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I’ll agree to disagree, Oliver has shown me nothing, hope I’m wrong on him, but I don’t see it. Edmunds is an OLB, the sooner he gets there, the better, at this point, I don’t care if it’s in Buffalo. Ford, AJE, Singletary, Moss, Knox ( I see the potential in him, but he’s not there), c’mon man.

I’m actually not thrilled with the cap at the moment. I say that just taking spotrac at where they are now, $15M. We are bottom half of the league in cap space at that number, we just cut our reasonably priced and productive (pre-injury) WR2 and cannot afford to keep our OG1, RT1, and OLB1. Oh yeah, our QB is also on a rookie contract. We also have some other holes to fill, plus figure out replacements for who we are losing. I think our current space plus getting largely “meh” production out of Beanes top 100 picks in Edmunds, Oliver, Epeneza, Moss, Singletary, Ford, and Knox, may bite us in the arse.

100% this. And Dion Dawkins is a guard and so is Cordy Glenn. Duke Williams should play tight end, and so on and so forth. The rage was that Star was expendable because Horrible Harry was something, and I never saw it. I think Phillips is our worst defensive lineman right now, but he seems to be a message board hero. Now its Edmunds who needs to move etc, and once again we will all be wrong about him because the simple fact is that players develop. And just like Dion did, Edmunds will prove his worth and blow up. I am in the minority here, but I thought Butler played pretty well for what it appears he was asked to do. He was overpaid, but now he’s hopefully in a better pay range. There is still upside there.

Defending passes alone doesn't really discourage QB's though. I think the information is out there that Edmunds simply isn't going to intercept or force a fumble if you throw at him..........so QB's attacked him more fearlessly this year. We saw QB's throwing at him when he was actually in good coverage.......with excellent results.........his passer rating against was ghastly. Call it a latter day case of "Thomas Smith syndrome". I also wonder if experience hasn't taken aggressiveness out of his game. He's a shadow of the playmaker that he was as a rookie......... in GAME ONE of his career he showed his potential with a TFL/strip fumble play. That's somehow still probably the highlight play of his career. It's criminal the way they waste his potential in the middle. People who doubt that.........look at the astonishing difference that putting Reddick on the LOS made to his productivity. Edmunds should be an absolute stud pass rusher. I thought he was the best PR prospect in that draft and I wasn't alone in that thought, even on this board. Speaking of that.........anyone know whatever happed to @thebandit27?

I saw that but I’m 99.9% sure that is wrong because they’re misinterpreting the buckets. Edmunds didn’t make the 2019 Pro Bowl on the original ballot. He was a replacement for Dont’a Hightower. You have to be an initial selection for that to apply.

Interesting. If that’s really the case, he’s probably not even on our board.....unless they play him inside and put Tremaine in the position to run sideline to sideline. It may benefit Tremaine. I see Edmunds as being slow to react sitting in that zone and is picked on constantly. Teams target him in the pass game as his recognition isn’t plus, yet. IIRC, QBs had a 130+ rating targeting him this season. His stop to start explosiveness/recognition isn’t nearly that of Collins’. While Edmunds’ role in our defense needs to change, imo, I expect more of the same. I have nightmares of that Kc game and Mahomes throwing pass after pass to wide open receivers with Edmunds running in space

I would slot Collins right next to Edmunds @100% of the defensive plays. He’s adept in coverage, playing the run and rushing the qb imo. I feel that his size makes his ideal fit as an OLB in a 4-3, but his skill set fits perfectly as a 3 down lb in a 4-3. He’s can do it all. I agree with the OL comment as well, but I feel that Beane will take BPA at a position of need and RB may be included in that. If Harris/etienne/Williams are available and they are the BPA in our board, I think they will be the pick. I view a 1st rd RB as a 5 year lottery ticket for this team with winning a SB in that span as the only objective. I don’t think that we’d give that RB an extension, just use him to be a major part of our offense en route to winning a SB during his rookie contract

