Straight Hucklebuck

I just don’t understand why the Bills would want to spend a Top-100 pick on another running back, leaving 5 total picks the rest of the draft. James Cook was efficient with the scraps Dorsey gave him, Hines is a high-dollar Beane acquisition, and Harris is a steady veteran. So we add a 4th RB and he sits, or Harris sits, or they all play and this guy gets 4 carries per game?

One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, if not the worst given the franchise behind it. What’s obvious when you look at this list is there are no elite physical trait WRs on the roster.

A draft like that would make Joe Straight-Laces Marino happy.

Yeah, I said without a ton of thought that 10 WRs are going to go in the first two rounds, and I immediately got I’ll bet you on that statements. 1. Jaxson Smith-Ngijba 2. Quentin Johnston 3. Jordan Addison 4. Zay Flowers 5. Jalin Hyatt 6. Josh Downs Now if you’re the Bills are you waiting until 59 to pick from: 7. Cedrick Tillman 8. Tank Dell 9. Rashee Rice 10. Jonathan Mingo 11. Tyler Scott

“No WR is worth it at 27” seems to be the favorite narrative now. Immediately followed by a disclaimer that nobody of value will make it to 59.

Yeah that times speed at 4.49 and 4.55 was slower than expected.

Wow, thanks for finding that. That must be the video that everyone references. Josh carries a belly, I do still wonder if a lower body fat % and more muscle would help him get more out of his body, but I did like to hear/confirm that he has a team of trainers that coach him on his physique.

Where is this interview? Another poster said it was an edition of Kyle Brandt's Basement, but I've listened to most of them I didn't hear that in those.

The only thing is they’re running out of money. We know the 2023 cap is less than $8M in space now, and that’s got to cover rookies and IR money, and Beane has said 2024 is already tight. So they need cheap labor. Dip into 2024 picks to secure a weapon and Campbell/Sanders early in this draft?

That’s the perceived dilemma. No fan is excited about Bernard, Dodson or Spector competing. Maybe the Bills are telling the truth, and they think 1 of those 3 can be a starting MLB. If so, then WR is firmly in play at #27. But the other factor here is, there are only two linebackers in this draft that scouts are excited about as a starting MLB - Sanders and Campebell. If you pass on both of them at #27, are you betting that you can get one of them at #59? And with only (6) picks, can the Bills really afford to trade up? And so, it’s pass on Campbell/Sanders at #27 and then having to trade back 10-picks or so to get one of them, and what are you getting for that move down? A 4th? That doesn’t solve the weapons problem.

If they pass on WR at #27, I do wonder what’s left at #59.

I think the opposite. They’ve done everything they can to keep things the exact same. The only really difference between 2022 and 2023 team is Tremaine Edmunds. That leaves me at MLB.

It's just further confirmation that their approach is to run this thing back. Same caliber of FAs on the Offensive Line/WR, and doing everything they can to keep the defense intact. I think they're going MLB in Round 1, followed by DE and DT. I see the Shakir route (WR in Round 5) as the more likely path. At this point, I would be surprised if they go WR in Round 1.

I think the roster is topped out talent-wise and doesn't have many levers to pull for increased chances to win a Super Bowl. Getting Von and Micah back will offset the loss of Edmunds, but offensively, the talent on the unit is the same. The offensive line will play approximately the same in my opinion. I don't see anything yet that tells me Josh's approach to offseason conditioning is different, but OTAs can definitely confirm that. Same coaches, same approach. No cap space. Beane has had a good offseason for how little money he had. It was go big with a Hopkins trade or re-signing Edmunds as one big ticket, leaving holes everywhere else, or letting Edmunds walk and getting capable, albeit plateaued veterans everywhere else for starters and increased depth. He did a little of everything - Poyer, two offensive lineman, two WRs, re-signed Phillips, etc. Only elite drafting will really ignite this team to get over the hump in my opinion. They're around the top, but don't have much in the way of levers to get over the Chiefs. I'm hoping the Bengals regress, but I'm not sure they will because they were able to keep both coordinators.

The Bills are tight against the cap in 2023, and Beane has said 2024 is tight as well. This comes down to the same thing on both years, they have to hit in the draft. Their approach has been to keep the 2020 level roster intact as long as possible. So to push this roster to a high level, there must be a higher level of talent than in recent drafts, especially to re-pass the Bengals and beat the Chiefs. They're straining to keep it together.

To me, the Bills approach this offseason is the same as it was in 2021 and 2022. On the whole, their approach seems to be keep as much of the team together from the 2020 run as possible. Defensively, it's the same group again in 2023 as it was in 2020, minus Edmunds, but plus Von Miller hopefully. Offensively, it's Diggs as the big weapon, surrounding Allen with approximately the same offensive line in terms of talent level. The tight end is static, the running backs have similar draft grades, the QB is the same, the OC has been in the organization for years, they have chosen to fill the WR group with a McKenzie replacement, and Sherfield, but as the OP noted, Gabe Davis is penciled in as the #2. So, it looks like the improvement will have to come from within the existing players on the roster. I can see the player in Round 1 going to MLB, DE or DT, and Round 2 maybe the Bills go WR? Still, outside of a homerun pick (like a DK Metcalf kind of revelation), a rookie WR still slots in somewhere behind Diggs and competing with Davis, Harty and Knox for meaningful targets.

Yeah sorry, Josh isn't as good as Mahomes. The Bills are not the Chiefs equals. Beane is going to have to draft superstars, or add more talent to propel a less coach, a less QB, past them and the Bengals now.

It’s obvious the winning goes where Mahomes is. Brady demonstrated this when he left New England. The winning goes where they go.

Everyone not named the Chiefs needs to realize they aren’t the Chiefs. This was the logic flaw that WGR kept pushing last year when they were so quick to recite the odds to everyone as proof. The Bills are not the Chiefs, neither are the Bengals, neither are the Jags, Ravens, Chargers or anyone else. Nobody on any roster is as good as Patrick Mahomes. As such, everyone else will have to accept the talent gap and create a different model that accumulates more roster talent than the Chiefs to overcome the gap at QB.

PFF Grades Bud Dupree - 58.2 Leonard Floyd - 65.7 Frank Clark - 67.2 Robert Quinn - 43.6 Yannick Ngakoue - 51.4 Melvin Ingram - 70.3 Justin Houston - 73.6 Carlos Dunlap - 66.4 And for comparison Shaq Lawson 3.5 sacks, 61.8 PFF So they say Houston, Ingram, Frank Clark in that order.

Melvin Ingram has been a thorn in our sides before, seems like he'd be worth a look. Unfortunately, Dupree has never been the same since the ACL. Justin Houston can still get after it as well.

That's why I specifically said they found their LT and Center and "surround(ed)" them with low-end FAs and starters. But Feliciano, Daryl Williams, Boettger, Bates, Doyle, Brown, Saffold, Van Roten, Quesenberry, Hart - these guys are low-end starter types. Beane has taken this model in 2021, 2022 and now 2023.

Because this staff loves Spencer Brown. The RAS, the lack of time on job equates to untapped upside in their minds. The Bills acquired an adequate LT and Center. Since 2021, the blueprint on the Offensive Line is surround with cheaper, low-end starters.

The Bills will sign Lawson most likely, use #27 on a MLB, and essentially run this back with the same team. I don't understand why the Bills wouldn't sign Lawson at this point.

Well its week 3 now of FA and everyone is down to 1-year contracts, so his price his low. No other teams have jumped on him, so the market has spoken.