Bills sign Taron Johnson to 3 year extension

[starrymessenger]

The more I see of Bills' management, the more I am impressed by them.

[HappyDays]

54 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think it pretty much guarantees they are drafting an outside corner early next April. Paying Tre, Taron, Jordan and Micah you are gonna need some cheap labour somewhere.

 

They will do plug and play at CB2 as long as McDermott is here. CBs drafted early are usually athletic man-to-man corners. McDermott doesn't need that at CB2. He just wants someone with football smarts that does his job on every play. I think we may be able to just keep Wallace on a relatively cheap deal for as long as we want. He doesn't have a skill set that many defenses covet, he just happens to be a good fit for the Bills.

[Rocky Landing]

58 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think it pretty much guarantees they are drafting an outside corner early next April. Paying Tre, Taron, Jordan and Micah you are gonna need some cheap labour somewhere.

I hope there's a good one available at pick 32.

[Warcodered]

58 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think it pretty much guarantees they are drafting an outside corner early next April. Paying Tre, Taron, Jordan and Micah you are gonna need some cheap labour somewhere.

I mean maybe, I'm never overly worried about that, McDermott some combination of coaches up/schemes well to cover that area of the team. Seems like we're always having undrafted guys playing well at DB.

[Rico]

Another Beane gem.

[BarleyNY]

So happy we locked him up for awhile. Nice extension for a very good slot CB.  Importantly we now have two of our three starting CBs locked up long term.  That’s huge. 

[GunnerBill]

12 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

They will do plug and play at CB2 as long as McDermott is here. CBs drafted early are usually athletic man-to-man corners. McDermott doesn't need that at CB2. He just wants someone with football smarts that does his job on every play. I think we may be able to just keep Wallace on a relatively cheap deal for as long as we want. He doesn't have a skill set that many defenses covet, he just happens to be a good fit for the Bills.

 

So you may well be right on Levi. I wouldn't agree that all corners drafted early are man corners though. Tre White is a zone guy. Guys who go early usually have some ability to do both, rather than Levi who is strictly a zone guy, but they need some cheap labour at corner IMO. Not necessarily in round 1, but within the first two days of the draft. 

[Kelly the Dog]

2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

So you may well be right on Levi. I wouldn't agree that all corners drafted early are man corners though. Tre White is a zone guy. Guys who go early usually have some ability to do both, rather than Levi who is strictly a zone guy, but they need some cheap labour at corner IMO. Not necessarily in round 1, but within the first two days of the draft. 

Tre is a zone guy. But he really excels when he shadows the other team’s #1 WR. 

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, Kelly the Dog said:

Tre is a zone guy. But he really excels when he shadows the other team’s #1 WR. 

 

Yes but the Bills still rarely just man him up on that guy. He shadows him by following him to both sides of the field but they are still primarily zone looks. Tre is an elite corner. You don't have to be a man guy to be elite IMO. Tre is a zone guy who can play some man. I still think finding a better starter than Levi is possible (not certain, Levi is better than he gets credit for in our scheme, but possible) in the draft and given Levi is on one year deals at this point they should be looking. 

 

 

[ColoradoBills]

The interesting thing about Taron is he stays in even if a 3rd WR is not in the lineup.

Does anyone know of other NCBs doing this "hybrid" job?

 

As for his cost earlier in the year when posters were talking $10M I knew that was way too much.  Slot guys pay is going up and

the better ones are $8M-$9M now which is more than I realized.  Good signing for both parties and the highest priority UFA is signed.

 

Congrat's Taron and good job Beane! 

[Virgil]

Solid signing and I’m happy to be keeping him on.  Dude make two huge plays last year at opportune times.  
 

As for 8mil per, seems high to me, which means it’s a fair deal.  Well deserved. 

29 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

They will do plug and play at CB2 as long as McDermott is here. CBs drafted early are usually athletic man-to-man corners. McDermott doesn't need that at CB2. He just wants someone with football smarts that does his job on every play. I think we may be able to just keep Wallace on a relatively cheap deal for as long as we want. He doesn't have a skill set that many defenses covet, he just happens to be a good fit for the Bills.

I think Levi is gone and we draft his replacement of Dane takes over.  I think someone with cap space will take a flier on him and we won’t have the cap to match. 
 

Diggs and some other players are going to get paid, and I just don’t think Wallace is a priority.  

[HappyDays]

19 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

they need some cheap labour at corner IMO. Not necessarily in round 1, but within the first two days of the draft. 

 

McDermott's scheme has found success at CB2 from EJ Gaines (6th rounder), Levi Wallace (UDFA), and Dane Jackson (7th rounder). Even Jackson who didn't look very good in training camp or preseason this year played well enough when forced into the lineup against Miami and stopped a 4th down conversion that may have been a TD if he had been out of position. McDermott has a sixth sense for that spot. As long as the player is coachable and knows his role in the defense he'll do fine.