I really think this is exactly the type of acquisition that would be perfect for this team. Team captain, leader, winner, plays hurt & tough, now with an axe to grind with your main competition ( fins), brings an Lorenzo type vet presence , can prob get good deal as fins still paying him several mil next year. Why not move Edmunds to Milanos position and then let van noy bring his leadership to the front 6/7 ? Yes the draft is good for lbs, but not with NFL experience ( esp given covid protocols), already a proven leader, already with knowledge of two in division rivals, and this is a potential win/win for the Bills. Fill a need at rivals expense, frees up our choice of use for 1st round pick, and this guy is definitely a process type guy. I would take him way before Watt ( whom I correctly predicted would take money before “ potential “ SB team) to toughen up our run D We can fill need to cover TE with better nickel / 3 rd safety addition thru the draft. This is a value cap casualty type pick up with huge experience IN THE DIVISION, and that’s why this addition is so much better from an intangibles standpoint that watt could have ever been. Do a one year or so deal and this would be a great addition IMHO! Beane , first time I will say this, GET ER DONE! This is a unique opportunity, don’t pass on this.

On the free agency if they are gonna pay Jaylon Brown that money I'd rather just keep Milano. Disagree that he would be an upgrade. Personally I don't think they spend free agency $$s there. I think they are comfortable with Edmunds and Klein as starters if needs be and will draft a guy day 2 or day 3. Edit: Hankins and Okwara would be nice pickups though.

I think the TB pass rush helped itself plenty.. Mahomes was running for his life.. I'll agree that the D needs help in a few areas.. They dont seem that interested moving Edmunds from what I see...

If you rewatch the SB and focus on the David vs. Kelce match-up you will see the fact that David destroyed Kelce off the line helped the pass rush more than the other way around. Not to beat a dead horse because I'm all for another pass rusher but if you don't fix our interior DL and get a physical LB (maybe Edmunds can do it and we get a new MLB idk) it won't matter much who is coming off the edge against Mahomes and teams like that.

Why do you think he won’t cost in the same ballpark as Milano? If they don’t want to pay Milano I can’t see Van Noy either. I think Beane will pay a FA this year but not at LB. I think they’ve chosen to gamble on Edmunds being worth the big second contract as opposed to giving it to Milano during a reduced salary cap. I can see Beane spending, within reason, on DL, OL or offensive playmaker with speed (see Curtis Samuel).

