Brandon Beane - Please Draft Offensive Playmakers

[aristocrat]

i want the offense to be able to beat you multiple different ways.  need to run it 40 times like the titans did against the pats and again against the ravens to own the clock and keep their offense off the field?  get another rb.  i've loved watching our defense the past few years but it's time to upgrade this offense more and stay on the field and our defense will become even more elite. 

[OldTimer1960]

13 hours ago, MasterStrategist said:

Unlike in years past, we have starters slotted into every position on this roster heading into the draft.  Not to say that some can't be upgraded, but provides a lot of flexibility to truly go with BPA.

 

That said, we were very fortunate last season with injuries and having depth is a necessity, if we want to develop into a championship team (especially without an elite qb, as Allen continues to develop)...Imo, we run into the biggest drop-off in play if these starters were injured:

 

1. RB: Yeldon, Jones, Wade and DiMarco provide much to be desired.  Absolutely no starters in this group, and a bunch of #3 rb types.  Top pick or 3rd rounder, absolutely needs to be a playmaker to split time with Motor

 

2. Corner: Taron Johnson hasn't proven to stay healthy, and Levi has missed games in the past.  With Norman and Gaines, you hope one of these veterans can stay healthy, along with of course Tre who has been durable.  Upgrade at CB2, or flexibility to shift down or compete at nickel, along with providing depth is a big get.

 

3. Linebacker: Klein was a great pickup, but he isn't the mold of a Milano or Edmunds.  Unless they like what they see from Dodson or Joseph, I see a pick in the 4th-6th round range (speed type, ie milano)

 

4. Safety: behind Poyer and Hyde, Marlowe is a solid contributor who was a "jack of all trades" last year, but not the type you want to roll out for numerous games.   If not this year, I see us drafting a 3rd round caliber player, who can play in the big nickle role (like Marlowe or Neal) and eventually replace as a starting safety.

 

Other upgrade options:

1. Def end: I see argument to get younger, but we already have a 2a and 2b in hughes/Addison, not elite guys but real solid.  Murphy is average, a good guy for a #3 end but paid too high, Johnson is young and might be a fringe player, and Jefferson will be a solid option, if he's not bumped inside (which i think they will do on obvious pass situations).  Unless they see a future #1 or #2, in rounds 2-4, I just don't see why they'd take one this year....more likely a big target next season

 

2. Oline:deepest position on this team.  Nsheke, Williams, Long, and Boehm are all very good backup types.  Starters: Dawkins likely to get a long term deal, Spain just got his, Morse stays healthy then he's here longterm, and they just drafted Ford in rd 2 last year....Feliciano played solid too, so i.just don't see them doing anything but letting this group "gel"

 

3. TE: Knox will be a very good TE, if he can stay healthy.  Kroft is a great 2a option, if he can stay healthy.  Then you have Sweeney, Smith, and Croom as competition.  Unless they are transforming the offense into a 2 TE offense, I don't see a need to.go after this group...plus just drafted 2 last year, Kroft restructured, and draft class is NOT deep

 

4. WR: Diggs, Brown, Beasley is the best trio we've had in a long while.  I think Duke Williams, Mckenzie and Foster each bring a different skill set, along with Roberts.  I could see a late round flier, but no draft pick is taking a top 3 slot, let alone seeing many targets unless two of our top guys go down.  

 

My prediction:

Round 2: corner

Round 3: running back

Round 4: safety

Round 5-7: linebacker, wr and punter

 

I’m in agreement on your analysis of needs, but without consideration for the players likely available at the Bills’ picks, to just say “pick these positions “ either is assuming that there will be equivalent prospects available at a multitude of positions at each pick or is a draft for need vs value approach.

 

i understand that we won’t know who is available until the draft unfolds and that we don’t know how the Bills’ board is stacked, but I hope that they stay true to what they say and pick BPA at least rounds 2-4.  If that coincides with their needs, great, but if not I’d rather have good players than lesser players because they play a position that they lack depth at.

