Ayjent

If he still wants to play you could definitely see him going somewhere with familiarity with someone who he knows. The Bills are certainly one of those teams, and I'm sure that he has respect for McDermott and Beane and honestly he could help the young roster of TEs and Josh. Yeah he is old, but he is not as old as Witten, or the recently retired Antonio Gates. He has been a really good player in this league, and I see it as a great mentor for the young TEs even if he isn't on the field as much as he has been in his career. It would be a solid pickup for the team and it makes a lot of sense for him and the team.

I think this is the right view - they need bridge players until they can draft guys that can supplant those bridge players and be "in-house" upgrades. I think that is what you hear from Beane and McDermott that they are not yet where they plan on being (that can be said for 31 teams every year and i get the emptiness of those statements). As someone earlier in the thread points out that Reid has a big influence on McDermott and I really think that if that is true it is not just about whether the focal point is Offense vs. Defense but where you build your team from. Reid has always put a premium on OL and DL, knowing that he can scheme for his talent on Offense with at least competent QB play. He has way more than competent QB play now and they have made sure to surround him with talent - but its amazing how whoever suits up in the skill positions for the Chiefs is pretty good - that starts up front and with good play design for the strengths of your personnel.

There is depth at certain positions and they may find a couple of late round gems this year if they hold on. I'm not going to be upset if they use them to move up, but those picks are not going to move you up much unless you are talking about potentially moving up in the 3rd or 4th rounds. ----------------------------------- I like the idea of always taking at least one DL and one OL every year in the top 4 rounds and this year it looks to be where they need to invest anyhow. They can get a really good target for Allen at WR in the 2nd or 3rd and don't think they necessarily have to go WR in the 1st, especially if they have a good DE or T prospect that falls to them. I always thought that teams drafting in the high teens and low 20s in the first round have an advantage of snatching up a really good players that somehow drop and I think the FO is smart enough to pounce on a really good player even if it isn't a position of "need". I wouldn't be surprised to see an interior lineman drafted in the 1st three rounds, especially one that could play guard and center - I know Feliciano is that swing position, but Morse is one concussion away from potentially calling it a career and I happen to think that a great Center is a necessary piece for any good Offense to quarterback and coordinate the line. They could also draft another Tackle because I'm not sure if Dawkins is going to be someone that they identify as being the long term answer at LT.

It's more of an issue of how wide the spread of talent is at the college level compared to how much tighter it is in the NFL. College games are rarely evenly matched and the talent on rosters of even major programs have a big differential in talent from top to bottom with the exception of a few programs that the best talent flocks to (in the past 10 plus years the only coaches that come to mind are Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, and Dabo Sweeney. They consistently have very talented depth at all the right spots). Felipe Franks was so incredibly up and down and really had no idea how to throw consistently with anticipation and then a guy like Trask who wasn't even a starter in High School comes in and just throws consistently with timing and you're like okay it was the QB not the WRs. The Gators OL was so bad in run blocking this year that they were basically a one dimensional team and they could still move the ball pretty consistently - that was because they had good WRs and a QB who just made simple throws and knew how to read coverage.

I think he is an interesting prospect as well. I watched some games (every snap he took - including against Georgia who probably had the most defensive talent he faced) and while he made some good plays he did look like he struggled getting open and creating any separation. Against lesser competition he looked a lot better, and the QBs he played with weren't exactly good. I've seen him all over the mock draft boards from early 2nd to the 5th round. Some people think he may be better suited putting on weight and be a pass catching TE, but I'm not sure about that and think it is based on what people perceived as stiffness in his route running which made him look more like a TE running routes. The word from the senior bowl is that he looks way more fluid than he did on tape. I'll be interested to see if he has improved in the start of his routes too, which is I think his biggest weakness in getting separation (good coverage has no problem sticking with him from the start of his route).

