Kirby Jackson

Thank you for pulling that up!! That’s interesting and makes sense. The need for a boundary receiver remains as big of a need as it was last year at this time. The difference is that the draft isn’t loaded there this year. Regardless of how many points they scored, they need to address that clear hole.

Yeah, I heard the stat on WGR a couple of weeks ago from one of the analytics guys. They saw the 30th most 2 high. That’s insane with Josh Allen. It’s basically impossible. You’re right, they haven’t been efficient down the field and now teams are giving that to them. It’s only going to get harder to make plays underneath if they can’t address the lack of talent on the boundary.

The thing is, that isn’t what happened. I believe that the stat was the saw the 30th most 2 high last year. That was despite having Josh Allen!! Teams weren’t scared, at all, to challenge the Bills to throw the ball down the field. The part that some are missing is that it isn’t just about completing chunk plays. That’s a part of it but it’s about opening up the field. The Bills tried to throw the ball down the field (10th most attempts). They didn’t do it well (26th in efficiency). The ability to throw the ball down the field is what opens up the space for guys like Shakir and Beasley. When Beasley was in Buffalo those first couple of years he averaged a yard more per reception than Shakir did this year. I think that we’d all agree that Shakir is better after the catch than Beasley. 70% of Shakir’s yards came after the catch. I couldn’t find Beasley’s YAC info but I think we would all agree that it isn’t the same 70% as Shakir (or even close to that). Beasley was strictly a possession receiver. So how could he have averaged more yards per reception than Shakir? The easy answer is that he was able to get more depth on his routes because the underneath wasn’t all jammed up. Teams were worried about Brown over the top. Take a step further, how many more yards after catch would Shakir have if he caught the ball in less crowded areas?!?

I agree that Tee Higgins isn’t the right fit. I’m also okay to bring back Amari and draft a speed guy. I’m certainly not opposed to a WR trade either (Metcalf or whomever might be available that we don’t know about). They desperately need to be better on the boundary. The Bills ability to rack up points was remarkable considering their limitations. That’s a credit to Brady and Josh (with a hat tip to the OL & Cook). Is it sustainable? That’s what those of us that have boundary WR as a top 3 need to ask. It isn’t. I THINK that the stat was the Bills threw the ball down the field the 10th most last year (I don’t know how that is defined). They were 26th in efficiency. Additionally, they saw the 30th most 2 high despite having Josh Allen at QB!! That’s insane and likely not sustainable. They are going to have to make some plays down the field for a few reasons. The record low turnovers will regress towards the rest of the league. That means that we shouldn’t continue to count on long 10-15+ play drives. That worked last year because they made basically no mistakes. Additionally, teams are going to continue playing closer to the LOS making the running game and short passing game more difficult. If they have the threat of plays like the Eagles made to Brown in the Super Bowl, it opens up a lot for the offense. Don’t be fooled by their fantastic performance in 2024. They will still be very good regardless but likely to regress without any changes. That offense wasn’t good enough even with the record low turnovers.

That’s a really interesting thought. 🍻

That won’t get it done (or be close to getting it done IMO). Both Cook and Rousseau are up for raises. As soon as Rousseau signs his deal, he will be overpaid. He’s a quality starter. He isn’t a $20M a year guy. I think Cook will end up at $12.5M AAV. That’s a pretty big number but not way out of whack. That’s just okay value for Cleveland when coupled with the 30th pick. As this process has played out, it’s feels to me like the Bills will need 2 1sts + to have a shot. The fact that they will be projected to pick later in the round hurts them. I’m thinking now something like Cook or Rousseau, 2 firsts & a 3rd or something like that (if they like Rousseau).

I think Sweat is good and a decent upgrade. At the same time, I have ZERO concern about cost or the cap situation in 2031 (or whatever). Jeremy White was talking about it this morning and I couldn’t agree more. Don’t settle. Don’t worry about cost. Don’t worry about dead money 6 or 7 years from now. None of that matters. Push all of your chips in. Go get Garrett. Go get more than Garrett. No reason to settle on anything.

I think this is a good point. They’ve taken guys, early, generally mocked to that part of the draft (Elam, Kincaid, Groot, AJE, etc) and just haven’t hit on enough of them yet. None of those guys were considered “a reach.” At the same time, it has been more “solid” than what you need from top 60 picks. You need some of those to develop into your difference makers. The top of your roster should be guys picked early or your big FA investments. It’s great to have the Benford’s of the world become stars, but banking on 6th round picks to be your best players isn’t sustainable. That’s a bonus.

This thread has gotten so good. 🤣🤣 The delusion and entitlement knows no bounds.

So the Bills COULD play the Jets or Browns in London. They COULD play Miami in Madrid or Pittsburgh in Dublin. Unless, I’m missing something and the opponents have been announced for any of these games, an international game is on the table. If that happens, I strongly recommend making the trip. We did London a couple of years ago (our first time in Europe) and had a great time. It was such a surreal experience to see the world with Bills fans.

Nope, just proactively addressing it so that people can’t twist words. Does the draft look good as of today? No. Is it definitely a failure? No. Were there better options than Coleman and Bishop available at those spots? Yes. All of that is true. That shouldn’t be hard to understand.

