PFF's Top 100 likely free agents....Athletic top 150 free agents......other free agent articles

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

5 hours ago, SCBills said:

They drafted 2 of the 5. 

Exactly.

 

[John from Riverside]

27 minutes ago, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

Exactly.

 

Yeah, the fact that they drafted half of them and they brought half and then free agency only makes the Chiefs look better

[Bill from NYC]

On 2/5/2023 at 4:30 PM, BADOLBILZ said:

 

The people dying to expend the Bills first round pick on a RB or Guard check out some of those low contract estimates.............you don't use first round picks on positions that command such modest dollars in UFA.     

I would add safeties to the above. There are 14 safeties on that list of 100, and almost all of them are projected to make less money than those at other positions. 

I also found it interesting that there we 9 corners, bringing the total to 23 defensive backs out of the 100 players listted. Allowing for 3 corners and 2 safeties,  dbs represent 22.7% of the 22 players on the field at most given times. On this list of 100, they represent 23% of the players listed. I found this interesting but I digress.

It would appear (at least to me) that safeties are not highly valued as compared to almost every other position. I think VERY highly of Brian Branch at safety coming out of Alabama. He can cover, has very good hands, can blitz very well and is a fearless tackler. That said, I would not want to use a 1st round pick on him. 

TBH, if it came down to one or the other I would rather use it on a guard.  

 

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Bill from NYC

[Gregg]

jamie stuart on Twitter: "Jets talk: On @WFAN660 now @RichCimini says he doesn’t get the sense “Carr is the Jets guy.” Says they’ll definitely make play for Rodgers, and Garoppolo would be in play if Rodgers chooses elsewhere. #TakeFlight" / Twitter

[Back2Buff]

There are so many safeties on the list:

 

4. S JESSIE BATES III, CINCINNATI BENGALS

18. S JORDAN POYER, BUFFALO BILLS

24. S CHAUNCEY GARDNER-JOHNSON, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

45. S VONN BELL, CINCINNATI BENGALS

47. S JIMMIE WARD, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

60. S TAYLOR RAPP, LOS ANGELES RAMS

61. S JULIAN LOVE, NEW YORK GIANTS

66. S JUAN THORNHILL, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

71. S DONOVAN WILSON, DALLAS COWBOYS

78. S ADRIAN AMOS, GREEN BAY PACKERS

92. S RODNEY MCLEOD, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

94. S DEVIN MCCOURTY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

95. S MARCUS EPPS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

96. S DURON HARMON, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

[The Firebaugh Kid]

Completely infatuated with the Michael Thomas idea. Obviously health being the primary concern, and the team has many other needs and holes to fill. 

[MrEpsYtown]

1 hour ago, Back2Buff said:

There are so many safeties on the list:

 

4. S JESSIE BATES III, CINCINNATI BENGALS

18. S JORDAN POYER, BUFFALO BILLS

24. S CHAUNCEY GARDNER-JOHNSON, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

45. S VONN BELL, CINCINNATI BENGALS

47. S JIMMIE WARD, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

60. S TAYLOR RAPP, LOS ANGELES RAMS

61. S JULIAN LOVE, NEW YORK GIANTS

66. S JUAN THORNHILL, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

71. S DONOVAN WILSON, DALLAS COWBOYS

78. S ADRIAN AMOS, GREEN BAY PACKERS

92. S RODNEY MCLEOD, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

94. S DEVIN MCCOURTY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

95. S MARCUS EPPS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

96. S DURON HARMON, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

 

The best player on that list is Bates by far. I think he will be too expensive. But not a bad investment. 

 

In terms of scheme fit I like Gardner-Johnson and Thornhill the most. Thornhill is the slightly better athlete and a little bigger. Johnson is two years younger and will be more expensive. I think either are really good replacements and both have that corner-safety versatility. 

[Back2Buff]

8 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

 

The best player on that list is Bates by far. I think he will be too expensive. But not a bad investment. 

 

In terms of scheme fit I like Gardner-Johnson and Thornhill the most. Thornhill is the slightly better athlete and a little bigger. Johnson is two years younger and will be more expensive. I think either are really good replacements and both have that corner-safety versatility. 

