Rochesterfan

I think Hill is definitely someone they are looking at and could be an excellent 1st round pick. He has the ability to play boundary CB as needed to start the year, he can play safety, he can play slot, and most importantly - He has speed to burn with Under 4.4 40 and Elite level speed and agility grades. I think he fits this team like a glove for what they need and want.

You mean his QB in Tampa Bay - Good old Brady himself - the master of the TE? I think the difference is Brady uses Gronk to the detriment of others - hopefully he can be healthy and play well here.

Ike is coming off an Achilles tear. He is the one guy that I am sure will not be available to start the season. The expectations with Ike is week 10 or so before he is ready - Achilles tears are brutal. Tre’ - the talk and expectations are he is ahead of schedule and may be ready to start the year or at most misses a game or 2. The Bills based upon normal injury management will most likely limit Tre’ some especially in training camp, but ACL tears are injuries NFL/College players get over and return to normal. Now onto the OP - Based upon this coaching staff and how they use rookies - there is not one position that a drafted player is going to be a difference maker to start the season. Going back to the beginning of McD time as coach - 2 draft picks (Edmunds and White) have started as rookies. Josh, Oliver, Rousseau, keep going 2nd, 3rd, 4th round picks etc - they all have been worked in slowly. Josh was earlier than planned with the failure at QB, but the plan was 2-3 weeks on the bench and work his way in. I don’t care what position they draft, but there is almost no chance they have an opportunity to be a regular starter. If it is CB - they might get some snaps to start, but my guess is Tre’ and Dane are 1-2 for a big part of the early season. A WR will see some snaps, but really as a fill in to help during some 4 wide and maybe as a returner. OL would be great for depth, but I think they have their planned starting 5. Same with DL and LB and TE. Even RB - You know especially early that Singletary is getting a bunch of the snaps. They just are not going to trust the rookie to do everything until he has proven it - especially blocking. So how much impact can he bring giving the team 5 carries and a couple of catches a game. Therefore, my guess is that the Bills are going to look at BPA - just as they have the last few years. They have limited numbers of guys with first round grades and based on the interviews none are RB. So I would think that they would draft whatever player had a first round grade and they would start with CB and WR as looks. If all of the first round talent is gone based upon the interview - I would assume they may look to trade back or they will follow their board and if there is a running back with superior athletic talent that trumps positional value - they might go there, but it is a very limited if. I am not not sure they believe either of these RBs exceed value by so much that they can trump the lack of importance of the position. We will see, but if people are expecting a rookie - even a first round rookie to have a huge impact - I don’t think you have been paying attention to the team. There is probably 1 position that impact might occur - DB other than that - there is a tiny chance of impact.

I agree, but his action, speed, and ability fit exactly what Shanahan loves to do. The Packers did something similar out of a similar coaching tree with Ty Montgomery and basically turned a former WR into a RB. It has potentially cost Ty significantly more money being a team player and getting 3 million dollar contracts. Samuel does not seem to want to risk that. If SF could replace his usage - it would be fine, but you know when things bog down - you migrate back to what works.

And he is telling teams that like it or not - if you do not treat him as a WR only - He will not signing long term with you because someone will use him as a WR only. I think he purposely put the statement out that it isn’t the contract - it is the usage. Therefore a team like the Jets with former SF coaches may want him, but he is letting teams know - I am not going to do that. It is a bad look, but it is his option and I think the point he was making was trying to warn certain other teams away.

Yes, but his workload increased late in the year and he was getting routinely nicked up during that time. Plus many times QBs are getting some extra protection versus he was pounding the ball right out of the backfield. Looking long term for his career - he wants to nip this now and I think he is pretty sure Shanahan’s offense will migrate back to that as needed. It is about money and his long term ability to earn WR money.

Yes, but most colleges are known for underplaying any kind of violence and sexual abuse for their college players. Somehow these things get pushed under the rug and the “University” investigates and finds nothing and then turns it over to police preventing actual findings. We will see how serious it is by how much he drops and if he is truly off some teams boards. Right now is smoke bomb season and everything must be taken with a grain of salt or maybe a few pounds.

Let’s make Buffalo the 3rd game every year. Need an AFC team.

