillset. For the last 3-4 years, this team has run mostly 11 personnel. Now with Dawson Knox's big paycheck, and us investing a 1st Round Pick on another Tight End, this team is signaling a switch to mostly 12. It's going to be a transition. Last year, Beane made it a BIG priority to add a pass-catching RB to the offense. He went after JD McKissic in free agency (missed out). Then drafted James Cook in the 2nd Round. Then traded for Nyheim Hines. We had the players to make this a big piece of our offensive attack. But Cook ended up with only 32 pass targets all season, and was simply used interchangeably with Devin Singletary. Hines was barely used at all, except for returning punts. Total waste of talent. I hear all the ideas about Kincaid being a chess piece and matchup nightmare. I hear all the creative ideas on how Kincaid will help us attack defenses. My fear is that Dorsey isn't creative enough to do that. Within a couple years, fans will be complaining that either the Knox contract or Kincaid draft pick was a bad decision, because our OC couldn't figure out how to use both.

I haven't been happy with a lot of Brandon Beane's moves lately. But when it comes to Tremaine Edmunds, there really wasn't much else he could do. The free agent contract he signed with the Bears was ridiculous, and way more than he was worth. Teams tight against the cap have to set a limit on what they can spend for a player. Letting Edmunds walk for that amount was absolutely the correct thing to do, even if he isn't easily replaced and our defense ultimately takes a step back (which I do believe is the case). It's possible Beane could have traded Edmunds for a draft pick before the 2022 season. But that would have left a huge hole in the middle of the defense (like we have now), in what was supposed to be a Super Bowl contending season. And at that point, I also don't think it was a given that Edmunds was going to walk in free agency. I think the Bills always hoped to re-sign him, but the dollars just never worked out. Not to mention, players with expiring contracts have a decreased trade value. Teams are mostly paying for the ability to avoid a bidding war in free agency. Before the 2022 season, we maybe could have gotten a 2nd Round pick for Edmunds. At the end of the day, we still get a 3rd Round compensatory pick.

Bills will trade out of the 1st Round, and end up taking Jalin Hyatt. DeAndre Hopkins will be traded to the Chiefs, not us. Jack Campbell will last to our 2nd Round pick, and we still won't take him. We will take an Edge Rusher on Day 2, but not address the Offensive Line until Day 3. The Jets will absolutely kill this draft, and be the clear AFC East favorite by the weekend.

Based on our pre-draft visits, I think the Bills are targeting WRs with versatility to play outside and in the slot. Quentin Johnson seems like an X receiver only to me, so I don't really think he fits the mold. He was also one of the only early WR prospects (1st Round or early 2nd Round) we didn't reportedly bring in for a visit. The other WR missing from that list is Josh Downs (another popular mock pick for us), who most people feel is a slot receiver only. In the scenario above, I believe the Bills would probably seek a trade-down first. If not, they would probably consider Jalin Hyatt or Darnell Wright (not a receiver, but good value at #27).

Based on my observations of how the Bills conduct their pre-draft process, I also believe the signs are pointing towards us targeting Wide Receiver early. Specifically a WR that can rotate between outside and the slot. Although the Top-30 Visits aren't a dead give-away, they do tip our hand towards what positions we are considering in early rounds. The Bills have met with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jordan Addison, Zay Flowers and Jalin Hyatt. Pretty much every 1st-Round WR prospect with the exception of Quentin Johnson (who only projects to the outside). Combine that with their interest in Odell Beckham mid/late last year... them eventually being forced to re-sign Cole Beasley and John Brown when ODB wasn't going to be ready... and their clear interest in DeAndre Hopkins this offseason... I would say WR is clearly a position they are looking to upgrade. Deonte Hardy is more of an Isaiah McKenzie replacement. Trent Sherfield is more of the Jake Kumerow replacement. Now if another higher ranked prospect falls unexpectedly (such as OT Darnell Wright), they may go in a different direction. But I do believe that if we stay put at #27, Beane is expecting to take one of the four WRs listed above.

Josh Allen always seems to struggle against the Jets defense. They have taken us to the wire a couple times over the last 2-3 seasons, and last year we even lost to them with Zack Wilson as QB. New York adding Aaron Rodgers is not a joke, regardless of the arrogant and overconfident responses in this thread. Hope the Bills rediscover their A+ game this year. Because they played at a B- most of 2022, and that simply isn't going to cut it.

Copying other teams isn't always the best path to success. The last three Super Bowl champions (Chiefs, Rams, Bucs) had totally different strengths, and were built in completely different ways. Ken Dorsey should be building primarily around the strengths of Josh Allen, and Brandon Beane should be stockpiling talent that fits the scheme/system that Dorsey creates. Neither should be worried about how the Chiefs achieved their success. Having a great O-Line should always be a priority, regardless of system. But just because Travis Kelce is the perfect fit for Patrick Mahomes, doesn't mean our offense needs another elite TE to succeed. Josh Allen's greatest success has always come with a top-level slot receiver (Cole Beasley) as his safety outlet. Drafting trends have also changed over the years. The more teams are running 3-WR sets and spread offenses, the more they are putting a value on slot receivers.

