ctk232

Truth - not to mention I think this was calculated before the Nsekhe "signing." It will also need to be adjusted for players cut once FA actually opens up.

Bout it

Money and wins. That's how you attract players.

Thank you. Lawd we go through this every year it's like watching goldfish. The more active you are in FA is not directly proportional to number of W's - ever, at all.

It would seem that way, but the more active you are in FA is not directly proportional to how many games you win the subsequent season. It all still has to come together, and I think there will be plenty of growing pains in that first season altogether. There also seems to be politics at play among the coaching staff. Honestly, the Jets can sign all of these guys because they are absolutely deplorable at drafting. Just look back at their history and see how many first and second round guys are still on the team - since 2009, 4 of a total 18 first and second round picks are still on the team. Shiny FA signings are shiny, but they aren't sustainable in terms of building team success; you need a strong cohort and profile of talent through the draft to build anything remotely stable and affordable. It essentially looks like MacCagan is both feeling the hot seat and cashing in on Sammy's five-year rookie deal to get it done for the new regime; a lot of these massive contracts will be up by the time they need to extend Sammy. It also seems like this is the only year they're looking to fill FA holes and have cashed out on the next two years at least. But the piece to the puzzle that would concern me is how well will they draft in the interim? Until they are able to build an development pipeline through the draft, I will not be afraid of the Jets becoming perennial contenders in the Division.

Because DJax was a trade and Malik took a paycut to win making it not about money? It's not even the first day, and regardless of how you feel about our four* "signings" thus far it's not even close to over. We do the same thing with FA every year here, it's like we forget...let it all play out. Regardless of our needs, or the "sexy" signings by others like the Raiders and Jets, FA participation and activeness doesn't correlate to in-season success in any proportionate measure. You can make tons of splashes in the overpay sweepstakes only to end up with a worse record/performance the following season. There's nothing wrong with not overpaying for players that won't be worth it, retaining talent currently on the roster, and having the ability to make big signings in FA when you want to. We're currently on track to have the most cap space in 2020/2021, when most of our big names are coming up for renewal, and we can likely make a bigger signing in the same time frame for potentially better players in an overall better pool. I'm honestly not sure anyone signed today (outside of Malik) is actually going to be worth what they are being paid for... *edited from three, cuz Morse...

Don't forget his ST potential, too - and you should always look to draft a DB in the late rounds no matter what, but I wouldn't hate hitting on a late round prospect for the value, or seeing if we can make a streak out of our UDFA hauls.

I get it's not going to constitute a marquis FA signing - but can we at least try not to forget about ST contributions, too? For how especially deplorable they were last season, it's going to take more than a new coordinator to turn that part of the team around. Why not go after guys that we need for depth, can push starters, AND contribute effectively on ST? KJ fits this role, it's a nice move. Just b/c he's the first inkling of news our way doesn't mean he'll be the last, but FA expectations should be tempered accordingly - money talks and we're likely not going to land much of what we've all been clamoring for these past couple of months.

What would get me rull excited is if this goes down, we keep our second round, we're sitting at 21 w/ Clark and our second - I wouldn't put it past Beane to package our late round picks to move up again into the 2nd or 3rd with an added pick, and all the options that would provide us...things my brain does before 3/13 and while reading this board

For sure - I'm not saying I would spend the 21st on a DL pick - that was more in response to the hypothetical situation being discussed. But I would very much consider our BPA of what OL/WR are on the board at 21. Still not as up on TE in the 1st as many others here, but I would rather be sitting at 21 w/ Clark if we can.

Well a swap is what I would imagine - but that would put us at 21 if it's a true 2019 swap. Not a bad place to be all said and done considering I'm more inclined to favor a trade down scenario from 9, but if you're looking for DL at 21 not sure Ferrell or Sweat are there, more likely Sweat if at all.

That would be a line to be absolutely thrilled about for at least the next 5 years - but I'm not sure we get Clark without potentially also giving up our 9th

TBH i wouldn't hate us signing Moncrief as a player and certainly agree with the upside e v a l you have there. Just feel like the money, or at least part of what we'd end up paying for him, would be better spent on the FA OL market front, especially with WR depth in the draft.

I know everyone is up on Humphries and T Williams, but I'm of the minority that doesn't see the upside for either, especially for what they would cost. I'm also in the now minority thinking Funchess would be one of the only FA WRs remotely worth what he likely could be had for (to clarify, Funchess still has a price tag for me that I wouldn't go over per his recent season - right around the 5-6 mil mark, which I know is too high for many on here). Cobb, Garcon, Moncrief and the like may end up commanding too much for their worth, and Funchess might fall in that fold as well. The argument for any of them being the veteran presence in an otherwise young corps (don't dislike the guy, but I don't personally think Deonte Thompson is that current veteran role guy to have). But I'm still for taking a chance on Funchess to help round out the corps and compete for options in an otherwise meh WR FA pool overall. Given our cap cushion though, we're likely more comfortable making higher offers regardless so much of this opinion will likely end up a moot point. ?‍♂️

I'd still like to pick up at least one OL guy in the draft if the value is there; whether it's the first two rounds or 3-5 for sleeper/depth pick consideration. Filling all our OL woes with seasoned vets is fine for the near future, but we'll quickly find ourselves in the same problem if we don't also compensate with youth and draft picks. The obvious exception being younger FA signings like D Williams at 26 and the like, though the same argument would still apply in time as you get closer to 30+

'Nuff said - it's the perfect mindset for a GM in my mind. You can't discount any one player before doing your due diligence, but you have to still bring a judicious mindset to not over pursue and end up hurting yourself in the process. I appreciate Beane's ability thus far to effectively walk the judicious/aggressive line well without leveraging too much of our future and sustaining a strong foundation moving forward. We'll see how this track record plays out for the near future.

