Of the serious SB Contenders who had the best draft?

[SCBills]

You also have to take into consideration what the teams look like now.  Chiefs/Packers lost Hill/Adams.  Our draft probably adds another two top 100 picks if we traded away Diggs. 

Last year I thought our Defense was a paper tiger.  Above average, but not the #1 Defense.  That was more a product of schedule than play on the field. 
 

This year… This might be the legit #1 Defense.  
 

Von-Jones-Oliver-Rousseau

Epenesa-Phillips-Settle-Basham-Lawson

 

Edmunds-Milano

Bernard-Dodson

 

Elam-Taron-White

Jackson-Neal

 

Poyer-Hyde

Hamlin-Johnson

 

That Defense, on paper, has absolutely absurd potential.  Talent, depth, it has everything. 

[cle23]

7 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

They did nothing to address WR though after trading Brown away.  They got great value picks throughout but Bateman is now their #1 WR.  They seem content on running the ball and relying on a strong defense.  Just a strange way to build a roster in today's pass happy NFL.

 

Probably because Andrews is their #1 passing option.  Dude had 1361 yards last year.  They definitely need WR help, but with their run game, it greatly reduces the need for top flight WRs.  The main thing is keeping Jackson healthy, which is tricky given his size and running.

 

I hate the Ravens, but they draft well and to their team identity.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Ravens had best draft but the Chargers are the team to beat to get to the Superbowl. Good thing they are in AFC West and probably win the division with 10 games. Bills can go 12-4 and host AFC Championship.  Ravens, Browns, and Bengals will slug it out in the central too. Colts might run away with the South but I'm not convinced Ryan is still any good and he has always choked in the biggest moments.

24 minutes ago, SCBills said:

You also have to take into consideration what the teams look like now.  Chiefs/Packers lost Hill/Adams.  Our draft probably adds another two top 100 picks if we traded away Diggs. 

Last year I thought our Defense was a paper tiger.  Above average, but not the #1 Defense.  That was more a product of schedule than play on the field. 
 

This year… This might be the legit #1 Defense.  
 

Von-Jones-Oliver-Rousseau

Epenesa-Phillips-Settle-Basham-Lawson

 

Edmunds-Milano

Bernard-Dodson

 

Elam-Taron-White

Jackson-Neal

 

Poyer-Hyde

Hamlin-Johnson

 

That Defense, on paper, has absolutely absurd potential.  Talent, depth, it has everything. 

Agree 100%. If they can get through the first month with a rookie and Jackson or a yet to sign FA at CB they will win 12 games easy.  Need White at full strength for the playoffs not for September 

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

8 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

They did nothing to address WR though after trading Brown away.  They got great value picks throughout but Bateman is now their #1 WR.  They seem content on running the ball and relying on a strong defense.  Just a strange way to build a roster in today's pass happy NFL.

 

They have been a running team since Lamar was drafted, they had I believe 3 or 4 RB's on the roster go down with season ending injuries and all of them return in 2022. They made some upgrades along the OL and Lamar comes back from injury. Also I never thought Hollywood Brown was their #1 WR, that has always been TE Mark Andrews imo plus I believe they'll sign a WR in this coming free agency.

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, ChasBB said:

The Tyreek Hill trade was a brilliant move by the Chiefs - that's how to maintain a strong roster and be relevant every season - move a guy who still has 1 or 2 years left in his "prime" and stack some high draft picks ... AND ... on top of it all, ship Buffalo's personal nemesis to a team in our division - geez.  Anyhow, I hope Beane can pull some kind of a trade of a guy maybe he doesn't see as being a Buffalo Bill a year or two out and move that player while there is still perceived value and stack some high-round future picks.  The Patriots traded away still-performing players often (maybe too often) and stacked picks, as well.

 

It might be brilliant, but at the moment I think they have the worse skill positions in the division.  They have Mahomes, but he is no longer the by far and away best QB in the division.  Their OL is better suited to a dominant run game.  They have an aging Kelce and now do not have the ultimate deep threat that opens him up.

 

The KC WR group lacks the elite guy to help open everything up.  
 

We will see how it goes long term, but I think they are still not as good right now as they were last year and all 3 teams in division got better. 
 

