Rd 5, Pick 168: Edge Javon Solomon, Troy

[Doc]

57 minutes ago, GreggTX said:

He has very long arms and already has a solid repetoire of moves. I suspect he'll get a pretty fair number of snaps. Beane says if he was 2" taller, he'd have been long gone. Those who think this team won't keep any of their day 3 picks are mistaken. They really wana chance to coach these guys up and see what their ceiling is. At least that'smy impression. The new coaches will have to prove themselves.

 

Having Von around (even in his diminished state) to teach him his tips and tricks will be huge for Solomon.

Edited May 1 by Doc

[Don Otreply]

On 4/27/2024 at 10:45 PM, NewEra said:

Agree to disagree regarding the roster.  It was legit.  We had bad luck with injuries and we didn’t execute.  
 

Regarding McD, you might be right.  He stunk it up that game. He’s stunk it up on several occasions including every season ending loss.  I like the guy and I think he may eventually evolve into a championship caliber coach….but he’s not right now.  
 

 

 

I feel the same way, what I can’t wrap my mind around is that McDermott keeps running back the same failed post season soft zone / contain defensive scheme, frustrating as hell, oh well, always hoping for the best, 😁👍🍸🚬

[Augie]

I know I am FAR more curious and optimistic about this 5th round pick than I should be.

 

But I just can’t help myself! Twitchy and bendy has not really been our thing lately.  

[TheWei44]

17 hours ago, Chaos said:

This is a good analogy which can apply to the Bills in quite a few ways. 

Like last night when I had AA and opponent had A10 and flop had both an A and 10 in it!!  Good times for me!

[Richard Noggin]

8 hours ago, Augie said:

I know I am FAR more curious and optimistic about this 5th round pick than I should be.

 

But I just can’t help myself! Twitchy and bendy has not really been our thing lately.  

 

Same boat: was excited about the player in the pre-draft process, and remain super excited about him moving forward. I don't care that he's 6'1"ish. He has incredibly long arms, huge hands, and on-field explosion and bend that you cannot teach. The dude is primed to see the field early as a DPR because he provides pass rush juice the Bills don't otherwise have on the roster. Really like the pick in the short and long term. 

[TheyCallMeAndy]

20 hours ago, Augie said:

I know I am FAR more curious and optimistic about this 5th round pick than I should be.

 

But I just can’t help myself! Twitchy and bendy has not really been our thing lately.  

Beane does cook in the 5th round!

[finn]

On 4/30/2024 at 12:45 PM, Buffalo03 said:

This dude is getting right by 300 pound dudes lol

I could never be a draft evaluator. The guy looks like a young Von Miller. I'd think he was a first-round pick. I mean, what else does he have to do? I realize this is a highlight reel, and evidently he's a liability against the run, but still, he looks like a first-rate pass rusher to my inexpert eyes. 

50 minutes ago, TheyCallMeAndy said:

Beane does cook in the 5th round!

Yeah, maybe he should trade down from all the earlier rounds and up from all the later rounds. Pick like 20 players in the fifth round. If he hits on just seven, he'll have the best draft in the league. Revolutionary!

[Warcodered]

On 4/28/2024 at 9:31 PM, SCBills said:

Bills absolutely crushed the 5th Round.

 

They knew they needed contributors in this Draft and took two guys with Day 2 talent in RD5.  
 

Now how did two guys who have Day 2 talent fall to RD5, you ask?

 

Van Pran is a Day 2 talent at Center .. but that’s really all he can do.  His body build doesn’t translate well to Guard.  Kromer will certainly cross train him for an emergency, but like Torrence dropped because he’s only a Guard, Van Pran dropped because hes only a Center. …but a dang good one at that.  
 

Solomon is a Day 2 talent at pass rusher .. but that’s really all he can do.   He’s not built to be a traditional rotational DE.  He’s a pass rush specialist.   It’s about time a team like us, that typically has 5 Gameday active DE’s, got ourselves a designated pass rusher.  

Seem to have changed philosophy on our O-line somewhat, before all our guys could play everywhere, now it seems like they're planning on starters that are real good at one spot but not anywhere else, while the depth guys are the multirole guys or at least we still have some left.

[Solomon Grundy]

With a name like Solomon, he's bound to see greatness 😎

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

On 4/30/2024 at 8:24 AM, finn said:

I agree. The trouble is that he was just good enough to lose with. It's like having the second-best hand in poker. The fault lies not in him but in McBeane's faith that he could be a viable WR2. It took until the second half of last season, when both Allen and Brady gave up on him, for McBeane to accept their faith was misplaced. Their overvaluation of Davis is one of three key mistakes they have made in the Allen era, along with the Von Miller debacle and allowing an overmatched Spencer Brown to learn on the job.

 

Eh - Our run game was absolutely thrashing teams at times, and i bet if you look you'll see him making solid blocks.  They also put him in the bunch of 3x1's and ran WR screens and swings and he was primary lead blocker for those as well.  He was always a look beyond the box score type of player, whereas diggs was targets/catches/yards.  

On 5/1/2024 at 1:57 PM, Don Otreply said:

I feel the same way, what I can’t wrap my mind around is that McDermott keeps running back the same failed post season soft zone / contain defensive scheme, frustrating as hell, oh well, always hoping for the best, 😁👍🍸🚬

 

There's a new defensive coordinator at least... I know he coached under McDermott but lets see what the guy does.  

[hondo in seattle]

On 4/30/2024 at 9:45 AM, Buffalo03 said:

This dude is getting right by 300 pound dudes lol

 

Interesting highlights.  I think his college tape is more impressive than Groot's.  

