Post-Draft Roster Predictions

[Turk71]

I think both of the wrs drafted make the final roster.

[BobbyC81]

12 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I don’t think so and Beane even alluded to it. Bass was drafted with the intention of taking the job. Unless he falls on his face it is his job to lose. He has a massive leg and was considered the top kicker in the draft. He wasn’t drafted to be cut and end up on someone else’s roster. 

 

I’m sure that’s what the thought was when Gary Anderson was drafted many seasons ago 

[CaptnCoke11]

Murphy won’t be around.  They’ll save the 8/9 million and cut him

[Jeff1954]

Great discussion. I think they have to keep Bass on the 53 or they lose him so he will have to show that he can’t handle pressure to be off the team. I remember they let Hopkins go a few years ago and he’s turned into a very good kicker.

I also hope they keep Fromm either as second or third QB. He basically defines “the process” and was more than a competent QB in the SEC.

And of course they keep the first four drafted.

So yes. There’s a traffic jam for sure.

Whether any of the other rookies even have a chance to make the team will depend on the length of the preseason, injuries and how Beane wants to manipulate the salary cap and whether he wants to trade any vets. for future draft picks.

Perhaps another unknown here is whether the Pegulas under their current business circumstances want to drop a couple of vets. to save some millions on the salary cap until the price of oil recovers.

Who knows? Thanks to everyone for your contributions and let’s all hope we get a preseason.

[CEN-CAL17]

13 hours ago, IgotBILLStopay said:

nice attempt. Unlike last year when a majority of the 53 was set after the draft - this time there will be some competition to get into the 53.

 

K (1): Bass that leg is just too strong - and he was reasonably accurate to actually give Haushka a run for his money

P (1): Bojorquez

LS (1): Ferguson

QB (3): Allen, Barkley, Fromm (we cant go with 2 QBs on the roster ever - too important a position)

RB (4): Singletary, Moss, Wade, Jones (Jones over Yeldon since he contributes on ST)

FB (0): no more DiMarco

WR (7): Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Williams, McKenzie, Foster, Roberts (will be hard for Davis and Hodgins to crack the roster this year - maybe next - also no one else has Foster's speed for ST)

TE (3): Knox, Kroft, Sweeney - Knox is #1 on the depth chart and no Smith please

T (4): Dawkins, Nsekhe, Ford, Adams - Daryl Williams has a contract that one can easily walk away from & Bates can play T.

G (3): Spain, Feliciano, Bates (Ford and Long can play inside)

C (2): Morse, Long

DT (4): Oliver, Butler, Lotulelei, Phillips - Jefferson can play DT if necessary

DE (5): Hughes, Epenesa, Addison, Jefferson, Murphy - replace Murphy with D. Johnson if Murphy is traded

LB (5): Edmunds, Milano, Klein, Matakevich, Joseph

S (4): Hyde, Poyer, Neal, J. Johnson

CB (5): White, Wallace, T. Johnson, Norman, Gaines

 

EDIT: OMG, FORGOT about the 55 man roster for 2020 season. Add Gillam / DiMarco and Dane Jackson (cant have enough CBs) to the roster to make it 55!

Williams Cut?! 
 

No way. Beane has to much respect for the guy unless he just sucks. 
 

in 2017 Williams was All Pro RT. A position that was probably our weakest last year. Nsekhe will be the guy cut, injury prone, like 36 years old. Just a backup. 
 

our RTs will be Williams, Ford, Trey Adams, and Bates in a pinch. Go youth and potential vs a guy that’s gonna sit the bench at 36. 
 

Williams at RT, Ford at RG. Williams gets hurt you slide Ford over to RT and Feliciano goes to RG. Feliciano is going to be the swing IOL man. Cut Long too!!!!

 

Dawkins, Spain, Morse, Ford, Williams 

 

Feliciano, Bates, Adams, Boehm

 

Theses your 9.....