Without Hill they are no longer the favorites in that division and I could see them struggling to make a playoff push this year.

 

They will be a fun watch and I would love to see them finish last out west - although I still think they can beat Denver and are right no on par with LV for 2nd.

 

 

[blacklabel]

I actually thought the Chiefs and Packers had really average drafts. In all, it’s kind of a mostly average group of prospects this year. Reminds me a lot of the 2013 draft, no real elite players and not very many consensus round one grades. I’m sure some players will turn out pretty good but I really wouldn’t expect this class to turn into a bunch of perennial all-pros and pro bowlers. I could be wrong. 

[without a drought]

Bills are still the favorite.

[Logic]

The Chiefs and Ravens had really nice drafts. So did the Jets, but they're not "serious SB contenders", so I won't discuss their class.

- The Chiefs saw the Bills beat them in the regular season and then outscore them (until the final 13 seconds and overtime) in the playoffs, then saw the Bengals outscore them in the AFCCG. They responded by prioritizing the strengthening of their defense through the draft. McDuffie, Karlaftis, Williams, Cook, Chenal, Watson is a nice group of defenders. I also really liked their 7th rounder Isaiah Pacheco as a sleeper homerun hitting running back.  While they almost certainly took a step back on offense, it seems they may have taken a step forward on defense. The only question I now have with their defense is whether they have enough edge rush to make life uncomfortable for opposing quarterbacks. Regardless of that, this was a nice class.

- The Ravens had hands down my favorite draft class. They added three legitimate first round talents in Hamilton, Linderbaum, and Ojabo. They then continued with talented prospects Travis Jones, Daniel Faalele, Jalyn Amour-Davis, Charie Kolar, Isaiah Likely, Damarion Williams, and Tyler Badie, AND got the best punter in the draft. They got starters, they got contributors, they got value. They improved their defense, they improved their offense, they improved their special teams. Combined with all of the key players returning from injury, I like the Ravens to have double digit wins and return to the playoffs. Sure, we can all question the long term prospects of trying to win with defense and running game. That strategy seems to work very well in the regular season, but not so well in the playoffs. But we're not talking long term Super Bowl prospects here, we're talking draft class, and the Ravens' was great.

[Nextmanup]

Get back to me in 3 years and we'll talk about who had a good or bad draft this weekend.

 

 

[Doc Brown]

7 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Are they still coached by John Harbaugh? Yea? They'll be competitive. I get the point about their receivers but they throw to receiver less anyway. They have talent and depth almost everywhere else. 

They've had that the last four seasons and have one playoff victory against a similarly built team (Titans).  The lack of a vertical passing game will always be a problem for them until they seriously address it through a change in scheme and an upgrade at WR.  I feel like they continue to spin their wheels.

[GunnerBill]

7 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

They've had that the last four seasons and have one playoff victory against a similarly built team (Titans).  The lack of a vertical passing game will always be a problem for them until they seriously address it through a change in scheme and an upgrade at WR.  I feel like they continue to spin their wheels.

 

I don't think they are winning a Superbowl. But competing and making the post season, yep. 

[Zerovoltz]

11 hours ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

 

The rest of the draft was nice, but I think you fundamentally see this team change their offensive philosophy this year.  Mahomes is no longer the far and away best QB in the division and without Hill and an older Kelce - it is not the high flying offense of the last few years. They have a big offensive line and I expect they will start shifting to more runs and protecting the ball - especially with some of the DEs.

 

I think they will continue to be good, but they are not going to be the same team as the last few years and may struggle with that change.

 

 

 

 

I think you've got a good grasp on what KC is doing.  Reid can be stubborn and SLOW to change what he is doing, but he isn't dumb and he does change things up once he can see that change is in fact needed.  The leauge has gone two high crazy.  Teams were pretty effective at taking away KC chunk plays....which had been their bread and butter from 2018 to last year.  Teams just gave KC all the real estate they wanted between the 20's and then bogged us down in the red zone.

 

If they are priced into having to pay Orlando Brown big money....and teams are presenting a light box....and I read a very telling stat from PFF or NFLNexGen.....LB bit the least in the NFL on KC play action...and they moved the least to run/defend against the Chiefs.  No one was afraid of our passing game.  LB were just staying home clogging up shallow passing lanes.  Signing Ronald Jones, trading Hill, and self evaluating that KC does have some O linemen who should be plus run blockers...all point to a shift in philosophy.  