 

However, when you look at the size differential (Solomon vs. OT), he kind of looks like a blitzing CB up against an offensive lineman.  Yet he gets by those guys with a variety of moves.  I wonder how well his skills will translate to the NFL at his size.  

 

(Yeah, I know he's only a few pounds lighter than Von.  But, to me, he looks small for an edge.  Maybe I'm wrong?)  

[EmotionallyUnstable]

7 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Interesting highlights.  I think his college tape is more impressive than Groot's.  

 

However, when you look at the size differential (Solomon vs. OT), he kind of looks like a blitzing CB up against an offensive lineman.  Yet he gets by those guys with a variety of moves.  I wonder how well his skills will translate to the NFL at his size.  

 

(Yeah, I know he's only a few pounds lighter than Von.  But, to me, he looks small for an edge.  Maybe I'm wrong?)  

There is no doubt the level of competition he faced will not be up to par with that of NFL caliber tackles. It’s almost the complete opposite of Sedrick Van-Pran Granger. All of his reps and experience came battle tested vs the SEC and the highest level of competition. Solomon was raking up stats against the likes of Louisiana Monroe. Not to knock his production, but I do think a fair question is will his smaller stature and reliance of athleticism be able to translate to more athletic, bigger, experienced offensive lineman.

 

I agree, his highlights look like he is a dog chasing a piece of meat, and I’m excited to see how that quick twitch translates. In a couple of those clips, he seems to really be able to use his speed, and counter off of it. Specially I’ve seen him rush the edge and come back through the inside shoulder of the tackle. Can he do this vs the next level of talent? Time will tell. I still think it was an exciting selection as even adding a layer of speed/athleticism gives us something that our DEs currently do not have. 
 

One additional question I have that may be some explaination to that I’ve skipped over or missed, is why his sack, tackle numbers and games started dipped down significantly in 2022. I think it could be injury related? 
 

 

[Roundybout]

On 4/27/2024 at 9:18 PM, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Could be.   I was optimistic about Arthur Moats and he's basically the same guy just 15 years later.   Only notable difference physically or in their college production is that Solomon has huge hands.   Maybe that's the difference between making it and being a journeyman special-teamer like Moats.   Moats was an elite character guy though too,  I don't know about Solomon.

Literally the only thing I remember about Moats is him obliterating Brett Favre that one time. What ancient journeyman will Solomon concuss?

[EmotionallyUnstable]

8 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

Literally the only thing I remember about Moats is him obliterating Brett Favre that one time. What ancient journeyman will Solomon concuss?

Keeping in line with the Packers/Jets history, let’s hope it’s Roger’s 

[Warriorspikes51]

For his size, he has huge arms.  16 sacks is a lot for 1 college season.

We possibly get a steal?   Situational pass rusher, maybe try him at "OLB" on some looks.  

 

He said Von is his idol basically so that could work out really well 

9 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Interesting highlights.  I think his college tape is more impressive than Groot's.  

 

However, when you look at the size differential (Solomon vs. OT), he kind of looks like a blitzing CB up against an offensive lineman.  Yet he gets by those guys with a variety of moves.  I wonder how well his skills will translate to the NFL at his size.  

 

(Yeah, I know he's only a few pounds lighter than Von.  But, to me, he looks small for an edge.  Maybe I'm wrong?)  

 

Look at his muscle development......he's like Thor out there 

 

 

Javon Kearse  + King Solomon  =   DPOY   😂

[Warriorspikes51]

The edge rusher is quick off the line of scrimmage and has huge hands, measuring at 10-and-three-quarter inches, and a long wingspan of over 80 inches compared to his 6-foot frame.

Solomon finished with two sacks and two forced fumbles in Troy's 2023 conference title win.

 

 

Brugler noted that, despite being smaller than many edge rushers in the NFL, Solomon's blend of traits in the pass rush could make him a valuable addition to a defensive line.

"Solomon has a unique collection of traits in a smaller-framed body, but he is disproportionally long with the bend, burst and motor that make him a pass-rushing pest," Brugler wrote. "Solomon's play style is built on spurts of speed, power and having a nose for the football."

Edited May 3 by Warriorspikes51

[wppete]

On 5/1/2024 at 2:24 PM, Augie said:

I know I am FAR more curious and optimistic about this 5th round pick than I should be.

 

But I just can’t help myself! Twitchy and bendy has not really been our thing lately.  

Yea Im also excited about him and his potential. I also think he can be a special teams ace and that will be a huge roll for him. Special teams and Pass Rush Specialist. Great value for a 5th round pick. 

[Green Lightning]

25 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

For his size, he has huge arms.  16 sacks is a lot for 1 college season.

We possibly get a steal?   Situational pass rusher, maybe try him at "OLB" on some looks.  

 

He said Von is his idol basically so that could work out really well 

 

Look at his muscle development......he's like Thor out there 

 

 

Javon Kearse  + King Solomon  =   DPOY   😂

Jeebus he does look like a Marvel character. Speed, bend and power with that kind of wingspan will translate in the NFL. Move him all over the DLine. Some tutelage from Von could be the secret sauce.

[Warriorspikes51]

Forget his height........he looks extremely difficult to deal with 

Edited May 3 by Warriorspikes51

[wppete]

10 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

Forget his height........he looks extremely difficult to deal with 

Im still mind blown that this guy with this type of talent fell to the 5th round, even if he is only 6’1. Pretty crazy.