I think he elevates himself into the 3rd round based on his Senior Bowl - a mature WR that understands the defenses and won't require a ton of coaching up. Even with having some decent QB play this year, it was still a little difficult to assess him because he played outside and Trask doesn't have a strong arm. Jefferson would go from catching slow pitch softballs to pure heat fastballs. He's the type of receiver that is a great option for a QB that has good anticipation and makes good timing throws. I think having a good WR like that would give Josh that opportunity to improve in that aspect and be a better rhythm passer. If he improves in that aspect of his game - watch out NFL. Having a guy like that who knows how to get open with timing would be a big help, but also help evaluate whether Josh is ever going to pick up that part of the game or if it is always going to be something that isn't his strong suit. I think a lot of us still don't know because the knock on Bills WRs is that they don't get open on those types of routes with any consistency. I don't know if that is entirely true, but that seems to be Jefferson's best attribute.

The tailgating fan that made the league what it is today is now a persona non grata because of $$$. NFL look at the greed of Dan Snyder and what has happened with the Washington franchise - it's a very affluent area and people say you know what I like the team but are less and less interested in that gameday experience at the field - I guess getting fleeced at every junction isn't very enjoyable. A mile long waiting list for season tickets to having trouble selling them out. PSLs that no one wants to buy even at discounts on resale. I went to opening Monday night game with a friend a couple of years ago and it was pretty much the worst pro sporting event I've ever been to - in the middle of nowhere, ridiculous parking cost, supposedly good seats were very meh, and they were even playing around with something that limited your wireless access so that you had to pay to see other scores that year (I'm not sure if they ever went through with that - and it wasn't an issue on Monday night so I don't know, but remember the people around us pretty bitter about the idea of it even being floated).

Jefferson would be solid depth and could step in immediately to contribute. I think Robert Woods is a good comparison, but probably not as nasty of a blocker and doesn't maintain separation as well as Woods once he creates it. However, a dependable target right away that's likely an immediate upgrade over anyone below Beasley and Brown on the depth chart. Physical domination is not Jefferson's game, but he is a solid blocker. I can probably identify at least a couple of games where he made a DB look foolish trying to press him where they couldn't get good contact at the line, though. Press is how I would play him if I were a defensive coordinator, because he isn't necessarily going to burn you deep and he'll dance a little too much off the snap to get around the press. That's why he isn't a top notch prospect in my opinion, but if you have other weapons where defenses can't afford to play that way he will flourish and be a dependable option on the field.

I don't know about Cleveland, he never really impressed me that much while he was at Florida. He was a good guy to have, but I always thought Freddie Swain was a better receiver, and the most explosive player that Florida had at WR this year outside of Toney who is a bona fide gamebreaker that doesn't get many touches (why is an enigma to me, but I'm sure that there is a reason).

Jefferson can get bottled up sometimes because his route set up gets a little too cute, but I've also seen pretty good CBs try to press him and regret it because they don't get enough of him. Probably less likely to happen in the pros, but he is a ready made prospect and dedicated to his craft. He could instantly be a solid contributor with 400-600 yds, but you are probably right about him being what he is. I thought he'd be a 4th rounder, but I think his stock is going to rise throughout the predraft process. In other draft classes he'd be a higher considered player, but the buzz about the WRs is real, it's a loaded class.

He was abusing that kid from LSU Stingley who is an absolute beast of a CB. I'm biased as a UF fan and alum, but he played with a lot of inaccurate QBs, and then when they finally had a QB who didn't suck throwing the ball, he had more production, but Trask has a water gun for an arm. Jefferson and Pittman would be a great combo and could definitely happen in rounds 2 and 3 if the Bills were so inclined. I think the Bills need OL and DE as top priorities too. But giving Josh weapons is necessary to help him progress - Jefferson and Pittman are both great blockers too (Pittman is by far the best of the class - he actually looks like he loves blocking). Jefferson is just excellent at creating separation out of his break, but does have a tendency to maneuver too much when trying to create separation to start off deep routes, but would be a beast in the intermediate passing game, but he also knows how to set up defenders for back shoulder throws. Pittman is actually way better on deep routes than his speed would suggest, too.

e is a good player. I've seen him in most mocks as a late 2nd to 4th round pick. Mostly bc of the talent at WR in this draft pushes him later but he is a true X WR and has had a lot of success on deep routes. I havent broke down his games closely but have watched a good deal of UCF games since my brother went there and my parents have season tickets. He was the main target for UCF for the past 2 years and part of a very prolific offense. It would be a solid pick in that range. Pittman is my favorite WR that will be available to the Bills without maneuvering up, and is likely to last until somewhere in the 2nd, although I do think he may not last where the Bills pick in the 2nd. All depends on the combine. Davis would be a solid option though.

