GunnerBill

I agree. And after this season I don't think the idea of trading him for a day 2 pick is ridiculous at all. It is just that as of now I am asking is a second or third round pick worth more than two years of cheap production from someone who is a proven good all purpose RB1 . That answer is no. Once the maximum balance on the other side is one more year of cheap production the balance starts to tilt. Draft picks are there to get good players. Good players are not there to get draft picks. You always have to remember it is that way around. Even as someone like me that loves the draft and would love the Bills to have 10/12 picks every year.

But not when you have a good (not elite) back at a cheap rookie contract number for another two years. Because you are not replacing James Cook with a street FA. If he wants an extension after next year and then someone wants to throw you a pick for him, sure, I see the sense. But drafting a back in round 2 (was too rich for my tastes to start with even though I like James Cook) seeing them put up excellent AP yardage numbers in year two and then selling two prospective years worth of cheap production for a day 2 pick makes little sense to me. The reason you collect draft picks is to get good players on rookie contracts who are capable of out producing them. That is what they have on Cook. So until the contract situation becomes live you don't trade that away just for another chance to find a guy that might not do that.

Not being good enough is easier to deal with. Not getting a shot to prove otherwise is the hard part. If he has had multiple try outs with multiple teams and he has just come up a little bit short... no disgrace you gave it a shot, you know you weren't quite at the level. As someone who came up just a little bit short myself of the level it takes to make it in soccer I know the feeling a little bit. And I am completely okay living with it. I remember the exact moment when that realisation that I'm just not quite at this level dawned on me and I was almost immediately at peace with it.

If he signs anywhere as a backup it will either be paid like a starter or where the starter is on a short leash. He isn't coming here for a cheap vet deal to backup Josh.

Tanny isn't coming back to be a backup. And if he is it will be someone who can PAY him. The Bills can't. I think Hoyer is shot at this stage.

Another guy I think was overdrafted, but at the right price I'd do it. They'd have to be willing to sell low. A 4th that becomes a 3rd if he hits performance indicators would be my ceiling.

Sorry the strike through had gone the wrong way. I'd counted for 5 down one from 6.

Heinicke would be my call.

And he is on a rookie deal. As I said above, it is worth a question after this season if going into his contract year they know they don't want to extend him. If they end up there and someone offers you a day 2 pick you absolutely do it. But for now you are giving away a very productive, very cheap running back for no good reason.

Thought I'd update my projection. My first go is here for those wanting a look. QB (2): Josh Allen, Mitch Trubisky FB (1): Reggie Gilliam RB (3): James Cook, Ray Davis, Ty Johnson TE (34) Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Quintin Morris, Zach Davidson WR (65) Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, Tyrell Shavers OL (910) Dion Dawkins, Connor McGovern, David Edwards, O'Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, Ryan Van Demark, Alec Anderson, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Tylan Grable, Will Clapp La'el Collins** Offense Total: 25 DT (4): Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, Austin Johnson, DeWayne Carter DE (65) Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, Von Miller, Dawuane Smoot, Kingsley Jonathan, Javon Solomon LB (5): Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Dorian Williams, Baylon Spector, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Joe Andreessen CB (6): Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Taron Johnson, Kaiir Elam, Ja'Marcus Ingram, Daequan Hardy S (5): Taylor Rapp, Mike Edwards, Cole Bishop, Cam Lewis, Damar Hamlin Defense Total: 25 ST (3): Tyler Bass (K), Sam Martin (P), Reid Ferguson (LS) Special Teams Total: 3 Summary of changes: 1. Zach Davidson in, Tyrell Shavers out. I just don't see a 6th receiver who deserves to make the roster. To be honest I'm not sure I see a 5th receiver who deserves to make it, but if the neck is clear for MVS (and it seems to be) I think they are going to err on the side of caution and he will make the team as a vet outside option. The additional spot freed up by Shavers going to the practice squad is taken by Davidson. They are going to play a lot of 12 again I think and their tight end room looks better than their receiver room. If a 6th receiver makes it then watch out for Justin Shorter who got 1st team gunner reps on Saturday. 2. Tylan Grable and Will Clapp in, La'el Collins out. Tylan Grable has made himself too big of a risk for the practice squad. He has been the best 2nd stringer lineman through two games and has shown he can play right and left side. So I add him to make the OL group 10 deep. Then Clapp for Collins is a swapping out of one vet backup for another. The rest of the OL backups have zero starts between them. I continue to believe they will keep at least one experienced guy. Collins has been awful, they have given up on the idea he can play tackle so in a straight swap of vet interior guy vs vet interior guy I lean to Clapp. Both may well end up cut if they can snag a better vet option off another roster. 3. Kingsley Jonathan out. I'm not sure about this one. Still think he could make it because they like him. But he hasn't been great in pre-season and to keep an extra OL someone has to go. Jonathan is now down to DE6 in the rotation and that is a luxury spot in terms of roster construction so he is the most vulnerable. 4. Matt Milano to designated return IR, Joe Andreessen in. Milano's bicep tear means he is headed to IR and given his experience and skill level I see no reason why the Bills wouldn't use one of their two pre-season designated to return slots on him. In his place they could keep a vet in Deion Jones or Nicholas Morrow but just looking at the way they have used guys in pre-season it looks like Andreessen has jumped those guys. He got the start with the 1st team on Saturday and is in pole position to take this spot. You are missing Spector. He is making the team.

