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I think another interesting comparison might be with the 2021 roster. Despite not making it to the Championship game (as they did in 2020), I think 2021 was the year that we all thought they could/should go on to win it all...probably the best team in the McDermott era to date. Pos 2021 2024 QB Allen, Trubisky Allen, Trubisky RB Singletary, Moss Cook, Davis WRs Diggs Shakir Sanders Samuel Davis Coleman Duke Wiliams Claypool, MVS Kumerow, Hodgins Hollins, Hamler TE Knox Kincaid. Knox LT Dawkins Dawkins LG Feliciano Edwards C Morse McGovern RG Ford Torrence RT Williams Brown So, quarterback is a push. I'm taking Cook and Davis over Singletary and Moss. Diggs wins the #1 WR battle for the 2021 squad, but from there down, I'm taking the 2024 WRs over the 2021 WR corps. Kincaid/Knox is better than Knox/no one. Dawkins is a push. Not much difference between Feliciano and Edwards probably. As of now, Morse wins the center position, but I'm taking Torrence and Brown over Ford and Williams on the right side (although Williams played well in 2021). Pos 2021 2024 LDE Addison Rousseau NT Lotulelei Jones DT Oliver Oliver RDE Hughes Epenesa/Miller WLB Milano Milano MLB Edmunds Bernard SCB Johnson Johnson CB White/Jackson Douglas CB Wallace Benford SS Poyer Rapp FS Hyde Bishop I'm taking Rousseau over Addison, and Daquan over Star. Oliver, Milano, and Taron are all pushes (provided Milano is back to form). I'm taking Epenesa and Miller over Hughes for two reasons, where Jerry was in his career at the time and the hope that Von returns to form---but I could see someone taking the other side on that to. I'm taking Bernard over Edmunds at Mike. And Benford gets the nod over Wallace. Obviously, Hyde and Poyer win the safety battle easy. Then there is Tredavious vs. Rasul. I would give the nod to Tre, but he missed the last 6 games of the year and the two playoff games in 2021, so I'm taking a healthy Rasul over 2021 Tre/Jackson. I honestly do not see any reason why we can't still go on a deep playoff run. The only players I picked from the 2021 squad over the 2024 squad were Diggs, Morse, Poyer, and Hyde. I don't think center will be a problem or that big a drop-off. So, to me, the only major question marks (personnel-wise in comparison to 2021) are can McDermott get the younger safeties up-to-speed? I don't expect them to have the knowledge and rapport of Hyde and Poyer, but are they good enough to keep the drop-off to a minimum and hold their own? And, developing DBs does seem to be a strength for McD, so crossing my fingers. And then, without Diggs, how will the rest of the WR corps handle things? But, with Kincaid in the mix, way better depth, Shakir maturing, and Josh Allen distributing the ball, I really do think we will be fine without Diggs (just mo).

Fun game to play is see if you can't count the number of Bills player in that clip. I've said it before guy needs to invest in a jugs machine, also it's year 3, so it really behooves him to get it figured out. RBs don't make sense to get 2nd contracts usually but if it's one that also functions as a major part of the passing game that's different. I think I remember his press conference maybe him saying that he feels healthier than he's been in a long time. Obviously take it with a grain of salt from the player but that'd definitely be something I'd like to see, it's sad when things like that get in the way of a player even more when you can see he's got some talent. They're no Duke Williams though.

28 Graham Barton IOL | Duke 63 Michael Hall Jr. DL | Ohio State TRADE 94 Jermaine Burton WR | Alabama TRADE 106 Javon Baker WR | UCF TRADE 132 Tykee Smith S | Georgia TRADE 144 Isaac Guerendo RB | Louisville 160 Mason McCormick IOL | South Dakota State 163 Justin Eboigbe DL | Alabama 200 Jalyx Hunt EDGE | Houston Baptist 204 Braiden McGregor EDGE | Michigan 211 Tyrice Knight LB | UTEP TRADE 248 Evan Williams S | Oregon 251 Jaden Crumedy DL | Mississippi State

Kumerow was 6'4". Duke Williams was 6'3". He's had a monster. And he's had other guys who can go up and make contested catches, including Davis and Diggs. Height isn't a non-factor. But it shouldn't be in the top three either. Fast, separation and a proven ability to run a varied route tree and to be effective at all levels should be higher priorities.

