BuffaloFan68 Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 General rule of thumb - you DON'T draft TEs in the first half of round 1.
OldTimer1960 Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 Everyone seems to be focused on drafting a big WR when we actually have a good lineup of WR's and the guys that will be available at 9 are no sure things. We have Stevie, Woods and Goodwin. TJ Graham sucks and should be released. Those of you wanting to release Stevie are crazy. He is still our best WR and if we find someone to take pressure off him, I think he still has some great years left. I think yo go into the season with Stevie, Woods and Goodwin as 1, 2, 3 on your depth chart. If you draft someone high you will displace one of them, when I think they could all have great seasons. I realize none of them have great size but that it seems that is all that people care about when talking about WR's. We drafted for size alone a few years ago and came up with James Hardy, remember that one? Sammy Watkins doesn't have great size but if he is there when the Bills pick (which he won't be) and they take another big WR over him, it would be horrendous. So how do the Bills solve there big receiving target problem? Draft Eric freaking Ebron. Ebron is 6'4", 250 lb, athletic feak, with 4.5 speed and most importantly, he has shown that it translates on the field. He will likely be there when the Bills pick and it would be nice to see the Bills get with the times and draft an athletic pass catching tight end. Ebron could have a Jimmy Graham or Rob Gronkowski type impact and I think could be a difference maker from day one. Also if teams have to start accounting for Ebron, that will give room for Stevie and Woods to tear up the defense while Goodwin puts the fear of God into them by going deep. If the Bills pass on Ebron I believe they will regret it. The only way I do not take Ebron is if one of the top 3 QB's, Bridwater, Bortles and Manziel, or Sammy Watkins is still on the board. I highly, highly doubt that will happen. Clowney will obviously be gone. Mack is the only other prospect I would consider over Ebron at that point. Greg Robinson and Jake Matthews are great prospects and I don't think they would be bad picks at 9, but game changing TE's are much harder to find than offensive lineman and the offensive tackle position isn't as important in the passing game as it was 10-15 years ago, with offenses designed to get the ball out quicker. So I would take Ebron over either of them which is saying a lot, because considering Matthews bloodline and pedigree, he will likely be a HOF NFL tackle. I think drafting Ebron at 9 would give the Bills a fantastic balance at WR/TE. Stevie, a great route runner, who finds ways to get open and can tear up defenses when he is not the main target as a defender. Woods is also seems to be a very good route runner, with more speed than Stevie and probably better hands. Goodwin who may have the most talent of any of them is obviously a burner who can score any time he touches the ball and can stretch the defense. Add Ebron to that who is a big, strong, fast, athletic TE who will be too fast for linebackers and too big for safeties. Draft Ebron and address the offensive line in free agency and the 2nd and third rounds. Try to find a big sleeper receiver in the later rounds. Do that and we are doing everything we can to give Manuel a chance. If he can't succeed with that, then we look for a QB next year. On a side note: I would love the Bills to see if Joe Thomas is available. He has made 7 straight Pro Bowls and arguable the best LT in the NFL. He has been critical of the Browns front office and we are a couple years ahead of the Browns in the rebuild. Maybe if we offer our second round pick we could snag him up. He is 29 but has 4 years left on his contract and will likely play at a Pro Bowl level until he is at least 35. Even if you had to give up a 3rd or 4th next year I would still do it. Thomas at LT, Wood at C, Glenn at RT, Ubrik at RG, and sign a quality free agent LG. Then you would probably have the best offensive line in the NFL or close to it. An offensive line like that with, Jackson, Spiller, Ebron, Stevie, Woods, and Goodwin as targets... That would show me the Bills are serious and would give Manuel a sick surrounding cast. If they did that I could forgive them for then trading Byrd. At this point, I think Stevie, Woods, Goodwin are a bottom 25% of the league WR crew. I do think woods will be good, but this far into his career Stevie is whT he is - a good not great possession receiver. I hope that Goodwin can be a decent weapon- perhaps what they hoped Roscoe Parrish would be, but expecting 50-60 catches from Goodwin is dreaming, IMHO. I am suggesting that WR is a big need.
C.Biscuit97 Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 Evans or Ebron at #9 & I'd be a happy camper. My 3rd & distant choice would be a tackle. But damn, that would' be a hell of a receiving core.
FluffHead Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 General rule of thumb - you DON'T draft TEs in the first half of round 1. That's a terrible rule
C.Biscuit97 Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 That's a terrible rule Agreed. All rules that say that you don't draft safeties or TEs high is completely changed because it's a passing league. Gronk didn't go high because he had a back injury. Jimmy Graham basically played football for one year. Both guys would be top 10 picks if they could be redrafted.
PO'14 Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 Watkins is the most NFL ready offensive player in the Draft. He will have an impact right away. Take Watkins or an Offensive linemen to help out EJ!
dubs Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 If Watkins is there and we draft a TE it would be so, Typical Bills.
FluffHead Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 Watkins is the most NFL ready offensive player in the Draft. He will have an impact right away. Take Watkins or an Offensive linemen to help out EJ! I'll argue you take the elite talent whether it's Watkins or Ebron at 9 because you won't get that talent later. In today's NFL I would rather have elite skill players and a serviceable line than vice versa. You can pick up a player who can start on our O line in round 3 with this group.
