NFL draft rumors 2023

[mannc]

10 minutes ago, whorlnut said:

Again…if Beane can trade up 2 spots in a deep draft for corners for the last guy with a first round grade, what precludes him for doing it for a receiver?

 

Beane certainly could trade down for one of those guys, but there are probably only five receivers who are worth a first round pick this year (if you include Kincaid) and there are way more than five teams that are looking to add receiving talent to their roster, so it won't be easy, sitting at 27, to get one of them.  This year there aren't a lot of great players at other positions to push them down to the bottom of the round.

[whorlnut]

17 minutes ago, blacklabel said:

I think I'm just looking forward to the inevitable meltdown some folks are gonna have no matter who the Bills draft. 

 

Just remember, this stuff is supposed to be fun. If the names they announce next weekend make you wanna throw things and punch holes in the wall then maybe take a minute to ponder if football is, I dunno, your thing? 

 

After that we'll round up the expert board analysis on Beane...who will surely have failed miserably at his job according to the message board savants of the world. 

 

Who's that one player you really hope they don't pick? I hope they pick that guy. 

Let me get this straight…one side of your mouth spouts off about not getting upset and enjoying the ride, so to speak. The other says that you hope people are upset and want chaos. Maybe football isn’t YOUR thing…

17 minutes ago, mannc said:

Beane certainly could trade down for one of those guys, but there are probably only five receivers who are worth a first round pick this year (if you include Kincaid) and there are way more than five teams that are looking to add receiving talent to their roster, so it won't be easy, sitting at 27, to get one of them.  This year there aren't a lot of great players at other positions to push them down to the bottom of the round.

What are you talking about?  I said trade UP, not DOWN. And you laid out the very reason why one would trade up. To make sure you get your guy. I’m really not sure what you are trying to say…

[mannc]

27 minutes ago, whorlnut said:

Let me get this straight…one side of your mouth spouts off about not getting upset and enjoying the ride, so to speak. The other says that you hope people are upset and want chaos. Maybe football isn’t YOUR thing…

What are you talking about?  I said trade UP, not DOWN. And you laid out the very reason why one would trade up. To make sure you get your guy. I’m really not sure what you are trying to say…

Sorry, I meant to say trade up.

[Warriorspikes51]

 

 

[stinky finger]

16 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

I think we try, but.......
 

 

 

[MrEpsYtown]

Fun article if you liek comps: 

 

 

[glazeduck]

25 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

Fun article if you liek comps: 

 

 

I always love comps but some of these are insultingly lazy...

[NewEra]

18 hours ago, NeverOutNick said:

Yeah, I knew that he was picked before the Bill second round selection but we know Brandon Beane loves to trade up. It was only a few spots I kept yelling at my TV. Pickens is still on the board trade up but sadly the TV didn’t listen.

Same here.  Pickens then Moore then Pierce.  I was hoping for one of the 3.  Missed all of them 

[whorlnut]

1 minute ago, NewEra said:

Same here.  Pickens then Moore then Pierce.  I was hoping for one of the 3.  Missed all of them 

Yep. Same. And what really irritates me above all else is those that suggest we “wait till the second round”. As if there are guarantees we will have anyone there that we value. The fact is…we are gonna be doing this same song and dance every year until they finally address WR. 

[Brand J]

No one’s concerned about Addison’s smallish hands?

[Warriorspikes51]

Joe B seems to think a Trade Up for a WR is likely

 

6) Who fits the profile this year?
 

Luckily for the Bills, that specific type of receiver makes up most of the top prospects. And in the first round, it boils down to four who should be a legitimate option at No. 27.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State – He mainly played slot receiver at Ohio State, but possesses the skills to move outside. He’s an outstanding, nuanced route runner with the shiftiness and agility to punish interior coverage defenders. At nearly 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, the biggest of these four.

 

Zay Flowers, Boston College – Has experience playing both the perimeter and inside at slot, but at 5-foot-9, he’s the shortest prospect of these four. Flowers was an outstanding downfield target who’s a lot of fun to watch his speed of getting in and out of his breakdown. He is excellent at gaining yards after the catch, too.

 

Jordan Addison, USC – Addison mostly played the perimeter last year but mainly played as a slot receiver in 2021 at Pitt, so the versatility is there. He is right there with Smith-Njigba as a route runner and gains instant separation. Stylistically, Addison runs his routes similarly to Diggs. The troubling factor is that he weighed 173 pounds at his Pro Day.

 

Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee – The biggest projection of the four but with a legitimately high ceiling. Hyatt mostly played slot receiver and needs to develop his full route tree, but he comes from the same offense that yielded Davis, which could concern the Bills less than others. Like Addison, Hyatt is smaller at 176 pounds but has better deep-field speed.

If I had to rank them from a Bills’ perspective, I would probably put Smith-Njigba as the top prospect because he’d be an instant impact as their primary slot receiver. Flowers and Addison would rank 2A and 2B, as both could be excellent contributors in 2023. Either one would be worthy of a move up the board. Hyatt comes in fourth only because he’s more of a projection, though not far behind. But the Bills may have Hyatt a closer to the other two based on their comfortability with the college offense. If the Bills stayed at No. 27 and those first three are off the board, I would not be surprised if Hyatt is the selection.