I think the bills will be fine with the wr group they have but this season feels much like the 2019 season setting up for a splash at the position next year. I do think this group has much more depth than we every have had 2019 WR/TE group: John brown (averaged 586 yards per season prior) Cole Beasley (averaged 467 yards per season prior) Mckenzie (averaged 98 yards per season prior) knox (Rookie) duke williams (Rookie) robert foster (541 yards rookie season) 2020: diggs (averaged 924 for yards per season prior) Beasley (averaged 506 for yards per season prior) brown (averaged 715 for yards per season prior) mckenzie (averaged 154 for yards per season prior) davis (Rookie) knox (388 yards rookie season) 2024: samuel (averaged 483 for yards per season prior) shakir (averaged 386 for yards per season prior) kincaid (673 rookie season) knox (averaged 393 for yards per season prior) coleman (Rookie) MVS (averaged 525 for yards per season prior) claypool (averaged 376 for yards per season prior) Hollins (averaged 281 for yards per season prior)

Kerley joined a room that also included Robert Foster in 2018...were Kerley and Pryor brought in for ST? Sanders as a #2, "stretching the field"...on his 6th team in 12 years (4th in 3 seasons)? At age 34? Come on! Anyway he sprained his knee in week 14, back in week 16. They released him at the end and he retired. Andre Holmes and Andre Roberts were brought in as excellent ST players and "backup starters" at WRs? They were backing up the star packed WR room of Benjamin, Bath Salt Jones, "Kerley Thompson and Pryor"?? good point! Crowder was pushing 30 , sparing used in 4 games then got hurt. As a receiver in the NFl, he was pretty much done--except the inept Commanders couldn't resist giving him more money for nothing. As it turns out, Duke Williams clearly did not have the talent to play in the NFL---and he had never demonstrated such before Beane figured he would be good enough for the Bills. Isabella has yet to make any impact at all in the NFL. He touched the ball once for the Bills. 25 ST snaps. 2 Offensive snaps. It's a waste of a roster spot--a guy you can't use anywhere. Brown (32.0), despite being passed around by 3 teams the previous season (and recording zero catches), was "elevated" off the PS 5 days after signing and played in their next 2 games. Other receivers in the game were Diggs, Davis, McKenzie, Knox, Shakir..... The draft was always available to address the WR room...

Understood on "not going to go back through", but if you have any clue about how far in it was, I'd appreciate it. I heard a lot of "don't need a true #1" "#1 by committee" prior to the 2019 season. Now admittedly, we upgraded our WR room with John Brown and Cole Beasley, though relative to Fat Kelvin, Bloody Zay Jones, Bob Foster, Andre Holmes, and Deonte Thompson, that was a pretty low bar to achieve. The bottom line, though, was that when it came to the playoffs where teams had had all season to watch film on us, it simply wasn't enough and Josh Allen was throwing passes at critical junctures to Duke Williams and Pat DiMarco. I don't want to go back there. Even if (as some suggest) Khalil Shakir takes a big step, Dalton Kincaid continues to develop, and Curtis Samuel has something akin to his previous career best year, I don't think it's enough, and I'm concerned Beane does or will "settle" for it.

Nooooooo. Why are we always obsessed with underachieving former WRs like Hodgins, McKenzie, Robert foster, Kumerow, duke williams. We do NOT need guys like Hodgins. We bring him in to do what, take snaps away from an actual promising guy like Shakir? I’m happy our collective fanbase agreed (mostly) that Gabe should walk for the $$, we’re getting smarter. We do not need a collection of WR3’s. At this point if beane can’t swing for a Hollywood brown or a M Williams then it’s the draft and it better be a rd 1 pick or I’ll feel helpless. No more settling for depth wrs for Josh. Were neglecting it.