You might have jumped in late. The response was to the poster that suggested that the Eagles 1st 3 picks look better than the Bills 1st 3 picks because they picked earlier. The response was, “if the Bills picked McConkey and Bullock instead of Coleman and Bishop” we wouldn’t be using when in the round they picked as an excuse. To be clear for the late comers, NO ONE IS SAYING THAT THE DRAFT IS DEFINITELY A FAILURE AT THIS POINT. At the same time, there were guys picked at the same positions, that were available to the Bills, that are off to better (in some cases much better) starts.

Ladd can play outside as he did at UGA. He played 70.3% of his snaps there and parlayed that into getting picked early. He played nearly 30% of the snaps on the outside as a rookie. He’s not ONLY a slot guy like Beasley for example. He’s closer to Amon-Ra St. Brown. He will probably be somewhere closer to like 60/40 slot to boundary.

McConkey ran 70.3% of his routes at UGA from the outside. To say that he’s a “pure slot option” is false. The Chargers used him a lot in the slot but not because they had to. They did it because it worked. He finished his rookie year with 82/1149/7.

So if the Bills drafted better, they would have hit on their first 2 picks as well? Is that the point? We could have taken Ladd or Worthy instead of Coleman. We could have taken Bullock instead of Bishop. If we started Ladd and Bullock, the Bills would have hit on their first two picks as well. Both were available at the Bills picks even after the trade downs.

Not sure if this is in the thread or not. Full disclosure, I haven’t watched it but respect Cover 1:

Seriously? Is this what we are doing? 🤣🤣 The Eagles had 2 of the 5 defensive rookie of the year finalists and their 3rd pick played 41% of the defensive snaps in the Super Bowl. We are comparing that to the Coleman, Bishop, Carter start? Just stop

Okay, now do the Eagles. The entire point is that if your rookie class comes out of the gates strong, no one cares about the 3 year rule. The 3 year rule applies when you have Coleman, Bishop and Carter as your first 3.

Do you think that the Eagles are saying, “don’t judge our 2024 class for 3 years?” What about the Commanders?

1 year in, it looks like a bad draft class. Rookies are contributing all over the league these days. The Super Bowl Champs are a great example. I wasn’t a fan of the Coleman pick (at all). The Bills were in desperate need of a WR at the top of the depth chart. They draft a project that can’t get open. Through one season, he looked like a project, and never got open. He flashed an ability to get down the field, solid run blocking, run after the catch and good ball skills. Coleman was better than I expected but he’s a role player IMO. There were better WRs available. It was such a huge need last year and they didn’t do well with the pick. It’s not time to close the book on him and he did flash. With that being said, he’s behind where they need him to be and behind the some of the other options available at that pick (Worthy & McConkey for sure). Bishop looked lost. I’ve been told by some on here that he improved quite a bit later in the year. I guess that I didn’t notice but I hope that’s right. He has the athletic ability to play there. It’s such an important position in the McDermott defense. He needs to get up to speed quickly. He’s behind where his peers are (Dejean and Bullock come to mind) but that is hopefully a function of learning a complicated role. I hope that he turns into a quality starter. Carter was my favorite pick at the time. He looked so good at the Senior Bowl. I thought that he would be a 12 year, rotational DT, on Day 1. He was okay before the injury but not as ready as I had hoped. He needs to improve and be a part of the rotation this year. Davis looks like a fine rotational RB. That’s what you hope for in the middle of the draft. He can do a little of everything and does it pretty well. He has a lot of mileage for a rookie (only 70 less scrimmage touches than Cook through college & pros) but looks like has had the body to hold up. He’s a guy that should give you a few, solid, dependable years. Of the rest of the guys, I was excited about SVPG & Solomon. Solomon has a knack for getting to the QB. He’s going to be a solid rotational player. That was a strong pick. Grable looks like a player as well. The Bills did a nice job from round 4 on. That’s been a consistent theme. It’s a big reason that their roster has had such great depth. The struggles early in the draft are the reason that they don’t have enough top end talent. That’s why they shouldn’t hesitate if Garrett, Crosby, etc.. are viable. The roster lacks top end talent. That’s a function of Elam, Kincaid, Coleman, Epenesa, Boogie Basham, etc going early. This draft is only a year old. It’s not time to panic. They aren’t where they need them either. Both of those are true. The Bills have developed some guys in this regime. They need these guys to contribute. I suspect Coleman will still be a role player (albeit an improved one), Bishop an everyday starter along Rapp & Carter needs to be in the rotation. If that happens, with the contributions from the rest of the class, it will work out okay.

It’s just the way of the world in 2025. Social media made that a thing. It’s not going to change; the train has left the station. He may hold out but I suspect that they pay him or deal him prior.

Do you think $15M is his hard line? Have you ever seen anyone start negotiations with their drop dead number? $15M is a the starting point of the negotiation. I think he ends up at $12.5Mish which feels about right.

I’m thinking yes for all of the reasons mentioned. He’s an obvious for it. They love sports stars and he checks lots of boxes. I’m getting ready for SNL50 now!!

How did he show himself vs. KC? Do you agree it’s more important how you perform in the AFC Championship Game than it is what your profile pic on IG is?

Your point here is totally fair. While I’m on record that he should be back, that logic is sensical. People saying that they got good mileage out of him and should deal him while is value is high, make sense. People that think he’s really valuable but the Bills should “send a message because of social media posts” are completely clueless. 🤣🤣 Whatever decision the Bills make will be made through the lens of “what’s best for business?” The social media stuff is a non-factor no matter how bunched up some posters on TBD’s panties get.