GunnerBill

Sell the ***** Sabres they are next to useless.

Eeek. That is not good news.

I am not sure he is obsessed with his legacy yet to the point where he'd force his way out of anywhere. I think he may well get there. But I repeat I'd be stunned if it happens within a year.

I'd be stunned and I mean stunned if it happened after 2024 even if the Bills have something of a down year. But do I live in a fantasy world where Josh Allen with his Hollywood other half, an increasing national profile and a burning desire to win is destined to play for the Bills until he hangs them up? No. I absolutely think that there is a chance a point is reached where a combination of frustration at not getting over the hump, the chance to go somewhere "cool" and the opportunity to get away from Mahomes every darn year is tempting enough for him to find a way to move on. That said I continue to believe he'd drive Kyle "just run my damn plays" Shanahan to utter distraction with his play style. Kyle doesn't just have to win. He has to win by showing everyone he is the smartest guy in the room. Not sure how well his huuuuuge ego would deal with Josh Allen running around off script and being superman and therefore getting all the credit.

Yea top 7 is between 8 players 4 QBs, 3 WRs and Joe Alt. Exactly how it falls may be tbc because of trades. But they will be the top 7 will be made up of seven of those 8 guys.

Do you mean ranking them purely on how good of a vertical threat they are? Or do you mean ranking the top 5 guys that the Bills could use as a vertical receiver on their overall skillset? Because to me Thomas is clearly the best pure vertical guy. I might even have him as the best pure vertical guy including the top 3 (him and Odunze would be close). The problem with Thomas is he is "only" a pure vertical guy. He is very good at it but falls into the category of "one trick pony." If you are asking me who is the best of the guys who you can use as a vertical receiver when taking into account their whole package it's Legette for me.

Yea I can absolutely see that. Makes much more sense to me than Darnell Wright being a top 10 pick last year.

Yep. Elite players in their own right.

Yep. I have made this point multiple times. It is why I have never bought the narrative that the reason the Bills draft a lot of DL high and no receivers is because of Sean McDermott. Beane literally cut his teeth in personnel working under two GMs who had that philosophy. Is it any wonder he has followed it?

I'd add to that: We are not taking a corner early - he was very bullish on their depth there. More bullish than I am 😂 That does not necessarily rule Cooper DeJean totally out of first round consideration. He was effusive for him and said "some teams with holes at safety" (wonder who that could be) would be happy to take him and "plug him right in there." Not saying that means they will take DeJean. But I could imagine the board falling in a way where they do give it serious consideration. I largely agree with @Alphadawg7's readout on WR, although I thought he was a little less definitive on whether they'd move the 2nd they got for Diggs to get up this year. He did say somewhere in that answer something like "they are all currency." I came away thinking that is one of the chips he'd be most comfortable using to move up in the first.

It's going to hurt day 3 of the draft this year and next. But it will even itself out. They are all going to come out at some point it just means we have a couple of years gap between the last lot of pre-NIL classes where underclassmen were incentivised to come out and the settled post-NIL landscape where everyone stays in school. I think the more interesting long term question is what does it do for second and third contracts in the NFL? If the average age of players drafted goes up (it actually fell by a whole year from the year 2000 to the pandemic draft) from the c.21.5 it is now to say 23 then that means the average age for your second deal (your first big contract) goes up to 26/27.... if you sign 4 or 5 years at that age you better cash in because you probably ain't getting a second go around at making money. Whereas now players often get two big contracts.... their second at 24/25 and a third at 28/29. Does that fuel yet more contract inflation on those second deals? Or does it mean players push for shorter second deals to give them another shot? Will be interesting to keep an eye on.

To add yet more context to this.... here is a combined big board by my grading of the WR drafts 2019-2024 =1. Marvin Harrison Jnr (2024) =1. Ja'Marr Chase (2021) =3. Jerry Jeudy (2020) =3. Malik Nabers (2024) 5. CeeDee Lamb (2020) 6. Rome Odunze (2024) =7. Chris Olave (2022) =7. Jaylen Waddle (2021) 9. DeVonte Smith (2021) =10. Henry Ruggs (2020) =10. Jameson Williams (2022) Yea I was too high on Burks (although I don't think he was at all helped by the team that drafted him and the offense they put him in, he was never a 'conventional' high end receiver he needed to be used creatively and got put into one of the least creative passing offenses in the entire league). I stand my ground 100% on London though. He is a low end #1. Doesn't separate enough to be an elite receiver.