This is such a a bad take. It's like only big name players like TO or nothing. Player development is a thing. Guys emerge from PS or low draft picks to become solid players. Hodgins has been injured. He has trouble staying healthy, but lots of solid flashes. He's closer to Stevie Johnson than he is Duke Williams. I like the player and think he would be a decent option to come into a camp and fight for a roster spot. He's a solid vet.

When Beane traded a 3rd round pick for Kelvin Benjamin in his 4th year, and assumed his fully-guaranteed 5th year option (already picked up by CAR) he expected him to "solve his WR room issues". Emmanuel Sanders was also brought in to start as a John Brown replacement, a guy fast enough to get open down field and be #2 opposite Diggs. Jameson Crowder was brought in as Plan B in case McKenzie couldn't justify increased playing time. Those 3 guys were, in fact, intended to be starters or potential starters ("solve issues in the WR room"). Benjamin got injured and lost motivation, Sanders and Crowder just got injured. Bad on Beane that he couldn't predict that I guess? Sanders and Crowder played well before they were injured. Deonte Harty was a whiff by Beane, I grant that. If you're trying to make a "simple" point that the rest of that gang were brought in to "solve our WR issues", your point sailed "wide right. Andre Holmes, Andre Roberts, Jake Kumerow, Trent Sherfield, and now Mack Hollins were brought in as excellent ST who could "back up" the starters at WR. That would be a very strange definition of "brought in to solve WR issues". [Folks here can disagree that it's worthwhile to give a #5 or #6 slot to a ST player, but it's how Beane and McDermott roll, and that's different than pretending they were "brought in to solve our WR issues". They weren't. Duke Williams and Andy Isabella were both brought in as guys with the physical talent to succeed in the NFL, who could play on the Scout Team and maybe be elevated and fill in for a game or two if someone got hurt. I know it fights the "narrative" here, but same is true of Brown and Beasley 2.0: they weren't brought in to "solve WR issues", they were signed to the PS to be elevated and available in case of injury to starters at the end of the season, when we had already lost 2 WR to IR. Kerley Thompson, and Pryor were signed in 2018, when we didn't have a WR room beyond Fat Kelvin and Bath Salts Jones.

I would stay at 28 and draft AD Mitchell who should be there for us, in the 2nd round I'd trade pick 60 plus our 2nd (Bills) round pick in 2025 (it may take a bit more since I'm not around a draft value chart atm) and move up to take either Xavier Legette/Ladd McKonkey. We still have our 1st next year and Minnesota's 2nd next year which should be a high pick. and our WR core looks like this: AD Mitchell Curtis Samuel Khalil Shakir Ladd McKonkey or Xavier Legette Mack Hollins Justin Shorter I'd like some home grown WR prospects other than going out and not only spending draft picks but having to sign guys to WR 1 money right out of the gate. Allen made the playoffs with John Brown, Cole Beasley, Zay Jones and Duke Williams at WR so he sure as hell could do wonders with the above. It will take some time and getting used to the new guys for sure but I think it will work out great in the end.

But that was a team built through its defense. I mean Duke freaking Williams was our #1 pass catching target in that game. We had 3 below average starters on the line in Ford, Feliciano, and Spain. On defense the entire starting roster was on the field. White, Milano, Edmunds, Oliver, Lotulelei, Hyde, Poyer, Johnson. Many of those players in their prime. That was supposed to be the unit that led us to victory, not a still learning Josh Allen and his below average supporting cast. And you say teams can't win playoff games scoring 16 points and getting shut out in the 2nd half. The Chiefs just won the AFCCG scoring 17 points and getting shut out in the 2nd half. Against a better offense than what the Texans fielded in 2019. Their team like our 2019 Bills was built through the defense, with a deficit of talent on the offensive side (although still vastly superior to what we fielded in 2019). Why was Spagnuolo able to make that formula work and McDermott wasn't?