Of course to get that - Virgil eliminated Walker the higher rated RB because that is who the Bills picked in mock draft 1.0. It would have been interesting to see if either RB had been the choice or would people have chosen something else since both RBs were there.

False. He dropped or muffed several kicks last year after being hit - we just did not lose it. He had at least 2 returns where he got hit and the ball ended up bouncing out of bounds including 1 in the playoffs. He also muffed a kick in the field of play that luckily was ruled a muff and the ball was forced out of the end zone by I believe Kumerow. That resulted in a touchback - but could easily have been a turnover and those do not end up in his official counts. He easily put the ball on the ground at least 6 times on returns last season and was a limited returner for only the first part of the season.

I think the Bills staff knew it was an issue in Denver. It was an issue here after the Bills picked him up in year 1 (after cutting Ray Ray McCloud because of his difficulties handling kicks). Also reading training camp notes - it was an issue in training camp with dropped kicks and mis judgement of the ball. Then there were fumbles lost and additional balls on the ground that slide out of bounds - so the Bills pulled the plug.

Yes he had 3 fumbles on nearly 140 returns - a fumble rate of about 2%. On that number of returns at his rate - McKenzie would of had 11 fumbles. The difference is the Bills pulled him and benched him early - when the pattern re-emerged. As an aside - with limited returns - a 2-3 % fumble loss rate is about normal for returns (1-3 per year) and an 8% rate on kick-offs means you need to replace that guy. His Punt return average was not horrible - although I believe he had 2 balls on punt returns that he fumbled along the sidelines out of bounds during the season and a third in the playoffs that slide out of bounds. Those were not lost.

Actually it goes against having an elite RB. The winners had guys like Fournette (cut and a FA), I believe Sony Michel in LA - another guy that was moved from his drafted team. Damien Williams an UDFA on his 2nd team. Philadelphia had multiple very average backs. Not one 1st round RB on his original team leading the team to victory. What it shows is that you can get a RB anywhere be it FA, trade, UDFA and as long as they and the OLine can give you a touch of balance - you have a shot. What you do not need is to draft a RB in the 1st or 2nd round and expect it to make you a sudden Super Bowl contender.

Yes 2 on 24 kick returns - so a rate of over 8% of kick off returns he fumbled last year. You combine that with his 6 fumbles as a rookie and 4 more the next year - almost all on special teams and perhaps there is an issue. It was an issue that cost him his job in Denver and got him benched with miscues last year. I would much prefer to let him focus on being a WR and find someone else that can handle the special teams aspect with fewer issues.

I don’t think he gets a real shot unless something changes. He has some talent as a punt returner, but he was frankly bad at Kickoffs with multiple fumbles including a time he was not even hit. A few bursts that were huge, but the mistakes were way more costly. He also let to many punts and even kick offs hit the ground without getting to them. I did not want to see him returning kicks last year and he did little to make me say - we gotta put this guy back there again. Rather see a battle with a draft pick and Stevenson and if the Rookie wins - Stevenson maybe looking at a PS position because Stevenson was not impressive either - especially as a punt returner.

I really like Chenal, but I am not sure he fits what the Bills want. He definitely fits what the fans want - the down hill attacking LB, but the Bills are more interested in deep coverage and off ball play and that is 100% against his instincts.

I still wish you had put Walker on the list. One because he is on most boards the #1 RB and that would really blow several posters mind if he was chosen over Hall with both on the board. Two - the 2 RBs might have split the RB vote and allowed the picking of a real player at 57. This draft is sort of how I have seen other mocks play out with both running backs making it to the 3rd round. I have been able to pick up Hall several times as a late 3rd round pick.

I disagree after listening to Sal and Beane talked. Beane recognizes that the Bills are going to be hard pressed to get UDFAs to fill out the roster. He told Sal last year - part of moving back was specifically to draft additional players because a drafted player is bound to come to help fill the roster. The Bills struggled last year with UDFAs - getting a very limited supply. I understand you logic, but Beane basically told Sal they need the extra picks to fill the 90 man roster - they may lose a couple, but they have limited choices to get guys they want here. I think they will move around, but in the end - I think they end of with 8+ draft picks and will still struggle to fill the roster to 90. They will be about 18 short after the draft - even with 8 guys and they will get like 6-8 UDFAs based upon last year and the talent level on the roster - meaning they will be a good 10 players short. If they trade down to 5 picks - you are 13 or so short - it becomes difficult to pick up that many legitimate players to fill a roster. It is going to be an interesting draft.

