What could they have done in the draft

[QB Bills]

Thought I was the only one that felt like this. Wanted Aaron Donald at 9 (even if Watkins was still on the board.)

Same here. Wide receiver is the most overvalued position in football due to its reliance on the guy throwing him the ball. If Manuel doesn't improve by quite a bit, Sammy Watkins will not be able to help this team. And if by chance Manuel does improve, these receivers that everyone complains about would have looked a lot better anyway.

 

Calvin Johnson is probably the best receiver in football. He was also part of the only 0-16 team in history.

[tombstone56]

Kuoandjio was regarded as a first rounder this time last year; Top 10 pick. He fell due to poor play and a concern that he has an arthritic knee. Well Dr. James Andrews went out of his way to write a letter to all 32 teams saying Kuoandjio's knee is fine. That seems like a very strange thing for the world's foremost expect on NFL knee's to do if it were in any way untrue.

 

In my mind the Bills got two Top 10 picks in 2014. Watkins and Kuoandjio, prior to the draft a Watkins Kuoandjio draft seemed outlandish and too good to be true well know if is reality.

 

I don't understand anything other than a reaction of "OMG the Bills just won the 2014 draft."

 

And that is before they got a falling Cyril Richardson who was regarded as an easy 3rd rounder in February.

 

The biggest needs were RT, Run Stuffing LBs, LG. If Kuoandjo, Preston, and Richardson can all play well in 2014 you just checked off three top needs on the team.

 

As far as the trade up. OBD is taking a risk. Demitroff summed up his trade for JJ and Bills trade for Watkins by saying, to paraphrase, this a league of takers if you sit back and wait for what is given to you, you will never win.

The Bills have been sitting back and making due with what has been given to them for awhile now. They went out and took Watkins, Mike Williams, and Bryce Brown. Watkins is a player you can lineup anywhere on the field Outside, inside even take handoffs and possible score. Watkins is not the Megatron #1 that will line up in the same place most of the time. Watkins will be motioned and moved everywhere to get a mismatch. It will be Williams that will be lined up Outside as the X and Woods as the Y with Watkins used as the new style "offensive weapon". This is going to make fans uneasy, but it doesn't matter, if he is able to consistently get double digit TDs.

 

As far as staying at #9 Ebron is not a special tight end he is not freakishly tall, fast, or has great hands. I never understood the hype. That would have been wasting the 2014 #9 overall pick.

 

Leewan's off the field might have been the issue. He is a plug and play RT but do you want Jerry !@#$ing Sullivan righting an article about how Lewan threatened to rape a young woman that thought she was raped again? It's just a bad PR move when you can get a RT in the second.

 

The rest available at #9 were as good as anyone available at #20 and no one would have been willing to trade up to draft any of those guys. Staying at #9 would be more of the same and making due with what is given to you. Nothing special.

 

It's a gamble and we know the points play out that the Bills win the trade if the Bills pick in the 20s. More importantly the Bills win because they are trying to win and win now and not just sitting back and making due with what they are given. They're not hoping someone falls to them in the 2015 draft in May 2014. They are trying to win now. Slow and steady gets stepped on in the NFL.

AT LAST A LUCID THOUGHT!

[1B4IDie]

a 4th option was to trade DOWN from #9 and pick up an additional 2nd rounder like last year (kiko).

 

 

as an example:

 

2014 1st round #16 LB CJ Mosley or OL Zach Martin

2014 2nd round #48 RB Carlos Hyde (the bills tried to trade back into round 2 for hyde).

2015 1st round #?? you would still have next years first round pick (QB Brett Hundley UCLA)

The rest available at #9 were as good as anyone available at #20 and no one would have been willing to trade up to draft any of those guys. Staying at #9 would be more of the same and making due with what is given to you. Nothing special.

[John from Riverside]

The Bills had plenty of WR's already. No need to give up a 1st and 4th rd picks next year.

 

This is like sarcasm right?

[ALF]

This is like sarcasm right?

 

No, we did have SJ13, Mike Williams, Woods , Goodwin and plenty more to sort thru.

[Kirby Jackson]

 

 

No, we did have SJ13, Mike Williams, Woods , Goodwin and plenty more to sort thru.

We had 3 #2's and a speed guy. Now we have a top end #1, 2 #2's and a speed guy. That's an upgrade.

[ALF]

We had 3 #2's and a speed guy. Now we have a top end #1, 2 #2's and a speed guy. That's an upgrade.

 

It's a big upgrade , but costly. If the Bills make it to the playoffs this year then Sammy would be well worth it.

[Kemp2Warlick]

We had 3 #2's and a speed guy. Now we have a top end #1, 2 #2's and a speed guy. That's an upgrade.

...one of the scouting sites had Watkins a borderline #1/2

[Kirby Jackson]

 

 

It's a big upgrade , but costly. If the Bills make it to the playoffs this year then Sammy would be well worth it.