The Offense showed flashes but did not do anything consistently good, so your question is a fair one and one that I'd say is more broadly personnel vs. coaching (playcalling). It's both, and that's always going to be the case, but I think you can point to certain aspects being more personnel and other aspects being more coaching (playcalling). First, Josh took a step forward and looked in control in a lot of games and is clearly a leader on the team and the guy that his teammates love. He's obviously still on the learning curve and he could improve in some of his decision-making even though he progressed a lot during this season. His deep ball accuracy was an issue for much of the year but started to get a better feel at the end of the year. His accuracy is still inconsistent, but he starting to show signs of streaks where he puts together a lot of accurate throws. I'm not sure he is ever going to be the type of guy to have a 500 yard passing day in a shoot out, much less a consistent 300 yard passer, but that's not a necessary thing if the Offense has a strong run game, which he also part of. The fact that Josh is showing progress while dealing with constantly adaptive game planning is pretty impressive, but I think is also making the learning curve a little longer. It is debatable whether this is exactly what he needs because some could argue it is allowing him time to develop and succeed while an argue it is holding his progress back some. I don't know myself - looks like a little of both because he looks like a guy that wants to let it all fly, but can be a bit reckless, and sometimes you feel like he could do more but it is being coached out. Ultimately, I think they are doing a pretty good job with developing him, but I get concerned that they may never loosen the reigns enough. So lets get to Daboll, I get adapting to your opponent, but that is a double edged sword and is complicated for players. Football is a high IQ sport if you want it to be, or a low IQ sport if you want it to be depending on how you play. What I mean is that you can have coaches who basically have a philosophy of this is what we do and we don't care what the other team tries doing, we do this well and if you stop us good on you - it's low IQ, but it doesn't mean that it is ineffective. Some people call that identity. That has limited success in the NFL, but IMHO every NFL team should have some of that, and many teams will put window dressing on the same plays to try to fool the defense from identifying the play and/or tendencies pre snap. It can and does work though. I'm sure that the Bills do some of it, but haven't really broken down their plays enough to see if they do. The Bills are very adaptive in their offensive philosophy and that is a high IQ offense, but sometimes I wonder if it they do it too much with young skill position players like Allen, Singletary, Foster, and Knox. To some extent you need your bread and butter, and the Bills really never developed anything that was a bread and butter play. Look at the teams in it now - they know who to lean on when they need to move the ball and maybe that's because they have stars that they can rely on. Sometimes you create stars when you create plays that work well frequently, but you can also claim the player makes it possible. It's a chicken or egg argument, but that is part of coaching and playcalling - identifying what is difficult for everyone to stop no matter what they are doing. For those old enough to remember the Nintendo game Tecmo Bowl - you know the unstoppable plays - a complete oversimplification, but the premise holds. Kittles on an intermediate In route, Davante Adams on a crossing route, Travis Kelce making a contested catch over the middle on a timing comeback route, Derrick Henry up the middle. Each team has something that has carried them - but its a combination of the player and playcalling. Daboll frustrates me sometimes because they seem to lack any kind of go to when they need it, other than Josh making some amazing play with either his feet or arm while extending a play. That's all fine, but imagine how much better the offense could be if you had Josh's ability paired with something that was consistently working. Finally, with respect to personnel, I think they had a hope that Foster and Jones would step up with extra guys being brought in and that it would bring out the best in them. Knox ended up being a real pleasant surprise for the team, and if he can improve from this year then that is a really good find. However, with the WRs the progression didn't happen for either Foster or Jones and Beasley and Brown became the main focus of the passing game. I just don't think Jones is anything more than a marginal NFL talent and that happens sometimes when a guy from a middling program is a focal point puts up good numbers and shows certain attributes but then just can't play nearly as effective when the talent level they face is better. The weirdest thing about him is how shaky his hands were and how sure they were in college. I don't think that would make much of a difference anyhow in his career, but it certainly wouldn't hurt if he were more surehanded. Foster seems to have found his calling on special teams, but as a WR he regressed. I'm not sure that they used him effectively either, because his speed on that sweep pass and when they designed him to get the ball in space was pretty impressive. They looked like they'd found something to get him involved in the Offense again and it just evaporated and they never went back to it. That was frustrating to watch for me, and made me scratch my head with Daboll's calling. Like I said sometimes I think he is getting too cute with being adaptive. Kroft was injured and honestly I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Bills ditch him because they have younger, cheaper options that may be better. The one personnel thing that I think they really need to continue working on improving is the OL. Yes it was much better, and overall they are pretty decent, but they aren't consistent nor dominant. I like who they brought in, but I do think when you get FAs like they did, they are bridge players and that you ultimately want guys you draft that become dominant. Maybe they draft an interior guy and a Tackle this year. I know it's not sexy, but Morse is likely one concussion from calling it a career, and the Bills still don't have a solid answer at RT and Dawkins is up for FA soon.

