mjt328

There are still two decent remaining options (at least) remaining on the free agent market: Richard Sherman and Casey Heyward I would like them to go after one of those vets. But I think it's just as likely we grab someone even cheaper at the vet minimum. As someone else said, I'm starting to believe Sean McDermott does not value the #2 corner position. He knows teams are going to play away from Tre White, and just wants someone who can tackle. Every other position on the roster has been aggressively addressed either in the draft or free agency. That spot has been either filled by an UDFA (Levi Wallace), Day 3 Pick (Dane Jackson) or low-level signing (EJ Gaines, Josh Norman, Kevin Johnson).

You can't take the shots you don't take. Of course there is a chance Zach Wilson and Mac Jones bust. Tua didn't look very good as a rookie, so he could as well. But if those teams are going to take a legitimate step forward into contention, it all starts with drafting the right Quarterback. It's hard to believe all the years we wasted trying to build teams around guys like Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Fitzpatrick or Kyle Orton. Instead, we should have drafted a QB in the first round every 2-3 seasons until we hit. The best thing for Buffalo would have been for the Jets to stick longer with Sam Darnold, the Patriots to hope for a better season with Cam Newton, and the Dolphins to continue stunting their young QB's development by benching him for Fitzpatrick.

Looking through this thread, I find the player comps interesting. Rousseau is really nothing like Aaron Maybin, Shaq Lawson, AJ Epenesa in anyway that I can tell. Maybin was ridiculously undersized. Not just in weight, but also in his overall frame. It still baffles me that anyone believed he could put on the weight necessary to play Defensive End in the NFL. Rousseau is already 20 pounds heavier that Maybin, and still has plenty of room to grow. He has the potential to actually be a very big guy. If anyone reminds me of Lawson in this draft, it was Kwity Paye (which is funny, because so many wanted us to trade-up for him). Both came into the draft strong at setting the edge, and in run defense. Both had/have room to grow as pass rushers. We all know that Lawson became a solid NFL starter, but never hit that upside we were hoping for. I could easily see Paye being the same type of player. With Epenesa, the Bills coaching staff wanted him to lose weight to become faster and more explosive. Pretty much the complete opposite of what will be needed out of Rousseau.

We can agree to disagree. I just don't see great burst or closing speed when watching Rousseau. Again, I'm not complaining about the pick. Just pointing out my observations. When you see a guy with his build (tall and skinny), you expect to see tape that resembles Azeez Ojulari. Constantly beating tackles around the corner with speed. But when you watch Rousseau, his best production is actually beating Guards inside like a 3-Tech Defensive Tackle. Anytime you see a player with odd characteristics, it makes them tough to rank (especially one who hasn't played football in over 12 months).

It takes roughly 2-3 years for most players to develop. So you can't really judge a draft choice until that point. But the NFL Draft is a big event. Everybody wants to talk about how good each team did. The only way you can really judge at this point is by looking at value (where did the consensus rank him), and how well team needs were addressed. Maybe I'm looking different places than you are, but I can't find anywhere where Alex Leatherwood was ranked that high. I usually keep track of about a dozen sites (NFL.com, ESPN, CBS, Fox, NBC, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, USA Today, Pro Football Focus, Draft Network, Draftek, Tankathon, Pro Football Network, etc.). Out of that group, only one had Leatherwood with a first round ranking (#27 overall). Most had him in the middle of the 2nd, in the early 50s. The best GMs in the league don't just find good players. They also navigate through the mess to find value, which ultimately leads to more/better draft selections. Brandon Beane gets good value, because he often talks about doing his homework on OTHER teams and making educated guesses who they are targeting. Even small trade-downs in the 1st Round can easily result in additional 2nd/3rd Round picks. Raiders fans are frustrated because Gruden/Mayock continually pick guys 20-30 slots ahead of where they are expected. When you look at a roster full of guys like Damon Arnette, Clelin Ferrell and Kolton Miller... you quickly realize that Las Vegas could have gotten the same guys PLUS another few starting caliber players, by just doing a better job of moving around the board.

Yep. That is the only downside of winning a lot of games. Drafting becomes infinitely more difficult.

I said it for weeks. The media was too caught up in assigning a "type" of QB to Kyle Shanahan. Since he had success in the past with Kirk Cousins and Matt Ryan, that must be the kind of Quarterback he prefers. Trading up for Mac Jones never made any sense, and would have been ridiculously stupid.

