Grade the draft

[Bangarang]

I refuse to count Diggs as part of our draft class because I think it’s silly. 
 

Overall, I like what Beane did. No flashy picks but I think Ep and Moss contribute right away.

Hodgins and Davis introduce some much needed size to the WR room and hopefully push some of the dead weight (Foster and Duke) off the team.

 

I’m hoping Bass wins the job since I think Hauschka has lost some power in his leg and I think he has some mental problems at times.

[Lieutenant Aldo Raine]

6 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

I refuse to count Diggs as part of our draft class because I think it’s silly. 
 

Overall, I like what Beane did. No flashy picks but I think Ep and Moss contribute right away.

Hodgins and Davis introduce some much needed size to the WR room and hopefully push some of the dead weight (Foster and Duke) off the team.

 

I’m hoping Bass wins the job since I think Hauschka has lost some power in his leg and I think he has some mental problems at times.

It may be silly but that 22nd pick, say again pick, netted Diggs.  You have to account for the pick as a commodity.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

I grade it a satisfactory.

[Boatdrinks]

B

[Phil The Thrill]

1 hour ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Solid B.  Diggs and Moss provide more weapons for Allen and Epenesa adds much needed youth to the DE spot

 

Diggs - Unlike some that don't include veterans that are traded for picks I will.  Diggs is as good as any first round WR prospect, has a proven track record, and has a reasonable contract.  A+

Epenesa - solid DE that brings youth, size, and strength.  Doubt he gets more than 5 sacks a year but he should not be a liability in the run game and has a year to learn from Addison. B+

Moss - good tough RB that fills a need. B

Davis - decent size and has a chance to develop.  I suspect he will be a healthy scratch most of the year as he won't play much STs and is not the gadget type 4th WR that Daboll likes.  Replaces Duke. B-

Fromm - I wanted another QB but would rather have had Eason.  I think his upside may be a little more than Barkley but his downside might be as bad as Peterman.  He has a JV arm but has played against great competition for years.   He will easily make the team and they will carry 3 QBs this year.  B grade getting him in the 5th. 

Bass - camp competition and good use of a late round pick when they had little other roster spots open. B

Hodgins - slow off the LOS with little separation.  Great hands and height but not athletic.  Unlikely he makes the roster unless the keep 7 WR.  If he has a decent camp, maybe a PS guy

Jackson - little to no chance to make the roster.  Pick would have been better used on a P or an OT or used earlier in the day to move up a few spots.  Good chance he makes the expanded PS. D

 

 

 

 

Meh.... this thread should have been a poll.  
 

Overall I like this draft

Espensa - B+
Moss - A-

Davis - B 

Fromm - B+
Bass - D

Hodgkins - C+
Jackson - C

[Buffalo Boy]

    Sometimes, when I have time to get to work and I get behind a slow driver; instead of passing them , I chill out and practice my patience. I don’t do this often ?

     This is how Beane seemed to me this draft. It was like he decided ahead of time he was just going to spend a whole draft seeing what came to him and filling needs without stressing too much. 
    I feel like Fromm was the only BPA where Beane felt compelled to take the pick .

    It remains to be seen who we actually got. If any of them actually flash, this draft gets up into the A range. If they ( DE, RB, WR) are just all decent starters then it’s a B-/C+. 
   It the former happens AND the kicker works out and is with us for years....A+

[BuffaloBillsGospel]

It's an A from me, not so much the players but we needed to come out of this draft with a young edge rusher, we have that in Epenesa, we needed to get a back who could share carries with Singletary and we've done that. I've never been a fan of Matt Barkley so replacing him with someone better (I think Fromm definitely is) was a solid option and we gave Josh some nice targets for the redzone. I was a bit surprised we didn't draft a CB or some young LB depth but we picked up some LB depth in FA and we can always address that in next years draft. We should all really be thankful for this coaching staff and management, they turned a really bad roster into a solid unit who believes they can win and those teams usually do, great things lie ahead for us so I'm really excited to see this play out.

[ehfeuh57]

A

[Ethan in Cleveland]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

Incomplete.

Grading a draft before any of the players have played a down in the NFL is a fool's errand.

Of course it is just like doing mock drafts. Just have fun

[Deep Voice]

1 hour ago, wppete said:

A+ Draft overall. Excellent draft by Beane.

 

YEAH

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

Leaving Diggs out of it which you really shouldn't, I'd give it a solid B. It's not exciting or sexy in any way, typical McBeane. The most exciting part for me was taking Fromm, and if that's the most exciting part...well it ain't exciting. I can't bash them for picking guys who should be solid and fill needs, and in the salary cap era these are the drafts that payoff down the road.

[NFLBighits]

I'm giving the crew a delay A+, so wait a few years and ask me again.?

[Rob's House]

I'm happy with it, but we'll see.

 

This time in 2016 we were talking about what an amazing draft we just had. Shaq Lawson, Reggie Ragland, and Adolph Washington were going to dominate the NFL. Whaley's ability to draft guys that were hyped by draft pundits but passed over by NFL teams was a wonder to behold.

 

We all know how that turned out.

