GunnerBill

But they are Brandon Beane's decisions.

The draft is personnel decisions. They are Brandon Beane's. The people who think McDermott is in the background making every decision are wrong. He has input. But the personnel decisions are not him.

Of course he doesn't take guys the Head Coach doesn't want. They are very tight with each other they share a vision for how the team is built. But the decisions on personnel are Brandon Beane's. They way this roster is built bears all the hallmarks of the Hurney / Gettleman builds in Carolina when Beane was a senior exec in that front office. This is a Brandon Beane built roster. He makes the personnel decisions.

Yes. But Brandon Beane is in charge of personnel. He makes the calls. If we want to talk about the draft McDermott did run we found Tre White (all pro), Dion Dawkins (7 year starter) and Matt Milano (all pro). The drafts since then have been run by Brandon Beane and for good - and there has been a fair amount of good - and ill he is responsible for the selections.

McDermott didn't draft anybody. Beane did.

I don't really like roasts. It is not really a thing over here and tbh I hope it stays that way.

We will open in division. I can see the Jets or New England in Buffalo or New England or Miami on the road. I hope its fewer prime time games though I expect not. As someone this side of the pond for whom prime time means taking at least half a day's leave afterwards they are a real pain.

I'm not sure that I believe they were. I obviously really liked Legette but I am not sure the Bills were as high on him.

Yea I said all along they knew who Dan Morgan wanted. He and Beane are tight. Its a rare case where a GM would say "come on who is your guy, as long as its not our guy I'll do it" and because if their relationship Morgan is gonna tell him.

I was having a conversation with @JerseyBills who was saying he was one of the best LBers in the game in Madden 4 years ago. I was replying to him explaining his career trajectory. You decided for reasons unknown to insert yourself into the conversation to suggest that I was somehow misleading him (I wasn't) with the 4th team in 4 years. If your original point was "yea it's 4 in 4 years but that is not that uncommon for dust settles FAs like this to fill out the backend of rosters" the conversation would have ended there. Because you are right on that. Instead you claimed I was trying to "make it sound more dramatic." Which I wasn't. I was just presenting a fact. At no stage did I not accept it was common. It is. It is also uncommon for those guys to make significant impacts for their teams. Both are true.

I agree. I like this actually as a punt. But nobody should be under any illusions that is what it is. It is a punt on someone with some physical talent who for reasons other than height, speed, athelticism is in the last chance saloon with his NFL career

Okay so my criteria for my choices is: 1. I am only considering their performance in Buffalo not their overall NFL career. 2. They can not have played a playoff game as a Bill. Which leaves me with a choice of Jason Peters and Mario Williams. Reason? I think they were the two guys that spring to mind as having periods of elite performance in their Bills run and at premium positions too. I wanted to pick a receiver and thought about Lee Evans but he was just a lesser player than Mario and Peters. EDITED: I forgot Peters somehow. Gilmore was originally my 2nd choice. He'd be third for me.

You sum exactly my point with Carter (who I don't dislike, just think took him earlier than I would). There was a run a DTs. They needed a DT and therefore their choice at the end of the 3rd round was about filling that gap. That is exactly what I think happened, potentially above and beyond board value. Especially as they wanted a DT last year too and didn't get one and it has left them in a bit of a hole with Ed basically the only DT on the roster beyond the immediate short term. On Davis he was my R6. I had a pretty clear top 5 - four of whom went day 2 and Wright who the Dolphins gave up a 2025 3rd for early on day 3. Davis is a good back and he was my best of the rest. Again they had a big hole behind Cook. It was a need. But is still a low premium position. Cook is still more talented. He is going to be RB1. So it is a 4th rounder for someone who at least the next two years is a backup running back.

Where have I not accepted that?

No I didn't. I spoke facts and you took offence for some unknown reason. I like Deion. But its his 4th team in 4 years.

When I read this I thought "whoa that's a bit bold for what would have been a rookie 5th rounder." And then I thought about it and I think you are right. Which kinda tells its own story. It isn't about Malik. It is about the fact that this WR corps by any measure is missing a fair few elements that you'd like to have.

