DCOrange

From the sound of Clayborn's statement, it reads like he requested to be relased, no?

It's not as if the Browns are surprised by this suspension. If they were interested in moving Duke, this would have zero impact on it.

NFL already announced that Hunt accepted the suspension.

He'll be like the 2nd heaviest player in the NBA the moment he's drafted. He'll almost certainly be able to bully people. He has 40-50 lbs on Giannis and Giannis is able to bully people inside. The 6'7" height won't really matter; if anything it just makes him even more dense and his leaping ability negates any height advantage a defender might have.

Completely different builds, but in terms of his playstyle, see Giannis Antetokounmpo as far as what Zion will model his game after, and setting aside my Bucks fandom, his jumpshot is probably better than Giannis'. Anyone big enough to handle Zion's strength; he'll be able to drive past from the perimeter. Anyone that can keep up with him will be bullied. Sag off on him and that'll just allow him to get his momentum going towards the hoop in which case you're at his mercy. Play up tight on him and he'll just blow by. Really talented ball-handler and passer for someone his size too not to mention the value he'll bring in terms of rebounding and defending.

I think a trade down from 9 is still very much in play, but having said that, I think we'll almost certainly trade up later on; there's no way we draft 10 players IMO so they'll either consolidate picks or trade some of them for future picks.

Almost nobody in the NBA can match up with him either IMO. I'm not sure anyone in the NBA right now has his combination of size and athleticism and he's a really skilled dude too. He's easily among the 3-5 best prospects to come out since LeBron IMO and might be the best.

Don't think I'll ever have a mock draft play out this well for me again on The Draft Network: 9. Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama - #1 player in the draft IMO 40. Dalton Risner, OG/OT, Kansas State - One of, if not the highest graded O-Lineman per PFF and seems like the type of guy Buffalo loves 74. Dru Samia, OG, Oklahoma - Big part of the best O-Line in the country, Buffalo has scouted multiple OU games this season, met with him at the combine, and worked with him at his Pro Day 112. Darrell Henderson, RB, Memphis - IMO the #2 RB in the class 131. Kaden Smith, TE, Stanford - Big TE with good hands, didn't test well at the combine but looks better on tape IMO 147. Stanley Morgan Jr., WR, Nebraska - I have him pegged around the #5 WR in the class 158. Derrick Baity, CB, Kentucky - Think his skillset is perfect for this defense 181. Ben Burr-Kirven, LB, Washington - A depth pick here, undersized but solid LB 225. Tyre Brady, WR, Marshall - Like Stanley Morgan, I have him pegged in my top 5 WRs in this draft class, though he ran a slow 40 at his Pro Day unfortunately 228. Will Harris, S, Boston College - Been one of the leaders of one of the best secondaries in the country; good awareness and good athleticism but lacks playmaking skills.

Howard was literally like the #1 or #2 TE in the league according to PFF. He just happened to get hurt but he was playing great outside of the injury.

Just being realistic, the Bills will almost certainly keep 5 or 6 WRs on the roster with Roberts included. 3 of those spots are now spoken for via our free agent signings. I personally think Foster's spot should be relatively safe while Zay's should not be safe, but it seems that people expect both of them to be on the roster. That gets us to 5 without including Duke, McKenzie, or any rookies. My main point isn't even about specifically a WR, it's about spending a roster spot on a guy that just doesn't make much of an impact. No kick returner in today's NFL really makes a significant impact, Roberts included. The vast majority of kicks and punts are not returned at all. Even with Roberts in New York, 68% of the Jets punts were touchbacks or fair catches. We're talking about roughly 1 or 2 punt returns per game for Roberts. Because of how few opportunities a punt returner gets over the course of a season, the difference between the #1 punt returner (Roberts last year) and a league average punt returner is basically one single return that happens to be a big play. Roberts himself has jumped back and forth from elite to below average over the past 5 years. I just don't think it makes logical sense to spend a roster spot essentially on one big play in a season that he may or may not even make.

Kick returns might literally be legislated out of the game within the next year or two and even without that happening, the % of touchbacks and kick returns that only get to the 25 anyways makes kick returners mostly negligible. As for punt returns, both the Jets and Bills had roughly 20-25 punt returns last year. I just don't think it's worth a roster spot or money for someone that will rarely ever do anything and the idea of it costing us a shot at a legitimate starting WR in the draft just makes me sad.

Typing from my phone so not gonna be able to provide the links and everything, but per Football Outsiders, Roberts incredible season added 22 points above the average with his kick and punt returns. Buffalo was at -9 points so if Roberts plays at his peak level again (which I think is highly unlikely), you’re talking about roughly a 30 point increase or a little less than 2 points per game. It’s just not a big difference maker. I’d rather use that roster spot to carry, for example, a rookie WR in this very deep class, and have someone go out and just take a touchback on every kick. Go Syracuse!

Yep, my thoughts basically mirror both of your posts. I rate Oliver higher but I'll be happy with Wilkins too and as I mentioned in the OP, I expect McD to want Wilkins pretty badly. I don't necessarily think Wilkins ceiling is low but I do think Oliver's is higher.

I view Oliver as the likely BPA at #9. I view Quinnen as the #1 prospect in the draft and think he'll be gone in the top 2. He's the only prospect in the draft that I would consider moving up for if he slid outside the top 5.

https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/5-play-prospect--clemson-idl-christian-wilkins Can't help but read this excerpt and feel like this is 100% the guy that McDermott wants at #9.

I don't know what the contract is, but I'm pretty disappointed with this one. I think having an open roster spot is more valuable than signing a kick returner personally. Roberts had a year that he almost certainly will not be able to replicate for us, and even then, had a minuscule impact for the Jets. He isn't much more valuable than just having someone take a touchback on every kickoff. I'll be pretty upset if his presence results in Buffalo not drafting one or two WRs in this year's draft, and it appears that's where this is headed.

From this perspective, my bias aside, I think Syracuse's Jamal Custis would make some sense. He's not quite the physical freak that DK Metcalf is, but he played the same role in Syracuse's offense as Metcalf did while also providing tantalizing physical traits (see his spider web relative to Metcalf below). He was also a very good special teamer, playing as the gunner for Syracuse. Custis was a late bloomer and his hands were pretty inconsistent, which have both played a factor in his relatively low draft stock, but with his physical traits and his abilities as a vertical threat, there's some potential there for him to develop into a good WR while playing a special teams role in the meantime. Might be a solid Day 3 investment if Buffalo is interested in the idea of a player like Metcalf but doesn't want him at #9.

I’m confident that Brown, Beasley, Roberts, and Foster will be on the 53 man roster. IMO, Zay and McKenzie are in that bottom group with Duke and company competing for the final spot. Edit: At least, this is my thought before seeing Roberts' contract, but it seems relatively safe.

Kinda funny that they sign him after everyone was using McKinnon’s deal as the framework for Tevin but makes sense with Shanahan there.

We’ll almost certainly draft a TE but I think this means we sign another TE too. Would think we want more than 3 roster-capable TEs heading into training camp.

Doesn't need to be an elite #1 guy, but probably needs to be better than John Brown.

I don't think he'll be IMO the BPA at #9, but I do have him like #6 or 7 on my big board so he could be. These FA signings should have zero impact on our willingness to draft him. If they're as high on him as I am, he could be the best WR on this roster from Day 1 with a far higher ceiling than any of these guys.

LB Bruce Carter, Craig Hodges, or Will Compton

No. But he'd still be a decent buy-low candidate.

The only way this deal doesn't end up being good is if he's lost a step with his age. Otherwise his skillset is exactly what this team needs in a slot WR.