I mentioned in another thread, the issue with Koramoah is usage. The talent is off the charts. But he's not just a typical position player. He's a hybrid chess-piece. The defensive coaching staff needs to have a plan for how to use him, or he's just going to sit the bench and waste space. He was my first choice as well. But that's without knowing the discussions happening inside One Bills Drive.

Here is the thing. Getting a top pass rusher was always going to be a huge challenge in this draft (many of us were saying it months ago). After Kwity Paye, there were guys with big question marks. Medical concerns. Opt-outs. Long-term projects. There is also a significant lack of depth at edge rusher. Once the next 2-3 guys are taken (probably very quickly tonight), there is an astronomical drop in talent at the edge rusher position. Our choices at #61 would have been pretty pathetic. Our only real options at defensive end were either to trade-up for Paye (probably would have cost a fortune), taking a chance with a risky prospect (which is what we did), or go with another position like cornerback and completely miss on upgrading the pass rush. Azeez Ojulari has injury concerns. Jayson Oweh was also a massive project. I'm not crazy thrilled with this pick, but you really can't blame Beane for going this route. It makes plenty of sense. In terms of Rousseau himself, he's very similar to Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds. Very raw. Very big risk for busting. Big upside if they can develop him correctly. Over the last few weeks I've seen him ranked as high as mid-1st round, and as low as end of 2nd (though I really doubt he would have fallen that far). It's pretty clear that Beane is an aggressive GM and likes going for the players with big ceilings (at least early in the draft), rather than safer picks without much room to grow. As a prospect, Rousseau isn't really the typical athletic freak. He didn't test fast. He didn't test really strong. You will get different opinions about how impressive he looked on tape. Ultimately, his value comes with his size, length and physical frame. My guess is that Bills coaches have a plan to pack some weight/muscle (basically the opposite of what they did with AJ Epenesa last year), and work on improving his technique. With 1-2 years in an NFL weight room, and learning how to use those long arms to his advantage, he could end up being very tough to block. We will see.

Like many others, I felt Koramoah was the best on the board. He wouldn't really fill a traditional need, but I thought a hybrid linebacker/safety would be an interesting chess piece for the defensive coaching staff. The thing is though... if our coaches don't feel the same way, he would have been a wasted pick. We play nickel the vast majority of the time, and Milano/Edmunds are on the field for 99% of the game snaps. That is probably why he's dropping in the first place. Many teams don't really have a plan for how to use him.

This whole sexual assault/criminal investigation into Deshaun Watson was a massive setup by Bob Kraft, thanks to all his connections with the underground massage therapist industry. Also, Bill O'Brien has been a plant inside Houston's front office the whole time, and still secretly on New England's payroll. The day Watson gets traded to the Patriots, you will see all 25 women (or however many it is now) say they were lying and drop the charges. There I said it.

Isn't it awesome. For 17 years, we couldn't land a franchise QB to save our lives. Almost every year we finished with 6-8 wins, and just outside the range to draft that guy who would turn out team around. The years we drafted higher, it was a terrible QB class. Now the Bills finally land their guy, and we've got Top 5 QBs for sale everywhere. Anybody want to trade for Aaron Rodgers? How about Deshaun Watson? Not your cup of tea? Let's just watch Justin Fields slide out of the Top 10 of the draft.

Weird timing. Word leaks the 49ers have offered a trade for Aaron Rodgers (which was turned down), and within a couple hours Rogers is complaining about the Packers organization. Could it be possible that he is pushing the team to reconsider? Don't forget that Rodgers is a California-native, and played college there. I believe his family lives in California. Coming into the NFL, it was expected for months that San Francisco was going to draft him at #1 (they eventually went with Alex Smith instead). There may be a part of him that always wanted to play for the Niners.

Not sure I agree. In my opinion, Gregory Rousseau is a huge risk. When I watch his skills on tape, I really question how he projects to the NFL level. Physically, he is extremely tall and skinny, with really long arms. Usually these kinds of pass rushers are also fast/quick around the edge. The best ones also have good hands. But Rousseau is actually quite slow, and is very raw with his hand-skills. Strangely, almost all of his sacks come from the 3-Tech (Defensive Tackle) position. So once he reaches the NFL, he needs to put on lots of muscle/weight and be developed from the ground-up. I think Jaelen Phillips is the best DE of the bunch. He's got the perfect combination of strength, size, speed, etc. But in today's NFL, that concussion history is frightening. One bad knock and he could be out several games. Or it could end his career. Hopefully the Bills can get an inside on his medicals (same with Caleb Farley) because he could be a bargain. Or he could have a really short career... The reason Kwity Paye is ranked first at the position, is because he's the safest of the group. Highest floor, and among the highest ceiling. Unfortunately, he will probably be gone by our pick.