[Fixxxer]

12 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

That is all in. He wouldn’t have drafted him if his expectation was cutting him. He took a shot on an elite talent with the hopes of upgrading the kicking game. He wasn’t an UDFA. They drafted 2 more players after him. Bass was a priority. They didn’t use that asset to cut him where he will almost certainly end up on someone else’s active roster. He saw a chance to upgrade and took it. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say he was planning on that going into the draft. He may have had Mann targeted as well but he went too soon. I don’t think Hauschka or Bojorquez are on the roster this year. They want more power and more consistency.

 

I hope it's the right decision, then.

 

Hauschka was a 78.5% FG kicker, 22 of 28.  Hauschka was bad on 50+ FGs, 1 of 5

 

 

Bass was a 71.4% FG kicker, 20 of 28, of those 20 made FGs, none were more than 50 yards (only 2 49 yards FG) Can't find the data of those 8 misses.

[Kirby Jackson]

8 minutes ago, Fixxxer said:

 

I hope it's the right decision, then.

 

Hauschka was a 78.5% FG kicker, 22 of 28.  Hauschka was bad on 50+ FGs, 1 of 5

 

 

Bass was a 71.4% FG kicker, 20 of 28, of those 20 made FGs, none were more than 50 yards (only 2 49 yards FG) Can't find the data of those 8 misses.

He made 27 FGs from 40+ in his career the most in FBS. He’s 79.41%. Bass was the #1 kicker or Kiper’s board and a Groza finalist. He has a BIG leg. The Bills will have someone other than Hauschka handling long kicks and kickoffs. Maybe they keep 2 kickers? I suppose that possible. Maybe they keep Kaare Vedvik instead of Bojorquez and he handles long kicks? That’s possible too. It is highly unlikely that the Bills roll into next year with the same 2 as last year (unless they keep a 3rd guy). That was what Beane basically said.

2 hours ago, ColeB said:

 

I’m sure that’s what the thought was when Gary Anderson was drafted many seasons ago 

Things were different 38 years ago. The scouting was nowhere near as developed and teams made WAY more mistakes. The Bills obviously should have kept Anderson though. 
 

Much more recently the Bills drafted Dustin Hopkins in 2013. He’s had a nice career in Washington converting 85% of his FG opportunities. Carpenter and Hauschka have adequately handled the kicking duties here since he was drafted.

[BuffaloHokie13]

16 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Can someone explain exactly how guys 54 & 55 work? Are they protected? 

You call them up from PS for the day and then they return to the PS. They are protected while returning twice. After the second use the player is exposed to waivers before returning to the PS.

 

@GunnerBill

Edited April 27, 2020 by BuffaloHokie13

[jwhit34]

On 4/26/2020 at 8:09 AM, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Allen / Barkley / Fromm

 

Moss / Singletary / Yeldon / Jones / DiMarco

 

Diggs / Brown / Beasley / Davis / McKenzie / Roberts

 

Knox / Kroft / Smith

 

Dawkins / Spain / Morse / Ford / Da. Williams / Nsekhe / Bates / Long / Feliciano

 

Bass / Vedvik / Ferguson

 

Hughes / Phillips / Oliver / Epenesa / Addison / Butler / Lotulelei / Murphy / Jefferson

 

Klein / Edmunds / Milano / Matakevich / Joseph / Thompson

 

White / Norman / T. Johnson / Gaines / Wallace / Neal

 

Hyde / Poyer / J. Johnson

I think this is pretty right on. It does point out the difficulty in keeping 3 QBs and if you want to figure out how to maybe keep Hauschka and Bass for a year it will be difficult. Also don't know if they would only keep 9 DBs particularly 3 S. So the only spots I would possibly see a change:

 

RB: If they think Taiwan Jones can take a carry or two in a pinch maybe they let Yeldon go

TE: Lee Smith may not make it. Sweeney over Smith if he can step up his blocking

DL: May not be able to keep 9, does that make Murphy expendable? I can't see them letting anyone else go on the list. 

S: Add one - Marlowe? 

 

That opens up 1 slot which they could use for the extra kicker

 

[Kirby Jackson]

3 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said:

You call them up from PS for the day and then they return to the PS. They are protected while returning twice. After the second use the player is exposed to waivers before returning to the PS.