This will be an offseason like no other we have seen in a long time. With the cap decreasing, where it had been growing exponentially over the last few years, it is going to make things a bit challenging. Beane will have to navigate this whole situation and really hit on the moves he makes, both in FA and the draft. I don't know if this is anything that he would do, but this is a scenario I put together. First thing we'll have to do is take care of things at OBD with whom we re-sign and whom we cut. Right now we only have about $3.3M in cap space at the current projection. Cuts: John Brown - Saves almost $8M in cap. I would rather resign McKenzie for less than 1/3 of what Brown is making. Mitch Morse - Saves $4.8M in cap. Morse has never really lived up to the contract, but he has been solid. Still, you don't know which head injury will be his last. Quinton Jefferson - Saves $6.5M in cap. He was decent, but I think we an easily fill his production with someone else at a cheaper rate. Vernon Butler - Saves $6.8M in cap. I know he was played out of position at the 1-Tech, but we can get similar production for cheaper. Lee Smith - Saves $2.25M in cap. It really is time. Bye Lee. Mario Addison - Saves $6.16M in cap. He'll be 34 when the season gets going and he didn't add much to the defense last year. At this point we would be sitting with close to $38M in cap space and could save more money with a couple of restructures to Dawkins and possibly Tre. Let's just say Beane restructures both of them to give us another $8M-$10M and we end up with $46M-$48M in total cap space. Re-sign: McKenzie - (3 yrs $6M w/ $4M gtd) It's not a big contract. I don't see him getting more anywhere else. I see value on ST and in the offense for us. Feliciano - (3 yrs $19M w/ $13M gtd) Feliciano wants to be here and I think we want him back, but we won't overpay. This gives him an uptick and we move him to C. D. Williams - (3 yrs $24M w/ $16M gtd) Williams had a tremendous bounce-back year and was a key cog on our OL. This would be top 10 RT $$$. I think it's enough to get it done. Ike Boettger - RFA Tender Bojo - RFA tender Wallace - RFA Tender Winters - 2 yrs $3M w/ $1.5M gtd (I don't really like it that much either, but he is a cheap depth option that knows the offense) Nsekhe - 2yrs $4M w/ $2M gtd FA: Romeo Okwara - DE - (4 yrs $32M w/ $24M gtd) He would be an upgrade @ DE for a reasonable rate. Reminds me of a younger version of Jerry Hughes and he's only 25. He can also take over for Hughes after 2021. He had a solid 2018 with 7.5 sacks, but had a down 2019. Then in 2020 he put it all together getting 10 sacks, 31 pressures, 10 QB hurries, and 10 QB hits. He also plays the run well at the position and is effective from either side of the DL. Jayon Brown - LB - (4 yrs $40M w/ $28M gtd) Imo, he's an upgrade over Milano though Milano will likely get more $$$ on the open market. He's just as good in coverage even though he may not be as fast. He's a better tackler than Milano and has more pop in his pads. He played an inside LB role in that Tennessee hybrid type defense, but would be able to handle the WLB responsibilities here with absolutely no drop off. Johnathan Hankins - DT - (3 yrs $12M w/ $8M gtd)We all know what was missing up front this past year. A run stuffing 1-Tech that would eat up blockers while making plays inside. Hankins plays well against the run, but offers no pass rush for the most part. He is at the least a heavy rotational back up to Star, but could very well end up the starter. Either way it would give us a nice rotation in the interior of the DL and allow Oliver to get after it. It would also allow us to keep our big guys up front rested not having to lean on one guy all of the time. Draft: 1. Trevon Moehrig / S / TCU - The nation's Jim Thorpe Award winner in 2020. Moehrig is an athletic freak who can squat 600lbs, bench 400lbs, and runs a 40 in the 4.5's at 6'2" 210lbs. He has a lot of positional flexibility being able to play both FS and SS, but he will eventually take over for Hyde in this defense. We could run that three S look against pass heavy offenses as Moehrig can cover anyone on the field. He takes good angles and lowers the boom on ball carriers when given the opportunity. 2. Daviyon Nixon / DT / Iowa - Another guy to get after it from the interior of the defense. Between Oliver, Hankins, Nixon, Star, Zimmer, and Phillips that interior is looking VERY capable of causing opposing offenses problems. Nixon plays with power, quickness, and uses his hands well when shedding blocks. 3. Nico Collins / WR / Michigan - At 6'4" and 215lbs Collins is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. Especially hard to handle when you add him to an offense that already has Diggs, Davis, and Beasley to account for. He is a true vertical threat that uses his body to shield defenders, has an extra gear when he gets in any kind of space, and can go up the ladder to snag any ball Josh would hang up for him. He opted out in 2020, but averaged 20 yds per reception in 2019 even with Shea Patterson as his QB. 5a. Daelin Hayes / DE / Notre Dame - Hayes reminds me a bit of Shaq Lawson. He didn't have the college production of Lawson, but he also didn't have four 1st Rounders playing by his side up front either. He is decent at setting the edge and can be a 5-8 sack per year type of player on a rotational basis. (You knew I had to go with a ND player at least once in the draft ) 5b. Garret Wallow / LB / TCU - Going back to the TCU well again for another defensive player. Wallow was a S who converted to LB in college. He does well in Zone coverage and blitzing off of the edge when his number is called. He's depth and a developmental WLB to add to our defense. 6. Javian Hawkins / RB / Louisville - Hawkins is lightening in a bottle, but on the smallish side standing at 5'9". He has a good build for his size though at 195lbs. He's that home run threat type of guy though who can hit a seam and take the ball 80 yards to the house. His 40 time is expected to be between the low 4.4's to the high 4.3's and you can see on the tape he is that fast in pads. Not really used in the passing game at Louisville so he will need some refinement there, but he could end up being a steal this late in the draft. 7a. Tommy Doyle / OT / Miami (OH) - A developmental prospect who has the ability to evolve into our swing OT off of the bench. He has good functional playing strength, but will need to grow in pass pro. 7b. Jimmy Morrissey / C / Pitt - A developmental C prospect who started a bunch of games at Pitt. He was solid, but is more of a finesse player than one who plays with a mean streak. He still could provide depth along the OL. Our lineups next year would be as follows: OL: Dawkins-Ford-Feliciano-Boettger-Williams (Starting) Bench - Nsekhe, Bates, Winters, Doyle or Morrissey WR: Diggs, Davis, Beasley, Collins, McKenzie, Hodgins RB: Singletary, Moss, Hawkins TE: Knox, Sweeney, Gilliam(FB/TE) QB: Allen, Webb or Fromm DE: Hughes, Okwara, Epenesa, Hayes, D. Johnson DT: Oliver, Star, Nixon, Hankins, Zimmer, Phillips LB: Edmunds, Brown, Klein, Wallow, Dodson, Matakevic S: Poyer, Hyde, Moehrig, J. Johnson, Neal CB: White, Jackson, T. Johnson, Wallace, Lewis K: Bass P: Bojo LS: Ferguson I know there are things I didn't address which other people say would be necessary such as CB, but I believe an improved pass rush makes all of your CB's look better. I also love what Moehrig will bring to the table for this defense on the field and I think it gives us options. Okwara will be much better than Addison. Epenesa I think takes another step forward with a full offseason of work in the weight room to get his body right and working on his craft. Hayes and D. Johnson are capable of making plays. Throw Hankins/Star into the lineup as space eaters (which we didn't have last year) so Oliver, Nixon, and Zimmer can get after it up front. Now the interior looks like a strength as well. I think that Edmunds and Brown are also a better tandem than Edmunds and Milano. On top of that, for passing downs you can have Oliver and Nixon both on the field pushing the pocket from the middle. Backup QB is sketchy. TE still isn't solved also if you don't believe Knox will get any better, but you can only do so much with the cap this year. Overall I think this team keeps us contending for the AFC and a SB next year while starting to position us for when other roster turnover starts to take place.

