jethro_tull Posted January 8, 2017 Posted January 8, 2017 It seems like the Bills are in a never ending cycle trying to fill immediate roster needs with an upcoming draft. Every year that I can remember the Bills are drafting players for positions they need at the time of the draft. DTs, OLs, LBs, etc. The problem is that most drafted players need one or two years to develop into starting roles. The other problem is that when the players finally do develop, other needs will spring up and they will never have a balanced, well developed roster. Never in sync if you will. They could do this by analyzing and tracking each position in terms of player age, player contract, player development progress, etc.and then draft one or two years in advance of that (or other) information. Have the Bills done well in planning ahead with their draft selections by anticipating the roster needs one or two years from a given draft, and allow those needs to be eventually filled with players developed within their system? Or- have they mostly been chasing their tail trying to plug urgent, unanticipated holes with "plugs" that don't fit well enough and as a result the ship barely stays afloat?
Kirby Jackson Posted January 8, 2017 Posted January 8, 2017 It seems like the Bills are in a never ending cycle trying to fill immediate roster needs with an upcoming draft. Every year that I can remember the Bills are drafting players for positions they need at the time of the draft. DTs, OLs, LBs, etc. The problem is that most drafted players need one or two years to develop into starting roles. The other problem is that when the players finally do develop, other needs will spring up and they will never have a balanced, well developed roster. Never in sync if you will. They could do this by analyzing and tracking each position in terms of player age, player contract, player development progress, etc.and then draft one or two years in advance of that (or other) information. Have the Bills done well in planning ahead with their draft selections by anticipating the roster needs one or two years from a given draft, and allow those needs to be eventually filled with players developed within their system? Or- have they mostly been chasing their tail trying to plug urgent, unanticipated holes with "plugs" that don't fit well enough and as a result the ship barely stays afloat? I think that they've been fine. They've tried to find good football players. The problem is that when you change systems every 2 years your needs change. Every team has roster turnover though. You let average players walk in FA and try to replace their production with younger, cheaper players. As an example the Bills will have a new #2 WR this year. They know that already and will try to address it in the draft in all likelihood.
jethro_tull Posted January 8, 2017 Author Posted January 8, 2017 I think that they've been fine. They've tried to find good football players. The problem is that when you change systems every 2 years your needs change. Every team has roster turnover though. You let average players walk in FA and try to replace their production with younger, cheaper players. As an example the Bills will have a new #2 WR this year. They know that already and will try to address it in the draft in all likelihood. But they would have been better off drafting for this year's expired contracts in last year's draft (or the year before). Not this year's draft. That's called chasing your tail and trying to fill current needs with player that aren't ready.
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