 

@GunnerBill

So in theory it will be different guys filling those spots? It’s more of an injury insurance than 2 extra spots. That is an interesting concept and makes some sense. 

[BuffaloHokie13]

3 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

So in theory it will be different guys filling those spots? It’s more of an injury insurance than 2 extra spots. That is an interesting concept and makes some sense. 

Prevents it from being abused too. Calling up the same player every week draws attention and risks exposure. 

 

What I don't know is whether they must return to PS. Like say we call up Hodgins and he has 7 catches for 104 yards and 2 TDs. Can we cut McKenzie and keep him active? 

Edited April 27, 2020 by BuffaloHokie13

[GunnerBill]

7 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said:

You call them up from PS for the day and then they return to the PS. They are protected while returning twice. After the second use the player is exposed to waivers before returning to the PS.

 

@GunnerBill

 

So your core roster is still 53? But say you have a week where you have 2 tackles nicked up.... you can call a tackle off your practice squad up and make him active on gameday. He automatically then returns to the PS the day after the game unless you cut someone and put that tackle on the active roster. You can do that twice per PS player. But once you call him up a 3rd time to be your 54th man as such, then he doesn't automatically return to the PS he is treated as if he is cut the day after (unless you add to active roster and cut someone else).

 

Have I got that right?

[CapeBreton]

Patrick DiMarco will be on the team next year, he’s valuable in special teams so that basically guarantees him a spot. I’m sure we can get away with having Gilliam on our practice squad for a year and then have him take over in 2021 when DiMarco’s contract expires.

[Kirby Jackson]

9 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said:

Prevents it from being abused too. Calling up the same player every week draws attention and risks exposure. 

 

What I don't know is whether they must return to PS. Like say we call up Hodgins and he has 7 catches for 104 yards and 2 TDs. Can we cut McKenzie and keep him active? 

I would assume so because you can pick up street free agents and cut a guy that’s active. 

[GunnerBill]

Can I just say in 2016, 2017 and 2018 it was hard finding 53 people worthy of being on NFL rosters when looking down the Bills squad. Last season we were letting guys go who were NFL players elsewhere and this year it is likely to be the same. You can pick holes in their depth at safety and corner and maybe at linebacker too (though I like the young kids we have in that room) but no more than is normal even among the top teams in this league. This is a deep and talented roster. Still needs a few more "stars" to emerge at the top end but this is as solid of a group as the Bills have had in my fandom.

2 minutes ago, CapeBreton said:

Patrick DiMarco will be on the team next year, he’s valuable in special teams so that basically guarantees him a spot. I’m sure we can get away with having Gilliam on our practice squad for a year and then have him take over in 2021 when DiMarco’s contract expires.

 

This is 100% what I think too.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

On 4/26/2020 at 7:47 AM, PetermansRedemption said:

I agree with pretty much of all this except kicker. I think Bass beats out Hauscka. When you take a kicker in the 6th round you plan to have a true open competition. This isn’t like last pre-season where McLaughlin never really got a chance to unseat Hauscka. 
 

I think Fromm doesn’t make the 53 but is put on the PS and becomes the full time backup the following season. 

 

I'm in favor of this happening too, but not sure if the can get away with cutting him and another team not grabbing him before he gets to the PS.  Will have to give him terrible situations in pre-season to make him look bad 

 

But everyone said the same last year about Duke Williams last year after the "amazing" pre-season he had and look how many others jumped at him.  A 5th rounder with his pedigree might be hard to stash though.

[MrEpsYtown]

30 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

He made 27 FGs from 40+ in his career the most in FBS. He’s 79.41%. Bass was the #1 kicker or Kiper’s board and a Groza finalist. He has a BIG leg. The Bills will have someone other than Hauschka handling long kicks and kickoffs. Maybe they keep 2 kickers? I suppose that possible. Maybe they keep Kaare Vedvik instead of Bojorquez and he handles long kicks? That’s possible too. It is highly unlikely that the Bills roll into next year with the same 2 as last year (unless they keep a 3rd guy). That was what Beane basically said.