 

i do think that CB and RB will be among BPAs at their 2nd and 3rd picks - as well as WR.  I would love for a good DE or RT to be available, but I don’t expect that.

Edited April 18, 2020 by OldTimer1960

[Thurman#1]

On 4/18/2020 at 7:45 AM, ColoradoBills said:

 

I will say that there has been a lot of agreement on the O playmaker opinion.  There are always those who have a completely different view

on any position on this board.  The one thing that really was getting to me was the RB1B or RB2 takes I have been seeing.

I just don't want to be in the same boat we were every time Shady pulled a hammy or groin.  We were stuck with these "running backs are a dime

a dozen and get them late in the draft or UDFA" guys.

 

To illustrate my point on this one part of the thread, below is all the Bills RBs/FBs since Fred Jackson left and Shady came aboard.

Pretty much all JAGs, cast offs or end of their career guys.  I just want to see better at RB.

 

Rk	Player	From	To	Draft	Tm	G	GS	Att	Yds	Y/A	TD	Y/G
1	LeSean McCoy	2015	2018	2-53	BUF	57	56	885	3814	4.31	25	66.9
2	Mike Gillislee	2015	2016	5-164	BUF	20	2	148	844	5.7	11	42.2
3	Devin Singletary	2019	2019	3-74	BUF	12	8	151	775	5.13	2	64.6
4	Frank Gore	2019	2019	3-65	BUF	16	8	166	599	3.61	2	37.4
5	Karlos Williams	2015	2015	5-155	BUF	11	3	93	517	5.56	7	47
6	Chris Ivory	2018	2018		BUF	13	1	115	385	3.35	1	29.6
7	Marcus Murphy	2017	2018	7-230	BUF	12	1	59	291	4.93	0	24.3
8	Mike Tolbert	2017	2017		BUF	12	0	66	247	3.74	1	20.6
9	Jonathan Williams	2016	2016	5-156	BUF	11	0	27	94	3.48	1	8.5
10	Travaris Cadet	2017	2017		BUF	6	0	22	93	4.23	0	15.5
11	Keith Ford	2018	2018		BUF	2	1	21	79	3.76	0	39.5
12	T.J. Yeldon	2019	2019	2-36	BUF	6	0	17	63	3.71	0	10.5
13	Anthony Dixon	2015	2015	6-173	BUF	16	1	21	44	2.1	1	2.8
14	Dan Herron	2015	2015	6-191	BUF	4	0	11	37	3.36	0	9.3
15	Jerome Felton	2015	2016	5-146	BUF	31	12	9	15	1.67	0	0.5
16	Patrick DiMarco	2017	2019		BUF	48	18	6	14	2.33	0	0.3
17	Senorise Perry	2019	2019		BUF	11	0	3	3	1	0	0.3
18	Cierre Wood	2015	2015		BUF	2	0	2	3	1.5	0	1.5
19	Joe Banyard	2017	2017		BUF	3	0	0	0		0	0
20	Glenn Gronkowski	2016	2016		BUF	1	0	0	0		0	0
21	Taiwan Jones	2017	2018	4-125	BUF	14	0	0	0		0	0

 

 

 

 

You say JAGs, castoffs or end of career guys.

 

But in fact, neither McCoy nor Singletary fit those three categories. McCoy got here when he was 27 and had three terrific seasons here. And Singletary is a young talented guy, one of the better backs in the league.

 

As for the rest, you've got a number of FBs listed there, and that's not much more than a distraction, as they won't ever run up many good stats, but in fact, our FBS haven't been JAGs, castoffs or end of career guys either. They've been very good player, but not really ball carriers. And since 2015 you've got two different scheme / regime changes, so any team in that circumstance will probably see a lot of roster churn and that's likely to include a lot of #2s, #3s, #4s and guys who are primarily special teams players.

