2024 WR Draft Class

[OldTimer1960]

57 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

How much did Jefferson weigh when he was drafted?  He’s 6’1 and listed at 203.  He looks thinner to me and is a little slower thank Franklin

 

I really like AD Mitchell as well.  He seems like a pro ready player who has very good route running and contested catch skills.  Will be interesting to see his 40 time. He’s made big plays in big games.  Is 6’4 and can add to his frame. Would like to see more YAC from him though

I don’t dislike Mitchell, but be aware that he benefited from defenses having to deal with him, X. Worthy and their TE Ja’tavian Sanders who will likely be a 2nd round pick.  They also had probably the top RB in the draft in Brooks. That’s a lot of stress on a defense and likely stretched them too thin.

52 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think Tez will go round 3 at the earliest. 

I agree.  He does have good size and great speed, but is really raw as a route runner and I’m not sure his hands are the greatest.

[Warriorspikes51]

 

[BillsFanForever19]

2 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

 

 

"He's not a boundary WR"... then why even bother talking about him for us in the early Rounds?

[Aussie Joe]

2 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

 

I was watching this guy (Helmkamp) yesterday on Cover 1  talking about the WR class.. he wasn’t a big fan of BTJ ( one trick pony) … but loved Franklin and Worthy at 28 ..

 

Was talking about Corley in the second if they go DL in the first … raved about the guy but seemed to be more referencing his toughness and blocking and how he was a “Buffalo guy the fans would love “ but  didn’t discuss his WR skills all that much…

[starrymessenger]

19 hours ago, Solomon Grundy said:

Mitchell game is similar to Diggs, IMO. The Bills still need "Smoke Brown" or "Metcalf"

I think we need two guys but with the depth of this class I don't think we need to focus on players who have demonstrated a predominately single desirable trait. We certainly could use a big boundary receiver who is legit as a vertical threat. I think A. Mitchell gives you that even if he's not Troy Franklin or Thomas. Thing is he gives you more. He's quite capable of making plays on mid-field crossing routes and even slants. While there is room for improvement in his route running (which is normal coming out of just about any college programme) it's more a matter of detail and coaching as he has clearly shown that he has the makings of a good route runner and has the size and inclination to be a good blocker too. He takes pride in his blocking. That stuff is as important as catching the football at the next level and it has to be considered when evaluating all of these guys. And Mitchell is a dog who shows his best in big games. Strong, reliable hands (I think Franklin has 8 or 9 drops last year). I think Mitchell acclimates to the pro game enuf to be a contributor in his first year.

The class is deep enough so that I'd look for similar traits in a third or fourth round pick. Again I want a guy who can be used to attack the field on all three levels, who can therefore run routes or can learn to run them. If a guy like J. Polk is still hanging around in the third I could easily see a move up, maybe a pretty aggressive one. Or if the Bills want a more developmental guy in say round 4 Cornelius Johnson from Michigan might be a good get (though again a move up would likely be required). 
Im against drafting a one trick pony who just runs go routes. Long learning curve and too bust risky imo. 

Edited February 28 by starrymessenger

[Dr. Who]

1 hour ago, starrymessenger said:

I think we need two guys but with the depth of this class I don't think we need to focus on players who have demonstrated a predominately single desirable trait. We certainly could use a big boundary receiver who is legit as a vertical threat. I think A. Mitchell gives you that even if he's not Troy Franklin or Thomas. Thing is he gives you more. He's quite capable of making plays on mid-field crossing routes and even slants. While there is room for improvement in his route running (which is normal coming out of just about any college programme) it's more a matter of detail and coaching as he has clearly shown that he has the makings of a good route runner and has the size and inclination to be a good blocker too. He takes pride in his blocking. That stuff is as important as catching the football at the next level and it has to be considered when evaluating all of these guys. And Mitchell is a dog who shows his best in big games. Strong, reliable hands (I think Franklin has 8 or 9 drops last year). I think Mitchell acclimates to the pro game enuf to be a contributor in his first year.

The class is deep enough so that I'd look for similar traits in a third or fourth round pick. Again I want a guy who can be used to attack the field on all three levels, who can therefore run routes or can learn to run them. If a guy like J. Polk is still hanging around in the third I could easily see a move up, maybe a pretty aggressive one. Or if the Bills want a more developmental guy in say round 4 Cornelius Johnson from Michigan might be a good get (though again a move up would likely be required). 
Im against drafting a one trick pony who just runs go routes. Long learning curve and too bust risky imo. 

I do think Mitchell is more in play than many here may suspect. I'd still prefer someone with more speed, but he has some good traits.

[GunnerBill]

2 hours ago, Aussie Joe said:

I was watching this guy (Helmkamp) yesterday on Cover 1  talking about the WR class.. he wasn’t a big fan of BTJ ( one trick pony) … but loved Franklin and Worthy at 28 ..

 

 

Yea BTJ is an ultimate one trick pony to my eye. But then so was (and is) DK Metcalf. When that one trick is winning vertically up the field it is worth having. But you need a compliment. The Bills have one right now in Diggs - the Seahawks had Lockett - but once Stef ages out you'd need to maintain that high level intermediate option to maximise BTJ's effectiveness IMO.

[DCOrange]

8 hours ago, DCOrange said:

I decided to revisit a few WRs (and am planning to take a look at Isaiah Williams and Jacob Cowing, but they both seem to be slot guys) as more All 22 film was added to the catalog. Only through Xavier Worthy so far. I really wanted to take another look at him because I was a ton lower than consensus on him. On my revisit, I do think I was probably a bit harsh/not giving him enough credit for his speed and deceleration. While I think he needs refinement, he is physically capable of running a more varied route tree than most of the class. Having said that, I still think between how physically weak he is, how susceptible he is to being pushed around, and how poor his effort level is, there's a lot of red flags. I also don't think he's as dynamic after the catch as I hoped given his athleticism; his contact balance and elusiveness don't stand out. Lastly, if Buffalo wants to replace Gabe with another WR that can be on the field at all times due to his blocking ability, Worthy simply shouldn't be a consideration. He's more likely to help the defense tackle the RB than to actually deter them in any way.