The long list is this: Benjamin, Kerley, Andre Holmes, Deonte Thompson, Robert Foster, McKenzie, Terrell Pryor (lol), Duke Williams, Kumerow, Emanuel Sanders, Crowder, Brown/Beasley (again!!), Tanner Gentry, Harty, Sherfield.... It isn't about how much money was NOT spend on these guys (they are all bottom salary feeders anywhere)--it's that with a roster really in need of WR help perennially, this is the parade that briefly passed through the locker room. They were low/zero impact signings who were usually quickly dumped.. Beasley and Brown were solid pickups. Beasley/Brown 2.0 midseason was beyond bizarre--a desperation move by a GM still struggling to find ball catching weapons. Now it seems the Bills are going all in on the draft , hoping for a hit at WR, to solve this serious and chronic gap.

DRAFT SELECTIONS PICK: 28 RND: 1 (BUF) Graham BARTON OT Duke PROFILE PICK: 60 RND: 2 (BUF) Kingsley SUAMATAIA OT BYU PROFILE PICK: 128 RND: 4 (BUF) Cam HART CB Notre Dame PROFILE PICK: 134 RND: 4 (BUF) Nehemiah PRITCHETT CB Auburn PROFILE PICK: 144 RND: 5 (BUF) Jalyx HUNT S-EDGE Houston Christian PROFILE PICK: 160 RND: 5 (BUF) Luke MCCAFFREY WR Rice PROFILE PICK: 163 RND: 5 (BUF) Hunter NOURZAD C Penn State PROFILE PICK: 196 RND: 6 (BUF) Zion TUPUOLA-FETUI DE-EDGE Washington PROFILE PICK: 200 RND: 6 (BUF) Myles MURPHY DL North Carolina PROFILE PICK: 204 RND: 6 (BUF) Tyler OWENS S Texas Tech PROFILE PICK: 248 RND: 7 (BUF) Miyan WILLIAMS RB Ohio State

Not a simulator, just my final first round and full Bills mock draft 1- Chicago - Caleb Williams, QB, USC 2- Washington - Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU 3- New England - Drake Maye, QB, UNC 4- Arizona - Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, OSU 5- LA Chargers - *Trade* - Giants - JJ McCarthy, QB, UM 6- NY Giants - *Trade* - Chargers - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU 7- Tennessee - Joe Alt, OT, ND 8- Atlanta - Laiatu Latu. Edge, UCLA 9- Chicago - *Trade* - Saints - Olu Fashanu-OT, PSU 10- NY Jets - Taliese Fuaga, OT, OSU 11- Minnesota - Dallas Turner, DE, BAMA 12- Denver - *TRADE* - Eagles - Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia 13- Las Vegas - JC Latham, OL, BAMA 14- New Orleans - *TRADE* - Chicago - Byron Murphy, DT, Texas 15- Indianapolis - Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia 16- Seattle - Troy Fautanu, OL, UWA 17- Jacksonville - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo 18- Cincinnati - Tyler Guyton - OL - Oklahoma 19- LA Rams - Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas 20- Pittsburgh - Graham Barton - OL - Duke 21- Miami - Jackson Powers Johnson, OL, Oregon 22- Philadelphia - *Trade* Broncos - AD Mitchell, WR, Texas 23- Minnesota - *TRADE* Ravens - Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona 24- Dallas - Chop Robinson, DE, PSU 25- Green Bay - Cooper Dejean, DB, Iowa 26- Tampa Bay - Jared Verse, DE, FSU 27- Arizona - Kool Aid McKistry, CB, BAMA 28- Buffalo - *TRADE* - Washington - Patrick Paul - OT, Houston 29- Detroit - Brian Thomas, WR, LSU 30- Baltimore -*TRADE* Minnesota - Kris Jenkins, DT, Michigan 31- San Francisco - Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson 32- Kansas City - Darius Robinson, DL, Mizzou Bills pick Bills got 40 and 78 from Commanders 40- Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon 60- Trey Benson, RB, FSU 78- Ruke Ohrororo DT Clemson 108- Kam Kinchens, S, Miami Bills trade 128 and 133 to Vikings 144- Javion Cohen, OL, Miami 160- Willie Drew, DB, Virginia State 163- Luke McCaffrey, WR, Rice 200- Brennen Jackson, DE, WSU 204- MJ Devonshire, CB, Pitt 248- Ryan Flournoy, WR, SEMU