Fair enough. There are lots of ways that it works out. If Sammy develops into Larry Fitzgerald and they don't make the playoffs this year it is still a good move. They paid a high price to get an elite talent that they were EXTREMELY high on. Time will tell

 

...one of the scouting sites had Watkins a borderline #1/2

and most had him graded right with Julio Jones and AJ Green. I have seen him play probably about 8 full games and think that he is going to be a star.

[mrags]

Why are we already saying that Sammy Watkins is an undoubted number 1 wide Reciever??? We haven't even seen this kid put on NFL pads yet. Let's all get out of the clouds for 3 seconds here. I know your all in love already. But jeez. Let the kid play first.

 

 

 

Fwiw, I hope I'm wrong and he's an instant HOFer. But let's watch and see first. Let's at least get through practice, mini camps, pre season before we give this kid a perminant spot in canton already.

Edited May 14, 2014 by mrags

[firemedic]

Something that may be fogotten is that an extraordinary talent makes those around them better ie. taking away the top CB, causing scheme changes that end up benefitting others.........Sammy, Robert, Mike and Marquis are going to be feeding off one another this year

CJ and Freddie will appreciate as well.......

[Kirby Jackson]

Why are we already saying that Sammy Watkins is an undoubted number 1 wide Reciever??? We haven't even seen this kid put on NFL pads yet. Let's all get out of the clouds for 3 seconds here. I know your all in love already. But jeez. Let the kid play first.

 

 

Fwiw, I hope I'm wrong and he's an instant HOFer. But let's watch and see first. Let's at least get through practice, mini camps, pre season before we give this kid a perminant spot in canton already.

I'm not trying to put him in Canton but I expect 80 catches, 1,000 yards and 7-8 TDs as a rookie. What is it specifically that we should worry about translating? He is elite after the catch, extremely physical and has great hands. Watkins has years of production and has been dominant in his biggest games. Go back and look what he did against that VT defensive backfield (that I think had 3 guys drafted this past weekend). Rewatch the Orange Bowl against Ohio State. His floor is Stevie Johnson and his ceiling is AJ Green or Fitz.

 

I try to be objective and not too much of a homer but I have seen enough of him to believe that he is going to be a star (regardless of where he ended up). His game does not have any holes; that's why he is so safe. The Bills have made their share of mistakes in the draft but that is when they were trying to outsmart everyone (Whitner over Ngata, Maybin over Orakpo, etc...). This guy was the exact opposite. He is widely regarded as the best playmaker since Julio & Green for a reason.

Edited May 14, 2014 by Kirby Jackson

[mrags]

I'm not trying to put him in Canton but I expect 80 catches, 1,000 yards and 7-8 TDs as a rookie. What is it specifically that we should worry about translating? He is elite after the catch, extremely physical and has great hands. Watkins has years of production and has been dominant in his biggest games. Go back and look what he did against that VT defensive backfield (that I think had 3 guys drafted this past weekend). Rewatch the Orange Bowl against Ohio State. His floor is Stevie Johnson and his ceiling is AJ Green or Fitz.

 

I try to be objective and not too much of a homer but I have seen enough I him to believe that he is going to be a star (regardless of where he ended up). His game does not have any holes; that's why he is so safe. The Bills have made their share of mistakes in the draft but that is when they were trying to outsmart everyone (Whitner over Ngata, Maybin over Orakpo, etc...). This guy was the exact opposite. He is widely regarded as the best playmaker since Julio & Green for a reason.

i respect your opinion Kirby. You know that. And I thank you for pointing some of that out to me. You really lost me early though when you said you expect 80 catches and 1,000 yards with 6-8 TDs. Isn't that Stevie Johnson? I know this kid may have a higher ceiling. I know that he may turn into Fitz (very good comparison IMO), but I don't ever see him as a Green, Bryant, Johnson, go up and get it kind of guy. Again. I hope I'm wrong. But if this kid puts up 80 for 1,000 and less than 10 TDs in his forst 3 years consistently, I'll be seriously disappointed in what we gave up to get him.

 

IMO it's only worth it of were talking 80-100 receptions, 1,200-1,400 yards and 10+ TDs consistently.

 

Either way, we are floating on clouds with this kid. And he hasn't played a down yet. We should all curb our enthusiasm.

[Kirby Jackson]

i respect your opinion Kirby. You know that. And I thank you for pointing some of that out to me. You really lost me early though when you said you expect 80 catches and 1,000 yards with 6-8 TDs. Isn't that Stevie Johnson? I know this kid may have a higher ceiling. I know that he may turn into Fitz (very good comparison IMO), but I don't ever see him as a Green, Bryant, Johnson, go up and get it kind of guy. Again. I hope I'm wrong. But if this kid puts up 80 for 1,000 and less than 10 TDs in his forst 3 years consistently, I'll be seriously disappointed in what we gave up to get him.