No, the way the contract was set up........including the pay cut.........it was pretty obvious that they didn't see him in the plans for 2021. They didn't miss Star in 2020. Defensively, what they really missed was the incredibly easy 2019 schedule. They also lost 3 effective pass rushers(2019 Alexander, Phillips, Shaq) and Edmunds and Milano were injured for much of the season. Star is an easy excuse but the truth is they held 2,000 yard rusher Derrick Henry to his lowest production of the year and shut down the near historic Ravens run game in the playoffs. Lotulelei at his best was JAG.........at his worst he was bad. This is one of those things that a % of people like you fight me on that will be accepted as entirely obvious that I was right a year from now.

Chaz is a risk cause he’s so green at the position. Love his physical side, but he might take time to adjust in instincts and knowledge. That being said, I like him, but I could see pairing him with a guy like Edmunds who has similar weaknesses may be a bad play. Sage is someone I’ve loved for a while, but I don’t know if he would be considered duplicative of Gabe’s skill set?

Not sure of a restructure, but cutting him would cost more, and given how our D played in two seasons with him and this last season without him, I'd much rather they see if he returns and Oliver and Edmunds get a chance to make more plays.

He played MIKE against Miami definitely. Edmunds played against Tenn (it was one of his worst games) so Dodson must have got snaps at WILL but Klein started there didn't he? Maybe they used some 3 linebacker sets that day? They do tend to use them a bit more against run heavy teams.

Pretty sure they had Dodson playing Mike next to Klein at Will when he came in for Edmunds vs. the Jets and started for him vs. Miami? Thought they had him playing Will vs Tenn (but unsure about that) and it didn't work out too well, but then our D in general didn't work out too well that day

My opinion we need inside D line help. After watching a lot of Edmunds plays this past year he was caught out of position or bad angle due to interior offensive linemen getting to the second tier and linebackers. We need a big body who takes on multiple offensive linemen. Now I don’t know who available but I feel if star comeback and we can get Suh style player with him it would help all around the backend of our D is awesome. But they can’t cover when the QB has all day or they have to worry about the RB just flying free through our line.