 

Mahomes best football thus far, was played when KC had a good running game to go with him.  I think they want to get back to that.  

 

One more thing to point out...WAY TOO MUCH of KC's run game last season was RPO....this puts the Olineman at a disadvantage becasue they block that like it's a pass play.  they never get a chance to fire off and drive anyone.  I think KC had a nice run using RPO stuff for a while but teams caught up to that and you don't want Mahomes actually running the ball as an actual function of the offense.  So I think you'll see alot less of that...the running game will look alot more like a conventional straight forward attack relying on the plus line to drive results instead of smoke and mirrors.

[DCofNC]

19 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

They did nothing to address WR though after trading Brown away.  They got great value picks throughout but Bateman is now their #1 WR.  They seem content on running the ball and relying on a strong defense.  Just a strange way to build a roster in today's pass happy NFL.

They don’t use WRs anyway, why waste a pick on one?

9 hours ago, Logic said:

The Chiefs and Ravens had really nice drafts. So did the Jets, but they're not "serious SB contenders", so I won't discuss their class.

- The Chiefs saw the Bills beat them in the regular season and then outscore them (until the final 13 seconds and overtime) in the playoffs, then saw the Bengals outscore them in the AFCCG. They responded by prioritizing the strengthening of their defense through the draft. McDuffie, Karlaftis, Williams, Cook, Chenal, Watson is a nice group of defenders. I also really liked their 7th rounder Isaiah Pacheco as a sleeper homerun hitting running back.  While they almost certainly took a step back on offense, it seems they may have taken a step forward on defense. The only question I now have with their defense is whether they have enough edge rush to make life uncomfortable for opposing quarterbacks. Regardless of that, this was a nice class.

- The Ravens had hands down my favorite draft class. They added three legitimate first round talents in Hamilton, Linderbaum, and Ojabo. They then continued with talented prospects Travis Jones, Daniel Faalele, Jalyn Amour-Davis, Charie Kolar, Isaiah Likely, Damarion Williams, and Tyler Badie, AND got the best punter in the draft. They got starters, they got contributors, they got value. They improved their defense, they improved their offense, they improved their special teams. Combined with all of the key players returning from injury, I like the Ravens to have double digit wins and return to the playoffs. Sure, we can all question the long term prospects of trying to win with defense and running game. That strategy seems to work very well in the regular season, but not so well in the playoffs. But we're not talking long term Super Bowl prospects here, we're talking draft class, and the Ravens' was great.

This, all this.  I think the Chiefs drafted some names and I think a couple of them Karlaftis specifically, will struggle to translate, but I get the love they have gotten, especially if those guys do find success I don’t project. 
 

Ravens killed it. 
 

The Jets really shined, but there are a couple there I wonder about translating to NFL too.

[y2zipper]

13 hours ago, Zerovoltz said:

 

I think you've got a good grasp on what KC is doing.  Reid can be stubborn and SLOW to change what he is doing, but he isn't dumb and he does change things up once he can see that change is in fact needed.  The leauge has gone two high crazy.  Teams were pretty effective at taking away KC chunk plays....which had been their bread and butter from 2018 to last year.  Teams just gave KC all the real estate they wanted between the 20's and then bogged us down in the red zone.

 

If they are priced into having to pay Orlando Brown big money....and teams are presenting a light box....and I read a very telling stat from PFF or NFLNexGen.....LB bit the least in the NFL on KC play action...and they moved the least to run/defend against the Chiefs.  No one was afraid of our passing game.  LB were just staying home clogging up shallow passing lanes.  Signing Ronald Jones, trading Hill, and self evaluating that KC does have some O linemen who should be plus run blockers...all point to a shift in philosophy.  

 

Mahomes best football thus far, was played when KC had a good running game to go with him.  I think they want to get back to that.  

 

One more thing to point out...WAY TOO MUCH of KC's run game last season was RPO....this puts the Olineman at a disadvantage becasue they block that like it's a pass play.  they never get a chance to fire off and drive anyone.  I think KC had a nice run using RPO stuff for a while but teams caught up to that and you don't want Mahomes actually running the ball as an actual function of the offense.  So I think you'll see alot less of that...the running game will look alot more like a conventional straight forward attack relying on the plus line to drive results instead of smoke and mirrors.