Agreed. It definitely won’t be Hauschka and Bojorquez...it could be Bass and Bojo, or Hauschka and Vedvik. Could also be Bass and Vedvik. 
 

Though, imo, it should be Bass and Turk, but that’s besides the point. 

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, MrEpsYtown said:

Agreed. It definitely won’t be Hauschka and Bojorquez...it could be Bass and Bojo, or Hauschka and Vedvik. Could also be Bass and Vedvik. 
 

Though, imo, it should be Bass and Turk, but that’s besides the point. 

 

Yep. If Haush is still the kicker then Vedvik is the punter, kick off guy and long field goal specialist.

[IgotBILLStopay]

2 hours ago, CEN-CAL17 said:

Williams Cut?! 
 

No way. Beane has to much respect for the guy unless he just sucks. 
 

in 2017 Williams was All Pro RT. A position that was probably our weakest last year. Nsekhe will be the guy cut, injury prone, like 36 years old. Just a backup. 
 

our RTs will be Williams, Ford, Trey Adams, and Bates in a pinch. Go youth and potential vs a guy that’s gonna sit the bench at 36. 
 

Williams at RT, Ford at RG. Williams gets hurt you slide Ford over to RT and Feliciano goes to RG. Feliciano is going to be the swing IOL man. Cut Long too!!!!

 

Dawkins, Spain, Morse, Ford, Williams 

 

Feliciano, Bates, Adams, Boehm

 

Theses your 9.....

That is what I originally thought. But looking closely, I am not sure that the Bills really valued him that high. The dead cap is just 250K. so Bills can easily walk away paying him nothing. if he was so valuable, don’t you think he’d have commanded a higher guarantee? That is what I tried to explain in my original post .. but I was too cryptic.

 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/daryl-williams-16828/

[TigerJ]

On 4/26/2020 at 6:44 AM, RealKayAdams said:

Whatcha got, Bills fans? I need help with mine:

 

K (1): Hauschka

P (1): Bojorquez

LS (1): Ferguson

QB (2): Allen, Barkley

RB (4): Singletary, Moss, Yeldon, Jones

FB (1): DiMarco

WR (6): Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Davis, McKenzie, Roberts

TE (3): Kroft, Knox, Sweeney

T (4): Dawkins, Williams, Nsekhe, Ford

G (3): Spain, Feliciano, Boehm

C (2): Morse, Long

DT (5): Oliver, Butler, Jefferson, Lotulelei, Phillips

DE (5): Hughes, Epenesa, Addison, Murphy, D. Johnson

LB (6): Edmunds, Milano, Klein, Thompson, Matakevich, Joseph

S (4): Hyde, Poyer, Neal, J. Johnson

CB (5): White, Wallace, T. Johnson, Norman, Gaines

 

My analysis: I had to cut too much talent! I couldn't even fit the last 4 draft picks (Fromm, Bass, Hodgins, Jackson) on the final 53, and it's probably not safe to store any of them on the practice squad. Wade and Foster also have too much natural talent to leave off the roster.

 

My conclusion: Goodell needs to cancel the 2020 NFL season immediately, but it has nothing to do with the coronavirus. The Buffalo Bills have already won the 55th Super Bowl with their roster additions. Brandon Beane is a GM magician who has mastered the dark arts of pro football roster assembly.

 

 

That is as plausible as any roster projection.  The thing is, there is always a chance, even a likelihood that a fringe member or two of the training camp roster - a late round draft pick or a UDFA will come in and simply demand to be given consideration for a roster spot.  Is it Dane Jackson who comes in and out plays Taron Johnson?  Dane has the flexibility to play outside too.  Is it Vedvik who pushes Bojorquez off the roster.  Maybe Trey Adams (any relation?) demonstrates that he's past his injury woes and playing with all the promise he showed three years ago.  The challenge with doing any projection is it's impossible to identify who is going to beat the odds, so you end up either following the odds all the way down the list, or spicing it up with a wild guess or two.  Good luck on your predictions in any case.

Edited April 27, 2020 by TigerJ