R1:28 Laiatu Latu Edge UCLA R2:60 Ja'Lynn Polk WR Washington R3:99 Cole Bishop S Utah R4:128 DeWayne Carter DL Duke R5:158 Evan Williams S Oregon R5:161 Fabien Lovett DL Florida State R6:197 Jacob Cowing WR Arizona R6:201 Braiden McGregor Michigan EDGE R6:205 Dylan McMahon C NC State R7:245 Isaac Guerendo RB Louisville

28: R1 P28 WR Troy Franklin - Oregon 60: R2 P28 S Tyler Nubin - Minnesota 98: R3 P34 DL McKinnley Jackson - Texas A&M 128: R4 P28 WR Jacob Cowing - Arizona 161: R5 P25 C Drake Nugent - Michigan 164: R5 P28 DL DeWayne Carter - Duke 195: R6 P20 EDGE Brennan Jackson - Washington State 199: R6 P24 S Evan Williams - Oregon 203: R6 P28 EDGE Austin Booker - Kansas 247: R7 P28 RB Dylan Laube - New Hampshire

Wasn't circular at all. My argument is that there are no rebuilds when you have a franchise QB. You always make a run for the Super Bowl, every year. You responded by talking about a team that had a nearly 40 year old, rapidly declining QB, that was once great but is no longer considered a top tier NFL player. Perhaps you are confused by my definition of "franchise" QB. To me, that is not just a guy you have for a while. Its meaning is a top tier NFL QB. Is Jim Kelly a franchise QB right now? Of course not. But he was once. Age diminishes skill. Just as it did with Rodgers. There is a reason why the Jets are the only team in the entire NFL who was interested in trading for him. 10 years ago, there would have been half a dozen suitors all bidding against each other for Rodgers services. But there wasnt last year - because he was turning 40 years old and the NFL had seen a decline in his play. You mean like when he took the team to the playoffs in his second year and had 350+ yards by himself against Houston in a game where McD's defense crapped the bed on the final drive? A game where we were up by 2 scores at one point? The game where his top receivers were John Brown and Duke Williams? Diggs didn't make Allen. Just like Hill didn't make Mahomes.

I thought (I could be wrong) that NFL.com used the official data from the combine. They typically lack data from players who didn't participate in drills at the combine, for example, even if data from their college pro days is out there. Of course a typo is possible anywhere, I guess. I'm not paying so much attention to his height and weight, as to his scouting report because Zierlein usually says stuff I nod about if I come back to it in a couple years. I "get it" that there's an argument to be made for BPA, but taken to its extreme obviously you could wind up with a team full of DE and no DT or something. So "need" has to crawl into there somehow. Like many here, my perception of the Bills current best receivers (Kincaid, Samuel, Shakir) is that all of them do their best work with a free release, and none of them are at their best trying to win a release against press man on the boundary. Samuel can do it, but I think I read his most recent years have been ~75% of his snaps from the slot. Shakir can play on the boundary but at best "he has to demonstrate" against press man and his short arms handicap him there. IMO, we really have lacked someone with the tools to win against "sticky" physical coverage even with Diggs on the team the last couple of years and it's cost us in playoffs. It certainly cost us in 2019 when our top receivers were 5'10 John Brown and 5'8" Cole Beasley, and Allen wound up directing critical throws to Duke Williams and Pat DiMarco in the playoffs 'cuz Brown and Beasley were being erased. So when I read stuff like " lacks play strength and release quickness to defeat a quality NFL press" and "lacks the physical tools to catch when contested and needs to prove he can hold up to a more physical brand of football" as well as "needs to improve efficiency and quickness getting off the ball. Lack of hand strength gets him bullied on contested catches......Takes reps off when he’s not expecting the throw to come his way......Fails to adjust his speed to ball placement consistently enough." I have a hard time seeing him as the right match of "need-adjusted BPA" or whatever it is being called now. Of course, as Beane has pointed out, there are different ways to fill needs, so if he falls to us and we've rated him as BPA because they have enthusiasm for his potential, So Be It but I'm going to have uncomfortable CJ Spiller flashbacks if the Bills trade up for the guy. I honestly can't pretend to know enough about college football to have a meaningful personal opinion about who we should draft, but I do have views about where the Bills current roster has shown itself lacking the previous season and likely to lack after new-league-year roster moves.