 

As for wanting two really good RBs in case one gets injured ... why only RB? What happens if Allen gets injured? Or Tre-Davious or Tremaine or ...

 

When a guy gets injured there's likely to be a bit of a dropoff. The idea is to limit the dropoff because there's no way to have equal talent everywhere for your second stringers. Take the Chiefs last year. Here are their RBs: Damien Williams, the 31 year-old LeSean McCoy, Darwin Thompson and Darrel Williams. Where are the two guys who aren't JAGs, castoffs or end of career guys? Hell, where's one?

 

It seems very likely that they'll bring in another guy or two in the draft and FA. But if you're drafting for this year, you're not doing it right. Draft picks, especially higher-round picks, should be taken with the long-term in mind. And in the long-term, we've got our #1 RB for the next few years in Singletary. And we've got longer-term needs at Buffalo nickel, interior OL, CB, LB assuming we might not be able to afford to re-sign Milano, and our very old EDGE group. Not one under 30.

Edited April 19, 2020 by Thurman#1

[maryland-bills-fan]

On 4/18/2020 at 12:11 AM, Da webster guy said:

 

Elite yards per carry.  Same as Derrick Henry last year at 5.1, tied for 2nd best in the league.    Has good hands, vision, knack for knowing where the 1st down markers are too.  

About 44 in pass receiving.  About 16 in rushing yards, if you imagine that he never gets injured.

[Thurman#1]

12 minutes ago, maryland-bills-fan said:

About 44 in pass receiving.  About 16 in rushing yards, if you imagine that he never gets injured.

 

 

Yeah, I really blame him for getting so few yards on those passes they don't throw to him and the times when someone else ran the ball. A really good RB would have run his stats up from the bench.

 

The question isn't how well he did when they didn't get him the ball. It's how well he did when he did get the ball. And the answer to that is ... he did very well indeed.

Edited April 19, 2020 by Thurman#1

[maryland-bills-fan]

16 hours ago, OldTimer1960 said:

I’m in agreement on your analysis of needs, but without consideration for the players likely available at the Bills’ picks, to just say “pick these positions “ either is assuming that there will be equivalent prospects available at a multitude of positions at each pick or is a draft for need vs value approach.

 

i understand that we won’t know who is available until the draft unfolds and that we don’t know how the Bills’ board is stacked, but I hope that they stay true to what they say and pick BPA at least rounds 2-4.  If that coincides with their needs, great, but if not I’d rather have good players than lesser players because they play a position that they lack depth at.

 

i do think that CB and RB will be among BPAs at their 2nd and 3rd picks - as well as WR.  I would love for a good DE or RT to be available, but I don’t expect that.

I think that there are 5 RB's this year who are quite a bit above the others. There is a lot of good 2nd tier guys for depth in the 3rd and even 4th round. We have a good chance of getting one of those top 5:  Swift, Taylor, Dobbins, Edwards-Helaire, and Akers. (Swift will be gone).  Each brings something different to the table and I don't know how the Bills have then ranked.    Any of them will have a positive offensive impact on the Bills and probably will be the RB1A by the end of the season.  We do not have a viable second RB on the roster who can be expected to carry the load or even be a replacement/suppliemental guy.  Beane has put out a lot of not so subtle hints about what direction the Bills are going.   "Touchdown makers",  "not afraid to trade up to get the guy you want",  "difference makers".

 

3 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

Yeah, I really blame him for getting so few yards on those passes they don't throw to him and the times when someone else ran the ball. A really good RB would have run his stats up from the bench.

 

The question isn't how well he did when they didn't get him the ball. It's how well he did when he did get the ball. And the answer to that is ... he did very well indeed.

Why didn't they pass to him more?  I guess our coaches are not very smart.

 

Why did they trade for Diggs? https://www.buffalobills.com/video/highlight-dion-dawkins-catches-td-pass

Edited April 19, 2020 by maryland-bills-fan

[ColoradoBills]

8 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

 

You say JAGs, castoffs or end of career guys.

