Bills still looking to upgrade the interior of the Dline

[JaCrispy]

1 hour ago, Arm of Harm said:

 

Not sure why he's apologizing or why you're accepting his apology. This has turned into a good, constructive thread about the Bills' needs at DL and elsewhere. We need more threads like this in the offseason, not less.

[stinky finger]

5 hours ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

If Travis Etienne or Najee Harris are there when we draft at 30 we need to give serious consideration to either of them.  Sure we can use a little more juice on defense.  But getting a big time stud at RB will help the offense big time.  Drafting another AJ Epenesa doesn't get me all that excited.  Heck go RB 1st round and CB and DE in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.  Once you are in the bottom third of the 1st round, there probably is not a lot of difference between guys drafted there and all the way down to the 3rd or 4th round.  If you are a big time stud pass rusher or stud lock down corner, you are going top 15 or 20.  After that its all how they develop once they get to the NFL.   

 

If this is the case, may it please be ETN. 

 

The need for speed.

[Frez]

Bring back Ted Washington or Sam Adams. 

[BillsPride12]

2 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

If they do, then who's gonna rush the passer?  You can say that Star doesn't have a long future, but the same and then some would be true of Hughes.

Oh I totally think that we need a pass rusher I just don't expect a good one to be there at 30...but it sounds like most people don't think there will be a good DT there at 30 either....the draft just feels tricky this year!

[SoCal Deek]

4 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

Oh I totally think that we need a pass rusher I just don't expect a good one to be there at 30...but it sounds like most people don't think there will be a good DT there at 30 either....the draft just feels tricky this year!

Agreed. So between the two, you take the position you need more. I’ve not seen anything that tells me that NFL scouts can differentiate players all that accurately. 

[BillsPride12]

1 minute ago, SoCal Deek said:

Agreed. So between the two, you take the position you need more. I’ve not seen anything that tells me that NFL scouts can differentiate players all that accurately. 

It makes me wonder if we go in a completely different direction then

[SoCal Deek]

21 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

It makes me wonder if we go in a completely different direction then

That’s the problem with earning the 30 spot. You really have no idea who’s going to be there. I have to assume there’ll be someone there that they didn’t expect. If so...they’ll walk up,  take him, and say ‘thank you very much’.

[Arm of Harm]

4 hours ago, glazeduck said:

Agree, to an extent. I like Wyatt Davis a lot and if the board is right, could see him being had in a trade down. 

 

To me it comes down to 4 things, given how our roster is shaping out prior to the draft (assuming no trades)...

1. Are you using your draft pick to make the biggest improvement to the team that you can? 

2. What spots can you allow to stay "good enough" in order to see a larger improvement elsewhere?

3. When and where can you *coast* on being good enough through the season, in opting for higher upside picks that you hope are ready to make a bigger impact come playoff time?

4. To a lesser extent, where is the draft's depth, where you might be able to get a better value pick and how does that play in to the above 3?

 

I think you can ask these questions about just about every position and come out with some interesting answers. Certainly guard, nose, edge, RB, TE, CB, LB/nickel, OT can all be upgraded, but I also think even without upgrades we're a playoff team. So where can you lean into that and start looking at how to optimize those picks and maximize the return? I'm not sure I even have a strongly formed opinion outside of trading up for Pitts if he slides out of the top 10...

 

You ask very good questions. I think that at pretty much every position the Bills have in place a plausible solution. Not necessarily great, or even all that good, but plausible. Some of the team's weakest positions are OG, RB, TE, 1 tech, and #2 CB. But even at all of those, we still have plausible.

 

Given that fact, my instinct is to want the Bills to select whichever player will have the best long-term impact on the team. Sure, I'd love for that player to be an OG, because the OL's performance (or lack thereof) has been eating at me. But let's say for the sake of argument that at #30 you could get a significantly better WR than you could an OG. Given that scenario I'd take the WR. They say a WR doesn't fully come into his own until year 3. So you could draft a WR now and give him a year or two to develop before you really need to lean on him heavily.

 

By no means am I suggesting that I want the Bills to be locked into a WR at #30. I don't want them to be locked into anything at #30. The more flexible their approach, the less of a "need-based penalty" they're likely to pay. What is a need-based penalty? If the best player at a position of need is 90% as good as the best player available, that's a need-based penalty of 10%. The more tightly a team is locked in to specific positions, the more of a need-based penalty it's likely to pay. For example, Marv went into the 2006 draft with the thought that he had to use his first two picks on a SS and a DT. He ended up taking Donte Whitner 8th overall, and John McCargo somewhere in the 20s. He paid a huge need-based penalty for both players--a penalty which could have been avoided had he not been locked into those two positions. Because the Bills have "plausible" players at even their weakest positions, and because they have a number of positions where their starters are no more than plausible, they have a great opportunity to select the best available player from a fairly wide variety of positions.

 

[Thurman#1]

14 hours ago, IgotBILLStopay said:

According to the Athletic, the Bills were in on the Jarran Reed sweepstakes before he signed with the Chiefs. (paywall)

 

https://theathletic.com/2483589/2021/03/29/chiefs-strike-free-agency-hit-with-jarran-reed-as-their-coveted-third-pass-rusher/?source=emp_shared_article

 

It appears Beane is far from done with Free Agency, especially on the DLine. 

