Off Season Needs: Draft and Free Agency

[P51]

Hopefully cogs shows some luv for bills taking s flyer on him and re-signs at favorable salary. Mario is gone and I understand that creates a lot of cap space. In FA I think TE and RT (and maybe WR) have potential , other needs on my OP list I see as more draft related. Hopefully some good LBs are available.

 

 

Jaylon Smith or myles jack...I think one of those LBs should be there when we draft Rd1. Although with the success of mack defying the "dont draft an LB high" wisdom (which I never subscribed to), you never know. But even if we don't snag one of them, overall at first glance it seems like a deep LB class

 

I believe that will be the situation with Cog's; last year Todd Herremans and Evan Mathis both age comps got 1 yr/3.25/3.5 deals, I dont see Cog's breaking the bank elsewhere or leaving, he's in a favorable place for him. Both fill the #1 need right now IMO.

 

I am 100% on board with Smith or Jack with the 1st pick, I dont think Smith will be there but Jack's injury might drop him into our range, both are the exact 3 down LB's the Bills need.

 

LB is the #1 priority for me regarding the Bills right now.

Edited December 18, 2015 by P51

[The Big Cat]

Tight end number one? Sorry, I stopped reading right there.

1. NT
2. S
3. MLB
4. RT
5. QB
6. OLB

That's the correct order.

[aristocrat]

God I'm gonna be pissed if we have to go through another freaking rebuild. I hope we stay with the 4-3 and go with a big time mlb in the first round. move brown to the outside.

[The Big Cat]

God I'm gonna be pissed if we have to go through another freaking rebuild. I hope we stay with the 4-3 and go with a big time mlb in the first round. move brown to the outside.

 

Well, there's no chance they're sticking with the 4-3 but that doesn't mean they go through a re-build.

 

Really, the only missing piece is a NT. Which is a shame, because lord knows those guys don't grow on trees.

 

Mario can actually be a great 3-4 DE, convincing him of as much...well, that's the hard part. KWilliams is the oddman out, however.

 

But LB's with Bradham gone and with Brown, Lawson and Hughes really only need one more pass rushing OLB.

 

And, as we always knew, safety is a big need for this team, with or without AW back.

 

There will definitely be some shuffling in the offseason, but I think it's unfair to characterize it as a rebuild.

[John from Riverside]

God I'm gonna be pissed if we have to go through another freaking rebuild. I hope we stay with the 4-3 and go with a big time mlb in the first round. move brown to the outside.

Its not a huge rebiuld provided that

 

- Brown can move to a OLB position

- A true nose can be found

- Mario is replaced by someone that actually plays the 3-4 correctly

- We can get a quality MLB in the 1st round

 

Those things can be done in a offseason and are NOT a major rebiuld.......our corners will be set. Rambo actually looks promising at S

 

I want to know what some of our ST's LBs are not getting play....

[3rdand12]

A good tutor. The concept of a 'brand new' middle linebacker in this defense (especially a rookie) in concerning. Given the rumblings about how long it takes players to 'get it' with this defense, it might make for a long year on D. I'd prefer a free agent in this capacity over a draft pick but it's best to take the talent when you can get it.

David Harris would have been huge.

Tight end number one? Sorry, I stopped reading right there.

1. NT
2. S
3. MLB
4. RT
5. QB
6. OLB

That's the correct order.

Wheres the WR?

Still need a big, legitimate receiver

[I'm Spartacus]

I guess we are giving up on Goodwin. He can't stay healthy.

[Luxy312]

I wouldn't be terribly surprised or upset to see the Bills draft a DE in the first round that can play DT if needed. I'm not 100% convinced that if Mario refused to restructure his contract that the Bills wouldn't part ways with him. He is going to count nearly $20m against the cap, of which only about $5 is prorated signing bonus from the original deal. The rest is salary and incentives, which is a lot for a guy who hasn't been productive this season. To boot, Kyle Williams has been hurt now 3 years running and isn't getting any younger. I also like the OP's point about ILB and think it's spot on. So give me an Ezekiel Elliott (DT) or Reggie Ragland (ILB) in the first round. I'll be more than happy!

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

good thoughts, but if Rex continues his undisciplined suckiness we are destined to 5-6 wins. My guess is that he does not turn the D around and it hits rock bottom before it gets better. The offense will be 10-15 but not enough to turn the corner. Right when we think we've addressed some needs and have continuity to build off of, something goes terribly wrong, via an injury, free agency, contract problem, coaching, etc... the Buffalo Bills are Murphy's law of football.

[The Big Cat]

David Harris would have been huge.

Wheres the WR?

Still need a big, legitimate receiver

 

Dude, for the last week I have been wondering how much of an impact Harris has had. I too think it would have been huge.

 

Where's WR? If you're 7th...is that really a need? Or at least a priority>

[John from Riverside]

Comeon bills activate Dez Lewis and lets see what we got there

[Pete]

Not much out there for WR besides Alshon. Mohamed Sanu is the only other FA that interested me. If we are going to add a WR, we need to draft one fairly high

 

Rueben Randle is a FA too. He is 6'2

Edited December 18, 2015 by Pete

[3rdand12]

Comeon bills activate Dez Lewis and lets see what we got there

yes please.

