Bills 2021 rookie class ranked 27th in league

[JohnNord]

8 hours ago, BillsFan619 said:

Here’s the link. Thoughts?
 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/bills-2021-rookie-class-does-161553746.html

 

I thought Groot was showing promise after his INT of Mahomes in KC but he seemed to peter out after that.

 

Spencer Brown was the best of the 2021 Bills rookie class. He could have a great 2nd year.

It’s hard to grade this draft because just about all of the picks were not expected to contribute.  Rosseau and Brown surprisingly were good enough to earn time and both had their ups and downs.  Boogie Basham had a reputation out of college as more of a pro ready player, so I think you can consider his rookie year someone what of a disappointment but again - small sample size.  
 

Next year will tell us a lot more.  All three of these players should get a ton of playing time along with Tommy Doyle.  This will tell us how good the draft is

[Zerovoltz]

7 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

I’d say Trey Smith was the steal of the draft. A late 1st, early 2nd round talent that dropped to the 6th because of health concerns. Knowing we needed interior help, I’m still kinda upset Beane didn’t gamble on him in the 5th or 6th round, instead we picked players who are no longer with the team.

If KC didn't land him....I'd be upset they didn't gamble on him in the 4th/5th myself....I'm kind of upset they waited anyhow...if you thought he was that guy...you spend a 4th or 5th and make sure you get him.  KC lucky he wasn't taken before they picked in round 6.  Only thing I can say about it for ALL teams...is that covid prevented eveyrone from doing up close medical on these guys pre draft.  

 

In any other year, he would have gone in the top 45 picks most likely.

[RyanC883]

terrible top 2 picks.  No impact.  Bean has been abysmal in the top 2 rounds the past 2 drafts.  That needs to change. 

[RyanC883]

3 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

If you struggle to get value with your 1st & 2nd round picks, maybe go the Diggs route and trade the pick for proven young talent. 

 

this is where I am.  Trade for impact front 7 player.  The first 2 picks last year are beyond horrible given that we are in a win now mode and passed on several instant contributors.  

[JGMcD2]

3 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

terrible top 2 picks.  No impact.  Bean has been abysmal in the top 2 rounds the past 2 drafts.  That needs to change. 

Yeah that Diggs trade was a real bust… 

 

🤡 

[JaCrispy]

4 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

terrible top 2 picks.  No impact.  Bean has been abysmal in the top 2 rounds the past 2 drafts.  That needs to change. 

Agreed...other than Allen and Diggs, Beane is certainly not getting value the first two rounds...Would rather trade those picks for proven vets if Beane can’t come through in the draft...

 

I’d give the 2021 draft class a C- thus far...

Edited February 6, 2022 by JaCrispy

[BillsfaninChicago]

OMGOSH this is disastrous! Yahoo is never wrong especially when it comes to subjective matters. 😢  Maybe we can get Buddy Nix to come back.

[Nitro]

Beane is being criticized about drafting.   He gets starters and back ups in his drafts.  They do contribute and play rolls.  In a nut shell here are the drafts in the McD/Beane era which produce starters and role players. 

 

2017

Tre White, Dion Dawkins and Matt Milano

2018

Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmonds, Harrison Phillips, Taron Johnson, Siran Neal 

2019

Ed Oliver, Devin Singletary, Dawson Knox, Cody Ford and Tommy Sweeney

2020

AJ Epenesa, Zack Moss, Gabe Davis, Tyler Bass and Dane Jackson

2021

Gregory Rousseau, Carlos, Basham, Spencer Brown, Tommy Doyle and Damar Hamlin.

 

Pretty good track record.  Hard for the last draft class to unseat a starter on a loaded roster aiming to play in the Super Bowl.   

[billybrew1]

I for one, think t is very debatable how well Beane drafted.....

 

Not saying it was bad, it is a complicated question where you have to look at every team's  draft each year....

 

Sure, he got Allen the current NFL MVP but many of the other picks are debatable and the Bills currently have only three blue chippers..l. He used to trade up un-necessarily as well, imho..... aside from the Allen pick of course....He had players graded too high...I think if you're right a trade up is perhaps worth it. To get the guy you need but almost all his trade-ups seemed unnecessary and not worth it.

Beane build much of the offense with free-agents, kudos there.especially with the trade.

They drafted much of the defense. Only Hyde and Poyer are currently FAs signed and they are the best part of our D aside from Tre. How did we draft so well in 2017? I still say it was Beane pulling all the strings maybe he's best when he has no time to think about it? IDK?

[Dopey]

14 hours ago, NewEra said:

 

You continue to say “small group”….. the group is much bigger than you portray.  
 

The  “small group” you are talking about thinks he terrible.  
 

the much bigger group that you never mention thinks that he’s not worthy of getting paid what he will be paid next year and aren’t sure if paying him that money is a smart decision.