 

I'm a big fan of Jimmie Ward.

[MrEpsYtown]

20 minutes ago, Back2Buff said:

 

I'm a big fan of Jimmie Ward.

 

I like him too, not sure of the fit. He is more of a box safety and he played mostly nickel corner this year. But the dude makes plays, tackles, and plays with that edge we are missing. The one other thing I will say about Ward is that he is just a couple of months younger than Poyer. It will be interesting to see what those guys get paid. 

[BADOLBILZ]

3 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

I would add safeties to the above. There are 14 safeties on that list of 100, and almost all of them are projected to make less money than those at other positions. 

I also found it interesting that there we 9 corners, bringing the total to 23 defensive backs out of the 100 players listted. Allowing for 3 corners and 2 safeties,  dbs represent 22.7% of the 22 players on the field at most given times. On this list of 100, they represent 23% of the players listed. I found this interesting but I digress.

It would appear (at least to me) that safeties are not highly valued as compared to almost every other position. I think VERY highly of Brian Branch at safety coming out of Alabama. He can cover, has very good hands, can blitz very well and is a fearless tackler. That said, I would not want to use a 1st round pick on him. 

TBH, if it came down to one or the other I would rather use it on a guard.  

 

 

 

 

Yeah I definitely don't want a safety in round 1.   Ever.

 

ESPN just did a re-draft of 2022 and they had Elam going to Dallas (ahead of McDuffie which would surprise some)...........and the Bills then taking S Kyle Hamilton from their original spot(ahead of McDuffie).

 

If they had gotten the top rated guard-specific Kenyon Green........yikes........the sure-thing, off-the-bus starter allowed 8 sacks as a rookie.

 

Zion Johnson was better but still not nearly as good as was expected.

 

Those guys may develop into very good players just in time to put their team on the spot about their 5th year option.............but in general I think fans want guards because they think they will be good immediately while premium positions like Edge/WR/CB are expected to have growing pains.    

 

Interestingly two late round TACKLES were re-drafted into the top 36 overall in Jamaree Salyer and Braxton Jones.

 

I am still a believer in drafting tackles and bumping them inside if you have to.

[Gregg]

Pat McAfee on Twitter: ""I'm still in the art of contemplation about my future.. after my isolation retreat I'll be ready to make a decision" ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSinAZ https://t.co/21uLlRDlQr" / Twitter

[GunnerBill]

On 2/7/2023 at 4:35 PM, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Yeah I definitely don't want a safety in round 1.   Ever.

 

ESPN just did a re-draft of 2022 and they had Elam going to Dallas (ahead of McDuffie which would surprise some)...........and the Bills then taking S Kyle Hamilton from their original spot(ahead of McDuffie).

 

If they had gotten the top rated guard-specific Kenyon Green........yikes........the sure-thing, off-the-bus starter allowed 8 sacks as a rookie.

 

Zion Johnson was better but still not nearly as good as was expected.

 

Those guys may develop into very good players just in time to put their team on the spot about their 5th year option.............but in general I think fans want guards because they think they will be good immediately while premium positions like Edge/WR/CB are expected to have growing pains.    

 

Interestingly two late round TACKLES were re-drafted into the top 36 overall in Jamaree Salyer and Braxton Jones.

 

I am still a believer in drafting tackles and bumping them inside if you have to.

 

Agree with this although I would say Hamilton is a special player. He is more Derwin James than true safety IMO. He is just a defensive playmaker you line up anywhere. He played mainly as a big nickel as a rookie, but he lined up on the edge some, he played in the box some, on the boundary some, at free safety a bit. He might be the exception. 

 

In contrast I never thought either of those guards were special players. Good guard prospects, sure. But you need to be special at those non-premium spots for me to think of you as a first rounder. If Hamilton had dropped to the Bills last year and they'd taken him I would not have hated it.

 

In contrast I like Antonio Johnson a lot this year, and I can see the Bills liking him a lot too, but he is just a nice safety prospect. Not someone you should spend a first round pick on IMO.

[The Jokeman]

There's mumbles Shaq Thompson could get cut. I wonder if we'd continue the Carolina to Buffalo train if we lose Edmunds? I know they're aren't the same position but I wonder if we could shift Milano to man the middle and find a new WLB?