He wanted to be in Miami 5 days before a playoff game in New York back in the day if my memory serves 🤣

He was traded from the Falcons. The Browns essentially hacked a year off his contract and yes, with the Panthers it was a 1 year deal. Allowed to leave in that it was three different situations in the three different places. I was trying to find a form of words that covers them all. 4th team in 4 years. They are the facts.

Yea he isn't a difference maker anymore. But as a complimentary player he is still a legit NFL starting wide receiver.

Yea the lack of top end talent has been the main thing stopping them going further IMO. Needing someone to make a play for them at the critical moment. Those KC games come down to a play here and there. They have every single time since the AFCCG where we were well beaten and still short of their level. Every game against them since has come down to a couple of plays. And while we have made them in the regular season we haven't in the post season and Kelce, Hill (before he left) and Jones have. If this ends up being something of a hole filling meat and potatoes draft that allows them to use the capital they have built next year to get a difference maker or two that will be one thing. But it felt very hole filly, quite need driven and there remain questions about our ability to find game changers.

I agree the DE value did drop off. I think most of the next tier of edge guys were 3-4 OLBs not base DEs. I actually like Solomon at the value they took him. I was not arguing for double dip at receiver just for the sake of arguing it. I am arguing it because I think the value there was better than a rotational DT (you are entitled to like Carter better than I do but I still disagree) there was better value at OT. There was better value at corner. These are premium spots and we took the low hanging fruit at backup DT and backup RB because we had immediate holes there. It's that type of need based drafting that get you in trouble in the long run. He has been allowed to leave by the Falcons, Browns and Panthers. It is not exactly the Chiefs, 49ers and Cowboys. How many guys with that resume make a difference in the NFL week to week? And I loved Deion Jones coming out. But it is a reality that he isn't that guy now.

You are right that our backup DTs last year sucked. I said they would when we wasted money signing them. But when we have holes at premium spots backup DT didn't seem super value (and I am not high on Carter). Similarly at backup RB I do like Davis just isn't great value. If you were spending a 4th on a first string running back fair enough. For a second string short yardage back that to me isn't good asset allocation. In six drafts it is a second, two thirds and a fourth on running backs. The most devalued position on the football field. On receiving room my argument is absolutely lack of proven production equates to bottom three. Sure Coleman could end up a stud rookie. Sure Samuel could have a career year (if he stays healthy I think that is very likely actually), sure Kincaid thrown in adds a dimension. But at the same time do I think it is better than the 2022 receiving room? No. In 2022 they had an elite player. That to me matters more than anything else. Elite players win. Nobody in this group is approaching that. As for cap - the $10m we having coming off is needed for our draft class and BEFORE we sign a single draftee of 2024 we have only $5m in space (not $15m) against the projected cap for 2025. Of course the cap could be higher. It was a bit this year. But that isn't a great basis on which to be planning. Don't get me wrong I am not a negative nelly. I think this Bills team will still win 10 or 11 games. I think the offensive line could end up as a sneaky strength. I am less bothered about the Morse loss than a lot of people. I think Ed Oliver will have another good year and with Milano, Bernard and Taron at the second level we will be good there too. And Cook, Shakir, Kincaid, Brown etc can all take another step. But there are reasons - wide receiver, edge, safety - to believe this team will have some issues in 2024. I think it is a reload season.

Don't mind any of these guys actually as guys to compete for the backend jobs in those rooms. Smoot is the one I give the best chance of making the roster. But I see the sense in all 3 moves.

I have cut him slack. I think the potential he has is in the "plus" column for him. I think physically there is more to come and there is room for some coaching on the nuances. I recognise that in my initial evaluation summary of him above.

I think when they got down to their best two options being Dodson and Klein you HAD to put Klein at Mike. He couldn't have played will. His horizontal movement was never his strength even when he was a full time NFL player. The alternative, much discussed in that KC buildup week, was Dodson at Mike and Williams at Will which they did try a bit second half. And I think the fact was they just didn't trust Williams. When he came in against Pittsburgh he kept lining up incorrectly. I think that you are probably right though that Morrow is their preferred MLB reserve for 2024.