C.Biscuit97 Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 If Watkins is there and we draft a TE it would be so, Typical Bills. When have the Bills ever drafted a TE over wr? If anything, it's the exact opposite of what they used to do. Watkins isn't going to be there anyways so silly whining about it now. I'll argue you take the elite talent whether it's Watkins or Ebron at 9 because you won't get that talent later. In today's NFL I would rather have elite skill players and a serviceable line than vice versa. You can pick up a player who can start on our O line in round 3 with this group. Ding! The days of building a dominant oline are done. That's the old way of thinking. How many playoff games have Jake Long & Joe Thomas gone to? Ryan Clady, probably the best LT, missed the entire season & the Broncos went to the SB. Don't get me wrong, you need talent on the oline. But there is a lot of oline talent than can be found later in the draft. Perhaps more than any other position.
Kellyto83TD Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 Stevie needs to go. He is vastly overpaid, has an attitude problem and isn't worth the BS or the money. We need a true #1 WR and this draft is going to produce some
jumbalaya Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 At the #9 pick we will have a choice of taking one of the top three tackles in round one and the 6th or 7th best receiver or 4th best TE in round two. versus One of the top 3 WRs or best TE in round one and one of the 6th or 7th best tackle or a top 3 guard in round two. In my opinion, this team needs a big time playmaking receiver / TE and I'd go that route.
C.Biscuit97 Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 Stevie needs to go. He is vastly overpaid, has an attitude problem and isn't worth the BS or the money. We need a true #1 WR and this draft is going to produce some Obsessed much? Wrong thread. At the #9 pick we will have a choice of taking one of the top three tackles in round one and the 6th or 7th best receiver or 4th best TE in round two. versus One of the top 3 WRs or best TE in round one and one of the 6th or 7th best tackle or a top 3 guard in round two. In my opinion, this team needs a big time playmaking receiver / TE and I'd go that route. I'd also point out that 1st round tackles have a high bust rate as well. Some people are under the false impression that OT is the safe pick.
Ludwig van Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 Trade back a few spots, pick up an extra second round pick and still get Ebron..
BUNCH OF MULARKEY Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 If the bills get an elite TE for the first time in franchise history, I might think I have the wrong channel for the games this fall Trade back a few spots, pick up an extra second round pick and still get Ebron.. I like this idea alot
swnybillsfan Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 Trade back a few spots, pick up an extra second round pick and still get Ebron.. there is no guarantee he's be there, if that's the guy you want, pull the trigger. Evans or Ebron at #9 & I'd be a happy camper. My 3rd & distant choice would be a tackle. But damn, that would' be a hell of a receiving core. my question is which has more value? ebron at 9 and whichever receiver is there that you like in the 2nd, or evans at 9 and whichever te you may like in the 2nd? (this is assuming you want a wr, te combo with the first two picks, which i would love to see)
BUNCH OF MULARKEY Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 there is no guarantee he's be there, if that's the guy you want, pull the trigger. As loaded as this draft is id still trade down for... Um.. I dunno... Maybe pick 20 or better and the 2nd. Hmm
swnybillsfan Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 As loaded as this draft is id still trade down for... Um.. I dunno... Maybe pick 20 or better and the 2nd. Hmm if there are a bunch of players that the bills have rated really close together and there are a bunch of different directions they could go, then i am all for the trade down. especially if you could get three starters, or heavy contributors, in the the first two rounds. i am just a proponent of if you love a guy that's there, grab him. (yeah, i know, somebody once loved him some aaron maybin.)
BUNCH OF MULARKEY Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Ha ha lovin some Maybin. I'll see ur Maybin and raise ya mike Williams. As far as ebron some folks say that he can't block at all. I can't really form an opinion on that watching his you tube highlights which looked pretty good to me. Anyone?
Alaska Darin Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 There aren't any real "Draft Rules of Thumb" since the new CBA went into place. The BILLS need to pick a player that turns out to be a Pro Bowl caliber player within the first 3 years of the contract - that's the only real measure that matters. I'll bet Peyton Manning would argue that better edge blockers would have made a huge difference in the Super Bowl.
Kellyto83TD Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 At the #9 pick we will have a choice of taking one of the top three tackles in round one and the 6th or 7th best receiver or 4th best TE in round two. versus One of the top 3 WRs or best TE in round one and one of the 6th or 7th best tackle or a top 3 guard in round two. In my opinion, this team needs a big time playmaking receiver / TE and I'd go that route. Here is what you are missing, the difference between #1 WR in this draft and #7 isn't that big. Between #1 TE and #4 again isn't that big of a deal. Many say this is the deepest draft in over 10 years. Mayock says you can get starting OL Men in the late 3rd round. This draft has TONS of talent TONS! I don't mind a big time playmaker but they can be found round 2. I still say trade DOWN, get more picks, trade Stevie and Byrd (if we have to tag him) and get more picks. We can get at least 4 starters in the first 3 rounds of this draft by doing that.
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