HappyDays

We've lost the plot here. Big WRs don't create yards of separation in the NFL. His two contested catches in that video were him getting schemed 1v1 against a safety who he dominated, and an endzone fade.

Neck injuries are scary though, especially if it's true that you can see him already compensating for it on film. I've seen people compare him to Jaelan Phillips but it is more comparable to Myles Jack who became washed up very quickly. If he slides all the way to #60 I would be good with that.

That rumor about Kinchens was posted before the combine. I'm hopeful the Bills aren't stupid enough to draft someone with his athletic profile at a non-premium position in the 2nd round... If he there's for us in the 4th, sure go for it I guess.

It's that time for the annual draft rumors thread. Most of the rumors I post are from Charlie Campbell. Every year a few of his rumors come to fruition and he's one of the most reliable mock drafters in the industry - two years ago he correctly mocked all of the top 10 picks which is almost impossible to do. So his information is legitimate. Any legitimate looking rumors posted in the thread I will add to this original post. Added 4/25: https://walterfootball.com/nfl-hot-press-2024-nfl-draft-week-rumors-thursday.php Added 4/24: https://walterfootball.com/nfl-hot-press-2024-nfl-draft-week-rumors-wednesday.php Added 4/23: Added 4/22: Added 4/21 https://wapo.st/3W9A7BM Added 4/19: Added 4/18: Added 4/17: Added 4/15: Added 4/11:

I've heard from my source that Baker doesn't interview well and may struggle to learn an NFL playbook.

So your opinion is that if the Bills entered the 2024 season as is, our passing offense would look better than last year?

That was my thought in trading back with Washington, if they see him as a LT they would need to jump up to our spot to make sure they get him. Beane getting info on him to sell Washington on the pick? That would be an interesting bit of maneuvering.

I know @GunnerBill loves him. I would be surprised if we went OT in the 1st round but I guess I wouldn't hate it, at least it would be an investment on the correct side of the ball.

Update, and it isn't a good one: Honestly I won't be surprised if he drops to like the 5th round, or even out of the draft entirely. He supposedly has questions of work ethic pop up on his tape, and now this during the most important offseason of his life.

It's really embarrassing that some people think Allen doesn't work out with his WRs in the offseason because he doesn't hire a production company to show up and film it. Every single starting QB works out with their guys at some point in the offseason.

A private workout and a top 30 visit. That tells me we're very interested, perhaps as a 2nd round target. Based on his frame and combine I don't think he'll be a 1st round pick anymore.

I've seen a lot of people say this, I just don't agree. Allen likes finding a matchup he likes pre-snap and going after it. Last year in obvious man coverage situations he was locking in on Diggs first most of the time. If he trusts Coleman to create leverage at the catch point he'll do the same thing with him. And with a prospect like Coleman you don't need super precise throws because he has a wide catch radius and is as good as anyone in the class at high pointing the ball. Allen hasn't ever had a WR with this skill set. Personally I think he would thrive with Coleman. Every gunslinger needs their guy that goes up and gets the ball. The closest Allen had to that was Kelvin Benjamin and, well...

I'll post Keon Coleman's write up too because I like him and this write up confirms what I've seen: The note about drawing DPIs is interesting because it's not the sort of thing that shows up in normal cut-ups. But it is an underrated trait that becomes probably even more valuable in the NFL. Coleman seems like the type of prospect the Bills would love. High upside physical traits, young, puts his body on the line for his team even on run plays, described as having very good work ethic and high football character.

Legette is an interesting prospect because the people that love him really love him, and the ones that don't have him at the end of day two. He and Coleman are the most polarizing WRs for sure. Here is Brugler's write up on Legette:

Dane Brugler published The Beast today. If you have one reason to sign up for the Athletic for a month, this is it: Here are his WR rankings:

WRs are ranked by yards, not by targets. Shakir WAS the #1 pass catcher on the team by that metric over the last 11 games. He bested #2 and #3 by over 300 yards each. And don't make the mistake of assuming his yards per target will stay the same as his total targets go up. His skill set lends itself to low volume high efficiency usage. Don't mess with a good thing like we did with Gabe Davis after he excelled as the WR4 in 2020. A lot! Do you realize we currently have zero starting caliber WRs on the roster that can play outside full time? Shakir should be in the slot 75% of the time, Samuel should be at best a 50/50 split, and the other WRs on the roster aren't even worth mentioning. We have a QB who excels at throwing outside the numbers to the intermediate area of the field better than any other QB in the league, and I repeat we have zero true outside WRs on the roster. We can't afford to screw this up. Diggs and Davis both could be planted outside. We no longer have either on the roster. So we need TWO replacements, not one. And both replacements have to be good enough to start. If we wait until the end of the 4th to find the second guy, I guess we'll have to sign OBJ or something like that just to have a functional outside passing offense. But I would rather just invest high in young players and start making up the massive under-investment we've made at that position since 2020.

I'm good with trading up in the 2nd for McConkey, after taking another WR before him. I personally have no interest in taking a WR in the 1st round whose signature trait is route running. You can find great route runners throughout the draft. I want a physical stud, the type that you never find outside the top 50. We had the best route runner in the NFL for 3.5 seasons. It got us elite regular season production, followed by playoff matchups where DBs were allowed to bully him and erase his route running from the game. In this next cycle of Allen's career I want his #1 WR to be the bully. Let the route runner be the complement, not the engine.

Interesting you say that because Legette is the Metcalf comp for me in this draft. Size and speed and ability to go up and get the ball. Not a fluid route runner, but so much a physical stud that it doesn't matter. BTJ is a tough comp. Best I can come up with is a bigger Will Fuller.

More than doubling Shakir's targets from last year is not a solution. I can't even imagine a scenario where this would be true. Even if you just look at the last 11 games of the season (when he was the leading receiver on the team) he paced for 62 targets over a 17 season. You're actually making the pro-"draft two WRs high" argument here. You've proven that a world where the Bills don't draft two WRs high is a world where Shakir has to get a ridiculously high number of targets just to even have a functional passing offense. That world can't exist.

Here you go @Alphadawg7. Today's Locked on Bills episode was entirely about Shakir. He notes that out of every WR who ever measured 29" or shorter arms, the only ones to have meaningful careers were Hunter Renfrow, Isaiah McKenzie, and Braxton Berrios. Shakir would be the first to ever make it as even a 50% outside WR with that arm length.

I think he creates separation at the catch point - using his size to lean into the CB at his route break and create an available target. There isn't going to be a ton of wide open separation at the NFL level. It's more about creating leverage to give your QB a throwing window. I think Coleman can do that just fine.

I'm sticking with Keon Coleman. Every draft analyst I follow keeps posting his contested catch percentage and that's the end of the conversation for them. Personally I would bet on his size, strength, and competitiveness. He is not even 21 years old yet so he has room to grow into his skill set. When it all comes together I think he could be a true WR1. He won't separate with quicks but he'll bully defenders through the route, at the catch point, and with the ball in his hands.

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I'm not gonna go out of my way vehemently defending him. His failure to invest in WR and leave us in a desperate situation is worth criticizing. But I'm defending him under the assumption he is going to make a real investment at two starting WRs, whether in the draft or one of the remaining free agents or by trade. If he does, that will be two offseasons in a row where he finally made serious investments in pass catching weapons (although I am still totally confused about his failure to sign Hopkins last year). That tells me he has learned something even if it doesn't excuse past mistakes. Also it's pretty undeniable that the Bills had a championship caliber roster at least once over the past 4 seasons. 2021 for sure, probably 2022 if not for a series of mishaps that befell the roster.