Dont Stop Billeiving

Great post. Based on how the draft board looks this year and the fact that late first round 4-3 edge rushers almost never pan out (Joe Marino has mentioned this about 10 times on his podcast), I'm fully on board with this approach. Getting Kadarius Toney or Elijah Moore in the 1st and then adding a CB like Ifeatu Melifonwu, Eric Stokes, Tyson Campbell, Benjamin St-Juste, or Kelvin Joseph in the second might be my ideal start to the draft (unless a Paye or JOK type falls to us at #30). Put a simpler way, think of how nervous you were every time Tyreek Hill caught the ball against the Bills last year and what he could do in space. Now imagine if we had a player like that on the Bills and what that could do for our offense. Then also think about what a young DB who could actually turn and run with Hill in man coverage could add to our defense. It's true that the Bills need to be better at rushing the passer, but unless Paye falls, I don't think we're in position to add someone who can have a Day 1 impact at that position. We also lack and therefore really need elite speed on both sides of the ball and a draft like this would accomplish that.

Wow, I hope this TSW Mock Draft does not play out in real life. The Jets (Zach Wilson, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Travis Etienne), Dolphins (Kyle Pitts), and Patriots (Jaylen Waddle) all having excellent drafts so far IMO while the board doesn't fall very well for the Bills and we reach for Ossai. Pitts and Waddle might be the two most dangerous offensive weapons in the draft, really hope they wind up in another division. AVT will be a bona fide star on the O-line wherever he goes given his refined technique and versatility. Not as confident in Wilson and Etienne panning out (think they will wind up being above average players rather than anything close to elite). Would definitely still rather be the Bills and have our roster, but not a 'bad' pick or reach for any of our division rivals so far in this parallel universe.

Voted for Teven Jenkins as I think he could be an impact starter for us and provide an edge in the run game (probably better at guard in the NFL rather than tackle which suits us). However, extremely tempted by Toney, Elijah Moore, or Etienne to inject some speed into our offense. If we could trade down, Ossai and Stokes would be in play as well.

With the 27th selection of the 2021 TSW mock draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Najee Harris, RB, Alabama. After trading down from our original pick at #24 (swapping second round picks #55 for #42), we are excited to grab Harris this late who we consider to be the top RB prospect in this class. We believe he has the best vision, power, and pass protection and is accomplished as a pass catcher as well. Harris will help take the pressure off Big Ben in the later stage of his career and start to revive the glory years of the Steelers running game. A true weapon and physical mismatch near the goal line as well. ***While some may argue against the value of taking an RB in the first round (I, the Steelers GM, would typically be one of these people), our top targets are off the board at other positions and RB is a big need with James Connor gone and zero difference makers on the current RB room. Also, our window with this current QB is closing and the additional draft capital we gained with the trade down makes us feel better about taking Harris at 27 as our BPA and acquiring an immediate impact starter for the upcoming season.*** The Saints and @CNYfan are on the clock.

@Virgil @whatdrought I just sent you a fresh PM with the details of the proposed trade. Thanks The Steelers have accepted an offer from another team to trade back and are awaiting approval from the Co-Commishes.

The Steelers have received an offer to trade down that we would like to accept, looks like the other team sent you guys a PM. Would you mind approving when possible? Cheers! P.S. Eat more Heinz ketchup, it's good on everything!

The Pittsburgh Steelers are open to offers to trade down from pick #24. Thanks

Thanks Virgil, happy with any team really but guess my top three would be the Bengals, Chargers, and Steelers.

Great shout, he crossed my mind shortly after I posted this...he isn't undersized for a LB in today's NFL really so I think he could stick there, but he does have the athleticism to probably be a Big Nickel for someone. Would probably put him third on my list behind JOK and Moehrig. Love him as a fit for the Bills and would be thrilled with him in the second or third rounds. There are obviously exceptions with any school, but I'm a big fan of LSU defenders in most instances.