 

But in fact, neither McCoy nor Singletary fit those three categories. McCoy got here when he was 27 and had three terrific seasons here. And Singletary is a young talented guy, one of the better backs in the league.

 

As for the rest, you've got a number of FBs listed there, and that's not much more than a distraction, as they won't ever run up many good stats, but in fact, our FBS haven't been JAGs, castoffs or end of career guys either. They've been very good player, but not really ball carriers. And since 2015 you've got two different scheme / regime changes, so any team in that circumstance will probably see a lot of roster churn and that's likely to include a lot of #2s, #3s, #4s and guys who are primarily special teams players.

 

As for wanting two really good RBs in case one gets injured ... why only RB? What happens if Allen gets injured? Or Tre-Davious or Tremaine or ...

 

When a guy gets injured there's likely to be a bit of a dropoff. The idea is to limit the dropoff because there's no way to have equal talent everywhere for your second stringers. Take the Chiefs last year. Here are their RBs: Damien Williams, the 31 year-old LeSean McCoy, Darwin Thompson and Darrel Williams. Where are the two guys who aren't JAGs, castoffs or end of career guys? Hell, where's one?

 

It seems very likely that they'll bring in another guy or two in the draft and FA. But if you're drafting for this year, you're not doing it right. Draft picks, especially higher-round picks, should be taken with the long-term in mind. And in the long-term, we've got our #1 RB for the next few years in Singletary. And we've got longer-term needs at Buffalo nickel, interior OL, CB, LB assuming we might not be able to afford to re-sign Milano, and our very old EDGE group. Not one under 30.

 

It was a list extracted of RBs from Pro Football Reference.  They include everyone in the backfield.

I stated specifically about when Shady (who is NOT one of the bolded) went down the Bills typically suffered and I don't want to see that happen 

with Singletary.

 

As to other positions and injury drop off.  I would like to see improvement especially in the QB position.

If you're fine with the RB situation then OK, but many fans want a RB1 RB2 situation here in Buffalo irregardless of what other teams are doing.

 

[BeastMaster]

Just draft BPA, Beane!

[hjnick]

On 4/17/2020 at 8:40 AM, SCBills said:

I go back and forth on RB at 54.  I don’t love the idea in a vacuum, but then realize that an elite talent will be available at that position when we draft, we do play in Buffalo and a strong running game will be important later in the season. ...or at least the ability to run.  
 

The idea of say, Taylor/Singletary is pretty filthy. 

For me at 54... As long as it is a RB, WR, OT, DE or CB, whatever Beane thinks is best for the team.

 

If a Mims, Shenault, Higgins type is there, I'd be good with that.  If one of the 3 top RB's is there, I'd be good with that.  I don't know the OT, DE, or CB's as well as those positions, so if Beane like that position better, then ok.

[hjnick]

On 4/17/2020 at 1:36 PM, ColoradoBills said:

 

Your points on Devin are well taken.  I guess I should not of said I think he is incapable of being a true #1RB.

I guess it could be more of my personal take on the position.  I want a more rotational RB stable with each back a little specialized.

Devin definitely is a unique type of RB and I definitely am a fan of how he runs.

Wouldn't mind him teamed up with a more typical 5'10" - 5'11" type with some breakout speed and one that can get to the edge quickly.

That's my want as a RB1A and B setup.  A bigger tough between the tackles RB/FB rounds out the stable for me.

Of course you want each one to be able to catch the ball too.

 

I like the thought of having different skill sets to scheme and adjust somewhat depending on the type of defense you face each week.

I guess I always have thought that way since the Morris/Csonka/Kiick days.  NE has been pretty successful with the same theory today.

I totally agree with you about wanting a stable of running backs.  This does not mean that I think Singletary is not good, I do and I like him as a RB, BUT we should be drafting a RB in every draft to keep bringing in fresh legs into the stable.