 

IMO it's only worth it of were talking 80-100 receptions, 1,200-1,400 yards and 10+ TDs consistently.

Thats fair. I think that Stevie is his floor and kind of what I expect as a rookie. He has a lot of Dez in him with his physicality (Fitz too). AJ Green is really fluid and amazing in the red zone but is pretty finesse. They are pretty different. I actually like Watkins because he can play with an inaccurate QB because of his skill set. You don't need to hit him in stride 25 yards down the field. You need to get him the ball in space. He is great in the air as well because he snatches the ball but he is 6'1 not 6'5. He will never be Calvin Johnson in the air but can make plays in traffic (which is why he reminds me of Fitz). Time will tell but his skill set is special. Edited May 14, 2014 by Kirby Jackson

[mrags]

Thats fair. I think that Stevie is his floor and kind of what I expect as a rookie. He has a lot of Dez in him with his physicality (Fitz too). AJ Green is really fluid and amazing in the red zone but is pretty finesse. They are pretty different. I actually like Watkins because he can play with an inaccurate QB because of his skill set. You don't need to hit him in stride 25 yards down the field. You need to get him the ball in space. He is great in the air as well because he snatches the ball but he is 6'1 not 6'5. He will never be Calvin Johnson in the air but can make plays in traffic (which is why he reminds me of Fitz). Time will tell but his skill set is special.

i think your comparison to Fitz is probably the best comparison that I can think of. It gets me excited honestly. More so than before. Thank you for that. I still am just worried he doesn't amount to anything more than what Stevie have is. Or even worse, his 2nd contract with Parker as his agent is insane. Let's think about that. If he has a dominant 3 years, Parker will demand for him to be paid more than Calvin Johnson. Think about that for a minute.

[Kirby Jackson]

i think your comparison to Fitz is probably the best comparison that I can think of. It gets me excited honestly. More so than before. Thank you for that. I still am just worried he doesn't amount to anything more than what Stevie have is. Or even worse, his 2nd contract with Parker as his agent is insane. Let's think about that. If he has a dominant 3 years, Parker will demand for him to be paid more than Calvin Johnson. Think about that for a minute.

Those are the scary parts. The good news is if he ends up elite they can use the tag. Hopefully by that point the Bills will be good and he wants to be here.

 

If he ends up with Stevie's career it will be disappointing but it is certainly better than Maybin's career. That is why I like high floor, high ceiling guys early. It is almost like "bust insurance." Every guy that enters the league has a chance to be good or bad but some have less risk than others. Jake Mathews is the same way. If he struggles he will still be a 10 year starter on the OL. He may never be Tony Boselli but he will never be Jason Smith either. At any rate I am hoping that Watkins plays to the level that he is capable of!!

[#34fan]

I don't believe Preston Brown or Ross Cockrell can change outcomes the way a kid like Martavis Bryant potentially can. We have roster spots being wasted by the likes of TJ Graham and Chris Hogan. I would have preferred we grab the tall, lanky kid form Clemson with the 4.41 speed.

[MyHorseAteTheKid]

It seems almost eyevy year I look at who this team has chosen and think it was a good draft... Usually about 3 years down the road I become really smart and figure out what a bad draft it was... So when someone asks me "What could they have done in the draft?" I can only say, I would be wrong to give my opinion... lol

[Formerly Allan in MD]

While I fully expect Manuel to be a better QB this next year.....I really dont think they will be looking to replace him next year. Soonest is 2016

 

EJ Manuel......that piece of clay that needs molding

Needs molding and a shot of intensity.

[mrags]

Those are the scary parts. The good news is if he ends up elite they can use the tag. Hopefully by that point the Bills will be good and he wants to be here.

 

If he ends up with Stevie's career it will be disappointing but it is certainly better than Maybin's career. That is why I like high floor, high ceiling guys early. It is almost like "bust insurance." Every guy that enters the league has a chance to be good or bad but some have less risk than others. Jake Mathews is the same way. If he struggles he will still be a 10 year starter on the OL. He may never be Tony Boselli but he will never be Jason Smith either. At any rate I am hoping that Watkins plays to the level that he is capable of!!

your obviously a Sammy fan and you educated regarding his play and future possibilities. I really respect that. And you've really helped me come around a bit.

 

I am still not going to get all googoo Gaga over him yet. I still need to see him play in pads against NFL corners before I make my analysis of him. All these "love Sammy" posts and threads is actual making me sick. The guys got to prove it first. He's done nothing yet. In previous years it's never been this bad. Ever. This year it's almost making me I'll. I can't imagine the threads that will pop up if Sammy starts fumbling or missing open passes. It'll be the hardcore fans that no matter what happens he's the 2nd coming of Christ, VS the ones that say he'll never be a true #1. But hey, it's not like we haven't had those arguments every single day since Eric Moulds left.