The point on the Edmunds pro bowls is that the MLB position is much less stacked in the AFC than the NFC. That is the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. I think he absolutely deserved his 2019 selection. His 2020 selection was largely due to the lack of viable alternatives. On Trai Turner, I always liked him on the Panthers but he was shocking last year in LA. They need oline help very badly and do not think he is worth retaining. That would concern me.

Not sure about Trai, but Edmunds made his pro bowls by being very good, despite the fact that some here don't seem to realize it. No, he's certainly not elite, but he's among the small group of guys in the AFC who would be considered good enough to get that recognition when he's healthy and in a defense that has guys understanding and doing their jobs. “Are there more plays out there? Probably so, but he makes the Pro Bowl. I think that's legit. I think he's respected by his peers. I think sometimes in your own fan base or your own house, sometimes you can be more critical of your own than seeing how they compare across the league.” - Brandon Beane Yup. https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/bills-offseason-questions-is-it-guaranteed-that-tremaine-edmunds-option-will-be-picked-up/article_71f18538-7d38-11eb-afd2-9be536c83833.html

Statistically this was Hyde's worse year in Buffalo, but I chalk that up more to a deficient pass rush and Milano's injuries than to Hyde having problems. Our D was great for two years BEFORE last year because we had a pretty good D line as a major component, and Milano and Edmunds both came into their own as starting LBs. The problems last year were almost all due to 1) no Star to stop the run, 2) Oliver too small to be effective without Star, 3) loss of Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson, and 4) Milano missing so much time. We went from a smooth running V-8 to a choppy inline six that needed new spark plugs.

Trai Turners pro bowls are like Tremaine Edmund's pro bowls. He's good but I'm not quite sure how he kept getting in ahead of better players.

Good news, hope it's a restructure and not a release. Hughes is still a productive player. Hughes and Oliver are the two mainstays on our defensive line. With Star hopefully returning as well, that should allow Ed to play his preferred 3-Tech and attack the QB and Star should also eat up blockers for Edmunds and the LBs. Having missed out on Watt (I would have loved bringing him to Buffalo, but he did get a ton of money and has struggled with injuries so there is some risk), I hope we can bring in a Ryan Kerrigan or similar type of player to play the other end after cutting Butler and Addison. Then bring in Tyler Shelvin or Alim McNeill in the third round and an edge rusher on Day 2 or early Day 3. I don't think there will be any edge prospects left at pick #30 that will be good value. Joe Marino on the Locked On Bills podcast did a great episode the other day examining how ineffective pass rushers picked in the last quarter of the first round have been. Final defensive line group in this scenario: Hughes/ 4th Round Pick Jordan Smith from UAB / Bam Johnson Star / Harrison Phillips / 3rd Round Pick Tyler Shelvin from LSU Oliver / Jefferson / Zimmer Kerrigan / Epenesa I think Star's presence would allow everyone to play in the spots that suit them best especially Oliver and Jefferson and that Shelvin could develop and become our future 1-Tech. Oliver and Epenesa will hopefully take the next steps in their development as well. Phillips ended the year strong and will be another year on from his injury. Kerrigan could provide the steadiness and production that Murphy couldn't in his time with the Bills and mentor the younger guys. Jordan Smith is the type of toolsy pass rush prospect I love in the mid-rounds, think he has a chance to be great. Bam Johnson is mostly a special teamer at this point, both he and Zimmer who I like would have to fight it out for the last spot on the roster in this situation. Excited to get your thoughts, Go Bills!

I think his ideal fit is a 3-4 outside linebacker. I think if the Bills were to take him I'd try him as an edge guy first because I think he is better going forwards than backwards and sideways. Or if the Bills are willing to back to more of a 4-3 than a 4-2-5 nickel base then you could use him like Zo was used the last two years here. I think there is enough athletic talent to do the Milano job or the Edmunds job in our current scheme but I think they are bigger adjustments for him in terms of the mental learning curves. I love the talent. Not sure if I think the Bills are the most natural fit.