VW82

Seems reasonable. I was bracing for 4/100M so 4/78M feels like a decent compromise. I still think Benford has to improve at the line, and until he (or someone else) does we don’t really have a true CB1 shutdown corner.

I suspect this will be the last year for Taron as well given the potential out next year. Looking at the End of an era.

I don't have data to back it up. To my knowledge that doesn't exist publicly though I'd love to see it and be proven wrong if it does. As for the small % press = small downside argument...it's admittedly hard to watch our season end every year as Mahomes or Burrow alternate between slicing up our soft zone and quick hitting us to death while we give up everything underneath. Perhaps you'd argue Benford would've changed that had he not been hurt, but I don't think so - I think he needs the cushion to be successful and it exposes us in certain match ups. The notion that McD is just holding him back or whatever other reason Benford doesn't more when it's needed just doesn't make a lot of sense. I just don't think he runs as well with guys the little bit we've seen him on the line vs. when he has space to adjust. Agree to disagree. Edit: just to add to the McD part of it...we've seen him abandon the soft zone shell and try to man press like the Rams game. It made little difference because we couldn't cover. But that's when you do it..facing a high IQ QB who cuts you up at the line. You need to buy time vs. guys like Mahomes, Burrow, Stafford, etc. Everyone gives credit to Eagles Dline, and rightfully so, but their corners pressed too which gave their rushers time to finish the play.

Not man vs.. zone. Man press vs. man match out of zone (i.e. zone matching) or man match lined up off LOS, however you want to say it. We don't play Benford (or any DB) much at the LOS other than Taron, so No, I don't think his relative underperformance in those scenarios impacts those numbers much. Again, I'd argue our lack of man press snaps on a % basis is as much of an indictment of our ability to man press as it is McD's scheme. It has nothing to do with draft position. We agree White was better. I thought he was also better as lockdown guy when ocassionally had to do that.

I don't understand your point here. I'm suggesting Benford isn't the man press corner you think he is. You're saying because he's good at zone match concepts or whatever that means he's also good at man press? What do you mean when you say the cushion makes it harder to record? Benford is much better with a cushion imo than he is on the LOS. I'm surprised that you would disagree with that. I'd also argue part of the reason we play off the line so much more regardless of man or zone is because none of our corners are great at man press. Taron was better in prior years. It's possible I misremebered the Puka game. I thought Puka got him on more than that - he got everyone that day.

We played some version of a base cover 2 shell with corners giving up a ton of room underneath for the majority of the year. McD has always preferred that as his base defense, but we especially stuck to it last year (to much of our collective frustration). How many snaps was Benford lined up on the LOS? Less than 10%? I’m sorry, but saying he’s a great man defender because sometimes we switched to man with our guys still giving up 5-8 yards cushion isn’t exactly being fully honest about what happened. Benford isn’t Denzel Ward or even pre-ACL Tre. We’re not putting him on Puka or Jefferson or Chase and saying go slow those guys down. I believe we actually did try that for a quarter vs Puka and Benford got destroyed like everyone else. Again, I actually really like Benford. He’s a home run by any calculation, but he isn’t the type of corner you break the bank for imo.

Benford is really good in his role, but...I may be in the minority here...are we sure it's worth 20M+ AAV investment in a zone corner?

Assantane SamJackson?

I guess but we're talking about ~15M of 2025 cap space used on these guys. Presumably they were supposed to play. Seeding has proven to be a big deal for us notwithstanding the 2024 semis debacle. Being light up front could be the difference between a couple of wins to start the year depending on how the schedule is laid out.

Beane is the MVP. too soon?

So we go into the draft having bolstered our DL, DE, and WR while needing DL, DE, and WR. Outstanding. We still need DB help. I don't know who our starting FS is. Can Bishop move from SS to FS? Who starts opposite of Benford? Our list of obvious holes grows smaller and smaller. We're very clearly a legit SB contender at this stage, and it isn't just because of Josh.

Makes sense in theory. I will always advocate for guys who can separate so Josh can see them open as appose to throw them open which he isn’t great at. Im sure Chargers fans would tell us he’s a tease and that’s probably true. Fingers crossed. Edit: this takes the pressure off us having to reach in the draft. We should take a receiver anyway but don’t necessarily have to do so top 60 now if it isn’t there.

Right but Rousseau and Bernard were already on the roster so it's them + top 50 pick vs. Metcalf.

This is why I can't in good conscience criticize this regime too harshly. They targeted and aggressively went after Josh in the draft, developed him into the best player in the NFL, and have once again extended him at a below market contract. Well done.

I agree with OPer from the standpoint that we can take more swings early in the draft knowing we don't need to draft for need, except perhaps at 1T. The core group is locked up. Further to above, I feel like Beane has done a better job with upside picks in the first few rounds than need/depth picks where we've swung and missed badly a few times. Perhaps that alone is worth the cost of the paying home grown, non-star players.

I love Benford but does it really make sense to pay a zone corner 20M AAV? Edit: glazeduck beat me to it and said it way better

Probably not. Assuming Von gets cut, that only leaves Greg, Javon Solomon, and AJ on the 2025 roster. Plus, we only save 3M if we cut AJ, and he wasn't getting extended so...

I'd way rather see the money spent on the line for an already productive player than for a LBer that routinely gets wiped out if OL reaches second level.

Seems about fair. Rousseau is arguably a top 20 DE already and now he's paid like one. I will like this a lot better if we can find an actual threat from the right side. No more wasting snaps making Greg play from the blind side, please.

Yes, pectoral injuries are often a sign of "training" methods when players need extra help coming back from injuries or just looking for a boost in performance. Every Mike looks better with a better performing line but I found it troubling how often Bernard just gets wiped out. This was an issue in 2023 as well even though he made more splash plays. I would've had Rousseau, Benford, and Cook higher up on the re-sign list than Bernard, but i'll continue to wait on contract details before outright killing the deal. Bernard is a decent player, just not top-10-LBer-in-the-league good.

I don't mind doing extensions for younger guys we like coming off down years, but part of that has to be we're getting a bit of a discount. This feels like we paid full bang. I don't get it. There has to be more to this contract.

If we don’t extend or trade him, can Cook just sit out the year and become a FA or would his fourth year essentially remain unvested (i.e. he’d still be Bills property)? I understand that scenario probably isn’t likely but it makes a big difference to leverage in negotiations. Edit: if I’m Cook there’s no way I’m stepping back on the field without a new deal. Way too much risk and like it or not his market value has to be very now. Like, he’d probably get 15M as crazy as that sounds.

Dorian was a pleasant surprise but let’s not forget how much of a boost the defense got from Milano once he started looking better after the Lions game. Milano’s recognition more than makes up for the drop in speed. I doubt we make any real changes to LBer core for next year, though if we do it’s more likely to be Mike.

You mean through 2029 (rookie year four = 2025 + '26 + '27 + '28 + '29), unless you mean through the 2030 SB we're going to win, in which case YES!

Seems like a good deal for a core guy. "up to 60M" might mean there are incentives as appose to just an out after year three or whatever. Does this replace year four of his rookie deal? Could have cap implications.