The way other Super Bowl teams have been constructed is irrelevant. The Bills run 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) probably 70% of the time, and are one of the most pass-heavy teams in the NFL. There is a reason people are pushing for adding talent at Wide Receiver. Many people who study the Bills on film believe - and have believed since about mid-season last year - that our primary inconsistency on offense was tied heavily to poor production from the slot receiver position. Regain control over the short-middle of the field, and you will see less turnovers from Josh Allen and better production from Gabe Davis down the sideline. You won't get an argument from me about drafting O-Line. And considering the depth at Defensive End in the draft, I won't be upset if we add another guy at that position either. But just because teams like the Chiefs got away with sub-par talent at WR doesn't mean we can do the same.

Even if Von Miller is cleared by doctors and ready to go, I'm not sure Sean McDermott will put him on the field. The whole reason they signed him was to get over the hump in the playoffs. Then they went and lost him for the playoffs. I can see them holding him out until November and then giving him a gradual ramp-up for the postseason (similar to Tre White last year).

Tom Donahoe made some strong moves. His first draft was very good. He just swung for the fences a lot, and became too careless with draft picks and the salary cap. Missing on Drew Bledsoe really sunk everything at the start, and it's hard to blame him for that move. Strike one. He used his only Top 5 draft pick on Mike Williams, who was a huge bust. Strike two. The one time he decided to be conservative, it came back to burn him. He should have traded up for Ben Roethlisberger. Instead he waited and was later forced to make a move for JP Losman instead. Strike three.

Josh Allen was the second-highest paid player in the entire NFL when he signed his deal (behind Patrick Mahomes). His deal was only "team-friendly" in the sense that cap hits could be restructured. Not because he was terribly underpaid. The Bills have also spent enough in free agency over the last 2-3 years to be right against the salary cap. Maybe Florio forgot about the splash signing of Von Miller last year. So no. He does not raise an excellent question... at least in the way he phrased it. He suggested that Allen is being underpaid, and now the Bills are sitting around with a bunch of extra money and refusing to spend it. That is not true in the slightest. Now if he wants to question how Brandon Beane has allocated resources to the offensive side of the ball, that's probably a more legitimate concern.

At this point, I just want enough veterans on the roster that we aren't FORCED to take a particular position in Rounds 1-2 of the draft. If a good Wide Receiver, Offensive Lineman, etc. falls to us at #27... I don't want to pass them up, because we absolutely can't walk away from the 2023 draft without ending up with Jack Campbell. Nobody wants AJ Klein to be the starter at MLB. Everyone would like to see a younger upgrade, or for Terrell Bernard/Baylon Spector to work out. But at least now we have someone who has been OK in this defensive system. If the cards don't fall our way in the draft, we aren't totally screwed.

I agree. Out of all positions on defense, Linebacker is probably the one that varies the most with scheme. That's probably why so many Bills failed to see the value of Tremaine Edmunds. Too many are still caught-up in this idea of a traditional Middle Linebacker in the mold of Ray Lewis, Junior Seau or Mike Singletary. They wanted a guy who could take-on blockers and plug the run. His skillset was more about taking away the middle of the field in zone coverage. Thanks for alerting me to NFL Draft Buzz. I have never heard of that site, and it's the first I've seen with Jack Campbell rated in the top 32 picks. Most have him in the 50-60 range, which is a late 2nd Round Pick.

Even the fans pushing for Jack Campbell at #27 admit it's not really good value. They are ONLY in favor, because they are worried he won't last until #59 and we will then be screwed. To me, this is a huge indictment of Brandon Beane's roster building. A contender should never go into a draft with a need so big, they can't go anywhere else with their picks. At this point, the Bills MUST reach terribly for a Middle Linebacker with their first pick... or they will need to make a significant trade-up in the 2nd Round to get one. That is a terrible situation to be in. I can only hope I'm wrong, and either Sean McDermott is planning some kind of scheme change that changes the type of LB we need... or we have a backup plan with a veteran (trade or signing) if the draft doesn't fall our way.

The situation involving Stefon Diggs is getting blown WAY out of proportion. He was emotional, angry and upset during the Bengals playoff loss. He was frustrated with the coaches and some of his teammates. So was I, and just about every Bills fan on the planet. He wanted to win, and really believed this team had a chance to win the Super Bowl. This does not magically mean his relationship with Josh Allen is breaking down. This does not mean he wants to be traded. This does not mean he is suddenly unhappy being in Buffalo.