The Bills 2020 Draft in Perspective

[Shaw66]

I'm just reflecting on how life as a Bills fan has changed.   

 

We suffered through 15 years of NFL drafts, in my case foolishly hoping that some name that the Bills selected in the first round or maybe the second would make the team good.   Think of the all the unreasonable expectations people put on Manuel, on Gilmore, on Maybin, on Dareus, on Sammy, on McGahee, on Lynch.   It went on, year after year.   You may have been excited about this choice or disappointed about that choice, but every year there was this unreasonable hope, this expectation, that we were witnessing the beginning of greatness.  

 

Viewed from the perspective of those years, the Bills' 2020 draft was an enormous disappointment.   No first round pick (remember 2005, when Aaron Rodgers could have become a Bill?), an edge player whom no one expects to be a Kahlil Mack or Von Miller, a running back who's too short and too slow to be a stud, a wideout left over after a bumper crop of wideouts was drafted, a back-up quarterback, a kicker, for Pete's sake, a too slow receiver and a corner back who lasted to the seventh round.   Are you kidding?   We're supposed to be excited about that?   We missed out on all the good quarterbacks, all the good offensive linemen, all the good receivers, some stud defensive backs.   What kind of draft is this?

 

Well, when you have your franchise quarterback, you get a backup QB in your draft every few years.   When you have a really good defense, a role-playing defensive end is just what you need.   When you already have a starting running back and you can get another guy to share the load without having to be a star in his own right, you do it.   When you gave up your first pick to get top-end wideout, you can afford to let the cream of the crop go to other teams who are desperate to generate offense.  

 

The national press seems to be giving the Bills As and Bs for the 2020 draft.   In years gone by, they would have blasted, absolutely blasted the Bills for being so clueless.   Where are the impact players, the diamonds in the rough?   Well, when you're good, they're already on the team.  

 

I spent 20 years looking forward to the time when the Bills would be good.   In part, I looked forward to how exciting it would be.   In fact, the only exciting time is when the Bills are on the field.   The draft and free agency have turned out to be the most boring parts of the year.   Not unimportant, but not all that exciting, either.  

 

Go Bills!!!

[Rock'em Sock'em]

Thank you, very well written!  The Bills have found a really nice balance between drafting for need, finding value, and finding guys that they scouted and feel good about.

[Shaw66]

8 minutes ago, Rock'em Sock'em said:

Thank you, very well written!  The Bills have found a really nice balance between drafting for need, finding value, and finding guys that they scouted and feel good about.

Cool way to look at it.   A good balance.   

[BBILL12]

Yep, I'm disappointed in this draft as well. All we did was draft for bench strength and development. What a let down. (Total sarcasm)

When was the last time that's all that was needed? Awesome draft and can't wait for the games to begin!

[first_and_ten]

32 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I'm just reflecting on how life as a Bills fan has changed.   

 

We suffered through 15 years of NFL drafts, in my case foolishly hoping that some name that the Bills selected in the first round or maybe the second would make the team good.   Think of the all the unreasonable expectations people put on Manuel, on Gilmore, on Maybin, on Dareus, on Sammy, on McGahee, on Lynch.   It went on, year after year.   You may have been excited about this choice or disappointed about that choice, but every year there was this unreasonable hope, this expectation, that we were witnessing the beginning of greatness.  

 

Viewed from the perspective of those years, the Bills' 2020 draft was an enormous disappointment.   No first round pick (remember 2005, when Aaron Rodgers could have become a Bill?), an edge player whom no one expects to be a Kahlil Mack or Von Miller, a running back who's too short and too slow to be a stud, a wideout left over after a bumper crop of wideouts was drafted, a back-up quarterback, a kicker, for Pete's sake, a too slow receiver and a corner back who lasted to the seventh round.   Are you kidding?   We're supposed to be excited about that?   We missed out on all the good quarterbacks, all the good offensive linemen, all the good receivers, some stud defensive backs.   What kind of draft is this?

 

Well, when you have your franchise quarterback, you get a backup QB in your draft every few years.   When you have a really good defense, a role-playing defensive end is just what you need.   When you already have a starting running back and you can get another guy to share the load without having to be a star in his own right, you do it.   When you gave up your first pick to get top-end wideout, you can afford to let the cream of the crop go to other teams who are desperate to generate offense.  

 

The national press seems to be giving the Bills As and Bs for the 2020 draft.   In years gone by, they would have blasted, absolutely blasted the Bills for being so clueless.   Where are the impact players, the diamonds in the rough?   Well, when you're good, they're already on the team.  

 

I spent 20 years looking forward to the time when the Bills would be good.   In part, I looked forward to how exciting it would be.   In fact, the only exciting time is when the Bills are on the field.   The draft and free agency have turned out to be the most boring parts of the year.   Not unimportant, but not all that exciting, either.  