 

There was some player that joined the Patriots for a couple years (I can't remember who) who said the Patriots coaches were telling him things about the opponent other coaches had never told him before. The level of detail given to him put him in position to be more successful than he had ever been. I think McDermott and Frazier are that good with the details, and that is why lower tier guys can still fill less important roles on the defense. For that reason they will never invest heavily in CB2 because they don't need someone that does more than what Levi Wallace can do. It is a position that fans will be clamoring for every single year and every year they will be disappointed that other positions are drafted on day 1 and day 2. Obviously Beane will always draft BPA so if a CB is BPA in rounds 1-3 we will take him and find a role. But it will never be a specific target in the draft until White is getting past his prime.

Edited October 9, 2021 by HappyDays

[GunnerBill]

$8m per and $14m guaranteed. It is a big deal for a nickel, even one as good as Taron. Will be interesting to see what this means for Ed's 5th year option and Tremaine's extension. Expect it means both the vet D ends are gone. We are gonna have a young D line next year.

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

 

McDermott's scheme has found success at CB2 from EJ Gaines (6th rounder), Levi Wallace (UDFA), and Dane Jackson (7th rounder). Even Jackson who didn't look very good in training camp or preseason this year played well enough when forced into the lineup against Miami and stopped a 4th down conversion that may have been a TD if he had been out of position. McDermott has a sixth sense for that spot. As long as the player is coachable and knows his role in the defense he'll do fine.

 

There was some player that joined the Patriots for a couple years (I can't remember who) who said the Patriots coaches were telling him things about the opponent other coaches had never told him before. The level of detail given to him put him in position to be more successful than he had ever been. I think McDermott and Frazier do that with the lower tier guys on the defense. For that reason they will never invest heavily in CB2 because they don't need someone that does more than what Levi Wallace can do. It is a position that fans will be clamoring for every single year and every year they will be disappointed that other positions are drafted on day 1 and day 2. Obviously Beane will always draft BPA so if a CB is BPA in rounds 1-3 we will take him and find a role. But it will never be a specific target in the draft until White is getting past his prime.

 

Yea not sure I agree. I think the Bills were looking for a corner this past year but it just didn't quite fall in what was a pretty shallow corner class. They are never gonna reach massively just to take a position, that isn't their model. But I expect a corner in the first two days in April (obviously reserve the right to change my mind when I see the strength of the class). Of course maybe they find another day 3 bargain, they might. But I suspect they feel some urgency with Dane not entirely convincing, Levi on a 1 year deal and basically little else on the roster. 

[HappyDays]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

$8m per and $14m guaranteed. It is a big deal for a nickel, even one as good as Taron. Will be interesting to see what this means for Ed's 5th year option and Tremaine's extension. Expect it means both the vet D ends are gone. We are gonna have a young D line next year.

 

I think we are going all in on the trenches in the draft next year. We have holes or aging veterans at every spot on both lines except for OT.

[John from Riverside]

2 hours ago, BillsFan130 said:

I understand what constitutes drafting well.

 

I wasn't even ripping your post as I more agreeing with you.

 

But I am saying they have a lot of misses.

 

Tremaine Edmunds was not a hit btw. They traded up to get him where they could have drafted Darius Leonard.

What is your definition of a lot of mistakes.....just curious

2 hours ago, BillsFan130 said:

No I'm not saying that.

 

But I don't think Edmunds is a hit of a draft pick.

 

If he was a good player I would say it was.

 

But my opinion on Edmunds isn't that high, and I think they missed by trading up to get an average player. (in my mind)

 

Passing on Leonard was just the cherry on top for me

What a maroon

2 hours ago, NewEra said:

No, he hasn’t.   He was better in 2019 than in 2020.  There may have been factors beyond his control that led to the regression, but don’t lie

I think that is fair......I would only say that player development doesnt always fit on a chart and like you say has external factors.   You could actually say that about a lot of players at his position over the years.

[John from Riverside]

In my opinion.....if a player is a full time starter on your team its a hit.

 

Like Cody Ford....def miss at this point

Taron......just reupped....hit

Josh....hit

Dawkins...hit

Oliver...hit

EDMUNDS......HIT

Edited October 9, 2021 by John from Riverside

[NewEra]

23 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

What is your definition of a lot of mistakes.....just curious

What a maroon

I think that is fair......I would only say that player development doesnt always fit on a chart and like you say has external factors.   You could actually say that about a lot of players at his position over the years.

For sure.  That’s why I said there may have been factors that were out of his control that contributed to his regression.  He was most certainly had a better season in 2019 than he did in 2020

[Magox]

2 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

It helps that Levi is on a severely below-market contract.

Yes, and next year they very well may end up drafting a 1st round CB to replace him.

[BillsFan130]

28 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

What is your definition of a lot of mistakes.....just curious

 

Trading up for Edmunds I consider a mistake. I get it Edmunds is far from horrible, but if you trade up for someone in the mid 1st round, you want that player to dominate.

 

Trading up for Cody Ford in the early 2nd round was very bad.

 

Using two day two picks on RBs that really aren't that impressive.

There are more of course like Harrison Phillips etc.

 

And the jury is still out on a lot of players like Oliver, Knox etc. (Although both looking better this year in year 3 which is a good sign)

 

For the record I think Beane is a good drafter and a very good GM.

 

I was just more responding to a comment and pointed out saying he has some great picks but also has some descent misses. 
 

 

[Dopey]

Great job Beane, hope we still draft a CB somewhere in the 1st three rounds.