Since he has been drafted - he has been outplayed by UDFAs and low level FA signings. The Chiefs went with McKinnon over CEH in the playoffs just last year and Williams in the regular season. CEH is a back-up level RB that everyone screamed was going to make the Chiefs unstoppable (sound familiar). The RBs do not get enough touches because the ball should be in the hands of Mahomes. I will be interested this year with the loss of Hill and the fact that the o-line is a better run blocking than pass blocking unit - do the Chiefs forgo the explosive offense and become a more run first team and what impact dos that have on a guy that wants to force throws. You ask a player like Mahomes or Allen to be patient for to long and they begin to hold the ball and take shots when given the chance.

Or it comes on that morning and you think you have 30 miles and you know you are heading to the airport to drop it off and there is no reason to stop to stop. Then because it is not your car - you find out the hard way that you really only had 20 miles and you run out within sight of the airport. If he really ran out of gas - it should not change anything in what happened - he obviously thought he could make it and it did not happen - it is not the first time - it was just the most tragic time. It does not make him cheap or ignorant or even at fault - these things happen everyday - to people of every race, background, and financial level - His just ended in a tragic way after wards and I really feel for him and his family.

I could see something like that - my only problem with that is if they move to 7 - I think it is for Stingly or Hamilton and therefore I am not sure Bradberry and Edmonds are the deal. I could really see that play out if Poyer replaced Edmunds in that trade case to give us Bradberry and then draft Hamilton. I don’t see a LB worthy of that high a pick and if they move up for Stingly - I don’t think they want Bradberry in return. It is very difficult scenario to play out.

That is complete BS. Mahomes and Josh both showed the most effective way to handle a 2 high safety look is to be patient and use the open WRs and TEs that are short and wide to stretch the coverage. It can also involve a RB/FB in the passing game as they used Singletary in quick passes. The difference was in YPR - as the RBs did not get as many yards as the receivers and therefore were less effective at moving the chains. The one thing we have seen is that an effective running game does not necessarily force a team out of playing 2 high safeties because they would prefer to see you have to slowly move the ball and see if you get impatient. They then pack in more near the goal line and try to hold you to 3. There is not a team in this league that would not love to see the Bills run the ball more and will do everything to invite that as much as possible. Elite RBs have not been a difference to any SB winners in a long time. The RBs of teams in the SB have been cast offs and low value guys - that can get you yards, but only need very limited touches.

This issue is so complicated and I don’t think there is a good way to prove any of it short of a trade. Edmunds has a significant number of Pros - as pointed out by @Alphadawg7 and would be a fine addition to many teams. Edmunds also has a number of deficiencies as pointed out by @NewEra and with his current contract it makes it very hard to get any value in a trade. I think the truth lies someplace down the middle - with his current contract and his deficiencies he is worth less as a trade - especially if that trade is being initiated by the Bills. Probably someplace in the mid 2nd - early 4th depending on what else gets thrown in. The problem becomes who and what would move him. I could see a scenario where the Bills and Giants use a few players and picks to rearrange needs for the year. Players like Edmunds and/or Poyer to NYG with Bradberry coming back - some adjustment in picks following suit and allowing both teams to fill the holes created. Balance the money and position to help each team going forward. I just do not see a scenario where we see a trade for true value because the Bills are not giving up their Defensive Leaders this year without already having replacements in place that can handle the role.

There is no proof they wanted Eteniene. The people covering the Bills said he was never really in play for the Bills and they never looked to move up. DE was the want for the Bills. In addition the team that drafted him - moved him to WR not RB. Before the injury they exclusively practiced him at Slot and outside WR. He was not Thurman - he was their version of McKenzie.

Yes for a small FA deal - they weren’t giving him a big FA contract. He was another low level addition - a little more than they gave Duke Johnson.