2023 Buffalo Bills Overall Draft Grade

[Rigotz]

Let’s see what you all think!

 

Would love to hear your explanations below as well.

I’m going B+ as I love the scheme versatility we’re getting on Offense and it feels like we became a significantly better short yardage team over night. A few points dinged off by some very “meh” middle round picks.

[Milanos Milano]

First 2 picks were good. Outside of that left a lot to be desired. C+ 

[Success]

2 instant starters/upgrades.  Kincaid will be a match-up problem for DC's, and Torrence really upgrades the line.  Our running backs may finally have some holes to burst through.

 

3rd round is the wildcard - but let's see how McD's new scheme is.

 

Some guys late that are proverbial "high ceiling."  I could see Shorter making the roster, and even being a contributor his rookie year.  We don't have a WR like him.

 

Both 7th rounders could be surprising, imo.  I love that Broeker can play anywhere. I saw a few pundits saying that they had him going much earlier.

 

Gave this an "A."

 

[Milanos Milano]

Given McDermotts propensity for bringing in quality CBs, I have at least some hope for the 7th rounder. 

[Chaos]

I am going to cheat and use PFF's justification for an A grade:
 

BUFFALO BILLS

R1 (25): TE Dalton Kincaid, Utah
R2 (59): G O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida
R3 (91): LB Dorian Williams, Tulane
R5 (150): WR Justin Shorter, Florida
R7 (230): OG Nick Broeker, Ole Miss
R7 (252): CB Alex Austin, Oregon State
 

Day 1: The Bills make a small jump but land the premier pass-catching tight end in the draft in Kincaid. The 10th overall player on the PFF big board, this is a huge value pick. Kincaid was the focal point of the Utah offense and led all players at the position with a 91.8 PFF receiving grade.
 

Day 2: Like the Giants just a few picks ago, this could have easily been the Bills’ first-round pick. A mountain of a man at the position, he can still move better than his size would suggest. After starting his career at Louisiana, he made the move to the SEC with ease, finishing 2022 with an 89.9 PFF run-blocking grade, which was the best in the Power Five last season.
 

The Bills trade up to secure Williams, a player with legitimate range and a huge wingspan. Those traits helped him morph into one of the most impactful players at the position against the pass throughout his college career. Williams produced a top-10 coverage grade among FBS off-ball linebackers in two of his last three seasons at Tulane.
 

Day 3: Shorter is one of the bigger wide receivers in this class, coming in at 6-foot-4 and 234 pounds with nearly 34-inch arms. He was a big-play threat for the Gators and averaged 19.9 yards per reception in 2022 without a dropped pass. He’ll likely fill a similar role for Buffalo and compete to be on the receiving end of Josh Allen bombs.
 

Most of Broeker’s 3,323 offensive snaps at Ole Miss came at left tackle, but he kicked inside to left guard in 2022. He was a reliable pass protector for the Rebels with 70.0-plus PFF pass-blocking grades in each of the past two seasons.

Austin produced 70.0-plus PFF coverage and run defense grades in his final season in college. On the field for 476 coverage snaps, he allowed 42 receptions for 529 yards in 2022.
 

DRAFT GRADE: A

 

[Process]

Like the first two picks. But not loving this habit of throwing third rounds picks in the trash can. So going with a B.

[78thealltimegreat]

I’d say a solid B* as I also include the trade backs that give the front office the ammo to make future moves 

[Nephilim17]

People who know way more than I do about O-linemen here say that Cyrus is not a scheme fit. If true and we wasted as second round pick, I'd say a C-.

 

If Cyrus is a good fit and player B+ as I love the Kincaid pick but not confident about the the LB pick.

[Chandler#81]

Obviously this is all conjecture, but I think we were quite fortunate to find 3 of these guys we didn’t imagine would be there for us. So, B+

[Freddie's Dead]

B for me.  I got some sweet revenge for the O'Cyrus pick, took a lot of crap for picking that one a number of weeks back.  Really wanted a huge OT in the 3rd round instead of an undersized LB.  Hope I'm wrong.  I like the potential in the late-round guys.  Josh got at least one sure-fire weapon, hopefully 2, and we got 1 solid, hopefully 2 solid OL.  Decent draft on paper. 

[Kmart128]

1: Kincaid- A

2: Torrence- A+

3: Williams- C+

5: Shorter- C

7: Broeker- B-

7: Austin- B

 

Overall Average is a B 

[Alphadawg7]

2 minutes ago, Nephilim17 said:

People who know way more than I do about O-linemen here say that Cyrus is not a scheme fit. If true and we wasted as second round pick, I'd say a C-.

 

If Cyrus is a good fit and player B+ as I love the Kincaid pick but not confident about the the LB pick.