 

I have said similar things about Buffalo's run game. Buffalo in particular struggles to run against light boxes and has rebuilt their offensive line and changed offensive line coaches in order to address that. 

 

The underrated aspect of this comment is discussing quarterback philosophies. A lot of the league is adjusting and moving toward heavy investment in wide receivers, but Green Bay and Kansas City are moving toward a different philosophy where the best things you can give your quarterback are a good run game and a good defense. The entire logic behind the hill trade is that Kansas City wants to be more diverse on offense and better on defense, and they think it's worth the cost of the explosiveness that Hill provided.

 

Where I like Buffalo's approach for buffalo is that as it stands, Nebraska currently doesn't have a lot of room for developmental players at a lot of positions. What Buffalo did, at least with the first three picks, is Target players at positions are with skill sets that they want to put on the field and that fit their philosophy. In this particular draft for their particular construction, it makes a lot of sense to use the draft this way.

 

 

[warrior9]

On 4/30/2022 at 11:36 PM, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

The Ravens... They didn't make the playoffs because Lamar got injured but he's healthy again, they get all their injured players back, also added Kyle Hamilton, Tyler Lindenbaum, David Ojabo, Charlie Kolar, Jordan Stout and Isiah Likely in the draft

The Ravens are not Super Bowl contenders. This draft showed exactly what they think of Lamar Jackson. They traded away his only decent receiver and drafted 3 TE's. He can't throw outside the numbers and this year with no outside threat, that will be even more prominent. Their RB1 and RB2 are coming off ACLs as are both of their starting CBs. 

 

If they make the playoffs, Harbaugh should win COTY.

[warrior9]

21 hours ago, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

They have been a running team since Lamar was drafted, they had I believe 3 or 4 RB's on the roster go down with season ending injuries and all of them return in 2022. They made some upgrades along the OL and Lamar comes back from injury. Also I never thought Hollywood Brown was their #1 WR, that has always been TE Mark Andrews imo plus I believe they'll sign a WR in this coming free agency.

Having an outside /deep threat like Brown (although I'm with you on him not being a #1) takes pressure off of Andrews. Their WR corps right now is laughable and unless they make a play for Deebo, no one on the streets is going to change that, especially with Lamar as your QB. 

 

He was exposed in the Bills playoff game and hasn't been the same since. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Here is GMFB’s take 

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by SlimShady'sSpaceForce

[Don Otreply]

On 5/1/2022 at 8:54 AM, machine gun kelly said:

I couldn’t agree more.  Polian on NFLR made the point yesterday morning how little mock draft people know in terms of why real people draft who.  
 

I like on NFLR they do a three years later review a draft.  

This right here, ^^^
 

its not just about the “best” players, it is in many ways more about the right players (which can be the best at a given position, although that too is subjective) for what a given teams scheme/style of play is going to be. 

[Big Turk]

On 5/1/2022 at 11:24 AM, cle23 said:

 

Probably because Andrews is their #1 passing option.  Dude had 1361 yards last year.  They definitely need WR help, but with their run game, it greatly reduces the need for top flight WRs.  The main thing is keeping Jackson healthy, which is tricky given his size and running.

 

I hate the Ravens, but they draft well and to their team identity.

 

They have virtually no chance of progressing past losing in the divisional round every year with this style

[GunnerBill]

6 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

They have virtually no chance of progressing past losing in the divisional round every year with this style

 

I agree it is a lightening in a bottle style and you are hoping to get lucky once with it. It isn't going to put you in Superbowl contention year after year...... but what it will do is win you a lot of regular season games year after year and get you to the post season. Epsecially when you are very well coached and your roster is very well stocked and replenished with good players by a top tier front office.

 

Example last year.... until Lamar got hurt they were in contention for the #1 seed despite being without 5 or 6 key starters to long term injuries including their #1 left tackle, their intended starting right tackle, both starting corners, both of their running backs and a key defensive lineman for basically the whole season. 

Edited May 3, 2022 by GunnerBill