R1:28 ADP Laiatu Latu UCLA EDGE GRADE A R2:60 ADP Kris Jenkins Michigan DL GRADE A R3:99 ADP Ja'Lynn Polk Washington WR GRADE A R4:128 ADP Cole Bishop Utah S GRADE A+ R5:158 ADP DeWayne Carter Duke DL GRADE A R5:161 ADP Evan Williams Oregon S GRADE B R6:197 ADP Jacob Cowing Arizona WR GRADE B R6:201 ADP Andrew Raym Oklahoma C GRADE D R6:205 ADP Braiden McGregor Michigan EDGE GRADE D R7:245 ADP Marcellas Dial South Carolina

28: R1 P28 EDGE Bralen Trice - Washington 60: R2 P28 WR Xavier Legette - South Carolina 98: R3 P34 WR Roman Wilson - Michigan 128: R4 P28 S Tykee Smith - Georgia 161: R5 P25 C Drake Nugent - Michigan 164: R5 P28 DL DeWayne Carter - Duke 195: R6 P20 TE Theo Johnson - Penn State 199: R6 P24 S Evan Williams - Oregon 203: R6 P28 DL Fabien Lovett - Florida State 247: R7 P28 EDGE Jalyx Hunt - Houston Baptist

1:28 ADP Laiatu Latu UCLA EDGE GRADE A R2:60 ADP DeWayne Carter Duke DL GRADE A R3:99 ADP Ja'Lynn Polk Washington WR GRADE A R4:128 ADP Theo Johnson Penn State TE GRADE A R5:158 ADP Dylan McMahon NC State C GRADE A R5:161 ADP Evan Williams Oregon S GRADE A R6:197 ADP Jacob Cowing Arizona WR GRADE B R6:201 ADP Javon Solomon Troy EDGE GRADE B R6:205 ADP Kitan Oladapo Oregon State S GRADE A R7:245 ADP Keith Randolph Jr. Illinois

28: R1 P28 WR Ladd McConkey - Georgia 60: R2 P28 WR Johnny Wilson - FSU 98: R3 P34 S Calen Bullock - USC 128: R4 P28 DL Keith Randolph Jr. - Illinois 161: R5 P25 DL Justin Eboigbe - Alabama 164: R5 P28 DL DeWayne Carter - Duke 195: R6 P20 TE Theo Johnson - Penn State 199: R6 P24 S Evan Williams - Oregon 203: R6 P28 EDGE Brian Ugwu - Miami 247: R7 P28 EDGE Jaylen Harrell - Michigan

28: R1 P28 WR Brian Thomas Jr. - LSU 60: R2 P28 S Kamren Kinchens - Miami 98: R3 P34 WR Roman Wilson - Michigan 128: R4 P28 DL Keith Randolph Jr. - Illinois 161: R5 P25 C Drake Nugent - Michigan 164: R5 P28 DL DeWayne Carter - Duke 195: R6 P20 LB Omar Speights - LSU 199: R6 P24 S Evan Williams - Oregon 203: R6 P28 EDGE Brennan Jackson - Washington State 247: R7 P28 TE Tip Reiman - Illinois

