BarleyNY

I think it’s easy to say that almost any team is better this time of year versus at the end of a long, grueling season. I don’t mean to pee in your Cheerios, it’s just the reality of how injuries can impact a team. Our defense’s performance will largely hinge on star players coming back from injury - Miller, White, Hyde and Poyer all had significant injuries and there are questions as to how well at least three of them will return to form. There is potential for the defense to be better - even with the significant loss of Edmunds. The drop off potential at MLB is so significant because of the lack of a quality replacement. Edmunds (finally) developed into a very good player last season and we will miss that production if we don’t replace it. And as improved as Edmunds was, replacing his production shouldn’t cost anywhere near $18M a season. A better gauge might be a comparison of our final roster with the 2022 opening day roster.

With the 35th selection the Indianapolis Colts select Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland. Great fit for Indy. Fills a big need at a premium position. Big, fast and physical ant the LOS. He has the potential to be a high end CB1, but he needs to clean up his occasional discipline lapses. Happy that he fell. @RyanC883 is on the clock for the Rams.

So you’ve studied………..history?

Robinson had $15.25M fully guaranteed from the Rams this season. All they did was dump what they could.

And now Pickett. 🤣 Robinson never caught a break.

I’m surprised that ESPN gave Darnell Wright a first round grade. This list is exactly why having pick 27 in this draft sucks.

The Rams dumped Allen Robinson for nothing to jettison $5M of guaranteed salary. Shows you how far he’s fallen. Ditto the Rams.

The Steelers have had a pretty good “vitamin” program since the 70s. Maybe he rebounds for a year or two once he’s on that. The Rams paid Allen’s $5.25M roster bonus last month. I wonder if they’re eating any of his $10M salary. If so, that’s brutal unless they are getting a nice pick back (which is doubtful).

Appreciate the insight. I just don’t know how an NFL team takes a QB who is that small that high in the draft. As good as he was in college he looks like a low ceiling, high risk NFL prospect to me. Size and arm strength are going to be real problems for him.

I was referring to the massive amount of misinformation that is put out by teams, agents, etc. this time of year. The media runs with it all and so many fans buy it all - for the moment at least.

Allen‘s contract was at fair market value when he signed it and the restructure was for the team’s benefit, so Florio has that wrong. Still, Allen would be justified in asking why he hasn’t been given more help on the offensive side of the ball. He’s right about that.

Not being able to move up for a first round caliber prospect. Picking at 27 this year sucks. Move up or move back (if they can).

I heard this talked about on 550. I laughed. It’s silly season in the NFL. Believe nothing you hear. It just makes no sense when you think about it. I still think it’s Stroud #1 and Young #2. Houston is putting smoke out there that Young is the only QB worth taking early so Stroud falls to them. I don’t blame them if that’s what they’re doing. Young’s size will severely limit his NFL career. I wouldn’t want to take a 5’10”, 175# QB second overall. Or really anywhere in the draft.

Good point about Kim being the person expected to be the succession plan. It might now depend on the interest level of the daughters. If they don’t want to take over the family businesses, then cashing out right after the new stadium is built would be a smart move. That is a huge additional asset that will raise the value of the team immensely. I’m not saying that it is going to happen, but after what has happened with the family it would not be a surprise.

Shhhh!!!

It doesn’t get Lamar get a 100% guaranteed 5 year deal, but it still helps him. The line in the sand drawn by teams has been guaranteeing money beyond 3 seasons. Fully guaranteed 3 year Cousins deal? No problem. 3 of 5 (or 4) years guaranteed? Common practice. Hurts just got 70% of his money guaranteed on 5 new years. If you do the math, that’s 3.5 years of money fully guaranteed. Lamar’s problem is that he wants to be the guy who changes things and resets the market for guaranteed contracts. That is unlikely to be how things will change in the NFL. It’ll happen incrementally. Lamar would be better served fighting for a 5 year deal with 70-80% guaranteed now that we’ve seen Hurts move the needle. Just to clarify my position on the issue: The CBA and salary cap floor guarantees that as a group players get their share of revenue. I don’t think it helps the game to see a lot of fully guaranteed 5 year contracts. That said, I see why players want them. Beyond the guaranteed income, football is a much more violent sport than baseball and basketball - where fully guaranteed contracts are standard. I also see why an owner wouldn’t want to hand them out unless they were trying to entice a high end QB to play for them (see Browns/Watson). IMO QBs are so valuable that they will get fully guaranteed 5 year deals at some point. The owners will be best served to limit them to the truly elite QBs though. IMO they’ve relied on preceding contracts too much when negotiating new ones. Maybe guarantees will be the differentiator in the future. Edit: Contract details coming in. Hurts might not have the full guarantees initially reported.

That’s fair from a prospect valuation standpoint, but I think scarcity and need come into play. If the Bills want a WR who can play on the outside and will come in ready to run a full route tree in year one, then they don’t have a lot of options. They’ll have to make the move to be sure they get him. They put themselves into this position so it’s not an excuse for doing it, but I think it’s the reality of the situation. I can see them burning some draft capital to move up from 27 for Addison and then from 59 for a MLB. Edited to add: JSN could also be the target with Addison as smoke or another option.

Barley. I was a brewer (both home and professional) and certified beer judge. With the fourth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida. @NewEra is on the clock for the Seattle Seahawks.

I looked at the first three rounds.

I will take any one of the leftover teams.

Agree on JSN. It would take a huge move up to get him, but I'm down for that. He brings something the Bills are lacking except for Diggs - receiving options that can separate early. The Bills have focused on players who can separate well, but Davis, Knox and Shakir don't have the short area quickness and burst to reliably do that. Maybe Harty is expected to do that this year. I don't know much about his game other than he is small and fast so I'm not sure it is straight line speed only or if he has agility too.

Thank you @Virgil !

I agree. @TOboy has a good point about DHop reworking his contract. That would have to be in place regardless. As for Oliver we’d be selling very low because teams would know we have to find a way to dump his salary. It just makes a lot more sense to finalize the deal before the draft. The Bills would be wise to have a deadline of early next week for a deal. Otherwise they have to plan their draft accordingly.

I've been thinking that Hopkins would get traded the week before the draft. Dunno about that though. Now my best guess is that Hopkins is making the Cards cut him by not working with teams on his current contract. That's probably the smartest move for him. Get on the open market and let teams bid on your services without having to factor in draft compensation. Still, if he knows where he wants to go and his agent knows his value a deal should get done.