 

Once we have used the RB for 4-5 years, let them go to another team if they like OR sign a team friendly deal to stay.  We will have 3-4 other RB's just waiting to take their place.

[Da webster guy]

On 4/19/2020 at 4:00 AM, maryland-bills-fan said:

About 44 in pass receiving.  About 16 in rushing yards, if you imagine that he never gets injured.

 

Singletary doesn't call the plays dude.  When his number is called he has elite yards per carry.   

Looking at total yards without considering the amount of carries is ridiculous.  Singletary had half the carries that total-yardage leaders like Zeke, and Chubb did this year.  He's a rookie who played a dozen pro games at a very high level.  

The kid is a stud.

[maryland-bills-fan]

9 hours ago, Da webster guy said:

 

Singletary doesn't call the plays dude.  When his number is called he has elite yards per carry.   

Looking at total yards without considering the amount of carries is ridiculous.  Singletary had half the carries that total-yardage leaders like Zeke, and Chubb did this year.  He's a rookie who played a dozen pro games at a very high level.  

The kid is a stud.

Yep, I guess the Bill's coaching staff is so dumb that they didn't pass to him or let him run more because,, well they're dumb and didn't want to win or keep their jobs.   The only problem was the coaches were not as smart as some fans. ... AND we should line up Dion Dawkins out wide because he has the best {TD/pass target} ratio on the team.   AND our QB has over half the rushing yards of your stud running back.  And we seldom went to him in short yardage plays. Well forget those.

 

Good coaching will set up and call plays that work effectively.  Yards per carry is a result of game planning as much as it is player ability.   Answer this question.  IF Singletary could do 5.5 yards a carry, the why didn't the Bills just give him the ball on every play, so that every possession would be a 17 play touchdown drive?

 

 

[ColoradoBills]

On 4/16/2020 at 1:39 PM, ColoradoBills said:

I want Beane to go into the draft looking for offensive playmakers with the first 3 out of 4 picks and maybe a later pick or 2.

There, I said it and feel better already.

 

Stefon Diggs was a great start but he is the only playmaker upgrade so far.  In fact he is the only starter change on O from last year.

Getting a backup RB (like many have suggested) and calling it a day is the last thing I want to see.

 

For all the "we need more on Defense" posters I understand your concerns and want to see many of the upgrades too BUT much of that has been

addressed in FA and let's all acknowledge that the D will continue to be "Way above average" this coming year.

 

Do we think Diggs is all that is needed for the Bills Offense to get "Way above Average"?

The Bills have Allen, Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Knox and Singletary as starters.  Singletary IMO is not a 65% snap count kind of back.

Knox is still a work in progress and Brown and Beasley are already into their prime age contracts.

If any of these guys are lost for any amount of time who are their replacements?

 

Yeldon, DiMarco, Kroft, Roberts, Williams, McKenzie, Barkley, Jones and Foster are all FA's next year.  How many of them are needed/wanted for the future?

Lee Smith has 2 years left on his contract.  How many want to see him on the team in 2021?

The other JAG's Croom,  McCloud, Easley, Becker, Webb, Wade, the Professor and Mary Ann are all 50 to 1 long shots.  With exception of Mary Ann!

Let's start rotating out of these above players now with rookies on 4 year cheap contracts and not wait to do it all next year!

 

With the exception of an Edge Rusher I want Beane to get playmakers to help score as many points as possible and/or establish some decent long term depth.

A consistent Punter wouldn't hurt in the 6th or 7th too.

 

Just wanted to give A "Thank You" to Brandon Beane on the 2020 Draft.

You did the right thing for the team this year IMO!

[billsfan89]

Moss plus two bigger WR's is a nice complement of skill position players to the team. AJ helps the biggest need on defense getting younger along the DE particularly at DE but the skill position infusion of talent is quality.