Welcome one and all to Draft Day!! It's finally here. It has felt like a long time coming. As has become traditional now I publish a compendium of my draft content from the past few months on the day of the draft, or sometimes just before. Hopefully people find it useful to refer back to as the draft progresses but equally it serves as a useful archive for what I thought at the time when we look back. For example, when we have been talking about the relative strength of receiver classes this year it has been a useful cross reference back to other strong receiver group such as 2020 etc. It helps us remember where I was right and where I was wrong - and don't worry, I'm wrong plenty! I have graded 140 players this year and it is an interesting class. I think there is a small cluster of true elite guys at the top and then there is a real nice group of mid to late first round talent and that pattern continues through day 2. I don't think it is the deepest class though. Plenty has been made of the reduced number of underclassmen coming out and what you have this year is a ton of older prospects, especially on day 3, who might be at or close to their physical peak and have either had interesting journeys at the college level or have underachieved their expectations. That isn't to say some of those guys won't be productive NFL players, but I think it is going to be harder to find diamonds in the rough in this class. Most of them have been well polished and are not that shiny! Okay... onto business. Already published: My 2024 Draft Sleepers with an additional couple of added names My 2024 Quarterback evaluations My FINAL 2024 Mock Draft As ever the new content that I pull together for this thread is: A full list of my 21 first round grades; An analysis of my top 100; Positional top 5s. [Key: * denotes medical concern; ^ denotes potential off-field / behavioural concern] First Round Grades: 1. Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame 2. Marvin Harrison Jnr, WR, Ohio State 3. Malik Nabers, WR, LSU 4. Caleb Williams, QB, USC 5. Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois* 6. Rome Odunze, WR, Washington 7. Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo 8. Laiatu Latu, DE, UCLA* 9. Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama 10. Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State 11. Dallas Turner, DE, Alabama 12. Jared Verse, DE, Florida State 13. Byron Murphy, DT, Texas 14. Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina 15. Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson 16. Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa* 17. Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia* 18. Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina 19. Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona 20. Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia 21. Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama I also then have five 1st/2nd round borderline grades. They are: 22. Brian Thomas, WR, LSU*; 23. Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington; 24. Chop Robinson, DE, Penn State; 25. Taliese Fuage, OT, Oregon State; 26. Graham Barton, IOL, Duke. Analysis of the top 100: Here is the positional breakdown of my top 100:- Quarterback: 6 Running Back: 5 Tight End: 3 Wide Receiver: 20 Offensive Tackle: 12 Interior Offensive Line: 10 Total offensive players: 56 Interior Defensive Line: 9 Edge Rusher: 10 Linebacker: 4 Corner: 13 Safety: 8 Total defensive players: 44 Strengths and Weaknesses of the top 100: This is a strong offensive draft at the top - helped significantly by the fact that there is a really good crop of wide receivers that could, and most will, go in the first two days. There is also a really good oline group. That broadly breaks down to - offensive tackles early (8 of the 12 tackles in my top 100 are actually in my top 40) and interior offensive line later (only 2 of the 10 interior offensive linemen are in my top 40). Those groups and an interesting Quarterback class that has some ability but has some holes too make up for a draft that is weak at running back in terms of bona-fide RB1s at the NFL level and very weak at tight end (my third tight end in the top 100 just sneaks in at #97). Tight end classes seem to go in odd years. Last year was a decent group, this year was very thin - that probably means 2025 will be stronger again. In terms of defense, it's a strange class on many ways. I think the corner group is pretty solid. There are some clear tiers in there, the top 5 then a group of round two guys, then a group of scheme specific types that can go rounds 3 and 4. And the safety class while lacking a standout star has a lot of guys who I think will go between late 2nd and mid 4th and could well be good long term NFL