Rocky Landing

How much trade capital do we really have, though? Fans act like Brandon Aiyuk, and DK Metcalf are just sitting on a shelf waiting to be sold. Should we have mortgaged the future in the draft a la Sammy Watkins? The Diggs trade worked out for us spectacularly, but Diggs wasn't even the Vikings #1WR at the time, and was reported to be a locker room distraction, complete with his signature tweets. But google trade rumors for either Metcalf, or Aiyuk, and articles with speculation involving multiple teams will come up. And neither of those players have moved... at least yet... June 1st is approaching, and we'll see what happens. But even after this WR-rich draft, the competition for a stud WR will be robust.

Maybe it's the homer in me, but that does look like one helluva roster... It's unclear if we even have the capital to land either of those guys. If we did, it would surely be steep, and our cap situation is not the best. Is spending that much on a single player (and I assume the cost would be considerably higher than what we paid for Von Miller?) a sound strategy? The Bills aren't the only team that might covet players like Metcalf, and Aiyuk. And neither of them have moved. Of course, there is that June 1st, Tre White cut coming up...

His brand of condescension is nothing special.

That's a good one. I believe he got AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for that play.

Reggie Gilliam does several things pretty well, which makes him valuable in terms of his versatility. He blocks well, both in the run game, and pass pro, he is often used as a blocking TE (and was even designated as a TE for at least a season iirc), he's a reliable check down option, and most importantly, he's an exceptional special teams player. The Bills have had other players on ST who were basically ST-only. Taiwan Jones, Matakevich, Siran Neal, to name a few. These players were considered elite ST players (especially Taiwan Jones), but rarely saw the field otherwise, except in a pinch, or in garbage time. Gilliam is every bit as good on ST as those players, but he is also useful on offense, and gets plenty of snaps. Considering how shallow the Bills are at several positions, the idea of having ST-only players on the roster has probably fallen down the priority list. If Joe Brady decides he doesn't want the luxury of a FB, then maybe this is the year they cut him... but I doubt it.

But they got Curtis Samuel to replace Cole Beasley!

No, I certainly don't expect them to say that....

Well… he wouldn’t be the first reclamation project to arrive and thrive in Buffalo. It would be nice, and fun to witness. But if he falls flat, he’ll be on a much longer list of players with unrealized potential who came here and didn’t make it, than of those that did. Just in this year’s WR room alone, in fact.

As has been stated throughout these boards, the Bills not only lack a true #1, they lack a one-two punch at wide receiver. But they do have one of the best one-two punches at TE in the league. Not only fans, but Beane, and McDermott, themselves, have talked about the expectations of 12 personnel this season…. And you think they want to move on from that???

Depends on the quality of the kibble. Maybe this is why Beans was looking for draft picks with “that dog” in them?

True. The NFL has been keen on making late season games count in recent years, and considering how close these teams were last season, I can well imagine they'd like a repeat of that relevancy.

I actually like this. It will be hot, and muggy, but both sides of the field will be the same (as opposed to the ±20˚ difference in the '22 loss), and it's early enough in the season that the shallowness of our secondary will not be exposed. That's an important factor vs. the Fish, IMO.

Typical TBW for an idea about starting a "question of the day" to spinout into "justification to adopt the draconian measure of limiting discussion..."

They're called "moderators," actually.

Because people would enjoy it. Don't know why this would be an issue for anybody.

Sentimentalism.

Seriously, what kind of perspective is this? There's nothing complex about it. There's no problem being searched for. It's simply a moderator who runs the site trying to initiate something that he thinks would be enjoyable for other Bills fans. Why would you be "searching" for a reason to be against it?

This isn't anything groundbreaking, it's just an experiment to see if the mods can get the board moving in a better direction. Participation isn't required. You're not going to have to fill out a TPS form, or anything...

yuk...

It strikes me that a couple years after McDermott, and Beane arrived in Buffalo, the process by which they rebuilt the team became a blueprint that other teams tried to emulate, and intrinsic to that blueprint was the relationship between head coach, and general manager. Indeed, during the long drought years, the Bills floundered through pairings of coaches, and GMs who were clearly not on the same page.