Yeah having a weapon like Jeremy Chinn (two-time Defensive Rookie of the Month last season) who has the athleticism and traits to run/cover like a safety and shed blocks/tackle like a LB would be huge for our defense. Also worth pointing out that McDermott and Beane drafted Shaq Thompson in Carolina despite already having Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis in their primes. I don't think Thompson was necessarily used as a Big Nickel specifically, but he represented that type of player who was a bit undersized but had the range and cover skills to stay on the field for all three downs. In the 2021 draft, I would rank the Big Nickel options as follows (certainly some projection here as some guys won't have played in this capacity much): 1) Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah- Hard to ask for a better prototype, one of my favorite prospects in the entire draft. Freak athlete who is undersized as a LB. Excellent in coverage even lining up over the slot WR at times and has a knack for creating turnovers and negative plays. Great instincts and takes good angles to the ball. Ferocious hitter who's always looking to dislodge the ball. Super impressive pro day backs up what I watched on Saturdays. 2) Trevon Moehrig- One of the top safeties in the draft, but has the size and length that could project to a Buffalo Nickel type role. Great athlete who possesses corner-like cover skills. Excellent tackler/plus run defender who triggers quickly and navigates traffic well. Above average ball skills. 3) Chazz Surratt- Very raw prospect who only played 2 seasons at LB after converting from QB. Excellent see-and-chase LB with an ideal athletic profile and build to become a Buffalo Nickel if a team can be patient and develop him. His below-average instincts/angles/play diagnosis will likely improve as he continues to learn how to be a defender and he has tons of upside. A clear tier below/more boom or bust potential than the previous two guys though. 4) Talanoa Hufanga- Played all over the field for USC and was their ballhawk/difference maker in the back seven. Would need to add a bit more weight (currently 200 lbs), but his instincts/awareness and ability to recognize and jump routes stood out on film. Not a burner, but his game speed looked faster than his 40 time which would be my biggest concern. Honorable Mention- Hamsah Nasirildeen (has possibly the best combination of length/size for a Buffalo Nickel role in the class, but his underwhelming production at FSU and average pro day testing knocks him down the list for me), Trill Williams (played out of position at SU but has the size and upside to switch), JaCoby Stevens (I like LSU DBs and his size/big game experience/explosive numbers on his jumps at the pro day are impressive, but I worry about his speed in coverage, same with Divine Diablo who I think is even slower/less athletic). There you go, just one guy's opinion, but as you can tell, I'm excited about adding a Buffalo Nickel/hybrid defender who can stay on the field with their athleticism on all downs and help us match up with some of the more athletic offenses in the league. Go Bills!

A bargain at $229.99! One of the more memorable athlete promotions/endorsements I've seen lol

Yeah I get that, think a lot of other fans feel that way. They have definitely received better bowl bids than they should have in recent years. I do think there's a chance ND will get better in the next few years (Brian Kelly has finally settled in and modified his coaching style, the recruiting has been ticking up, and getting Marcus Freeman as our new DC was the steal of the offseason), but I'd prefer it didn't happen for a few years until we can play with those 3 or 4 elite teams. Thanks man, will do!

As an ND fan (my grandfather was a huge Notre Dame fan so I never had a choice really), I think that's slightly harsh regarding their players, but I definitely get where you're coming from in terms of the big games. ND has a serious Alabama/Clemson/Ohio State problem (almost every team does to be fair) and it's gotten to the point where I wish they'd stop putting us in the playoff. We have generally played well and been a solid top 15 team year in and year out, but don't recruit well enough to be a top 5 team and genuine national championship contender at the moment. In terms of their prospects and their NFL readiness, Notre Dame actually plays a pro-ready type offense/defense and they've had a number of good prospects. Again all the five star recruits mostly go to the elite teams I mentioned, but guys like Ronnie Stanley, Quenton Nelson, Romeo Okwara, Harrison Smith, Kyle Rudolph, Will Fuller, Golden Tate, Tyler Eifert, Stephon Tuitt, and Zack Martin have all had solid-to-excellent NFL careers with some younger guys like Claypool up and coming. Outside of Nelson, Martin, and pre-injury Jaylon Smith, JOK is probably a better prospect than the rest of those guys and I think his skill set translates really well to the NFL game. As a side note, how does one get involved in these mock drafts? Can I be added to the list for the next one? Cheers!