At this day and time, the answer is yes. They have not been perfect, and there have been plenty of misses. No reason to sugarcoat it. But until they arrived, this team had gone 17 years without making the playoffs. They have now made it 3/4 seasons, including our first AFC East Title since 1995 and first AFC Championship appearance since 1993. They also landed our first true franchise QB since Jim Kelly. With that said, the job does not get easier for Brandon Beane. The margin for error is quickly disappearing. Our draft selections are getting later and later. The cap space has dwindled away into nothing. Once Josh Allen signs his extension, difficult decisions will need to be made on other roster spots. It all depends on guys like AJ Epenesa, Zack Moss, Ed Oliver, Cody Ford, Dawson Knox, etc. developing into the players we drafted them to be. Time will tell whether Buffalo will continue to keep the train rolling like the Patriots, Steelers, Packers, etc. Or will they fall back to the rest of the pack like the Falcons, Eagles, 49ers, and other teams who looked championship caliber... but couldn't sustain the success.

When factoring everything into play, I strongly believe our biggest needs are Edge Rusher and Cornerback. Pretty sure that Brandon Beane sees the same thing, and knows we need upgrades at both positions to take our next step towards a Super Bowl. Running back is definitely a position that could be upgraded. But I have a tough time believing he would pull the trigger in the 1st Round, after suggesting the backs weren't the sole reason for our struggles last year. Maybe I'm just missing the signs, but RB just doesn't make sense to me at #30. I also think a trade-down will be tough to do. You need a partner, and I just can't see teams itching to move up into the Bills slot. Looking at this draft class, the second round should be pretty strong at Cornerback. There probably won't be much difference between who is available at #30 and who could be available at #61. The same cannot be said for Edge, where I think a big drop-off will happen around picks 40-45. Simply put, if we don't pick a Defensive End in the first round, then we probably come up empty. Kwity Paye will be gone by #30. Beane doesn't seem to like medical red flags, which probably rules out Jaelen Phillips. Azeez Ojulari seems like a better fit for 3-4 schemes. Gregory Rousseau is just a weird prospect (tall and skinny, but got all production rushing inside). My gut-guess is Jayson Oweh, DE from Penn State.

At this point, it's almost a certainty that one of the top QB prospects will land in their lap. If not all the way to #15, they will at least be able to make a minimal trade-up without being forced to mortgage the future. Atlanta is financially stuck with Matt Ryan for the next two seasons. I think all the QB rumors are a smokescreen. Cincinnati is obviously not taking a QB. Miami is very unlikely to take a QB, after drafting Tua #5 overall just a year ago. Detroit is a possibility. But those who follow the Lions are convinced the front office believes it can salvage Jared Goff. Carolina just traded for Sam Darnold. Denver's move for Teddy Bridgewater really crowds up the QB room if they are looking to draft one. Dallas is not taking a QB. New York (Giants) is not taking a QB. Philadelphia is a possibility. But the GM has suggested they are giving Jordan Love a real shot at the job. San Diego is not taking a QB. Minnesota is not taking a QB. Then you have New England, in prime position to ***** up Justin Fields, Tre Lance or Mac Jones.

Baker Mayfield was the clear favorite for #1 by the time we reached the home stretch. Sam Darnold wasn't expected to last past #2. Lamar Jackson was considered a late-1st Rounder. I think most (realistic) people had this narrowed down to Josh Rosen and Josh Allen by Draft Day.

Skeptical. Does anyone actually have links to his previous mock drafts? I can only find a link to 2020, where the Bills didn't have a 1st Round Pick. Not sure this guy is as accurate as he's touting himself. In 2019, I did about 100 simulation mock drafts in the weeks leading up the draft. (Love those things by the way...) I took Ed Oliver almost every time, and I had zero inside information, outside of being a close fan of the team. In 2018, everyone on the planet knew the Bills were going to pick a QB. And most had it narrowed down to Josh Rosen or Josh Allen by this point. I'm sure he didn't call us trading up for Tremaine Edmunds later in the draft. In 2017, many fans were expecting and hoping for a trade down. I would like to see if he called it being with the Chiefs, or us picking Tre White. Unlikely.