 

Go Bills!!!

 

 

Where do I begin? We missed out on all the good QBs and all the good offensive linemen? The Stud DBs and Wrs?

The Bills used their first pick to get a stud WR. Would you  rather they had finished near the bottom so they could have draftet another QB ? What do you think teams who make the playoffs do? They don't get the top players. They already have them. We already have a stud DB. We have a solid line already. How were they supposed to get one of the top ones? By osmosis? 

What kind of draft is this? It's the draft of a team who is already very good and is not in a position to draft the top players.

You're all over the place in your comments. You're not making sense. The draft is obviously not as exciting when You're not near the bottom each year. Do you want to go back to that?

[TroutDog]

Beautiful perspective and it certainly makes it all the more fun.
 

While I still watched the draft intently, I know Beane et al are going to get the players this team needs...not the Dutch Boy sticking one finger in the 22 holes that were the team. So happy my kids FINALLY get to see what I saw when I was young!!

[Logic]

45 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I'm just reflecting on how life as a Bills fan has changed.   

 

We suffered through 15 years of NFL drafts, in my case foolishly hoping that some name that the Bills selected in the first round or maybe the second would make the team good.   Think of the all the unreasonable expectations people put on Manuel, on Gilmore, on Maybin, on Dareus, on Sammy, on McGahee, on Lynch.   It went on, year after year.   You may have been excited about this choice or disappointed about that choice, but every year there was this unreasonable hope, this expectation, that we were witnessing the beginning of greatness.  

 

Viewed from the perspective of those years, the Bills' 2020 draft was an enormous disappointment.   No first round pick (remember 2005, when Aaron Rodgers could have become a Bill?), an edge player whom no one expects to be a Kahlil Mack or Von Miller, a running back who's too short and too slow to be a stud, a wideout left over after a bumper crop of wideouts was drafted, a back-up quarterback, a kicker, for Pete's sake, a too slow receiver and a corner back who lasted to the seventh round.   Are you kidding?   We're supposed to be excited about that?   We missed out on all the good quarterbacks, all the good offensive linemen, all the good receivers, some stud defensive backs.   What kind of draft is this?

 

Well, when you have your franchise quarterback, you get a backup QB in your draft every few years.   When you have a really good defense, a role-playing defensive end is just what you need.   When you already have a starting running back and you can get another guy to share the load without having to be a star in his own right, you do it.   When you gave up your first pick to get top-end wideout, you can afford to let the cream of the crop go to other teams who are desperate to generate offense.  

 

The national press seems to be giving the Bills As and Bs for the 2020 draft.   In years gone by, they would have blasted, absolutely blasted the Bills for being so clueless.   Where are the impact players, the diamonds in the rough?   Well, when you're good, they're already on the team.  

 

I spent 20 years looking forward to the time when the Bills would be good.   In part, I looked forward to how exciting it would be.   In fact, the only exciting time is when the Bills are on the field.   The draft and free agency have turned out to be the most boring parts of the year.   Not unimportant, but not all that exciting, either.  

 

Go Bills!!!

You pointed out something that I hadn't connected the dots on:

The offseason used to be FAR AND AWAY my favorite part of the year with regard to the Bills. The roster building, the "next big thing", pinning my hopes to free agents and rookies...all of those things were preferable and provided more optimism and joy than watching the actual on-field product.

Now? For the first time in my adult, Bills-watching life, the script has flipped! The season is now vastly more enjoyable than the offseason! I enjoyed free agency, but thought "yeah, okay, great". I enjoyed the normalcy and distraction of watching the draft, but I knew as it was happening that it wasn't going to drastically change the team's fortunes. In fact, I had the thought prior to the draft that the Bills were battle-ready WITHOUT it! 

The hay is in the barn. If the QB takes another step, the Bills are a good team for a decade+. If he doesn't, the offseason becomes interesting again. For now...it's strange days in Bills Land. 

1 minute ago, first_and_ten said:

 

 

Where do I begin? We missed out on all the good QBs and all the good offensive linemen? The Stud DBs and Wrs?

The Bills used their first pick to get a stud WR. Would you  rather they had finished near the bottom so they could have draftet another QB ? What do you think teams who make the playoffs do? They don't get the top players. They already have them. We already have a stud DB. We have a solid line already. How were they supposed to get one of the top ones? By osmosis? 

What kind of draft is this? It's the draft of a team who is already very good and is not in a position to draft the top players.

You're all over the place in your comments. You're not making sense. The draft is obviously not as exciting when You're not near the bottom each year. Do you want to go back to that?

I think you missed the entire point of his thread. Like...COMPLETELY.