[MrEpsYtown]

3 hours ago, The Jokeman said:

There's mumbles Shaq Thompson could get cut. I wonder if we'd continue the Carolina to Buffalo train if we lose Edmunds? I know they're aren't the same position but I wonder if we could shift Milano to man the middle and find a new WLB?

I could see Shaq. I think if he were signed he would replace Taron Johnson in a lot of scenarios with 3 true backers. If you signed Shaq to replace Tremaine and played Milano, Shaq, and Johnson in that 4-2-5, that is a very small LB corps. I don’t hate it, but I think we might have even more issues with stopping the run. 
 

Now if you added Shaq and say Anthony Walker Jr to play the mike, you play Milano-Walker-Shaq and when you go to nickel Johnson comes in for Walker and Shaq and Milano are your pass defenders. I would love to see the Bills play more situational defense. 

Edited February 9, 2023 by MrEpsYtown

[4merper4mer]

On 2/7/2023 at 7:45 AM, Bill from NYC said:

I would add safeties to the above. There are 14 safeties on that list of 100, and almost all of them are projected to make less money than those at other positions. 

I also found it interesting that there we 9 corners, bringing the total to 23 defensive backs out of the 100 players listted. Allowing for 3 corners and 2 safeties,  dbs represent 22.7% of the 22 players on the field at most given times. On this list of 100, they represent 23% of the players listed. I found this interesting but I digress.

It would appear (at least to me) that safeties are not highly valued as compared to almost every other position. I think VERY highly of Brian Branch at safety coming out of Alabama. He can cover, has very good hands, can blitz very well and is a fearless tackler. That said, I would not want to use a 1st round pick on him. 

TBH, if it came down to one or the other I would rather use it on a guard.  

 

 

So 23% of the top 100 are DBs and 23% of players on the field are DBs?  What point do you think that makes?  I mean I know from years of experience reading your posts that DBs should be banned from football but how does the 23/23 thing support or refute that?

[4merper4mer]

On 2/7/2023 at 8:44 AM, The Firebaugh Kid said:

Completely infatuated with the Michael Thomas idea. Obviously health being the primary concern, and the team has many other needs and holes to fill. 

Health a concern but work ethic is a show stopper.

[The Jokeman]

23 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

I could see Shaq. I think if he were signed he would replace Taron Johnson in a lot of scenarios with 3 true backers. If you signed Shaq to replace Tremaine and played Milano, Shaq, and Johnson in that 4-2-5, that is a very small LB corps. I don’t hate it, but I think we might have even more issues with stopping the run. 
 

Now if you added Shaq and say Anthony Walker Jr to play the mike, you play Milano-Walker-Shaq and when you go to nickel Johnson comes in for Walker and Shaq and Milano are your pass defenders. I would love to see the Bills play more situational defense. 

The more I dive into this draft I wonder if we let Edmunds we try and replace him with a similar prospect. As I keep seeing Drew Sanders' name coming up. 

[Bill from NYC]

18 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

So 23% of the top 100 are DBs and 23% of players on the field are DBs?  What point do you think that makes?  I mean I know from years of experience reading your posts that DBs should be banned from football but how does the 23/23 thing support or refute that?

My point was really about the abundance of safeties on the list. There are posters on this board actually calling for a first round safety. 

Perhaps this would please you, who knows?

[MrEpsYtown]

10 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

The more I dive into this draft I wonder if we let Edmunds we try and replace him with a similar prospect. As I keep seeing Drew Sanders' name coming up. 

Yeah interesting guy. He’s very much a unicorn like Tremaine. Sanders is a bit light for my taste, as he could stand to gain 15-20 lbs. But the dude can ball. I love Jack Campbell just because his instincts are ridiculous. I am interested to see these guys and Simpson, and Noah Sewell’s numbers at the combine. 

[CSBill]

Get one of: Ben Powers (29), Dalton Risner (43), Nate Davis (52), or Ethan Pocic (57). And draft a quality interior lineman or LT in the draft. Then reshuffle the current people as needed (Dawkins to a guard? Bates to Center or LG? .... I'm assuming Morse will retire?). if so, the line can only get better.