Mikie's Bills

Yes they can.

Sooo Zach Brown signing somewhere for a big salary pretty much guarantees this?

I'd make it a 2 yr deal since he is most likely on PUP or IR next season with low guaranteed money in the 2nd year but with incentives based on games played.

Signed with the Jets per Schefter

Trubisky is the only QB I'd be comfortable taking in the top half of the 1st round. Guy has all the tools, and has shown a high football IQ for a guy with pretty limited experience. Wouldn't be mad at all if he was our pick at 10. Would make a hole at WR/DB (whichever we don't take in Rd. 2), but QB trumps all other needs.

Yea, from the scouting reports I've read he lacks instincts and a feel for the passing game. from NFL.com

Meh, Denver built their SB winning team thru mostly FA. Giants turned their 32nd ranked 2015 defense into a top 10 unit last year thru FA. There are a bunch of ways to build a team. The way the system is set up right now is that teams that draft well consistently can't afford to pay all their good players. Bills had to let a bunch of their good draft choices walk over the past 7 years or so (Gilmore/Byrd/Levitre/Woods/Bradham/Searcy/etc.) because they had to pay their other good players, not all of which they drafted (Hughes/McCoy/Clay). Would we be any better off if we retained our own draft choices instead of re-signing Hughes/McCoy/Clay? Probably not.

According to this...http://www.rosterresource.com/nfl-buffalo-bills we have 19 drafted players on the roster+ the 6 or so we'll draft= 25. So roughly half our roster by next season should be of players we drafted. I would assume that is league average. Nothing to see here...

He's cheap and is a stopgap until they find a better option. They went after Wagner and the draft and rest of FA looks pretty thin at OT. I mean Luke Joeckel got $8M and he is terrible lol. Kalil hasn't been good in 3 years and he got 5/55? I'm fine with not overspending for a mediocre/below avg option. Just don't leave him 1 on 1 vs Cam Wake again please.

As long as he's blitzing/rushing the passer 75-80% of the time then I think he will be fine, so that's good.

I had Preston at MLB, Ragland at SAM, and Lo as a situational pass rusher (maybe not necessarily with his hand in the dirt) and ST ace. Edit: With WILL still needing to be addressed.

Ragland was drafted to be a 3-4 ILB. Remains to be seen if he can stay on the field for all 3 downs. Preston's best year came as the MLB in a 4-3. I think he starts the year in the middle.

Interesting, most believe Ragland would play SAM this season..

Depending on how the draft and the rest of FA shakes out, absolutely I'd bring him back. Even if he doesn't start at the vet min he would be very good depth.

So replaced Graham with Alexander- salary wise.

Hearing it's a 2/9M deal. Edit: Beat me to it. Pretty good number. Was hoping it would be more in the 4 per range but should provide decent value.

Good news, but I'm a little surprised that Z. Brown wasn't prioritized over Lo due to the change in scheme/age/etc. I assume he'd be a rotational pass rusher and ST guy mainly? And not a LB?

Lol Smith wasn't playing for the Bengals in 2016 so not sure who you're watching... And as Woodman already said, judging a guy off 1 series is pretty pointless. Ducasse hasn't played well for much of his career. More competition the better,

Did he just become a bad tackler in NO? Because he was very sure tackler here in Buffalo IIRC. Just found this article from December about his time in NO: http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/like-it-or-not-jairus-byrd-is-one-of-saints-best-defenders-122516

Paid a pretty big price for Cooks considering he will need to be extended soon. Do they have the money to re-sign Hightower, Cooks, and Butler? If so then they are loaded. Especially if they trade Garapollo and get some picks back.

Would prefer Byrd over Webb if choosing between the 2. Webb is a little light to be a safety and doesn't have a lot of experience at the position.

Would make some sense.

Wouldn't it be a more of a talent utilization issue? It was good talent evaluation that led us to signing guys like Hogan, Groy, Gillislee, Z. Brown, Alexander, trading for Hughes, etc. Having teams value your players highly is a pretty good thing, imo. Other teams may think that our players are underutilized or not used correctly in some cases or fit their system better.

You have to wonder if Peppers would be the perfect fit for McDermott's Defense? In the mold of Thomas Davis and Shaq Thompson as a S/LB hybrid. I know he hasn't graded well in coverage in college with the lack of PBU's/INTs and stuff (not sure if that had more to do with what his role was or if it was just a knack for not making plays on the ball?) but he did show off some nice ball skills and field awareness at the combine I thought. I probably wouldn't take him at 10, and DB/WR are probably bigger needs than a S/LB hybrid, but I think he is a dark horse candidate, since it seems we're not really targeting speedy LBs in FA.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/micah-hyde-12440/ Contract breakdown. $4M cap hit this season He was a good fit when we played the 4-3 in his rookie year and played very well overall for a rookie 3rd rounder making the calls on the defense. PFF graded him very highly vs the pass and overall. There's reason to believe that he is a better fit for McDermott's defense than a guy like Ragland who was drafted as a 3-4 ILB thumper.