[first_and_ten]

1 minute ago, Logic said:

You pointed out something that I hadn't connected the dots on:

The offseason used to be FAR AND AWAY my favorite part of the year with regard to the Bills. The roster building, the "next big thing", pinning my hopes to free agents and rookies...all of those things were preferable and provided more optimism and joy than watching the actual on-field product.

Now? For the first time in my adult, Bills-watching life, the script has flipped! The season is now vastly more enjoyable than the offseason! I enjoyed free agency, but thought "yeah, okay, great". I enjoyed the normalcy and distraction of watching the draft, but I knew as it was happening that it wasn't going to drastically change the team's fortunes. In fact, I had the thought prior to the draft that the Bills were battle-ready WITHOUT it! 

The hay is in the barn. If the QB takes another step, the Bills are a good team for a decade+. If he doesn't, the offseason becomes interesting again. For now...it's strange days in Bills Land. 

I think you missed the entire point of his thread. Like...COMPLETELY.

 

Really? You're not this stupid are you?

[Logic]

Just now, first_and_ten said:

 

Really? You're not this stupid are you?

[first_and_ten]

Just now, Logic said:

 

1 minute ago, Logic said:

 

Wow, you pass kindergarten..you can draw..LOL Are you proud of yourself?

[Augie]

6 minutes ago, Logic said:

You pointed out something that I hadn't connected the dots on:

The offseason used to be FAR AND AWAY my favorite part of the year with regard to the Bills. The roster building, the "next big thing", pinning my hopes to free agents and rookies...all of those things were preferable and provided more optimism and joy than watching the actual on-field product.

Now? For the first time in my adult, Bills-watching life, the script has flipped! The season is now vastly more enjoyable than the offseason! I enjoyed free agency, but thought "yeah, okay, great". I enjoyed the normalcy and distraction of watching the draft, but I knew as it was happening that it wasn't going to drastically change the team's fortunes. In fact, I had the thought prior to the draft that the Bills were battle-ready WITHOUT it! 

The hay is in the barn. If the QB takes another step, the Bills are a good team for a decade+. If he doesn't, the offseason becomes interesting again. For now...it's strange days in Bills Land. 

 

In the past, all we had were hopes, and we clung to them like a drowning man clings to anything that floats.

 

Now? We have a real TEAM! And I love it! 

[GoBills1111]

58 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I'm just reflecting on how life as a Bills fan has changed.   

 

We suffered through 15 years of NFL drafts, in my case foolishly hoping that some name that the Bills selected in the first round or maybe the second would make the team good.   Think of the all the unreasonable expectations people put on Manuel, on Gilmore, on Maybin, on Dareus, on Sammy, on McGahee, on Lynch.   It went on, year after year.   You may have been excited about this choice or disappointed about that choice, but every year there was this unreasonable hope, this expectation, that we were witnessing the beginning of greatness.  

 

Viewed from the perspective of those years, the Bills' 2020 draft was an enormous disappointment.   No first round pick (remember 2005, when Aaron Rodgers could have become a Bill?), an edge player whom no one expects to be a Kahlil Mack or Von Miller, a running back who's too short and too slow to be a stud, a wideout left over after a bumper crop of wideouts was drafted, a back-up quarterback, a kicker, for Pete's sake, a too slow receiver and a corner back who lasted to the seventh round.   Are you kidding?   We're supposed to be excited about that?   We missed out on all the good quarterbacks, all the good offensive linemen, all the good receivers, some stud defensive backs.   What kind of draft is this?

 

Well, when you have your franchise quarterback, you get a backup QB in your draft every few years.   When you have a really good defense, a role-playing defensive end is just what you need.   When you already have a starting running back and you can get another guy to share the load without having to be a star in his own right, you do it.   When you gave up your first pick to get top-end wideout, you can afford to let the cream of the crop go to other teams who are desperate to generate offense.  

 

The national press seems to be giving the Bills As and Bs for the 2020 draft.   In years gone by, they would have blasted, absolutely blasted the Bills for being so clueless.   Where are the impact players, the diamonds in the rough?   Well, when you're good, they're already on the team.  

 

I spent 20 years looking forward to the time when the Bills would be good.   In part, I looked forward to how exciting it would be.   In fact, the only exciting time is when the Bills are on the field.   The draft and free agency have turned out to be the most boring parts of the year.   Not unimportant, but not all that exciting, either.  

 

Go Bills!!!

For many many years our fanbase could have done better at the draft than the highly paid "professionals" (The Modraks and alike) The new group has earned my patience and respect and feel like we are FINALLY moving in the correct direction...GO Bills!

[Jerome007]

The team has got so much better the last two years, AND before the draft (Diggs was totally worth the draft picks!), that I wasn't expecting much from this draft. And in a way, it over delivered with rounds 2 & 3 (probably 2 legit starters we needed), and with the WR in Rd 4 going out to run routes right away. Beane is the man, for sure. 