This was a quality writeup, @Logic. Rational, and concise. This could have been featured in The Athletic, and I would have read it with equal interest. Here are some thoughts/responses of my own. 1. Keon Coleman - This draft was heralded for its depth at WR, but after the top three of Harrison/Nabers/Odunze (whom we did not have a chance of getting), I think you had a variety of talent that would perhaps go in the first round of a more typical draft class. On TBD, everyone seemed to have their favorite, be it Thomas, Mitchell, McConkey, Leggette, etc. And from the reports, it would seem they chose Josh Allen's favorite. I'm good with that. 2. Cole Bishop - 3. Dewayne Carter - Whenever I hear a pundit say things like, "a day-one starter," or "one of the most NFL ready..." I cringe. But a nice thing that happened in this draft, I think, is that between an enormous run on QBs from QB-needy teams, and the huge class of WRs, a lot of other skill positions got pushed down the board, especially on defense, where the Bills were most needy. In that regard, I think the Bills lucked out with these two picks. 4. Ray Davis - It's hard to ever get too excited about drafting a running back (Cook notwithstanding), but the more I look at this pick, the more I like it. He looks to be durable, and a culture fit. At 215lbs, and only 5'8", he'll play the role of short-yardage power-back, but still has reliable hands as a check-down option. It'll be nice to have such a player that isn't in his mid-30s for a change... 5. Sedrick Van Pran - Of all the offseason turnover, the one that makes me shake my head the most is the loss of Mitch Morse. For what the Jags paid him in cap money, we totally could have afforded him. Morse was good, and with his departure, I'm left hoping they have a good plan for the line. Van Pran certainly adds to that hope. 5. Edufuan Ulofoshio - With this pick, and also the recent addition of Deion Jones, I'm really left wondering what they know, or suspect about Milano's prognosis? 5. Javon Soloman - We've had other defensive players who were initially deemed "undersized," who have excelled in our defense-- Milano, and Bernard, being obvious examples. With his character, personality, and athleticism, this seems like the absolute, quintessential Beane/McDermott pick (in the best way). 6. Tylan Grable - When a lot of GMs gets to the sixth round of the draft, they're looking more at overall player value than actual positions of need. That's how we ended up with Jake Fromm. This was a wasted pick, IMO. 6. Daequan Hardy - This looks like one of those late round picks that Beane somehow seems to nail. He does seem to be better at assessing late-round talent than early-round talent. We do play a base nickel defense, and this guy could excel at NCB. With the departure of Siran Neal (who was too old for the position anyway), we were left with Cam Lewis as Taron Johnson's backup. That makes me queasy. 7. Travis Clayton - I attended the Bills at Chargers game in week 16, last season, and I lost track of the number of times I heard over the PA, "...number 76 reporting as an eligible receiver..." and then watched whomever Josh handed the ball to get stuffed at the LOS. It was infuriating, but the Bills seem addicted to that Jumbo package on short yardage situations. Clayton will almost certainly be put on the PS, but it is my great hope that he ends up on the 53 as that sixth Jumbo package OL. And who cares it that 6'7", 300+lb, fast, athletic-freak-rugby-monster can actually play OT??? I want to see him catch a pass from Allen, and flatten the first defender that dares tackle him. Travis Clayton could be to football what Happy Gilmore was to golf.

I predict that I will, once again, overpay to see the Bills @ Rams at SoFi.

You’ve listed Hardy twice, with very different assessments.

That’s a long list, I’m afraid. But I suppose you could start with me…

I did notice that they've brought in Matt Haack, who was not as good a punter for us as Martin has been, I believe. IIRC, there was some discussion after Bass's terrible miss at the end of the KC divisional round game, that part of the issue was Martin's hold, but it wasn't discussed much after that. And, of course, this FO is never going to point fingers publicly. I wonder if they feel that the issue lies, at least partially, with Martin's hold?