Picked JOK who became one of my favorite ND players of all time. Has been a joy to watch him play every Saturday for the past couple years. He has rare ability, watching him cover/run with Amari Rogers in the slot was unreal. If he's gone (which I expect him to be), I think the value pick is likely CB, but I'd be extremely tempted by either Toney or Etienne. A huge injection of speed/youth/YAC ability for our offense with either player.

Absolutely. Felt the same way about the Darryl Williams deal when they signed him last offseason. Thought there were enough reasons to expect him to rebound and play great so I wanted to lock him up for more than just the one year at low money. Ah well, hopefully he blows up and loves Buffalo and wants to re-sign.

Good poll/idea OP. Think Ingram is probably the best option on a one-year prove-it deal with incentives. If there was an 'Anyone But Clowney' option, I would have picked that one. The guy just isn't a good football player and is always injured, I really don't get the love/hype for him. Also telling that none of his three previous teams have made much (if any) effort to re-sign him as far as I know. Upgrading edge at this point is a tough one because the difference makers in FA are gone and I don't believe there will be any edge prospects left at pick #30 that will be good value. Might be worth trading back and/or targeting some of the toolsy Day 2 guys. Like @Rc2catch said above, our best hope is that Epenesa and Oliver take the next step in their development. Fortunately, I believe Star's return should help Oliver a lot in that regard and AJ will have his first NFL offseason/training camp to develop and figure out his playing weight.

Decent young player who was under-used in the Titans offense IMO. Excellent speed and deep ball ability, could have been a logical John Brown replacement who's younger and possibly cheaper. I would have liked the move if we had signed Raymond, but since we got Sanders and McKenzie already, I'd rather draft a speed guy to fill the final WR spot. Glad Raymond went to the NFC at least, seemed like everyone was signing with AFC teams initially.

Definitely agree with what you said. Also the biggest strength of our team was Josh and the WRs last season so I hope we keep investing in the passing game. A weapon like Toney gives you elite versatility, YAC, and speed. We have bigger 'needs' elsewhere on the roster, but I think he would make our offense unstoppable.

Great news to get Lil Dirty back. Never in doubt, who would the team make fun of otherwise?

Barring any elite players falling or trades, I think our ideal draft at picks #30 and #61 would be Greg Newsome III and Dyami Brown. Potentially a big upgrade at CB2 with Newsome's youth/athleticism/tools to play man and then adding another weapon on offense in Brown who brings speed/YAC ability/excellent hands. Then target edge rusher in the third round which I think is a sweet spot for this edge class beyond the elite guys. Plenty of talent/toolsy prospects on Day 2 and hopefully we'll have added a solid veteran pass rusher in FA by then as well.

No worries buddy, drafting Javian Hawkins or Kenneth Gainwell in the mid-rounds will make us forget all about this guy and at 1/10 of the cost.

I'd argue they're going about it mostly the wrong way (some weird acquisitions/fits and overpays on some of their 20+ signings), but this is a good move for them no doubt. Whatever they're doing, I hope it keeps Watson in Houston and far away from our division!

Molden is an interesting player in my view. Great instincts and play diagnosis, good tackler/run defender for the position, and a ballhawk who keeps his eyes in the backfield. Think he was a bit of a Swiss Army knife in college playing inside or outside, but he's a bit undersized for the NFL so probably a nickel guy at this level. Don't think he'll be a star b/c he lacks elite length/speed, but should be a solid starter for someone.

We were top five in the league at defending TEs in 2018 and 2019 before slipping last year. With Milano back healthy and another year of development for Edmunds, I expect us to improve against TEs this season. I'd still love to draft a Trevon Moehrig or Hamsah Nasirildeen though to give us more versatility and a potential TE neutralizer.

One of my favorite Notre Dame players of all time and has elite speed/athleticism, but just cannot stay healthy. Hopefully Miami overpaid anyways.