The contested catch you reference was ruled incomplete. To be honest, though, it was his most impressive effort and nearly a great catch. No dispute from me on that one, but that effort and ability wasn’t demonstrated anywhere else despite the opportunities in the other games I posted. He has talent, I’m not disputing that, and I’ve made that clear. Just dont see him as a successful outside WR for the Bills and I don’t like what he has on tape blocking. Blocking is not weird btw, it's a big part of the game and can be the difference between a big stop one way and a big play the other. I fail to see what other people’s evaluations of other players in other years has to do with what I’ve stated other than being a cop out. I wish you’d try to respect the effort to asses than to dig in on an opinion with little support beyond one play. Maybe you do have more to support it, and Im open to information and how it could change my view. I keep watching more games of more players, including Shenault. Bring on the evidence of how he does what I say he doesn’t do well. I’ve put it out there and you can take your view and form your own opinion but please watch the games against CSU, Oregon, and Nebraska if you haven’t already and tell me you have no qualms with his skills that I’ve pointed out. We are all Bills fans no need to try to make it a battle and be dismissive. I simply am pointing people to seeing what us fans might want to get excited about when the Bills pick and what to hope for. In the end it’s all fun and a waste of time.

I posted videos that I’ve watched of Shenault. I’m not relying on others scouting reports to assess what i see. I value all around abilities and think blocking is a big deal for WRs, bc you are likely blocking on more plays than you are catching a pass. A great WR should be really good at both. I won’t debate that the ability to make the catch and get open are most important attributes, but being a liability in blocking kind of negates the players effectiveness and makes a coach consider pulling him out on runs and signaling to the other team that you might be running or that you won’t typically run in that players direction. You can see his effort blocking on full display in those clips. Michael Pittman Jr is an excellent blocker like he enjoys it, Tee Higgins and Justin Jefferson are also very willing blockers, as are a lot of other top tier guys in the draft. Shenault is one of the worst I’ve seen of all the top prospects. Again I’m basing my opinion off of games I’ve seen, but I also haven’t seen him win on contested catches and make good adjustments to off throws, especially deep ones with any type of consistency. One thing that drives me crazy is when a WR doesn’t come back to a deep to intermediate ball when it is clear defenders are going to make a play on the ball and is likely to be broken up/intercepted if no adjustment is made. There are several examples in those games I posted earlier in this thread where he doesn’t adjust to the ball and it is broken up. He is best underneath coverage in space and on come back routes. That’s where his production came from. Sure he had a couple of plays where he was open down the sideline and the coverage wasn’t there for a big play - that’s nothing to dismiss. What he does with coverage present is what bothers me. He’s built like a big RB with speed and I get the attraction to a player like that, but he is not an outside guy in the NFL if he can’t be more consistent with deep balls and tight coverage. He’s the type of guy that’ll put his hands waist high to make a catch in stride with tight coverage rather than slow down to out maneuver and out position the DB to make sure he gets the catch.

