Ethan in Cleveland

Maybe King was right about Belichick. The Pats dynasty was 75% or more due to Brady. Give BB credit for building a defense of veteran cast-offs to go with some truly great players at the ends of their careers. After that it was all Brady.

Good take. I love Harris out of the backfield but since I posted a couple months back that he would be my first round pick, I have switched to Etienne. He may be the closest thing to Faulk or Tomlinson that the league has seen in a while. I am admittedly biased as I think Thurman was the most important player in the K-gun offense. I love RB's that can kill you in the pass game. In many respects the league has moved on to TE/WR hybrids, but there is still a role for the pass catching RB.

If they say at 30, I think it will be Etienne. If they trade up it will be for an edge rusher they love. They need to score more points and rush the passer. That means RB, TE, and edge are immediate needs with a 1-tech DT and a C to develop for 2022.

Decent chance it is a rookie drafted in round 1 or 2 next week.

Move him outside and he is instantly the best OLB in football. He would be an absolute terror coming off the edge.

Lol...even Chandler 81 would probably agree Edmunds didn't deserve the ProBowl this year and it was a vote based on reputation not performance

While I like Wallace, I think another CB might have the best chance to make an impact. My rationale is the Bills play a lot of nickel and dime packages so another quality corner will get a chance to play. Also McD will want to evaluate a new corner so they can make a decision whether to move on from Wallace or not at the end of the season. Epenesa isn't going anywhere and a new rookie DE will probably not get that many snaps behind Hughes and Addison. As for RB, while I think the quality can be upgraded and I would be fine with a RB at 30, I am not sure Daboll will commit to the run enough to make a difference. Also the run blocking is still a big question mark, so even an upgrade in talent at RB may not get you that much impact.

Of course that played a role. But Schwartz also used those guys differently than a traditional front 4. Any scheme can work with great players. Schwartz had success before and after Buffalo. As for stopping the run, Pettine's defense was by far the worst. It was either the worst or second worst in franchise history.

Wade's defense was amazing but I think it is the system most dependent on a single position. It really depends on a stout NT.

They are an excellent team. No one in this thread even hinted they weren't. The specific ask was who was the worst starter. No one said they need to replace Allen or Diggs or Dawkins or Poyer or White. If Winters was still starting I'm sure he would have been called out as worst starter. There is a worst starter on every team.

As usual you bring nothing to the discussion. No facts. No analysis. No point of view. Just attack others and question our fandom. I even agree with you on Wallace, but provide an argument. You can't just say he is on a championship team ( which isn’t even correct) and therefore he is good. How does that make any sense?

Good thread. I've posted a lot about being more aggressive on defense but it needs to be balanced. That's why I chose Schwartz's defense. He seemed to have the most success getting pressure on the QB with the least amount of blitzing. That said, the two biggest plays of the year were made by Taron Johnson. And they were made by rushing four and dropping into zone coverage, and reading the QBs eyes. Maybe McD has it figured out more than I know.

On defense - Edmunds - this board mostly doesn't want to accept it but he was terrible last year. I have gone back and re-watched all the games and focused on him. He was just terrible. He still takes terrible angles to the ball carrier, he wasn't that good in pass coverage, and it is not because the DL was letting him get blocked. He just played really bad. Go back and watch for yourself. Watch him have his ankles broken by Cam Newton and give up a rushing TD on a scramble he should have stopped. He did have a real nice goal line tackle and I saw one pass break up that was nice. Other than that he was out of position, slow to respond, made tackles 8 or more yard downfield, and just not a difference maker. I know there is an entire thread devoted to Edmunds but the question was asked who is the weakest starter. Even Addison contributed more than Edmunds last year. On offense - I would tend to agree with the board and say it is Ford. However Feliciano didn't play particularly well either. Morse is terrible in run blocking. Ford didn't play well in either run or pass before getting hurt. He has about 8 to 10 games before he becomes a bust.

You are mostly correct. If you have a superstar QB, then you can can overcome some flaws. It just gets much harder. Look at the Seahawks. Their O-line and defense has fallen apart. Is that all because of Wilsons contract? No of course not. But it makes it harder. The Packers have not been able to build a decent defense in a decade to pair with Rodgers. Will the Chiefs be able to sustain this run when the real impact of Mahommes' contract kicks in? We will see.

Bills OL gets little push in run game. Is anyone confident they can pick up a 3rd and 2 rushing the ball? That said the optimal starting 5 did not play a single snap together last year. Stay the course and they should be fine. Beane has done a good job of upgrading the depth. For the record I thought the Winters signing was good and advocated for him to get playing time, but i was wrong. He was terrible in pass blocking. Boettger is not that much better but Winters was so bad it looked like an upgrade.

For the record I don't understand why people feel drafting for need is a bad thing? I agree if there is a run on OT's you don't want to take the 8th best OT when you could have a better player at another position.

Epenesa and Addison are not locks to start, so an edge could start. Realistically though its a rotation at DE and they all get snaps

Allen - self-evident Edmunds - P Brown was not brought back and they had no other viable option at MLB, traded up to fill the spot Knox - at the time he was drafted Kroft was the only TE on the roster Ford - Mills was not brought back creating an immediate need at RT Epenesa - edge was clearly a need but you could argue with the free agent moves before the draft this was not a true need at the time of the draft

Beane lies. He says he drafts BPA but drafts for need. He is an idiot if he is drafting for long term. The window to win the SuperBowl is now and next year. He should be drafting for immediate help! Now that can be nuanced. Drafting a 1-tech DT or edge early can fit both a short term and long term need. The only position that I would say should be drafted for long term is a true center so they can move on from Morse next year.

Thanks. That makes more sense. Always found it odd to see LBs and DEs in college in single digits. Seeing a guy in a number 6 that is 265 pounds destroying a QB always seemed out of place. I like tradition but that said I also embrace change. I would rather see the game be more fun than too rigid.

I don't know much about the other TEs. But here is the secret. Neither do the GMs. Kittle was taken in the 5th round and Kelce in the 3rd. The draft has been and always will be a weighted lottery.

Did I read this correctly? No LBs in the 50's???? I like the change with the exception of that. The greatest LBs of all time wore numbers in the 50s. That makes no sense.

I admit I don't know much about his blocking ability. I look at it two ways. If you are correct and he can block then you may be right he is the Lee Smith replacement. My hunch however is if they wanted a blocking TE they would have just kept Smith. I'm thinking they only carry 3 TEs next year and use the extra spot to keep an extra OL.

Why not trade down again? The top 3 WRs are all interchangeable as are the top 2 OT and top 2 CB. Assuming Pitts is gone by 6, they could move back 4 to 5 spots and still get the player they want.

Sadly McD does not seem to agree.