So I just thought I'd add to the debate about the relative strength of this WR class compared to the last five (as per @transplantbillsfan's original comparison). I have my boards to go back to so I know what I thought at the time and not with the benefit of hindsight and here it is: 2019: 0 first round grades 1 borderline 1st/2nd grade (AJ Brown) 4 second round grades 4 third round grades Total day 1 & 2 grades: 9 2020: 3 first round grades (Jeudy, Lamb, Ruggs) 7 second round grades 8 third round grades Total day 1 & 2 grades: 18 2021: 3 first round grades (Chase, Waddle, Smith) 5 second round grades 4 third round grades Total day 1 & 2 grades: 12 2022: 4 first round grades (Olave, Williams, Wilson, Burks) 1 borderline 1st/2nd grade (London) 7 second round grades 5 third round grades Total day 1 & 2 grades: 17 2023: 0 first round grades 2 borderline 1st/2nd grades (Addison, JSN) 4 second round grades 7 third round grades Total day 1 & 2 grades: 13 And for comparison based on my current board.... 2024: 4 first round grades (Harrison, Nabers, Odunze, Legette) 1 borderline 1st/2nd grade (Thomas) 5 second round grades 9 third round grades Total day 1 & 2 grades: 19 Conclusion: Only 2020 is really comparable to me of the last five classes in terms of both high end talent and depth through the first two days. I also think both classes saw something of a drop off after that. The only two guys who made a significant impact taken after round 3 in 2020 were Gabe Davis (who was a third round grade on my board) and Darnell Mooney (who I hadn't graded). I think it is similar with this class. Sometimes you get a day 3 with lots of interesting toolsy underclassmen who haven't quite put it together or you get really productive guys who are smaller or play for small schools. I don't see much of that in this group. So I think where that leaves you is if any class is going to have a Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman out of round 2 it is this one. But they were the first two picks in round 2. I think that (first 4-5 picks of round 2) is the limit of where the Bills can reasonably expect to be and get a potential difference maker in year 1. If they wait to #60 they could get a guy who contributes this year and maybe even develops further over the next 4 years but their chances at that spot of getting a rookie difference maker.... that feels like you are in total pot luck territory.

I'll have my stomach pumped.

Slots get YAC opportunities. And water is wet.

If McDermott is gone Beane is gone too.

I'd say Nabers 1. Ladd 2. I think Franklin is similar frame wise but not so much play style. I don't think Ladd has quite the variety that Addison has. But I think he is the closest after Nabers who is Addison on speed.

I agree we don't need to trade back but there is nothing wrong with the value of that trade. It is what the value looks like.

If they are doing that and actively tanking I kind of commend them. I'm not sure that is who Sean Peyton is.

But then what do they do at QB? That's the question for me. I actually think the Vikings could if they really had to roll Darnold out. The Raiders could role out Minshew. These guys have started in the NFL. But who are the Broncos rolling out? There is nobody on that roster capable of starting and not being by far and away the worst QB in the league. They have no second round pick either. So if they don't take one at #12 they have to hope one gets to round 3. I can imagine a world where they trade back in round one.... but even then the Raiders are right behind them and the risk is four are already gone.... if you only like one of the other two are you going to risk letting the Raiders get him? They are in the worst spot in the NFL right now IMO. And I think they are almost forced to reach on a QB at #12. They have been horribly mismanaged.

I've been trying to do the QBs properly this week it is literally the last group I've done this year and I am really close to bumping Penix up to a 1st round grade. Basically my first two entries in the cons column are "injury red flags" and "lefty". Once you get past that..... Seriously there are one or two other concerns but at the same time I think this kid can darn well play Quarterback. I'd have no problem taking him in round 1 if I was a QB needy GM. None whatsoever.

Teams get obsessed with physical profiles and lose sight of skillsets. But equally amazing is there were four DCs on that Bears staff and a defensive Head Coach - John Fox, Fangio, Staley, Desai and Donatell. It is not as though they are a bunch of total amteurs!

That is a good one too. Interesting I think the 3 best examples - Hughes, Floyd and Reddick - are rushers who were miscast in the wrong scheme. I wonder if that makes edge rusher a more likely position for that kind of turnaround?

I think Miami are completely committed to the idea that they will win with offense. McDaniel was basically slobbering over Worthy at the Texas pro day.

I don't think Polk will go round 1. I do think Worthy will somewhere. I still have spidey senses about Miami. I also still think Daniels will be #2.