 

As I said, I do think I shortchanged the physical traits. I've bumped his film grade up to a late 4th round grade, which combined with his metrics results in an early 4th round grade. While this is definitely an improvement, it feels like he'll still be drafted far earlier than I'd personally be comfortable with.

I revisited Adonai Mitchell and Brian Thomas today as well. I don't think anything in particular jumped out to make me change my grade on either. So I remain with a mid-1st grade on Thomas' film and factoring in metrics, a mid-2nd round grade. I remain with a late-2nd grade on Mitchell's film and factoring in metrics, he gets moved down to an early 4th. I would tend to stick with the film grades for where I would draft these guys; the metrics is more just for fun to see if it ends up being more accurate that way.

 

One thing in particular I looked for with Mitchell was the way he catches the ball after Steve Smith said that he body catches it 90% of the time. I did not see that at all personally. I do think Mitchell struggles in contested/high pointing situations more than you'd think given his build, but he's absolutely a hands catcher and his hands are quite good.

[Ya Digg?]

2 hours ago, Aussie Joe said:

I was watching this guy (Helmkamp) yesterday on Cover 1  talking about the WR class.. he wasn’t a big fan of BTJ ( one trick pony) … but loved Franklin and Worthy at 28 ..

 

Was talking about Corley in the second if they go DL in the first … raved about the guy but seemed to be more referencing his toughness and blocking and how he was a “Buffalo guy the fans would love “ but  didn’t discuss his WR skills all that much…

Awesome, another WR whose best attribute is blocking…can we find WRs who catch better than they block?!?!

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Im sticking with Xavier Worthy so far. Just has juice.

[Augie]

3 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

"He's not a boundary WR"... then why even bother talking about him for us in the early Rounds?

 

Somebody CLICKED!   😋

[Aussie Joe]

33 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea BTJ is an ultimate one trick pony to my eye. But then so was (and is) DK Metcalf. When that one trick is winning vertically up the field it is worth having. But you need a compliment. The Bills have one right now in Diggs - the Seahawks had Lockett - but once Stef ages out you'd need to maintain that high level intermediate option to maximise BTJ's effectiveness IMO.

The difference is that Metcalf has already done it in the NFL … he also went about 40-50 spots lower than what BTJ is expected to go…

[John from Riverside]

3 hours ago, Aussie Joe said:

I was watching this guy (Helmkamp) yesterday on Cover 1  talking about the WR class.. he wasn’t a big fan of BTJ ( one trick pony) … but loved Franklin and Worthy at 28 ..

 

Was talking about Corley in the second if they go DL in the first … raved about the guy but seemed to be more referencing his toughness and blocking and how he was a “Buffalo guy the fans would love “ but  didn’t discuss his WR skills all that much…

For the record, Steve Smith loves this guy

[Augie]

1 minute ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Im sticking with Xavier Worthy so far. Just has juice.

 

Well, I don’t see The Juice Stand sign coming back. 

 

[Warriorspikes51]

7 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Im sticking with Xavier Worthy so far. Just has juice.

I’m sticking with Troy Franklin as of now. I think him showing QB friendly play / high IQ when plays break down to find open spaces is something that pairs great with Josh. I think he’s an underrated route runner and the speed is lethal.  
 

His combine testing with the bench press will be really interesting. 40 time too of course

 

it’s a coin flip for me whether I’d rather have Thomas or Franklin.  I think Franklin is more likely to be available at 28…or at least within 5-6 picks of us. Thomas could go top 20 IMO

 

12 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

Awesome, another WR whose best attribute is blocking…can we find WRs who catch better than they block?!?!

Corley “YAC KING” eats up yards on short passes with his physicality and competitiveness.  Kind of like a Deebo type but more physical 

Edited February 28 by Warriorspikes51

[BillsFanForever19]

4 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Somebody CLICKED!   😋

 

He's a True Slot WR. Even Steve Smith who was raving about him said "you don't take him from what he was doing in College and expect to stick him Outside".

 

So with that said, what sense does it make to take a player that would be removing Khalil Shakir or Dalton Kincaid from the field when we're specifically looking for a guy to replace Gabe Davis on the boundary? Malachi Corley doesn't do that. Draft him and you still have the hole on the Outside we're specifically Drafting a WR to fill.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

6 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

I’m sticking with Troy Franklin as of now. I think him showing QB friendly play / high IQ when plays break down to find open spaces is something that pairs great with Josh. I think he’s an underrated route runner and the speed is lethal.  
 

His combine testing with the bench press will be really interesting. 40 time too of course

Here’s where I am with Franklin. He’s going to go top 25. His metrics are too good. Good Height and speed. Route running. I don’t even think we’ll get a shot at him unless we trade up.

Edited February 28 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Buffalo_Stampede]

I think the Bills will take 2 different types of WRs this draft. A true X WR and a WR that excels after the catch. Both will likely have speed.

[BillsFanForever19]

First player to say he's met with the Bills and it's a 1st Round DT

 

 

[Warriorspikes51]

Just now, BillsFanForever19 said:

First player to say he's met with the Bills and it's a 1st Round DT

 

 

he won’t be available.  I must say the thought of getting him & Sweat to continue their dominance here with Ed & I assume DQ would be pretty cool.