Edited April 26, 2020 by Rob's House

[FireChans]

3 minutes ago, Rob's House said:

I'm happy with it, but we'll see.

 

This time in 2016 we were talking about what an amazing draft we just had. Shaw Lawson, Reggie Ragland, and Adolph Washington were going to dominate the NFL. Whaley's ability to draft guys that were hyped by draft pundits but passed over by NFL teams was a wonder to behold.

 

We all know how that turned out.

Ah man. What’s actually incredible is that you’re sorta right. Not about how those dudes were gonna dominate. That actually wasn’t the prevailing thought. It was more that those 3 were all solid contributor picks. Nothing flashy, but all 3 would be decent role players. And none of them were for years, or at all. 

 

God, I hope that isn’t the case with this crew.

[hjnick]

Beane got recruits for EDGE, RB, WR X 2, CB, QB, and Kicker.

 

The only pick what I was like wut was the Kicker.  I was hoping he would have drafted the Punter Mann there...

 

Other than that, the picks filled needs IMO.

 

Grade for me is incomplete.  We will need to see how many make the team and how well they play this year...

[machine gun kelly]

Pure speculation as it is incomplete until they play, or not and one thing I like about the guys on the Blitz, NFLR is they grade a draft from four years ago each year.  This is the best way as you find out we’re they retained, did they start, did they make a large impact on their respective team and so on.  For this draft, happy to play along and say B.  
 

This is primarily because I did include Diggs, and with him and the 2nd-4th picks could potentially start or at least be role players.  I like their chances for doing well.  It’s not common to find a Milano in the 5th, but if any of the late picks make the team barring the kicker as he has a fair shot at making the team.  He’s cheaper than House $, and only because House missed quite a bit last year.

 

If they late picks make the practice squad, or ST, then it was a good draft.  This year though is an anomaly with potentially little or no training camp so it may take longer to assess these guys.  It also in hindsight albeit luck that Beane pulled the trigger on the Diggs trade.  He will come in and perform right away as he still has the entire off season to learn the signals, playbook, and really is at a disadvantage not getting in sync with Allen.  He can though go out to Palmers camp with Allen and start to familiarize the relationship.

[ProcessTruster]

6 hours ago, Rob's House said:

I'm happy with it, but we'll see.

 

This time in 2016 we were talking about what an amazing draft we just had. Shaq Lawson, Reggie Ragland, and Adolph Washington were going to dominate the NFL. Whaley's ability to draft guys that were hyped by draft pundits but passed over by NFL teams was a wonder to behold.

 

We all know how that turned out.

those guys were drafted to fit specific roles in Rex's 3-4 defense, Shaq as the run game edge setter 3-4 end, Ragland as the big banger inside LB.   Can't remember what Washington was drafted to play, the first two were for a defense that was completely ripped out when McBeanes came in.  Ragland was suddenly way too big and slow to play LB in McD's 4-3, so he was shipped to KC's 3-4 (that worked out pretty well for him) and Shaq was no 4-3 pass rushing end, although he evolved enough to get a big FA deal.   So it all goes back to the hiring of Rex, which was about the worst thing Pegs could have done. 

[eball]

For a team with no immediate starter needs, Beane knocked it out of the park with Epenesa and Moss.  Both will contribute immediately but neither has to be relied upon fully.

 

The rest of the draft brought us a developmental QB with a great resume, two big WR prospects with intriguing potential, the top-rated kicker in the draft, and a CB prospect who will most likely be cut or go to the PS.

 

I didn't think anyone past round 4 was likely to make this team but Fromm and the kicker change that...both could stick.

 

If you're picking nits you can criticize Beane for not making any moves up or down the board but overall there were no reaches and it's hard to say the roster did not get better.

 

Adding Diggs to the mix is obviously also a big part of this...without him the needs were very different.

[H2o]

Factor in that we got Diggs with out 1st Round pick and it's easily an A. Getting Epenesa at #54 was something I never expected and I think he will be productive in this defense even though he will likely never get you more than 10 sacks in a season. Moss is a banger out of the backfield, who has hands to go with it, and can block. Davis and Hodgins are both big targets for Josh. Davis is the is the vertical threat and Hodgins is the guy who will shake you to get open in the redzone quickly. Fromm is a good pickup in the place we got him. He's never going to be a superstar, but he is smart and protects the football. He will supplant Barkley as Josh's backup within the next year. The kicker we drafted has some serious leg strength, but we'll have to see how he holds up in the wind at the Ralph. I know nothing to speak on about Dane Jackson or any of our UDFA's, but the team clearly got better on Friday and Saturday. 

[maryland-bills-fan]

8 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I’m going to say B (and I don’t count Diggs in the draft). I don’t think that the Bills drafted one guy that will ever play in the Pro Bowl with the possible exception of Bass. They drafted a bunch of guys that can and will fill a role. The Bills didn’t have a need though for immediate impact players. They had some spots that needed to get better and they accomplished that. Overall, I’m pleased but not overwhelmed.

Yes, I agree.  In the past 3 drafts they seemed to be looking for all-pro type core players.  This year it was drafting for need to augment the players already in place.