Richard Noggin

With the bolded bit in first paragraph, are you switching from Hollins to Cooper there (trade and offensive run that followed)? Love the point about smaller/better separators being Josh's wheelhouse, and hadn't viewed Palmer through that lens (6'1" 209), but it's fascinating. So much difference between what Beane likes in a WR (size/physicality) and what suits Allen better (speed/separation). In the draft, Beane loves tall WRs and isn't super troubled by middling 40 times. Right at the start of day three I really fell in love with the idea of Jaylin Lane. Or of course Jalen Royals. One of the Jayleins. Someone with explosiveness and shiftiness and speed. But alas.

Palmer doesn't really expand the playbook as much as they hope executes it better? And Moore is here more for depth and competition rather than for gameplanning around? Either way I liked your point about Brady's potential growth. SO important whoever is on the final 53.

Huge point here. Not necessarily for this topic exactly, but I'm really hopeful Brady comes up with all kinds of counters to and expansions off of last year's tendencies, as well as new stuff. Exciting to watch both sides evolve and discover what they can do well in 2025.

Miami probably shouldn't have too many 1 PM or 4 PM games at home in the first 6 weeks of the season, tbh. Or conversely, the rules about sideline fans/shade could just be adjusted to prevent dangerous and unethical gamesmanship. I'm not aware of the Bills actively preventing visiting opponents from accessing vital heating equipment during extreme cold weather games. Why is Miami allowed to block medically vital sideline cooling equipment during extreme hot weather games? Because their sideline is shaded, they can then medically imperil their opponents? Crazy.

Finally, someone with eyes that see. Shavers vs Virgil (vs Shenault vs Hamler) for WR5 in 2025 lol. Draft WR and OL and RB in 2026 like an offensive mirror to 2025's defensive picks.

Agree for the most part with where you're both going here. Beane HAS in fact invested in receiving targets with Kincaid and Coleman in the draft and Samuel and now Palmer in FA. Problem is, the results haven't been immediate or impactful. Shakir was both drafted and re-signed, though, so that's another much more successful target acquired and developed. Beane is now taking at least one more season to let his coaches maximize the aforementioned investments, with maybe one more addition to the room at some point in 2025. With the way Royals and Horton fell, of course we're frustrated that we didn't get one. But I think it was maybe more egregious to miss out on adding at least one more WR each of the past two drafts. This 2025 draft was at least properly milked for its specific depth at DL and DB. In a way, Beane is mirroring top NFC teams more than his AFC counterparts, with his emphasis on stocking the trenches overall and the defense in particular. I was happy to see him triple up on DLs and DBs. Go ahead and just fix those pipelines in a draft really well suited to doing so.

What if the league's DCs caught up with McDaniel's offense faster than he (and his roster) have been able to evolve. What if Miami's defensive roster was absolutely gutted by poor management and brutal injury runs. Those things are somewhat outside McDaniel's responsibility. But also, eff him and his unethical owner and the Dolphins overall. They get what they deserve.

Oof.

BUT DID YOU INCLUDE THE PICKS SPENT ON DIGGS

Your explanation continues to evolve and become more convincing, if I'm being honest. I was initially arguing only a strict statistical rebuttal to your claim of "very average" athleticism. The published RAS is nearly a quartile above average. That's irrefutable. However, you continue to erode my faith in that metric for Hawes, and now I'm sad. Thanks.

Was totally kidding, but being way too subtle about it, apparently. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

Hey gang, been offline all day. What did I miss?

Go sign that first guy he hugs! If Jackson is 6'6" 260, then that truck is 6'8" 3 hunjy. Get 'er done, Beane.

Just don't get caught. Depends if his patient gets caught?

I mean, you're responding to a Chiefs fan, so...classic Chiefs Planet really

Problem with your conclusion is that size and strength very much are part of the athleticism equation in football. Being bigger and stronger in such a leverage-based contact sport IS necessarily better. So explosiveness at a larger size = athleticism (in part). He's not terribly fast, for sure. And I guess we don't about agility scores. But being big, strong, and explosive is a nice trifecta for a Y/F TE coming in to block and play teams (and run a few routes here and there).

Unless the Bills can get another year of maximum effort out of Jimbo as he makes his final case for $15-20M AAV in FA. Beane has shown a consistent comfort-level with guys playing on 1-year or expiring deals. I agree that trading him now would be the Patriots/Chiefs method of maximizing value, but there is another way to derive future value while also maximizing that last contract season: play it out. Jimbo can ball out one more time by maximizing his freshness with ~40% usage and earn that deal he seeks. The Bills can get that cheapish 4th year production AND a boost to their 2026 compensatory equation when Jimbo signs elsewhere. Or if he doesn't find his market, they could potentially have him back at a price they deem reasonable (doubt that one). RBs playing hardball while still under contract hasn't worked out GREAT for them in recent history. Cook is dynamic with the ball in his hands, no doubt. Special, really. But he's not a $15-20M guy IMDO (in my dumble opinion™️). One could make the argument that he's not worth it simply because the Bills are still paying too much to many former players who weren't worth it either.

And separately, what do you all think about moving Tre White to S?

Absolute beast in these highlights. Saw him line up everywhere from 1 to 7T. Menace in 2023.

Just depends on how fluently he picks up the full system. McD's defense has had a habit of valuing reliability and consistency (floor) over potential impact (ceiling) when deciding starters, at least in the first weeks of the season.

WR value, in their eyes, didn't line up with how the board fell. That much is clear. Where fans are upset about this is in how the Bills set up their board in the first place, which always seems to undervalue WR (and WR speed) compared to other positions.

But which numbers indicate he isn't athletic? Or, are you applying your own eye test instead? RAS just formulates a number based on comparable athletic testing. Those tests are not the only way to determine athleticism, but they are the only way to objectively compare raw athleticism.

I think your point is fair, in that many of us fans and possibly many in the Bills org would have preferred to draft speed/production to WR room earlier on day three (Royals and Horton and hung around for a while, among others; but then again, why DID they go later than commonly projected online?). I suspect the Bills actually LOVE their WR depth entering 2025, with a top 4 of Palmer, Shakir, Coleman, and Samuel, plus Virgil and Shavers and Prather and Shenault and Hamler. There is some "hope as a strategy" happening here wrt Coleman and Palmer, and the depth guys, but you have to draft and ultimately count on development at certain positions each year. Hence the importance of drafting. Took 3rd round Spencer Brown a few years to sort himself out, and didn't always look promising along the way. Bernard was a perceived liability in his 2nd season when injuries thrust him into starting role. Maybe Allen helps a bunch of his skill guys "play up" and maybe some of them also simultaneously "step up." I'm excited to see if Kincaid and Coleman take needed steps, or if next year's draft goes heavy on offensive weapons. Probably should either way, just to maintain healthy pipelines. RB and WR and possibly even TE are on track to have unfilled slots in 2026. It's ultimately understandable that fans see Houston and Kansas City and Green Bay and Cincinnati and even Baltimore (and others) investing MUCH more heavily in the WR position than Buffalo has, and they get frustrated. I've been hoping for another day two/early day three WR each of the last two drafts. Specifically wanted Franklin as he "slid" last year, and wanted Royals or Horton as they "fell" this year. No way to know if the general consensus will turn out to be right, or if the Bills will be vindicated by progress in the existing ranks. This season will likely clarify a few ongoing questions about how effectively the Bills build and coach their roster.