I hope this kid is developing.

[Pete]

I don't get this 3-4 switch either. RIght now we have KW, Dareus, Stefan Charles, and Jairius Wynn. If we sign a NT, we are wasting 4 quality players. I remember years ago one of the defensive coordinators switched to a 3-4- and we had no linebackers. It makes sense to match the scheme to the personnel. A 3-4 with Preston Brown and Bradham doesn't work, as we found out this year

[The Big Cat]

I don't get this 3-4 switch either. RIght now we have KW, Dareus, Stefan Charles, and Jairius Wynn. If we sign a NT, we are wasting 4 quality players. I remember years ago one of the defensive coordinators switched to a 3-4- and we had no linebackers. It makes sense to match the scheme to the personnel. A 3-4 with Preston Brown and Bradham doesn't work, as we found out this year

 

Dareus would be a monster @ 3-4 DE and Bryant has been playing very well the past few weeks.

[3rdand12]

I don't get this 3-4 switch either. RIght now we have KW, Dareus, Stefan Charles, and Jairius Wynn. If we sign a NT, we are wasting 4 quality players. I remember years ago one of the defensive coordinators switched to a 3-4- and we had no linebackers. It makes sense to match the scheme to the personnel. A 3-4 with Preston Brown and Bradham doesn't work, as we found out this year

Lets keep in mind. no one on the Bills staff has said such a thing.

 

and on the humurous side.

 

IT's A HYBRID !! Not one or the other. obviously Pete .

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

With what we carry over from 2015 - and what we'd gain by cutting mario, leodis, and KW. We should have room to keep glenn and incognito. The problem is plugging the holes on defense we created. That means finding a pass rusher, CB depth, and a solid nose tackle. And that's just filling the gaps on an 8-8ish team. Now for upgrades:

 

ILB - We need 2 new ones - or at least 1 MUCH better one. Powell being back next year should drastically help with depth. Bringing bradham back is also a depth move. I'd like to see a big upgrade here. I'm not totally down on PB - just mostly down on him.

 

Safety - Lack of depth here killed us. Rambo has been pretty solid - he at the very least becomes our 3rd safety - who actually plays a fair amount in a rex defense. AW assumedly keeps his spot if he wants it. Need a solid guy here - preferably a leader not a penalty machine (we have enough of those).

 

Pass rusher - mentioned before - need a serious upgrade here though. Speed and a willingness to read the field. Marios 6'6 and ive yet to see him bat a ball down, read a screen, do anything he needs to on this defense. Screams of selfishness and a need for sacks. Its about more than just getting to the QB, its about disrupting the entire offense.

 

On offense, if we can keep the line mostly intact, I'd add a solid WR for depth, or a dedicated slot guy. Look at upgrading the right side - especially with henderson's chrons disease. Backup QB could be something to consider, but EJ has a year in the offense and no one good is available - maybe a late flier in the draft.

 

And per usual - draft a CB because... passing league.

[3rdand12]

 

Dareus would be a monster @ 3-4 DE and Bryant has been playing very well the past few weeks.

ya really gotta cut down on the Koolaid spiking BC.

Although you are correct on both counts. And Carrington if healthy can move.

 

Its the linebackers that worry me. We are already short on them imo.

[Maddog69]

 

Here's mine in order:

 

 

And as far as QB......while I think I got hit by a flying pig reading this sky is falling thread.......we DO go into next year knowing who our starting QB and we obviously disagree on a. How good Tyrod Taylor is and b. His potential to get better then he is now. That is not to say we dont need a qb....we DO need a QB.......a clipboard holder to watch a starter like Tyrod and learn.

 

** QB: could go anywhere on the list but I marked as asterisk since its a given. Either Tyrod or EJ is not on the roster next season (most likely the latter), and IMO neither is the answer anyway. Given unlikelihood of finding the answer in FA with our cap constraints, we'll need to draft one in the first 3 rounds.

 

I absolutely agree with this. There is absolutely no chance Taylor is not a Bill next year (unless the world ends or something terrible happens to Taylor). There is an extremely high probability that Taylor is the starter next year. After that it is up to him. While I am not 100% convinced he is the long term answer and can lead this team to a SuperBowl, I do think he performed as good or better than any of us could have expected and I see no reason to think he cannot improve on what he did this year. Maybe I'm wrong, and that's why they need to add a good QB to the roster either fairly high in the draft or in FA (i.e Kaepernick). That QB would battle with Taylor for the #1 job with the expectation that it's Tyrod's job to lose. If the other QB outperforms him, it would probably be a good thing since we have seen what Taylor can do. I had said last year that Cassel was brought in to set the bar for the other QBs to shoot for. That bar was not set very high and they both beat him out in camp. This offseason should be the same, except that Taylor set the bar at a much higher level. I think we are in a better position at QB than we've been in a very long time, but that doesn't mean we should not be looking to add to the competition at the position.

[The Big Cat]

ya really gotta cut down on the Koolaid spiking BC.

Although you are correct on both counts. And Carrington if healthy can move.

 

Its the linebackers that worry me. We are already short on them imo.

 

LB's have been a liability for this team for a decade. That's not an exaggeration. 2014 was the lone exception. Can we may be start calling that what it probably was: a fluke?