 

7) What about TCU’s Quentin Johnston?

You may notice he’s missing among the above fits, but it’s because he doesn’t fit that versatile role we laid out as cleanly. Johnston isn’t as shifty as the others and, because of some tightness, doesn’t seem as suited to playing slot receiver as easily as the others. His best fit in the Bills’ offense likely would be in the Davis perimeter role, and the Bills may want to keep Davis for the long term. But if they were trying to find a replacement for Davis past 2023, Johnston would be in the equation.
 

😎 Why the Bills may need to get aggressive once the WR run starts

Even though the top receivers may lack a high-end prospect, that doesn’t reduce the receiver need of teams ahead of the Bills. Early in the pre-draft process, Smith-Njigba was going off the board as early as No. 11 to the Titans, but that has slowly been pushed down with some of the really plugged-in draft pundits. The thought-provoking Peter Schrager of NFL.com had Smith-Njigba off the board at No. 15. In his most recent mock, The Athletic draft expert Dane Brugler had Smith-Njigba being the first receiver selected at No. 20. The Bills will obviously be in a much better spot if the run starts at Brugler’s projection. But the one thing they have in common is picks 20 through 26 being a hot spot for receivers getting selected. So if the Bills want one, they might need to be proactive — and we all know Beane tends to get antsy in the first round.

 

11) So then what are the ideal trade-up spots that meet cost and logic?

This is a layered answer, because it all depends on who is available. If Smith-Njigba is still on the board at No. 20, that would be a potential spot to target because the Seahawks may want him, and the Ravens could be interested. Seattle has a long history of trading down on draft day, too.
 

The Chargers would be another spot to target either Smith-Njigba or the pick of the second-best wide receiver if the Chargers wanted a tight end above all else. They’d still stay ahead of the Bengals at No. 28, while the Jaguars and Cowboys aren’t as big of threats to take one. Plus, the depth of the tight end class could help. But the higher cost might be prohibitive if the Bills are moving up for the second-best receiver.

The Ravens likely aren’t moving off a pick for another team to take a receiver. The Vikings and Jaguars don’t seem immediate threats to take a receiver, but the Giants are, which makes the Jaguars at No. 24 potentially the ideal trade-up spot to target. It would cost the Bills to drop 30 picks from No. 91, but that’s an entirely doable cost to potentially secure the second or third-best receiver in this year’s class. But if they don’t want to chance it with the Jaguars, the Vikings have only five picks this year, and would likely be very, very willing trade participants, potentially with the Bills getting a better value on a trade than usual.

No. 23 or No. 24 looks like the sweet spot of any Bills draft day trade up.

[MrEpsYtown]

5 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

No one’s concerned about Addison’s smallish hands?

 

He isn't my favorite prospect, but I feel like he catches the ball so well it isn't a concern. I am more concerned about size/speed/explosiveness. 

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, MrEpsYtown said:

Fun article if you liek comps: 

 

 

 

 

I am not normally a big comps guy but there are a few in there that I have made at various points this draft season.

 

Bryce Young - Deshaun Watson (I made in my QB evals thread)

Peter Skoronski - Zack Martin

Jalin Hyatt - Desean Jackson

Will Levis - Carson Wentz 

[Roundybout]

Downs screams slot guy to me. 

 

[BillsSbSoon]

At the end of the day I don’t see beane trading up for a 5’9 wr. I get memories of tavon austin. There’s a few things you can narrow down with beane, he goes for prototypes in the first round and they are usually around 21 yrs old so pretty young. 

[Warriorspikes51]

4 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

Downs screams slot guy to me. 

 

He hasn't met with any teams. No thanks on Downs 

[CapeBreton]

9 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

Downs screams slot guy to me. 

 

 

I had to look up Peter King to see who he is, he has 1.7M followers on Twitter lol, so maybe he has some sources.

 

4 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

He hasn't met with any teams. No thanks on Downs 

 

That is so strange, I wonder if he'd be available in round 3 though. I'd take him then.

[eball]

6 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

He hasn't met with any teams. No thanks on Downs 

 

Might I ask why not?

[MrEpsYtown]

Charlie Campbell updated his mock. I know I know...but he is a pretty accurate mocker. He has us going: 

 

1 - Torrence

2 - Gervon Dexter

3 - Zach Pickens

4- Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson

5- OT Ryan Hayes

6 - Ivan Pace Jr. 

 

So he has us doubling up on o-line and d-line which does make some sense. 

 

Walter has us taking: 

 

1 - Gibbs

2 - Musgrave

3 - Tippmann

4 - Pickens

5 - Jayden Reed

6 - Tank Dell

Edited April 24, 2023 by MrEpsYtown

[GunnerBill]

10 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

Charlie Campbell updated his mock. I know I know...but he is a pretty accurate mocker. He has us going: 

 

1 - Torrence

2 - Gervon Dexter

3 - Zach Pickens

4- Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson

5- OT Ryan Hayes

6 - Ivan Pace Jr. 

 

So he has us doubling up on o-line and d-line which does make some sense. 

 

Walter has us taking: 

 

1 - Gibbs

2 - Musgrave

3 - Tippmann

4 - Pickens

5 - Jayden Reed

6 - Tank Dell

 

I still don't think it will be Torrence. And I respect Charlie's mocks a lot.