stevewin

Tyree McKittrick?

If anything, being short has helped plenty of backs in the NFL - making it tough for defenders to find them behind LOS

I also found that part especially interesting - the diligence to make those calls to help get an idea of what teams were thinking (to go along with the array of other data points) - Beane comes off more and more impressive to me each new interview I hear

This is what Beane said on Sirius yesterday

Brandon Beane on Sirius NFL Radio Movin’ the Chains 4/29 - Great offseason for Buffalo - Thanks - we like what we’ve been able to get done, the draft was fun. We felt like going into free agency we were able to hit enough of our needs that we didn’t have to go chase a certain position. The 3 tech was probably the one , losing Kyle Williams, that if you were going to pick a hole that we really wanted to come out of there with we did. We didn’t know if it would fall our way but we were sure thrilled that Ed Oliver was there at 9. - Oliver - It’s hard to be patient, believe me prior to the draft I made a lot of calls up and down, you know behind us to but especially – you know partly to find out who’s willing to move and who’s not – that way you kind of get an idea of who’s already sold on who they’re picking, and we kind of got an idea of the teams that were willing to move and then we also got an understanding of the teams who have a guy and based on what you’re hearing behing the scenes or putting two and two together of mocks of kind of who they like. We went through a lot of mock scenarios ourselves – think we did about 8 - we did some of just the first round, some of the first two rounds, and one all the way to our 74th pick in the 3rd round just to kind of give us an idea of the options we may get at 9. - Cody Ford - We thought he was a perfect fit, we had high grades on him, high enough that we looked as it got into the late 20s of the draft on Thurs night we were looking and talking. This draft was deep in a lot of areas, we didn’t want to throw too much at it. We had conversations, but we decided that along with him there were some tackles on the board that people may chase – so we remained patient but they started to come off pretty early in round 2 and fortunately for us we only had to move up two spots and give up the 5th to secure Cody - Singletary - I told our local media here he was the funnest guy I watched of all players. When you put the tape on he can make you miss in a phonebooth, he’s not a home run hitter, but his lateral quickness, his vision, I would say is rare. He’s an instinctive runner. He’s not tall but he’s got a good lower to him. His contact balance is very good. We just saw a guy who could crate on his own. One of the things you look at is what are the holes these guys are running through – at all levels – and I wouldn’t say he had a lot of holes – I would say he created a lot of that on his own. There were some plays that could have been a 3-4 yd loss and he got 5-6 out of it and you’re going how the heck did he do that. We liked him, we do think he fits, he brings a young guy in. We got a couple older guys in Lesean and Frank and we thought this was a good time to draft a new guy and let him learn from these guys - Vosean Joseph, Jaquan Johnson, Darryl Johnson - Vosean if you watch him is a very instinctive player, a little undersized maybe – but he makes a lot of plays, he plays bigger than his size. In this league you can have 2 down or 3 down backers and we feel this guy can match up and cover RBs and TEs . We just like his upside, he played with his hair on fire – we think he’ll help us on special teams to start out and then kind of learn – we go Lorenzo Alexander here who’s a veteran who can teach him and hopefully in year 2 he can compete to start at one of our outside spots. Jaquan is just a really good football player. He’s not a guy that tests well in T shirt and shorts – that’s one of the things we talked to the coaches about. I don’t think this guy is going to flash in May or June necessarily, but I think in 11 on 11, you get the pads on he’s just a really good football player. I saw him live at his bowl game and he was one of the best players on their defense. I think his game will translate – also a good special teams player Darryl Johnson, smaller level school – we sent one of our coaches and one of our personnel guys to spend some time with him and work him out. He’s got a lot of raw skills – we like it we think some it translates, awe thought it was worth a shot there. You’re always looking for rushers. Looking forward to getting him up here and start working with him - Knox - Opposite of some of the other guys I was talking about - he tests really well. Really good athlete, walk-on, kind of came in with a chip on his shoulder – former QB, realy smart, really understands the game, can see the wide lense of the field conceptually. At Ole Miss he did have a couple injuries that I think lowered his production. He’s also playing with AJ Brown, Metcalf, Damarkus Lodge so he wasn’t the first target. We think he’ll help our offense. The TE is a big part of this offense. He’s a fast guy who can work down the seam – he wasn’t asked to block a lot but when he was you saw a guy that would stick his face in there. He needs to clean up some technique but we like him as a dual threat that we can develop - Sweeney - Saw him a the senior bowl. Just a tough – not saying he’s a sexy pick but I think he’s a guy who’s going to learn the ropes and going to play in this league. Looking forward to getting him in here. Super smart, super tough, he’s just a really good football player. - Trades - I try to follow the board. When you can also answer a need that’s the perfect fit. If you’re in the 3rd round you don’t want to be reaching down to the 4th round to get guys. The Knox move, we had just picked Singletary and we saw some TEs coming off and we were worried – our next pick was 112 – and we’re like man I don’t think he’s going to be there – and then after that we just felt like it was going to start to drop off. So you go, you know if we want to get a TE, we need one, we’d like to get him at least at the value we had him. That’s my deal – if we can answer a need and do that without reaching then trade up – esp if he’s sticking out on your board that he’s worth the value – and he was the highest player on our board at that time. - Senior Bowl - I love it – the year before we drafted 4-5 guys from the senior bowl. I love the senior bowl. People for a while were leaning towards the underclassmen, the upside, but there’s something to be said for guys who have played 4-5 yrs. Maturity, they’re just older – maybe they haven’t been the guy that’s always been most sought after and they have the chip on their shoulder. A lot of these guys succeed – they want it more than a guy who’s maybe had his butt kissed a little bit. I really like those guys - it’s also an oppty to spend as much time with guys as we can. Last time to see these guys in pads.

