Execs Unfiltered On All 32 Draft Classes

[JESSEFEFFER]

I would not want to write the NFL story on any of these three.  AJE is very quick off the ball and good with his hands.  Groot has many great traits and is very inexperienced.  He has lots of room to grow yet still made an impact in his rookie year.  I'm not as sure about Basham's game, I just haven't seen much of it yet.  Calling any of them a bust at this point is much like spiking the ball at the 25.  The fact that the Bills let Addison, Obada and Hughes go tells me they think Epenesa, Groot and Boogie are ready to deliver more.  It will be a big year in the careers of all 3.

[RochesterLifer]

I believe Bills' the entire 2021 draft was a "futures draft" where Beane selected high end traits without the intention of having them make immediate impacts. No doubt, McDermott was involved and believes his staff can shape them into solid NFL contributors. Obviously, Groot and Brown performed ahead of schedule.

 

The theme of last year's offseason was "keep the band together". So, the draft class was merely being groomed. Now that (hopefully) the kids are developing, the '21 "futures draft" of players will become important contributors. One person I would not write off yet is Stevenson. You can't teach speed.

 

And yes, I am always the optimist.

[DrDawkinstein]

On 5/7/2022 at 4:39 PM, JohnNord said:

I agree, it might be early and sometimes takes 2-3 seasons for a DE. 
 

But his point makes sense.  The Bills had to sign Miller to a big deal because the draft capital they invested at DE has not panned out.  

I also wouldn’t call Epinesa and Basham “projects” at DE.  Both were considered to be pro ready coming out of the draft, which is why it could be a call for concern that both struggled to get on the field early in their careers

 

 

Ehh. It could easily be argued that the Bills had to sign Miller because they were losing the 2 biggest Veteran presences on the DL, Hughes and Addison, and replaced them with one superstar vet instead. Not necessarily a knock on the young guys who everyone would expect to be still developing.

[FilthyBeast]

On 5/8/2022 at 6:52 AM, Zerovoltz said:

 

As much as I enjoy postivie comments about my Chiefs....I wanted to chime in here and say that this is a bad comparison.  Jared Allen was a division II sack machine at Idaho State....and when he came out...and on into the NFL...he had a ton of "bend" to him.  Karlaftis simply isn't that type of player.  He doesn't offer much bend at all.  He's alot more like Ryan Kerrigan....a larger, power oriented guy who is expected to be a strenght VS the run and win in passing situatoins by power, or with strong hands and beating the O-linemans punch, and shedding blocks.  

 

I hope Karlaftis is a great player, but as mentioned in this thread...it's damn hard to find good DE (espeically pass rushers) beyond the top 15 or so in round 1.  The body and skill set is just hard to come by.  

 

Someone mentioned Creed Humphey was in the Bills laps and they took Basham instead.  .....that, in hindsight was a mistake, but the point that 2nd round project DE types, just don't offer a good ROI.  If you aren't taking one high, then there almost isn't any point.  IOL...WAY BETTER ROI in mid rounds on those guys.

 

As a chiefs fan you would certianly know better, but personally I would have taken Karlaftis on the Bills if we already didn't have a logjam of young players there. And he has that blue collar 'lunchpail' trait that this team seems to have liked in the past with DE's.

 

But DB was obviously the bigger need for this team right now anyway.

[Airseven]

Lack of depth is notable. Hopefully Miller can stay healthy and productive, but behind Rousseau, there isn't much. Really could've used that 4th round pick on Edge (or IOL obviously).

Edited May 9, 2022 by Airseven

[Zerovoltz]

7 hours ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

As a chiefs fan you would certianly know better, but personally I would have taken Karlaftis on the Bills if we already didn't have a logjam of young players there. And he has that blue collar 'lunchpail' trait that this team seems to have liked in the past with DE's.

 

But DB was obviously the bigger need for this team right now anyway.

I am glad to have Karlaftis....for what KC likes their DE's to be...he was made in a lab for spags....just pointing out that Allen and Karlaftis are not all the same player type.

[Billzgobowlin]

On 5/6/2022 at 12:27 PM, OldTimer1960 said:

Rousseau was picked 30th in round 1 and Epenesa and Basham were late 2nd round picks.  Shocking that they haven’t been as good as a top 10 pick DE…

Yes exactly and the fact that they don't deploy rookies on a consistent basis until they are ready to obviously unseat the veterans in front of them.  Spencer Brown could have started from day 1 as a regular but they gave him time.  I have a feeling they are working on refining their game before they play meaningful minutes.  I bet you will see a lot of Rousseau this year especially with no Addison and Hughes.

[CapeBreton]

18 hours ago, Airseven said:

Lack of depth is notable. Hopefully Miller can stay healthy and productive, but behind Rousseau, there isn't much. Really could've used that 4th round pick on Edge (or IOL obviously).

 

Beane has said they would have picked Khalil Shakir with the forth rounder if it wasn't traded away. Basham was a second rounder last year and barely saw the field, a 4th round edge would likely never get a chance.