 

I too can't wait for the season. First as it means life is back to a somewhat normal! And have the Bills kick butts.

[TheCockSportif]

Fair assessment, and I really like that you back referenced guys like Spiller.  It's nice that this team could be in a position to fill spots with these guys rather than to clamor over we should be rooting for late round picks like Xaiver Omon once the season is already lost.

[Augie]

30 minutes ago, GoBills1111 said:

For many many years our fanbase could have done better at the draft than the highly paid "professionals" (The Modraks and alike) The new group has earned my patience and respect and feel like we are FINALLY moving in the correct direction...GO Bills!

 

Welcome! 

 

And Go Bills to you too! 

[Shaw66]

24 minutes ago, Groin said:

Fair assessment, and I really like that you back referenced guys like Spiller.  It's nice that this team could be in a position to fill spots with these guys rather than to clamor over we should be rooting for late round picks like Xaiver Omon once the season is already lost.

Oooh!   I forgot Spiller!  Oh, how I wanted Spiller to be good!

[TheCockSportif]

3 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Oooh!   I forgot Spiller!  Oh, how I wanted Spiller to be good!

I'm laughing at my lack of insight here.  I totally thought that you were talking about Spiller!

[FireChans]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

I'm just reflecting on how life as a Bills fan has changed.   

 

We suffered through 15 years of NFL drafts, in my case foolishly hoping that some name that the Bills selected in the first round or maybe the second would make the team good.   Think of the all the unreasonable expectations people put on Manuel, on Gilmore, on Maybin, on Dareus, on Sammy, on McGahee, on Lynch.   It went on, year after year.   You may have been excited about this choice or disappointed about that choice, but every year there was this unreasonable hope, this expectation, that we were witnessing the beginning of greatness.  

 

Viewed from the perspective of those years, the Bills' 2020 draft was an enormous disappointment.   No first round pick (remember 2005, when Aaron Rodgers could have become a Bill?), an edge player whom no one expects to be a Kahlil Mack or Von Miller, a running back who's too short and too slow to be a stud, a wideout left over after a bumper crop of wideouts was drafted, a back-up quarterback, a kicker, for Pete's sake, a too slow receiver and a corner back who lasted to the seventh round.   Are you kidding?   We're supposed to be excited about that?   We missed out on all the good quarterbacks, all the good offensive linemen, all the good receivers, some stud defensive backs.   What kind of draft is this?

 

Well, when you have your franchise quarterback, you get a backup QB in your draft every few years.   When you have a really good defense, a role-playing defensive end is just what you need.   When you already have a starting running back and you can get another guy to share the load without having to be a star in his own right, you do it.   When you gave up your first pick to get top-end wideout, you can afford to let the cream of the crop go to other teams who are desperate to generate offense.  

 

The national press seems to be giving the Bills As and Bs for the 2020 draft.   In years gone by, they would have blasted, absolutely blasted the Bills for being so clueless.   Where are the impact players, the diamonds in the rough?   Well, when you're good, they're already on the team.  

 

I spent 20 years looking forward to the time when the Bills would be good.   In part, I looked forward to how exciting it would be.   In fact, the only exciting time is when the Bills are on the field.   The draft and free agency have turned out to be the most boring parts of the year.   Not unimportant, but not all that exciting, either.  

 

Go Bills!!!

I don’t really agree with the comparison. The guys you listed in the beginning all had high expectations because they were all drafted extremely high. AJ E doesn’t have the same expectations as Dareus. Moss doesn’t have the same expectations as Spiller. This is because of their draft position.

 

I do agree with your conclusion though. The Bills, picking in the 20’s plus, show we are already a good team and the media knows that now.

Edited April 26, 2020 by FireChans

[BillsVet]

Four off-seasons into this regime has helped illustrate who they are and which priorities they have in assembling a roster.  Much of the heavy lifting has been completed such as identifying, maneuvering, and then acquiring the QB.  Or, building the defense into a unit the HC demands.  

 

I've said it elsewhere, but the plan has to bear fruit this season, i.e. a playoff win and a division title.  McBeane will be judged not by individual player decisions with much of rebuilding behind them. Now, it's all about how their plan leads to wins in the regular season.  

 

I just hope the plan (or "process" in McD speak) can accomplish this.  If not, the plateau into being average or slightly better will be frustrating.  There are no more excuses.   

[Milanos Milano]

I think a lot of the older Bills fan have been so spoiled with the incredible talent of the past, that the last 20 years have been incredibly boring. When you get to watch amazing players like Bruce, OJ, Kelly, Thurman, etc, your eyes feed off it. Even other teams talent during those times was amazing. Lawrence Taylor, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Marino, Elway, etc you just get spoiled. Honestly the NFL is lacking in high quality stars like the golden days. 

 

But it it does appear to be changing again. People like Barkley and Mahomes give you that same feeling once again.