 

you act as if everyone’s thoughts on Edmunds reside in either black and white,  while the reality is, most reside in the grey area.  
 

I certainly don’t think the guy is trash.  I just don’t think he’s as good as some, you included, say that he is.  His physical being is and always will be his best attribute.  That’s not usually the case for the great MLBs. 

The group is small, it's just loud. Same group that blamed Edmunds for that long run vs NE in our loss to them(Milano and Hyde). That would be example #1 on blaming him for every long run. No one complained about Milano vs the Chiefs, but he didn't have a good game and was "Mossed" for the game winning TD. 

[Dopey]

How many rookies should make a huge impact on a team that went to the AFCE championship game the year before and had SB aspirations this year?

Answer: not many. They're rookies on a really good, really deep team. Not fair to judge a draft when that's not taken into account. Except for people that just want something to complain about. A lot of that going on here. 

[GunnerBill]

18 hours ago, BillsFan130 said:

 

I am optimistic about Groot and Brown for the future. For the others I'm not so sure

 

That is where I am at basically. I think Boogie can be a depth piece but not necessarily an impact player.

[Thurman#1]

16 hours ago, JayBaller10 said:

When asked in his season ending presser about Edmunds, Beane essentially said he “does a great job with the play calls and getting everyone lined up.” That was his biggest praise. He didn’t sound at all like a GM who was ready to sign Edmunds to a long term extension.

 

 

Yup, thought so. Your comment on what Beane said about Edmunds was an excellent example of confirmation bias. This above is what you thought, so it's what you heard. Thing is, it's not what he said. Not even slightly close, actually.

 

You claimed, "When asked in his season ending presser about Edmunds, Beane essentially said he 'does a great job with the play calls and getting everyone lined up.” That was his biggest praise. He didn’t sound at all like a GM who was ready to sign Edmunds to a long term extension."

 

Yeah, that is one absolutely terrible summary or paraphrase or whatever you want to call it. That was very very far from "essentially" what Beane said. And it was also far from his biggest praise. He certainly did say some things about that, but I took down every word, took out the you knows and the agains and the uhs and ahs. I put every word outside of those. Please feel free to check.

 

Having done that, I thought I'd put the stuff you referred to in black and the stuff that somehow slipped past you in red. It's not all great. He threw in some caveats. But in no way can it be said with any degree of reason that he "essentially said 'he does a great job with the play calls and getting everyone lined up.'"

 

Beane said, "I thought Tremaine did a really good job again. His leadership, you know Tremaine is a quieter guy if you compare him to Josh, they're both the quarterbacks of their side of the ball. Tremaine is naturally quieter, more lead-by-example, but when he speaks, guys do listen. And I think year by year he's more comfortable being that guy, being that alpha even though maybe it's not innately natural to him. You know, Tremaine has done some really good things. I thought his physicality improved this year. You know, taking on, getting off blocks, I thought all that improved. There's still things that he wants to get better at. And we think going into next year, he's a young player still, but going into year 5 we think he'll be even better."

 

Then he talked for a while about Oliver and continued about Edmunds, "I think as a young player, some things come faster to others. I think Tremaine has definitely improved his awareness, his instinct of what to see. Like anything, Sal, sometimes you face an offense that does a lot more, I was talking about Isaiah McKenzie or, some offenses you face ... Listen, I got two indicators, and then go. But you've got to remember too, he's also the quarterback of the defense, he's calling, he's checking, he's doing a lot pre-snap to get us lined up. It's a hard job, in the sense of, it's like Josh has gotta make sure of all these things, and he's got to go execute it. I appreciate where you're coming from. I think Tremaine does a lot with the whole operation that doesn't get noticed because maybe he didn't quite get through the B gap in time to make the play or he was late. He's a heck of an athlete. He's improved his pass concepts. Again, this was all new for him, coming to middle linebacker. And I think if you look at where he's at every year I think he has improved a little bit each year to where he's at. He'll be the first to tell you that there's plays that he wants back, that, 'Man, I should've seen that quicker or I should've reacted quicker, I should've been more physical, or I should've got my eyes around to find the receiver in whatever pass play it was,' but he helps us in a lot of ways that sometimes don't necessarily get picked up by Joe Fan or whoever."

 

He talked about physical improvement, mental improvement, how his job is tougher than most think, how he's improving each year, leadership, and more. So that summary was totally unfair.

 

Asked about a contract extension for him this off-season, Beane said, "We'll look at all that. The cap is what I ... the first thing I've got to do is make sure we can operate and what moves are going to have to be made, whether it's a pay cut, we did that with some guys, cap releases, so I'll kinda do all that first but, you know, love Tremaine and I'm sure at the right time we would consider anything, but I really don't usually do that at this time of year. We'll just kind of see how it goes, see what holes we fill and probably table that for now."