starters. The defensive line group is had to get a handle on. I think the top two interior guys and the top 3 edge guys are pretty good. They are all legit first round talents. When you get beyond that though you get scheme specific very quickly. I've said multiple times that my group of 2nd round grades at the edge spot probably all want to play as a 3-4 outside backer who is almost exclusively in a 2 point stance. The third and fourth rounds are thin at the spot and again you are going to have them graded all over the place by teams because the scheme specificity for some these guys is pretty clear. Finally it isn't a good linebacker group. I think since I started doing this off the ball linebacker is the position that feels like it has had the most consistent drop off in the depth of quality players available in drafts. As college defenses get increasingly multiple finding guys you can plug into base defenses in the NFL at mike linebacker in particular is getting more difficult. Once you go beyond the top 100 to 120 it starts to thin out. Kinda the opposite of last year when the top of my board was pretty sparse through the first two rounds but then like a Christmas tree it thickened out lower down. This board looks a bit more top heavy but I think this is one of the better top 100s of recent years - and certainly my 100th ranked player is almost a full round higher than he was in 2023 in terms of grade. Positional Top 5s: (round I have them graded in parenthesis) Quarterback 1. Caleb Williams, USC (1st) 2. Drake Maye, North Carolina (1st) 3. Michael Penix Jnr*, Washington (2nd) 4. Jayden Daniels, LSU (2nd) 5. Bo Nix, Oregon (3rd) Running Back 1. Jonathan Brooks, Texas (2nd) 2. Trey Benson, Florida State (2nd) 3. Jaylen Wright, Tennessee (3rd) 4. MarShawn Lloyd, USC (3rd) 5. Blake Corum, Michigan (3rd) Wide Receiver 1. Marvin Harrison Jnr, Ohio State (1st) 2. Malik Nabers, LSU (1st) 3. Rome Odunze, Washington (1st) 4. Xavier Legette, South Carolina (1st) 5. Brian Thomas Jnr*, LSU (1st/2nd) Tight End 1. Brock Bowers, Georgia (1st) 2. Ja'Tavion Sanders, Texas (2nd) 3. Cade Stover, Ohio State (3rd) 4. Ben Sinnott, Kansas State (4th) 5. Theo Johnson, Penn State (4th) Offensive Tackle 1. Joe Alt, Notre Dame (1st) 2. Olu Fashanu, Penn State (1st) 3. Amarius Mims*, Georgia (1st) 4. Jordan Morgan, Arizona (1st) 5. Troy Fautanu, Washington (1st/2nd) Interior Offensive Line 1. Graham Barton, Duke (1st/2nd) 2. Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon (2nd) 3. Christian Haynes, UConn (2nd) 4. Zach Frazier, West Virginia (2nd) 5. Christian Mahogany, Boston College (3rd) Interior Defensive Line 1. Jer'Zhan Newton*, Illinois (1st) 2. Byron Murhpy, Texas (1st) 3. Braden Fiske, Florida State (2nd) 4. Kris Jenkins, Michigan (2nd) 5. T'Vondre Sweat^, Texas (2nd) EDGE 1. Laiatu Latu*, UCLA (1st) 2. Dallas Turner, Alabama (1st) 3. Jared Verse, Florida State (1st) 4. Chop Robinson, Penn State (1st/2nd) 5. Bralen Trice, Washington (2nd) Linebacker 1. Payton Wilson, North Carolina State (2nd) 2. Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M (2nd) 3. Jeremiah Trotter, Clemson (3rd) 4. Junior Colson, Michigan (3rd) 5. Jordan Magee, Temple (4th) Corner 1. Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo (1st) 2. Terrion Arnold, Alabama (1st) 3. Nate Wiggins, Clemson (1st) 4. Cooper DeJean, Iowa (1st) 5. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama (1st) Safety 1. Tyler Nubin, Minnesota (2nd) 2. Calen Bullock, USC (2nd) 3. Jaden Hicks, Washington State (3rd) 4. Cole Bishop, Utah (3rd) 5. Javon Bullard, Georgia (3rd) Final thoughts I think in terms of the names that we can expect to come off the board tonight there are not going to be too many shocks. Possibly one or two offensive tackles or wide receivers that had been pegged more as day two types by many sneaking into round 1 or if you want a total shock Payton Wilson finding his way into the last half dozen picks, which I've seen nobody mock, wouldn't be a complete shock to me. Otherwise it is going to be a case of waiting to see where the runs start. We expect an early run on the three top wideouts and on quarterbacks but then the teens and early 20s could be an absolute glut of offensive tackles and corners. I will do my usual day by day de-briefs and will be interesting to see what the board looks like going into day two. Last year we saw the likes of Joey Porter and Will Levis still there only to be snapped up in the first couple of picks, and then thinking back to the 2020 draft where the wide receiver depth was arguably comparable Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman were the first two names called on the second day. Almost time for the talking and speculating to stop.... my mock needs its final touches. Then we are ready to roll!!