BarleyNY

I'm from Cleveland and live in Buffalo so I root for both the Browns and Bills. I've seen Dray play for the Browns. He's serviceable, but that's pretty much it. The OP is correct. The TE position is very, very thin after Clay and it is something to be worried about - especially since the WR corps is so thin after Watkins and Woods. I'm not sure who the 4th WR/TE option is after those three. And what percentage of time do you want a FB on the field where you wouldn't need one? There's got to be someone else you can depend on and I don't know who that's going to be. I'm not even getting into the situation the Bills would be in if, God forbid, one of Watkins/Woods/Clay were to down with injury. I'm really hoping they get some help somehow, someway before the season starts.

Agreed. 10/30 against the Pats with Brady.

I think this line of thought often gets lost in the typical post draft exuberance. People see nothing but upside as they learn about the players their team drafted and get emotionally attached to them. But the draft usually progresses from getting guys you expect to help in major roles to guys you expect to help in lesser roles to guys you don't count on, but who have traits that could push them into one of the first two categories. The 4th round is not a bad place to get a player from that second category and situational pass rushers on the DL are important to every team.

Specatacular.

That's a good read. Thanks for posting.

👍🏼

I'd like to add that if Lawson has a medical issue it sure would explain why he was available at 19. I really didn't think he'd make it there.

CJ Spiller, 6 seasons:Rushing: 704 carries for 3,433 yards. 4.9 ypc. 12 TDs. Receiving: 192 receptions for 1,434 yards. 7.5 ypr. 8 TDs. Dri Archer, 2 seasons: Rushing: 10 carries for 40 yards. That's 4.0 ypc. 0 TDs. Receiving: 7 receptions for 23 yards. 3.3 ypr. 0 TDs. People like to dump on Spiller here. He wasn't worth the draft slot the Bills picked him at, but he's a decent rotational back - not the bum some people act like he is. I was selling him short saying that he was only 10 times the back Archer is.

Some poster (even a very credible one) on a message board stating something vague is not likely to get picked up by the general media. Something specific might at least lead to media people asking questions about the specific. Something specific could also get him pinpointed. That's when crap could hit the fan for him specifically.

Spiller is 10 times the player Archer is. Just looking at filling a need and a player's measurables, I'd wager. It's easy to talk yourself into picking someone in that case.

I agree with this. The Bills had a nice draft, but they lost a lot of talent - even if some of that talent wasn't producing due to scheme, motivation or whatever reason. Their biggest moves were retaining some of their free agents. They'll have to rely on better use of the talent they have, familiarity with the schemes implemented last season and development of players to improve.

Yeah, I have him at 17, right in the middle of the "good with additional potential" group. That's the group that inspires hope and breath holding, but still has to grow.

I'll echo that assessment. My wife is a Steelers fan so I see a bunch of their games every season. When I saw Archer get the ball and run his speed just jumped off the screen. It really wowed me. But it was amazing how little he did with it. He doesn't look like a football player out there. Just no football skills - and he is an easy tackle, too. He's a tremendous tease because all you can think about is what he could do if he could get the ball in the open field, but it almost never happens. He doesn't take a good angle, he doesn't find a hole, he gets arm tackled at the line, etc. It was actually frustrating for me to watch him play because every time he touches the ball it looks like he could do something amazing, but never does.

Thanks for sharing what you can.

1) Rodgers 2) Brady 3) Cam 4) Big Ben 5) Brees 6) Wilson 7) Luck 8) Eli 9) Flacco 10) Palmer 11) Romo 12) Rivers 13) Ryan 14) Dalton 15) Winston 16) Bortles 17) Tyrod 18) Mariota 19) Goff 20) Griffin 21) Carr 22) Bridgewater 23) Wentz 24) Lynch 25) Alex Smith 26) Stafford 27) Osweiler 28) Tannehill 29) Cutler 30) Cousins 31) Fitzpatrick 32) Sanchez I could move a lot of these a couple of spaces either way. The interesting thing about ranking the QBs was the stratification. Franchise QBs at the top, then very good QBs who can get hot and carry a team, followed by good QBs who have never been able to push their team over the top, followed by young QBs with high potential, then risk/potential types, then stopgaps and guys you want to replace.

Just saw the eMoulds post. Dammit.

Wow. That's a well thought out and well reasoned opinion. I totally agree.

I want to clear up something because I think we are arguing two different situations. At this point in the conversation I thought we were talking about whether or not he would continue to play AFTER his contract in Philly ends - be that if he is cut after this season, gets traded next offseason or plays through 2017 in Philly. I was not talking about him walking away prior to the 2016 season. He was always going to have to play somewhere in 2016. The only question was where. He tried to force a trade and it didn't work. Sorry for any confusion I created. I didn't meant to frame players who've made a lot of money turning down offers as "insulting", just that they aren't worth it to them - especially players with injury histories. I remember Urlacher talking about turning down a one year, $2M contract and choosing to retire. He was careful to say that $2M was a lot of money, but it just wasn't worth it to him because of health reasons and what he'd already made. That's all.

There's a big difference here. The wear and tear on bodies and brains in the NFL is a factor. Once you've made a whole lot of money - NINE figures in Bradford's case - things like concussions, CTE and other injuries are big considerations. $100M and walking away healthy might look a lot better than $110M with potential health issues.

I'm sure that you're right about kick offs. Teams will still try to eliminate return opportunities by dangerous KRs though. Funny thing comparing these two "home run hitters". Goodwin has 3 career TDs, all long receptions in 2013. Archer has zero career TDs. I was surprised to see that, especially with a strong armed QB throwing the ball. Your point about players like them not being able to stay healthy is a big part of why they've both had such little production. The other is that they seem to be much more athletes than football players.

Thank you.

They're pretty much the same guy. Incredibly fast, often injured and non productive in the NFL. You are probably on to something comparing the two. They're probably each other's competition for a roster spot as a KR and end of bench WR/occasional RB. Whomever stays healthy gets the spot?

Wow. You really had to work hard there. Sorry, but pretending that our choices are: - Keep Gilbert and go back to EJ or - Lose Gilbert and keep Tyrod is pretty ridiculous. Reality is that Gilbert has earned his next, big contract over the last four years. Tyrod hasn't earned his yet, not with one good season. Gilbert will likely get paid very soon. Taylor will get paid next season if he earns it. The Bills can keep both if Tyrod earns his place.

Yeah. The guarantees they're giving do carry some not insignificant risk either. Maybe it's what they think they need to do because of the market here and they think it's a better option than overpaying. If so, then it's an interesting tactic.

Yup. Doesn't hurt to kick the tires.