I’ve watched game snaps (every snap of the game the player was in) from every game I could find on Shenault. Everything I’m pointing out is in the game footage. I didn’t say he couldn’t be a good player, but I was just pointing out what concerns me about his fit on the team and where I see flaws in his game and where the strengths were. People may differ in opinion, but I was not impressed on his deep routes where there was close coverage. He didn’t win or finish the play as often as you’d like to see and his adjustment to off target passes is in need of a lot of improvement if he is going to be an outside receiver, especially with a QB like Josh and weather conditions like Buffalo. He did draw flags though. This board is full of opinions and some are going to agree some are going to disagree. My opinion is pretty informed based off watching him play. That’s all I have to go on and honestly I’m surprised how many people are on the train to draft him after watching him play. What is it that impresses? His ability to run a deep in or his ability to settle into space under zone coverage? That’s about the best things I’ve seen him do prior to the catch. He doesn’t engage his blocks very long if he even engages them, and can’t be counted on to hold a block for any duration. This the most impressive game, but it’s not all snaps His two biggest plays were a nice run after catch on a slant/curl route he took to the house, and an on the money throw down the sideline against a cover two zone with the safety late in coming over. But you see the same things in tight coverage he doesn’t win the ball, and his failure to position and adjust to the ball on a couple of throws where coverage was near allowed the pass breakup. In the NFL that coverage is going to be a lot more consistent and physical, especially outside where the best DBs will be lined up against him. That’s why I’m saying he would thrive in a slot position in the nfl, but not an X. I wanted an upgrade at WR last year, and this year is just a great year for the position. I just happen to think there are better options for the Bills than Shenault, and that Shenault is a 2nd -3rd Round talent that is projecting as a 1st in a lot of mocks. His stock may rise or fall on his combine, but I think the best assessments of talent are usually done in January, unless major red flags come out in the combine. Just because DK Metcalf happened to have a pretty good year probably says a lot about his skill set being a good fit with the team and Wilson as his QB. WR is so dependent on so many other players doing their jobs, fit is always a good part of success when it comes to the position. That’s why I’m just not interested in Shenault unless Beasley isn’t in the Bills’ plans for the future. If that’s the case I can get on that train. They can upgrade from Beasley, but it doesn’t move the needle that much on improving the need for a big outside threat.

Perine is a solid back, he played behind subpar run blocking this year and sometimes I question his vision at the LOS, but once he gets outside or if the hole is there he is a really good back and a good receiver. He'd be a nice back up to have behind Singletary and could carry the load if there was an injury and pretty much bring the same skill set without modifying the playcalling much at all. He wouldn't be that much of a change of pace or bruising big back, but that shouldn't be the goal because Tennessee has a unicorn that is dominating right now. He was a boss against UVA in his last game, and broke some pretty big runs this year after being bottled up for large parts of games. If you want to get excited about Perine watch the game snaps against UVA, if you want to poke holes in his game watch him against Miami this year. Again, Florida's line was not good at all in the running game. They even struggled running against cup cakes because they weren't getting push and couldn't open holes. It got a bit better as the season progressed, but not that much. Their line play really hasn't been too good for many years and was one of the reason I was surprised about Jawaan Taylor being a top T prospect last year. I'm a Florida Alum so I watch all of their games, and its hard to assess how good their skill players are with the line and QB play they've had issues with over the past several years. Trask made a huge difference this year and they finally got a guy that could consistently make plays in the passing game and you saw the talent they had start to shine a bit, but Trask has his limitations as a passer because he has a watergun compared to Josh Allen's arm, but he does have excellent anticipation and pretty good accuracy (throws a ball like Danny Wuerfel) .

