Dr. Who

Really interesting. I've appreciated these write-ups.

I usually agree with Kirby, but I guess you have to be a graybeard to know. The qualitative is not captured by the quantitative.

Yeah, I'm hoping to get one of those guys in the second, even if you have to move up a bit to do so. I just don't like them at 30, and Bill From NYC's TV doesn't like them there, either.

Maybe, but they do this seemingly every year. It's that mad rush to .500 and the eighth pick in the draft. I'm still happy to see them play well, and I'll still hope it might finally presage a difference in the new season, but the worst result would be complacency and TP and, god help us, KA thinking this time the maturation will happen and all they have to do is have patience and tweek the roster. Personally, I don't trust UPL, but goalies are mercurial. They need to add a top 4 RD defensive D to pair with Power. And hire a proven, exceptional PP specialist coach (pay a premium, Terry); I'd like to see a lot of coaching turnover at the assistant level, but that is highly unlikely.

I share that old-fashioned preference. Who in the draft is likely to be that player? McMillan won't fall within range. Maybe Golden with a trade up. I just doubt Beane is willing to pay the price to get there.

The lesson there is draft a fella whose strengths play into what you want to do. But the other side of that is if your scheme isn't working, genuinely change it and make use of the skill set a player has to offer. Don't know what that bodes for CB, but I'm hoping they add some ballast on the DL.

I mean, I like Panda Express, too.

I'm an UGA fan. This fella has the swiftness of Hermes and stone hands. I don't think that's fixable, really. If you can do a hand transplant, yes, he could be a steal.

Folks are taking into account the fact that the Bills have spent a lot of time with the fella, so you hypothetically presume they are good with him if he gets selected. If you're not sure that is correct, this whole game is speculative projection based on hypotheticals. Bond brings an elite trait and could enhance the WR room precisely with a strength it needs to supplement. And to those who think Farmer is being overdrafted, and see that Bond is gathering the most alternate votes, it's not so surprising.

He means trade the 2026 Bills' first and 62 for someone's second round pick that is earlier than 62 and also their 2025 third round pick. You end up with Nolen at 30, Collins and Porter with your second round picks, and Thornton with the newly acquired third round pick. It's not incoherent, but it is irresponsible.

Of course, it's easy to note how the board fell, and adjust to a more optimum set of selections, but you are correct in your interpretation. And this is how you build a good team that lacks elite playmakers, which contributes to the failure to reach the SB.

Yes, that's likely. I think the general rule of thumb is drop a round, and everyone will figure the Bills will finish among the better teams.

I'd rather wait on West than take Farmer at 62. The DTs that should go in the second are gone.

I don't think it requires trading the 2026 1st, and if that was on the table, it would have to be as part of a move into the top of the draft for an elite player at a position that warrants that kind of expenditure. You don't agree. I understand that.

Well, I agree with the needs. How many of them can one plausibly expect Beane to even acknowledge? The WR question is just as divisive as the apportionment of resources. Are we forced to go CB in the first? I don't think so. There is a hierarchy of positional value that one should consider, but even there, I would personally not be dogmatic. If Malachi Starks was impossibly available, I take him no questions, for instance. If there were a genuine separator with plus skills at WR that would make sense in the first, I would go get him. Maybe Golden is that fella, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure that thought will not cross Beane's mind (and it would likely be prohibitively expensive to make that move). If there is a 1T that could stop the run and provide pass rush potential, I would prefer that over CB. I'd risk having to take the next level CB, or having to trade up to grab someone I was comfortable could be a starter at CB2, to get a DL of that caliber. Maybe that player just isn't there. Folks determine you're looking a at a two-down run stuffer, they want to wait and get someone later. In my view, I could see an upgrade at OG, taking a RB in a good draft for the position, a boundary WR with speed, TE, and maybe developmental QB on offense. WR is the urgent position on that side, though many refuse that assessment. Defense needs are CB2, 1T, Edge, and S is still a question mark. I think those who want to go heavy on DL would like to do so as part of a scheme change, and they're tacitly hoping McDermott realizes there needs to be a creative paradigm shift on his side of the ball that might include more ballast in the trenches. In sum, there's probably too much to accomplish in one draft, but one can't help sensing that it's important to get to the SB in these years of Josh Allen's optimal window. If there is an elite talent that falls within range of a trade, Beane should be aggressive. What would frustrate is the usual approach that covets high-floor safe picks where the ceiling is decent player that disappears when it matters most.

I'm not trading a 2026 first for that.

I'm not against addressing the secondary early if if matches BPA, or close enough. I don't agree with your implicit premise that improving the DL means stopping the run exclusively. I think it makes sense to add a 1T that can reliably plug the middle, yes, but I'd also like to get someone who can provide pass rush up the middle and collapse the pocket. That effectively helps the secondary as well. If you want to counter that getting the ball out quickly negates the pass rush tout court, that would eliminate efforts to get an EDGE, too, which evidently is taking an observation beyond reasonable team building. Here is a further question: if quality opponents can operate that way, why is Josh running all over the field hoping someone gets open? You know, of course, its the WR separation problem. So maybe that would suggest other roster additions that ought to be prioritized, but let's just stick with DL.

Golden is a nice player, imo. I'd be thrilled to get him at 30. He won't be there, and the cost to move up and get him is tough given the multiple needs on D.

They could do that partially because they have invested heavily and hit on early round DL picks in prior drafts, though your point remains.

Yes, I selected Watts for the reasons you enumerated. I live near Athens and am more aware of the SEC. Those other Edge players are worth a day 3 shot as well.

I've got a day 3 sleeper for you that can do that as well. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, UGA. He's listed as a DT, but he is an Edge that can play inside.

Given those alternatives, I'd rather have one of the aforementioned DTs and Porter, but as the poet, Virgil, once said, you could always trade up a bit from 56 and end up with Amos and Collins, for example.

Jackson is already gone. I think this does show that the notion that it's a deep draft at DT, so take a CB early is not as obvious a gambit as many assume. What an uninspiring mix of alternatives.

I wasn't planning on back-to-back DT, but then Williams kept sliding, and there he was sitting there at 56, and I thought, what the hell, let's be really good in the middle of the DL. 30. Derrick HarmonDT Oregon 56. Tyleik WilliamsDT Ohio State 62. Darien PorterCB Iowa State 109. Dont'e ThorntonWR Tennessee 132. Sai'vion JonesEDGE LSU 169. Clay WebbOG Jacksonville State 170. Kitan CrawfordS Nevada 173. Mitchell EvansTE Notre Dame 177. Zah FrazierCB UTSA 206. Shaun DolacLB Buffalo

I agree with this. Really, it's going to come down to individual evaluations and who falls within range, and there's no way to anticipate that with much accuracy. I can think of 3 or 4 players that might fall that would tempt me. I think Beane should be prepared to make a big move if something develops. If it doesn't, the strength of the draft is as you say. Either move up for a player you think can be elite, or, if anything, you'd like to find a way to maybe add a third rounder and have four picks in the first two days. I would consider moving up for Grant, who I like a lot, and for Barron. I personally really like Starks, even though I suppose folks would lose their minds if we took a safety in the first. And some folks have mentioned Golden. The only WR I would trade up for would be McMillan if he unaccountably fell within range, though if we end up going some combination of CB and DT early, I think Beane should add at WR either with the remaining second rounder, or a third rounder that he'd have to finagle. Kyle Williams would be my target. I don't think he makes it to day 3.