 

non paywall site

 

https://billswire.usatoday.com/2021/03/30/buffalo-bills-had-interest-kansas-city-chiefs-jarran-reed/

 

 

The article doesn't prove anything much beyond the fact that the Bills kicked the tires. They might have made an offer or might not. It just isn't clear.

 

But yeah, if they can find a way to improve at a cost they find acceptable, they'll do it everywhere, offense, defense, and every position group.

 

7 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

Anybody else starting to think we might go DT at 30 in the draft?  I'm not so sure anymore the Bills take a RB there and I don't expect any of the top DE's to fall that far

 

 

CB, WR and LB/big nickel will also likely be in play there. Perhaps even one or two other spots. DT I greatly doubt. Maybe if someone has a significant fall and is sticking out there, but I personally doubt it.

 

Not to mention the possibility of a slight trade-up or some level of trade-down if they don't find BPA at a position of need available at that point.

Edited March 31, 2021 by Thurman#1

[JerseyBills]

15 hours ago, Southern_Bills said:

Just makes me wonder if Barmore is in play at 30, assuming he makes it to 30.

I have a feeling Beane trades up and grabs that impact player , potential day 1 starter. 

We have great depth and no glaring holes. If the cost is ok, I see a trade up

[purple haze]

 

15 hours ago, NewEra said:

This couldn’t have gone into the Jarran Reed thread?  Reed is the only DT mentioned and this is a topic of discussion within that thread

What if Taron Johnson doesn't re-sign?  He's  FA after this season.  Would just have Cam Phillips.

Edited March 31, 2021 by purple haze

[NewEra]

7 minutes ago, purple haze said:

 

What if Taron Johnson doesn't re-sign?  He's  FA after this season.  Would just have Cam Phillips.

What does that have to do with my quote?  I’m lost.  
 

The best slot corners cost 2-4M a year.  It won’t be hard to replace him if he decides to leave.  Good kid.  There are better slots corners getting paid pennies

8 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

Anybody else starting to think we might go DT at 30 in the draft?  I'm not so sure anymore the Bills take a RB there and I don't expect any of the top DE's to fall that far

No chence

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

Just read the Bills have 67 players under contract, assuming they keep all 7 draft picks, that likely means they will sign close to 17 more players before training camp starts to get to the league max of 90.  Likely the signings with maybe a couple of exceptions will be below the top 51 salaries, so won't affect cap $$'s at all, just lighten Terry's wallet a small bit.

[LyndonvilleBill]

Hmmm. Well... umm, for what it's worth... Cynthia Frelund has us taking DT Christian Baramore at 30 in her latest mock...😱😁

[ghostwriter]

I see no reason to draft a DT at 30. This can easily be addressed in RD2-RD3.

[The Jokeman]

1 hour ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

Just read the Bills have 67 players under contract, assuming they keep all 7 draft picks, that likely means they will sign close to 17 more players before training camp starts to get to the league max of 90.  Likely the signings with maybe a couple of exceptions will be below the top 51 salaries, so won't affect cap $$'s at all, just lighten Terry's wallet a small bit.

We'll probably add at least 10 undrafted free agents too so we might season a handful of veterans added between now and after the draft to fill out the roster. Guys that likely take the minimum and be depth at best. 

[ROCBillsBeliever]

22 hours ago, H2o said:

I still think the plan is to take a 1-Tech in the draft between Rounds 2-6. I fully expect one of the names below (not a ranking, just a listing) to be in a Bills uni next season.

 

1. Marvin Wilson - Florida St.

2. Tedarrell Slaton - Florida

3. Tyler Shelvin - LSU

4. Bobby Brown III - Texas A&M

5. Neil Farrell Jr. - LSU

6. Naquan Jones - Michigan St. 

7. Khyiris Tonga - BYU

 

 

Edit:

 

This is just my preference, but I hope we take Bobby Brown III. This is a nice little breakdown of what he brings to the table, even though the commentary is meh.

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing the vid, @H2o! I'd been hearing about Brown, but hadn't gotten to watch film on him. Checks a LOT of boxes: True 1-Tech; capable of eating up two O-linemen, to keep Milano and Tremaine free to roam and create havoc; great size and length; improbably mobile, for a guy his size.

 

I really noticed his hand technique on some of the plays. He's got a full quiver of arrows, in that department.

 

I don't know where the draftniks are pegging him, but without a 4th, this year, I wouldn't mind using our 3rd, or trading back to grab him in the 4th round.

[H2o]

1 minute ago, ROCBillsBeliever said:

 

Thanks for sharing the vid, @H2o! I'd been hearing about Brown, but hadn't gotten to watch film on him. Checks a LOT of boxes: True 1-Tech; capable of eating up two O-linemen, to keep Milano and Tremaine free to roam and create havoc; great size and length; improbably mobile, for a guy his size.

 

I really noticed his hand technique on some of the plays. He's got a full quiver of arrows, in that department.

 

I don't know where the draftniks are pegging him, but without a 4th, this year, I wouldn't mind using our 3rd, or trading back to grab him in the 4th round.

I've seen the Round 3-5 range on most sites. 

[ROCBillsBeliever]

2 minutes ago, H2o said:

I've seen the Round 3-5 range on most sites. 

 

I would be ecstatic, if we landed him in the 5th! 

[Richard Noggin]

11 hours ago, purple haze said:

 

What if Taron Johnson doesn't re-sign?  He's  FA after this season.  Would just have Cam Phillips.

I believe you mean Cam LEWIS, in fact. Phillips is a WR if I'm not mistaken.