Who? I don't see any "needed talent" at receiver spots 5,6,7.

Their third QB is the most likely guy the Bills go to if Trunisky is hurt badly - it's Kyle Allen.

Hmm. I don't think it is that different personally. I think Sutton is the best WR among the two rosters, he will be their "1" and he would be our "1" but he is really a #2. After that Josh Reynolds is a #3, Tim Patrick was a #3 but hasn't played football in two years and it remains to be seen what he is now as a 30 year old. Marvin Mims I wasn't super high on coming out, I thought he was a reach in round 2, and he still has work to do to convince me he is more than just a guy you can throw the occasional bomb to.... but he is at least theoretically a young guy with still some ceiling room there. Troy Franklin by all accounts has struggled mightily in camp and is not a lock for the roster at this stage. I give them probably a slight edge over the Bills because they have Sutton and he is legit. But if I was ranking the receivers across the two teams I'd go: 1. Sutton; 2. Samuel; 3. Shakir as my top 3. The Broncos have an edge in their depth because they have two young guys who you can optimistically still think are on the upswing, whereas we only have Coleman and then a load of guys we know are tapped out... but I wouldn't feel great about having the Broncos receivers any more than I do about having the Bills guys to be honest.

No. If it happens AFTER this season, sure, I'd be willing to consider. But when you have productive starters on rookie deals they are more valuable than draft picks. When they get to a year left and you KNOW you are not paying them (and with running backs that is a thing) then trading them does start to make a sense. But it is a year too early to think about that IMO.

If you just swapped coaches in 2021 or 2022 or maybe even last year, sure. For the Bills to knock Mahomes and the Chiefs this year even under Andy Reid? Nah. Not for me. Indeed in all Andy Reid's coaching career I can only find two examples where you can argue he won a playoff game against a team with a better Quarterback than his (not just played better on the day but overall regarded to be better). 2003 Divisional round McNabb over Farve and 2008 Divisional round McNabb over Eli. Now I get it the Mahomes to Allen gap isn't huge so maybe he can overcome and I get it that McDermott is 0fer in terms of beating teams with top level Quarterbacks in the playoffs let alone teams with better than Josh (there is only one and he is 0-3). But I dunno... this year the gap isn't just Andy to Sean. Their roster is objectively a step up on ours.

He had more than one bad play. I'm not writing him out of the 53 either. But he is now very much DE6 and that makes him vulnerable to the need to keep extra depth at any other spots.

He has only been a tackle a couple of years. He was a Quarterback in High School, turned bad college tight end. It was only when he turned to left tackle it suddenly clicked for him. He has the size, power, foot speed, hip bend and agility you look for. His technique is inconsistent but man if they can straighten it out he is a sky's the limit type.

I haven't been back and looked yet so I may well be wrong on the lack of separation point. Can only tell so much from tv but every replay angle we saw our guys looked blanketed. It is a concern. We did argue about Mitch in the spring. I take an L on this one. I think when he was here before he looked like a very functional game manager in the preseason. Okay different OC, some different skill guys (but not like all his play was with the 1s then either). He looks decidedly worse. I think his head is shot. One of the things I liked before was he could get out of trouble with his legs too and whenever he tried to move last night he ran into his own guys. It was dreadful.

It wasn't a good throw. But it is not like it was impossible to make a play on. I will give Keon the benefit that he didn't think worth taking the hit you'd take to catch it in a pre-season game. But regular season I want him to make a much better effort on that ball.

Perfect definitely oversells it. So does terrible though. Coleman should have done better with that ball. This, to the letter, is how I feel about the receiver situation right now.

Agree though don't think Cook fits the second category. He is a low impact position so that factors in but he never carried the load in college so he was a pretty low floor pick in round 2 IMO. The floor was a passing down back only.

Nor me. I thought he was a reach even at the end of round 2.

I think he could. I even think he might suit that better.

Yea he doesn't have a ton of moves. He wins on power, length and a good understanding of leverage.

I think he makes the 53. I think no more than 5 receivers conceivably have a route. So 5 WRs and 4 TEs.