Straight Hucklebuck

It’s called A players and Buffalo has always had that distaste for talented players who expect the best. They like the down-home, 7th round, Rudy Ruettiger kind of player. Beane needs a heck of an off-season, and I’ve said it multiple times, I think there is meat on the bone for Allen as well. I think he can reach another level if he hits the gym hard this off-season.

Hopefully he had a very truthful one on one exit interview with Beane (McDermott is like talking to a wall) and expressed that this team needs better players around the offensive side of the ball around Josh. This is where Josh has the responsibility to show up in the best shape of his life, and he sets the tone, and doesn’t allow Diggs to overtalk him. For sure I believe the Diggs brothers talked about how Stefon is the missing piece down in Dallas.

Yes and Mike Schopp can remind us of that everyday for the next calendar year.

Cool, give the Bills Ceedee Lamb here, with some picks.

This is the point they were making on WGR this morning. Robinson is a good receiving back too. But we've seen, not with this team. He won't catch passes, and he will render Cook useless (and by proxy Hines).

No because Daboll wasn't going to stay here forever. Unless Terry Pegula fired McDermott and gave Daboll the job, there was no way the Bills had anything left to give him in order to stay. Hodgins? He's not Ja'Marr Chase. He's a nice possession WR. But he was hurt for two straight years, and he will never be a #1 or #2 on a Super Bowl winning team.

Yes. If he can stop faster than a runaway train that will be an improvement on Gabe. Also, in a private workout, our Staff can judge his ability to run routes, and I'm sure his team knows that will be a consistent question, so he'll be working on that. Regardless, I'm with you, once he runs a 4.31, he won't be available in the middle of the 2nd.

I think Round 1 WR, Round 2 OL, Round 3 OL is better than R1 OL, R2 OL, R2 WR, but as long as McDermott and Beane are stopped from continuing to pour draft resources into the defense I will be happy. You listen to these analysts and it's like we need to draft a DE, DT, S, LB, TE, we need a better RB1, and it's like guys, we have 6 picks...... Hodgins is not a factor. He runs a 4.64 and will never be a top WR. The top end is Housh, and the bottom end is David Nelson. He was hurt for two years. I'm not sad he's gone. On Dewand Jones, his looks like he tore up the Senior Bowl, so it's either Round 1 or trading up in Round 2 I think.

So you're just advocating OL in Rounds 1, 2, 3 because we don't have the money to go big in FA. That's a great strategy too, as long as we aren't taking 1st Round Running Backs, and Safeties to replace Poyer or Linebackers to replace Edmunds I like that plan too. I do think we'll still find that our WRs aren't dynamic enough and Diggs isn't enough.

I'm happy for this. 2020 2021 2022 We were trending towards bringing everyone else back. All coaches. All people. Let's see if we can do better than Chad Hall. McDermott won't change, people quitting on him will force some movement from complacency.

They'll have to put his snaps under true press coverage under a microscope and project how he would do against NFL corners. If he gets a free release and Allen has time, it does become big plays. And the way he is at 20 ypc, all it takes is couple of bombs a game for this pick to really ignite the offense.

The Bills just can't bank on that growth. They need to add more talent and speed up this learning curve. Diggs is in his late-prime now, Von Miller, the defense having to band aid the losses of Poyer now, etc.

Use this as an opportunity, instead of mourning a loss. Conduct a long interview set and pick a candidate that can add more to the offense.

If the Bills were able to select Hyatt and he joined the Bills, I do think part of his evaluation is the risk that he is just a faster Gabe Davis. It would lean into what Allen wants be ... aggressive deep thrower, but it could be limited.

Until he runs a 4.31. Then magically all the GMs that saw the Combine is mostly for the medicals, will suddenly start talking about his elite speed. Then all of the sudden, Hyatt will be in the upper 1/2 of the first round.

I don't because he doesn't have elite traits. He runs two routes - the go and the comeback off the go, and he drops the ball. He's not going to become nimble, or fast enough to be significant (sub-4.45) There is more too it than just Gabe: 1. Allen is in his prime right now 2. Stefon Diggs isn't going to be at his apex forever 3. Slot was an absolute mess with McKenzie, Shakir and Beasley - none of them holding down that position 4. Numbers are going to matter as Kumerow, Beasley, Brown, Crowder are all FAs. I think the lesson from 2022 was you can't just bank on organic development, Allen needs more elite talent. Beane added Diggs and stopped.

This is right. Going into this 1st Round it looks like Hyatt, Smith-Njigba, Flowers, Johnson, Downs, Addison. Get one of those players.

I really like Ben Johnson too, enjoy listening to him with the media. With that said, is he ready to lead an entire team? That I don't have a gauge for. My answer with the Bills keeping all the same Coaches and FO would be, they need a home run draft. They need to get a WR and Offensive Lineman that come in and immediately contribute. Use Free Agency to try and bandaid what's left of Safety.

So keep investing in more Defensive Line, Secondary and Running Back talent, and keep scabbing on the Offensive Line and WR?

Do the Bills have 3 years to wait for Shakir to get to Stef level? Off the top of my head: Ja’Marr Chase - 1st Justin Jefferson - 1st DeAndre Hopkins - 1st Jaylen Waddle - 1st Mike Evans - 1st Ceedee Lamb - 1st Amari Cooper - 1st Tee Higgins - 33rd overall DK Metcalf - 2nd AJ Brown - 2nd Davonte Smith - 1st George Pickens - 2nd Brandon Aiyuk - 1st Debo Samuel - 2nd Davante Adams - 2nd Garrett Wilson - 1st Chris Olave - 1st Mike Pittman - 2nd DJ Moore - 1st It’s easy to see where the elite talent is found. And Tyreek Hill would have been higher than a 5th for obvious reasons. Allen is peak Allen right now. He’s had three seasons in a row with the same numbers, it’s time to get him some real help.

5th

And I hear tone deaf discussions on Locked On Bills or Cover 1 where it’s like go ahead and spend some draft picks on LB, DE, DT, S. Guys, we have 6 picks. You don’t have all this draft capital to keep investing in DLine. Allen needs better players around him. Drafting a RB is not what we’re talking about here. Dedicated Special Teams converted Safety may be McDermott’s preference but it’s not going to help the team.

Ok man, he’s a 5th Round pick from Boise State. It would nice to get an elite athlete on this team at WR.

Too small to be a #2 WR. Top flight traits is what Allen needs, not 4th and 5th Round developmental projects.

To some degree you're right. Von was 32 when he signed, and 33 this season. He'll be 34 this upcoming season. In the span of all possibilities, banking on an older player past his prime staying healthy was indeed a risk. Would it have been smarter to get in other WR action, and say given up a first and a second and a new contract for Davante Adams? Chiefs unlikely to trade Hill to the Bills. But AJ Brown was potentially an option. All of this to say, Beane's roster has stalled because the last A-talent player he's added to this offense was Diggs in 2020. The Bills have stopped adding elite skill talent since that point. John Brown got old, Beasley got old, Emmanuel Sanders should have never been signed. This year, the Bills have to find a way to get another elite-traits WR on the field.