Things to consider: He doesn't play like an X receiver, he plays best as a slot like receiver underneath and in space. That is a pro or con depending on what you want and who you want on the field. His role on the Bills would be Isaiah McKenzie sweep pass, and playing slot like Beasley, something that they aren't missing any effectiveness from in the Offense in my opinion. Would he be better than both of them? Probably, although whether he navigates space as well as Beasley against NFL coverages or would have the same type of understanding with Allen is not certain. But that's where I would see him most effective for the Bills, taking a lot of snaps from Beasley still leaving Brown outside and who at No. 3? If they try putting him outside, I think he struggles on this team. The fact that they could line him up all over and not exclusively on the outside or inside is nice, but I just don't see him as a threat on the outside against NFL secondaries without improving his abilities on the deep ball. The Bills would be better suited for a good size guy that has excellent ball skills, adjust his body and positioning better than defenders even if that player is not as fast and doesn't have the slot abilities. We also need a guy that is a good to great blocker at WR and is physical - having that may lead to more big plays in the run game and screen game. Things to not like: He may have speed, but his ability to track the ball and adjust is a negative; he also struggles with making catches in traffic, especially on deep throws. So that speed to run deep is somewhat tempered by his ability to finish the play on deep throws that may require some adjustment and positioning against defenders. He also isn't a very good blocker and doesn't show consistent effort when the play isn't coming his way.

Shenault looks like a Split End/Slot guy to me, a very big one, but that seems to be where he would be most effective because he wasn't a very good receiver on deep routes or on contested catches, and he doesn't adjust well to the deep ball to position himself. He's best working underneath and in space. If you are looking to take snaps away from Beasley and upgrade the slot - I think he's the guy. If they try playing him outside - he will be a disappointment, especially if Josh doesn't improve his accuracy on deep throws. I look at it from how does he fit on the Bills and with their QB and I just don't see a good fit unless they want to move on from Beasley.

He's not a 1st rounder unless he blows the doors off the combine. Probably a late 2nd to early 3rd with all of the talent at the position in this draft. His father loved contact too and was a big part of the Bucs superbowl run - he plays like his father did but at WR.

I think for a team like the Bills that wants to be tougher than its opponents and with a need for a guy that adjusts very well to targets that might not be right on the money, and blocks with aggression and great effectiveness in screen and run game he is a really good fit.

I'm always a little weary of this Big12 WRs like Lamb - they are allergic to playing pass defense in that conference. Doesn't mean he's not good, but he's not playing against anything like he'll see in the NFL in terms of talent or scheme. I've watched a lot on Higgins and at first I didn't like what I saw just from build and route running, then I saw a big lanky guy that wasn't afraid of contact or blocking and actually could fight off defenders after the catch, but that was just watching highlights. Then I went and watched about 5 games with every offensive snap, and soured on him being a No. 1. He's a good player but he is not going to be a legit No. 1 option on an NFL team - he isn't really even that on his college team. That type of player will be available later in the draft IMO with such a deep and talented class of WRs. I know Pittman Jr projects to be a bit slower and is less explosive in space, but he is a physical specimen that has great adjustment to the ball, is a strong runner after the catch, makes a lot of contested catches positioning himself in the best spot to win the ball, is a great blocker, and plays hard on every snap. He isn't the best at getting separation and I think that and his speed are why he is projected as a day 2 guy, but if I had to choose between Higgins and Pittman Jr it would be Pittman Jr all day.

They go against nfl caliber DBs all season - CJ Henderson (UF), Xavier McKinney (Bama), Trevon Diggs (bama), Cameron Dantzler (Miss St), JR Reed (UGA), and their secondary will all likely be in the nfl which I’m sure they practice against each other a lot. Now it’s not the same as an NFL defense, but the SEC is about as close is you get in terms of talent and scheme.

This stuff is way over the normal hazing type stuff. Weird and questionable stuff happens in locker rooms but this stuff isn’t that. It’s outright sexual assault, and way over the line compared to anything Ive ever see happen at many different levels and locker rooms. No way around it. If you think it’s normal stuff, you’re wrong. Really the most disgusting part is that it wasn’t addressed by either teammates or staff.

I think Higgins and Jefferson both are not No. 1 guys after watching them both in the Playoff games and watching more and more entire game snap replays. They are both effectively No. 2s on their respective teams. I'd rather have Chase or Ross tbh. I really liked Jefferson before looking at him closer. Not so much anymore. Willing blocker, and pretty agile big guy, but some limitations and isn't nearly as explosive or game breaking as Chase. Jefferson and Higgins are actually pretty similar. Both are good players and will be solid in the NFL, but if you are looking for a dominating WR for many years, they probably aren't the guys. I'd be happy with either one on the Bills, though. They would definitely upgrade the position and add some size and athleticism.