 

I have seen this by posters here too, but quite honestly I think it goes without saying our coaches, scouts, and front office knows quite a bit more about who fits their scheme.  So them taking him in the 2nd makes a pretty strong statement they aren't worry about him fitting into our scheme and kind of nullifies that pre-draft concern by anyone around here.  And there were other players at a number of positions we could have taken at that spot that would have made sense if they felt he was a scheme fit issue.  

 

[Warriorspikes51]

An OT or DT in the 3rd would have made this an A.  I’d give it a B+

 

 

 

4 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

B for me.  I got some sweet revenge for the O'Cyrus pick, took a lot of crap for picking that one a number of weeks back.  Really wanted a huge OT in the 3rd round instead of an undersized LB.  Hope I'm wrong.  I like the potential in the late-round guys.  Josh got at least one sure-fire weapon, hopefully 2, and we got 1 solid, hopefully 2 solid OL.  Decent draft on paper. 

Dawand Jones could have been worth the risk 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Warriorspikes51

[oldmanfan]

I’ll go B.  Kincaid and Torrence each have the potential to be very good.  The LB puck seemed odd given we have several other guys like that.  The rest are guys that probably hit the practice squad.  I wanted to see a DT drafted and would have preferred that in round 3.

[Alphadawg7]

24 minutes ago, Rigotz said:

Let’s see what you all think!

 

Would love to hear your explanations below as well.

I’m going B+ as I love the scheme versatility we’re getting on Offense and it feels like we became a significantly better short yardage team over night. A few points dinged off by some very “meh” middle round picks.

 

I gave them an A given we got such good value and some potentially great picks for us while also boosting our draft pick arsenal next year.

 

Kincaid and O'Cyrus were both guys I thought could be off the board (and most pre-draft mocks had the same) before our 27th pick, and we got them both.  Kincaid should be an immediate impact weapon for us, and he better be for Dorsey's sake, and O'Cyrus just bolstered our OL potential significantly.  We added players at positions we needed to and we added a lot of size and toughness to this team on the offense, something that was sorely lacking last year.  

 

I did not know a lot about Dorian prior to the draft, mainly because I thought we might go LB earlier in the first 2 rounds, but after digging around on him since we drafted him more, I am intrigued and look forward to see if can make an impact this year.  I also liked the Shorter pick, adding size to the WR room like him is nice, especially since it sounds like he can play ST and earn a spot that way.  

 

Pretty excited about this draft to be honest.  All I know, is I wanted to this team get tougher in the trenches, redzone, and in bad weather.  And I think Beane did a good job overall this whole offseason on that.  

[BillsFanForever19]

A-

 

The values we got on Kincaid and Torrence were out of this world. Kincaid shouldn't have been on the board and was NFL Network's 9th ranked prospect overall.

 

Torrence was someone who was widely mocked to us at 27. To get him at 59 was incredible.

 

But when the 3rd Round arrived, I said to myself "alright, this is where Beane likes to just throw a headscratcher of a curve ball and deviates from the consensus boards". Sure enough, that's what he did.

 

I've come around to Williams after remembering the dropoff we had in coverage from the LB position when Milano would go down. We can't assume Milano is always going to be available. So it's good to have someone with the athletic skills of Dorian.

 

Day 3 as far as selections go was a bit of a wash. Shorter is intriguing to me. A #1 HS recruit at WR with prototypical size for the outside and decent play speed for someone his size. Could be a project that pays off.

 

Then the 2 picks in Round 7, eh whatever. Practice Squad developmental players who may or may not even make the PS.

 

But getting two teams to give us 7th Rounders plus 6th Round picks in a better Draft next year in exchange for 6th Rounders this year in a lesser class was amazing. Beane having 10 picks in next year's class, giving us the ability to move around the board or move picks for players was a masterclass.

 

The only thing keeping it from being an A+ to me was that the ability to go Kincaid, Torrence, Simpson in the first 3 Rounds was right there for the taking. Should have moved up. Getting 3 players that were mocked at 27 to us would have been absolutely insane.

Edited April 30, 2023 by BillsFanForever19

[Big Blitz]

PFF has spoken

 

 

[Floydboy12]

We got a game changer in Kincaid. That alone gives it a B+ for me. I’m lukewarm on the Torrence pick but do like the Williams pick. I have doubts any of the others make the team. 

[chongli]

 

 

[GymShorts84]

A. 
 

We haven’t drafted multiple starters in a couple years. Kincaid could be an impact player and Torrence should be a solid starter for years. I’m fine with the LB pick. He’s athletic and instinctive, and the LB room was thin. 
 

This board, understandably, has an Ohio State bias. Dawand Jones weighed 374 at the combine then didn’t weight in at his pro day. Speculation is that he gained weight and isn’t disciplined in his conditioning. D-ends will fly by him at that size.