 

You left out the "love Tremaine" thing somehow. Beane doesn't say that a lot. Did seem to say they wouldn't make a new contract this time of year. But in no way he say anything that could be taken as saying they're not very interested in signing him to a long-term contract. Just that it did indeed sound like this may not be the right time.

 

This wasn't boiler-plate praise. It wasn't "he gives 110%," or "the linebacker group shows up and works hard every day." It was extensive, specific and way beyond what you suggested.

 

Again, great example of confirmation bias.

 

 

[Thurman#1]

11 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

terrible top 2 picks.  No impact.  Bean has been abysmal in the top 2 rounds the past 2 drafts.  That needs to change. 

 

 

The top two rounds the past 2 drafts? First, he traded away the 1st round pick that year for Diggs. No first rounder makes it hard for a draft to show immediate big returns, and Diggs of course has been terrific.

 

Basically you're talking about three players (outside of Diggs), two of whom are rookies, and all of whom are way too young to fully judge.

 

2020 2nd: Epenesa  Not enough so far, but he's flashed and it's too early to know

2021 1st: Rousseau. For how much he's played, and the fact that he's a rookie, looks good so far.

2021 2nd: Basham. Hard to even comment, really. Showed flashes, but not enough, but the numbers game kept him off the field. No way to begin to judge, really.

 

Only other top two round picks for Beane have been:

 

Oliver: looks terrific.

Ford: looks awful

Allen: looks insanely good

Edmunds: looks good

 

Overall that's good.

[CoudyBills]

20 hours ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

Aside from the fact that it is way too early to really tell the impact of this rookie class, this was the headline of the article:

 

Bills 2021 rookie class does not fare well in ESPN ranking

 

And they ranked them 27th.  Considering the Bills picked 30th, wouldn't that make them slightly above average?  That article is saying that the Bills outperformed their draft position, but then also says they did not fare well.  😕

Pro tip, piss on espn.

[TFBillsfan]

Slightly different twist but the Bills picks in the 2nd round since 2014 have struggled to make any impact which is concerning as typically there is still plenty of talent on the board. You have to get to 2013 before an impactful player. Hope Beane changes this trend this year.
 

2021:  Basham

2020:  AJE

2019:  Ford

2018:  No pick

2017:  Zay Jones

2016:  Reggie Ragland

2015:  Ronald Darby

2014:  Cyrus Kouandjio

2013:  Robert Woods

[Buffalosouth]

Groot is still in braces. Every see a puppy with giant paws? Let the kid grow into his role. He even took a year off from playing and still made the nfl. Wait until that rookie wall narrative becomes the sophomore slump and he gets chased put of here and finishes developing and people want a player like him. 

 

I wonder why Basham was inactive. Was it numbers, development, or gameplan? Or a combination of the 3. 

 

The picks in the draft will 

be ordered in importance by DB, WR, and then offensive and defensive line. Do they really invest early round picks at the the same position again this year?

 

 

 

[dave mcbride]

14 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

terrible top 2 picks.  No impact.  Bean has been abysmal in the top 2 rounds the past 2 drafts.  That needs to change. 

Last year’s top pick was … Stefon Diggs, who ended up being the leading receiver in the entire league.

[NewEra]

5 hours ago, Dopey said:

The group is small, it's just loud. Same group that blamed Edmunds for that long run vs NE in our loss to them(Milano and Hyde). That would be example #1 on blaming him for every long run. No one complained about Milano vs the Chiefs, but he didn't have a good game and was "Mossed" for the game winning TD. 

And then there’s a much bigger group that thinks he is a pretty good player but won’t be worth the money that we’ll pay him.  You

CAN’T ignore his lack of big plays. 

[GunnerBill]

14 hours ago, Zerovoltz said:

If KC didn't land him....I'd be upset they didn't gamble on him in the 4th/5th myself....I'm kind of upset they waited anyhow...if you thought he was that guy...you spend a 4th or 5th and make sure you get him.  KC lucky he wasn't taken before they picked in round 6.  Only thing I can say about it for ALL teams...is that covid prevented eveyrone from doing up close medical on these guys pre draft.  

 

In any other year, he would have gone in the top 45 picks most likely.

 

I had a 3rd round grade on him without taking account for the injury. He is a bit scheme specific. You couldn't have drafted him for one of the Shanahan schemes that wants to get their olinemen moving horizontally a lot of the time. Kansas City are more multiple have used more gap concepts, some pin and pull and trap runs. The fact that Mahomes does a lot of deep drop stuff helps him in pass pro too. Teams that do a lot of under centre and quick game might not be ideal for him. He was an excellent pick for Kansas City and no doubt he dropped for health reasons but I do think when you consider how many of those Shanahan offense style teams there are in the NFL at the moment that had some impact in limiting his market too.