That's kind of where I'm at - if it gets done, great. If not, okay - draft leggo.

That's different than saying you don't want your employees doing x, y, z outside of work. They can drug test as part of the hiring process, there's nothing wrong with that. But a hired employee's own individual rights as granted by the state they reside in being regulated by a private entity? That's a different ball game.

Exactly - while I don't doubt Hock is one of the top, if not best, TE in the draft. That doesn't equate to a #9 overall value, nor does it immediately translate to success in the NFL. Ebron is a great recent example who had trouble in his first couple years and is now starting to turn a page, but still has ways to go before he's considered an "elite" TE. But as elite RBs are made so by the scheme and play of the OL - TE's are equally made so by the QB and their preference. Yes, you can extend this to most every position, and a TE can be an elite blocker all on their own, but to complete the package for players like Gronk, Kelce, etc. they need to have the target numbers to produce results. If a QB doesn't like the TE option or routes, or prefers a different target you get a Jimmy Graham like transition. Do we need a TE on this team? Yes. Does it need to be Hock? No. Does the TE need to come in the first round or even second? No. There are many ways to skin this one, but first round in the draft would not be top among them.

So business beliefs > democratically based state law? So you'd be down with corporations forcing employees to stay abstinent from alcohol consumption as well? Where is the line drawn then? Just be like the NHL and get it over with. So no actually, they haven't just decriminalized it. There are several states that have fully legalized recreational use, that's just a fact. But this can conflict with federal categorization of Marijuana as a Schedule-1 substance - it hasn't yet. We can chat about how it even got that schedule in the first place, but there is currently nothing prohibiting states from legalizing these substances as it has yet to become a federal matter. There are ways in which it can get escalated, but there are reasons this hasn't reached any federal court yet.

Yep - still not over. Same with McD, Daboll, Allen, Edmunds, everybody...speculate? Sure. Definitively judge? Nope. And that's not to say we should lean down on any of them at all, just way too soon to say one way or the other. It's fairly easy to standout among the historical record of GMs since Polian, whom even some argue wasn't all that great of a GM himself. It's highly subjective and directly tied to the team's success, which can often be misleading. GMs can attempt to make many "great" moves that fans and critics would love, but if they fall through and never make headlines, the support never materializes from the media/fanbase. It's a highly polarizing position, and one that in Buffalo and other cities comes with a pre-heated seat. Not an easy job, but we still need time to judge Beane's success here. Though we can be happy with the attempts he's made thus far, I'm curious what our opinions of him would be if we never heard the fallout from the near-misses he's made.

If they ever need to fill their daily tweet quotas until March 13th - just pick any FA OL this year and say the Bills are interested.

Agreed in terms of not being cap strapped - but don't be surprised if we make a couple large contract signings versus multiple, lower-cost underrated pickups. Likely a little bit of both, but I'm happy Beane at least mentioned his desire to be judicious with FA - bodes well for when we ultimately have to re-sign our current foundation of young talent that will likely command decent pay days. Which is arguably as necessary, if not even more so, as making big FA moves this year.

In a year where we're constantly worried about upgrading the offense, and reasonably so, I'm glad to see we're attempting to address our ST woes as well - at least, to an indirect extent. I get that threads are never started or posts rarely made that discuss ST, since it's the step child of football that never gets talked about or is desired - but it's still vital to getting W's and a severe issue that we need to address with more than a new coordinator hire. I liked Neal, Lacey, and a few others who showed up on ST last year, but if we can add to gunner and get those early contact hits on returns with containment, I'm all for that added utility beyond what he can push for on Defense.

Oh for sure - I'll forever be more wrong than right in my draft predictions. But I do remember being high on JuJu and my confusion when they announced the trade up and ultimate pick for Zay. While I do wonder what Beane and the current regime might have done differently here, I still can't evaluate Zay in the context of how the FO at the time felt about him - we can only really evaluate him based on his performance here regardless of expectations. I say that only because most of us knew then, and still believe, that Zay would never fit the stereotypical "WR1" role for myriad reasons. However, I do feel that he was and still is one of the best slot receivers drafted in that class (along with Kupp and Ross even though the jury is out on them both still) - and should Zay be given the chance to maximize the talent he does have in the appropriate role, I think our judgment of him will equally change. All that said, while he hasn't been used in the pure slot role, given his lack of experience in other parts of the route tree, WR position roles, and general NFL experience, he has progressed well. Comparing him to JuJu will only create more frustration, and ironically, incomparably so; imagine if the tables were turned and JuJu spent his first year with TT and then his second with this squad. I wonder how that might have differed from having two years of only Ben, an established offensive roster around him, and an offensive scheme and coaching staff that had many years of consistency leading up to JuJu's rookie year. Zay's first year was under a first-time HC and staff, in his first two years he saw two OC's, five different QBs, and battled an injury through his first year. While these aren't excuses, they play important contextual pieces when we evaluate his progression thus far - and all things considered, he's trending up and I hope he continues to do so. Ultimately I think his ceiling could be as a stud slot/WR2 hybrid if he turns the next page, but time will tell.