HappyDays

Elam is trending towards bust status. He is the only 1st round pick under this regime to not be a full time starter by his 2nd season. Not too late to turn it around but the clock is ticking. If he is a bust it sucks but it happens to every team. Chiefs, Bengals, Eagles, 49ers, all had 1st round busts within the last few years. We've been spoiled by the fact that each of our 1st round picks since McDermott took over have become at least capable starters. This was bound to happen eventually.

No it isn't measurable. When people say Kincaid looks smooth they're not talking about some specific aspect of his player profile, it's just how he looks in everything he does. It's not an objective standard. Like the great Justice Potter Stewart said "I know it when I see it." If I was going to try and define it, it's the way each of his actions on a given play naturally transition into the next without a hint of stuttering. It's the same thing I said in my Kelce comparison earlier in the thread. He easily finds open space in man or zone coverage, catches the ball without trouble, and quickly starts moving in an open direction with the ball in his hand. But to the naked eye all of these actions happen simultaneously. It isn't find the opening in the defense, STOP, catch the ball, STOP, turn, STOP, run with the ball. It's all one fluid action. This particular skill set of his is a combination of physical and mental abilities - the fluidity of his hips plus his soft hands allow him to easily catch the ball and immediately start moving, his natural football instincts and understanding of leverage allow him to easily find an opening in the defense and maximize his run after catch. I could gush about Kincaid all day. I haven't ever been this excited about a Bills rookie.

Heard from my usual source on this. McGovern has an MCL sprain that does not require surgery. Could have been worse but the usual recovery timeframe on those is typically 4-6 weeks so he'll likely miss a few games. My source thinks closer to 4 weeks and he'll wear a brace. That would put him back in week 3, although that is an educated guess not definitive.

Another trade: I know a lot of Bills fans wanted us to trade for Jones, but he has been exclusively a LT in Arizona. When they tried him at RT a couple years ago it didn't go well. So he was not going to be our swing tackle solution.

Not really. His experience is a bit limited but he played in a pro style offense at Utah that featured a lot of 12 and even 13 personnel. If there was a big learning curve don't you think we would have heard about it by now? By all accounts he showed up to training camp immediately slotted into a major starting position for our offense. You think McDermott would let that happen if Kincaid didn't know his role in the offense inside and out? I think a lot of people need to get rid of their preconceptions about what rookie TEs normally do. For a lot of reasons Kincaid is set up to be an exception - the offense he played in at Utah, the offense and QB play he's stepping into, his natural abilities and instincts. It's fair to keep expectations for any rookie reasonably low but Kincaid has a lot of advantages that most rookies don't have.

No TE on the Bills roster would have made those specific plays. Knox is a straight liner, he doesn't make hard cuts like that or uncover in small spaces. I have no clue why you think this? No one is saying Kincaid is a guaranteed HOF but if you don't see a special skill set that's on you.

You have a problem with people being optimistic about our 1st round pick? That's really weird.

Based on reports from yesterday it doesn't sound serious, but if it came down to it we could start Bates or Edwards in his spot and manage just fine.

The only thing I'll say is that if they're going to put Allen out there they have to let him play. If he wants to run let him run. If he gets hit, so be it. What we saw against the Steelers is useless for him to practice. If they're worried about him taking hits then call exclusively quick passes and runs.

I don't see Lance as an upgrade over Kyle Allen. He has been awful pretty much every time he's been on the field for San Francisco. Anyways he has a $9.3 million cap hit. That makes us trading for him a non-starter.

Yeah his next test will be facing off against slot CBs and safeties, and that is how teams are going to defend him. The nice thing is if we're in 12 personnel and the opponent puts a slot CB out there that gives us an advantage in the run game. And I think Kincaid's hip fluidity will still give him a good chance to break open against DBs. Biggest thing I want to see is how he fares when jammed at the line, it's the one lingering question about his game. Having two high level TEs is a cheat code, especially when their skill sets complement each other as well as Kincaid and Knox. It's exceedingly rare for teams to find that kind of ideal combination. I am sure the advantages of that system will far outweigh any kinks Kincaid has to work out of his game in his rookie year.

Kelce is smooth. That is who Kincaid's movement and understanding of leverage reminds me of. A big part of Kelce's greatness is that he and Mahomes are always on the same page. We know how good the offense looked when Allen and Beasley were always on the same page. Now add 8 inches and 65 pounds to that player. I think the kid is a natural football player. The main knock on him I've seen is that most TEs take a year or two to acclimate to the pros. I just think he is an exception. For someone that started playing football later in life he has elite instincts as far as making himself available to his QB. His ability to find the gap in zone coverage, catch the ball, then immediately turn his hips and start running in the most efficient direction while still securing the catch is something I've only ever seen from Kelce.

He dropped because of a back injury he suffered near the end of his senior year which kept him sidelined throughout the offseason - he didn't participate at his pro day or the combine. His talent as a player was undeniable. There was once another TE that fell in the draft because of a back injury. He ended up having a pretty decent career.

I listen to Simms and Florio all the time. Simms in particular flat out overrates the Dolphins roster. Their OL is way too messy to say they are a top 3 roster.

I'm no scout, I leave that up to the experts like @GunnerBill. All I know is that when I watched some of his college tape it was plainly obvious to me that he was going to be successful in the NFL. The fluidity of his routes, the fluidity of his run after catch, the catching ability, the instincts to find gaps in zone defense. For the life of me I couldn't find a single reason to think he would fail in the NFL, as long as he stays healthy. Never thought he would drop to us. Couldn't be happier we got him.

He will, but he is losing out on reps and Isabella can be the beneficiary of that.

Shakir suffering a broken rib has given Isabella a golden opportunity to prove that he deserves a roster spot over him. Personally I think Isabella has shown more.

A couple updates from today's practice:

Two plays that he was not on his preferred side, one of which his face mask was blatantly grabbed and pulled down.

So you haven't watched him take a single snap at LT then?