Yes. Reggie Ragland or Brandon Spikes.

Maybe Ray Lewis was a bad example. What I mean is that he's not looking for the old-school type of run stuffer.

This draft has plenty of talent in the first 2-3 rounds. There are just so many question marks, due to COVID opt-outs, the shortened season, and incomplete medical checks. It's a real mess. Guys like Caleb Farley and Jaelen Phillips look like Top-10 guys on tape. But they are huge medical red-flags. Some teams may still be OK taking them early, while other teams may take them off their board completely if they can't get a clear report from the doctor. Usually I would be optimistic we could just sit-back like Ozzie Newsome and take whoever drops. But the numbers game is just not in our favor this year, and it's hard to see a 1st-Round caliber talent fall all the way to #30. There are only so many guys who can get pushed down. Once you get past the first 15-20 players, there is a clear drop-off. Then I don't see a lot of separation between #21 and the next 30 prospects. If I'm Brandon Beane, my first instinct is to explore a trade into the early 20s. But if the price is too high, then I'm doing everything in my power to move back. Pickup a 2022 second rounder. Get a veteran player tossed in. Because the value of the guy you pick at #30 is going to be roughly the same as the guy you pick at #40.

I absolutely believe that Brandon Beane is making calls to GMs about the cost to move up. Whether he actually makes a move is unknown. I also doubt that Travis Etienne is truly his target. And the fact that everyone is reporting this "leak" tells me he almost certainly will not be the pick. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah would actually be an excellent selection, and would be worthy of a trade-up. Looking at the Beane/McDermott's history with Carolina, I could definitely see them making that kind of move. For a team that loves versatility, he's the ultimate chess piece. He could replace AJ Klein in base sets. He could be a hybrid safety in some of our nickel packages. And he could be an extra rusher on passing downs. Basically how McDermott used Lorenzo Alexander before he retired (only younger and more physically gifted). But if you draft Koramoah and then trade away Edmunds, it removes the ability for him to be that versatile weapon. He basically just steps in for Edmunds at MLB, and we are back to square one. Yeah, it makes some sense in terms of saving cap space. But we don't really need to worry about that until 2022, and this would just seem like one step forwards, one step backwards. I'm not sure what the Bills are thinking with Edmunds and the 5th Year Option. Even if they don't pick it up, it's not like he's a guaranteed goner. It just means he becomes a Free Agent one year sooner, and 2021 will be his last year to earn the big contract. But it also wouldn't surprise me if they pick it up. Like has been stated on this board 1,000 times, McDermott is NOT looking for a traditional MLB in the center of his defense. He does not want a Ray Lewis-type who is built to shed blocks and stuff the run game. It is the job of our D-Line to occupy the blockers, giving our Linebackers the ability to run around freely. The biggest issue for Edmunds is making the proper reads and not getting out of position. But physically speaking, he is EXACTLY what the Bills want in the middle.

Looking at the draft order, the Broncos are really the only QB-needy team between the 49ers and Patriots. Yes, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit and Carolina could easily be persuaded to move down. But it will take a willing partner. Teams like Washington and Chicago pick late and don't have quite the ammunition needed to move-up, without totally mortgaging their future. There are a couple key questions that will likely determine what happens with the Patriots. Are the Mac Jones/49ers rumors true? If they take Justin Fields or Tre Lance, I think the market will be hot to get the other guy at Atlanta's picks. Then Jones probably drops to 15. If they take Jones, then teams will realize they can wait. Fields/Lance could potentially then drop to #7-8, and into better range for the Patriots. Is Denver truly ready to move-on from Drew Lock? Outside of the Patriots, they are the best candidate for a trade-up.

Exactly. The 49ers have absolutely no reason to be so secretive. They could announce their player this afternoon, and it would change nothing. If you factor in 10-15 minutes of introduction, and then 10 minutes on the clock for each pick (teams always use the majority of their time)... then fans have no reason to tune-in until 7:30-7:45pm (I'm in CST). That's a total ratings waste for the NFL. Not to mention all the gambling/betting that is going on with the #3 pick.