I feel like this thread is destined to be re-visited next year a la the Josh Allen draft thread with many mea culpas from people about their ridiculously negative initial hot takes. If you look at one highlight you can see the whining about the 40 time is ridiculous. "Slow"? Give me a break. How many runs in the NFL start from a sprinters stance and go in a straight line untouched. Zero. The most important thing is to have vision and quickness to even get to the second level - and then have elusiveness and balance and strength once you get there. He has all of these. As someone mentioned, oh boy so maybe worst case we'll just have to settle for a bunch of 15-30 yd runs - that really sucks. People whine that the Bills need playmakers - they get one of the biggest playmakers in the draft and people complain it's not a WR or that it was in the wrong round. In one of his interviews he mentions his biggest strength is versatility - including receiving. Just because he wasn't used as a receiving back at FAU doesn't mean he can't do it. He also mentions that some teams had him line up with the receivers at the combine and he "caught them all" I think the Bills have had their eye on him for a long time to be their RB of the future, and think the Gore signing was possibly partly in anticipation of getting this player. The way Gore prepares and his approach to the game is legendary - what better situation than to bring in your dynamic RB of the future to learn under two future HOFers.

Former QB - expect plenty of TE Option plays

If his middle nickname is Lunchpail he'll be on the Wall of Fame

You can gain strength but can't teach physicality and nastiness. Good thing we have a new 18 million dollar performance center

Who is the huge dude in the blue shirt that dwarfs Ed. Can we draft him too?

wow

https://buffalonews.com/2019/04/25/bills-draft-houston-defensive-tackle-ed-oliver-with-first-round-pick/ Few good quotes Wow - when was the last time a first round pick said they were "praying" to go to Buffalo Also - looks like the new performance center was a good investment wrt a positive thing to attract players Happy to see them get a DT that can be disruptive and cause some havoc - need to get in Brady's face to beat the Cheaters, not just hold the LOS Edit : just watched the PC, where McD actually said Oliver "brings his lunchpail"

Shouldn't his arm be IN the sling?

Has to be the happiest I've ever seen a player go to the Bills

Raiders draft bar really rocking

He blacked out but will never forget

Complete with Left Shark

Such a weird crowd setup

Why do they waste time with this stupid intro

They better be careful what they stick their tongue on in there

Fitz should mix in a salad every once in a while

The Gillislee lamentation bordered on ridiculous. OK - it was ridiculous