Name one player you hope you are wrong about...

[BullBuchanan]

It's gotta be Von Miller. Right now he's a $40M boat anchor. He was supposed to be the missing piece to the Super Bowl, and now he's an albatross. Take away his name, and the player he was last year isn't good enough to be a practice squad player in the NFL at league minimum.

[GunnerBill]

It's easily Von for me. I hope I am wrong because I think he is done. My expectations for his season are so low. If the over/under on sacks from him was 4.5 I'd still take the under. 

 

I hope I'm wrong on Taylor Rapp and Keon Coleman to lesser extents too. But the potential differential benefit of being wrong on Von is greater. 

[Sierra Foothills]

20 hours ago, dpberr said:

Von Miller.  I think a lot of people - including Bills brass - expect this resurgent year... I don't but I want to be completely wrong on this opinion.  I think this is his last season playing football, and I'd like to see him go out with 10+ sacks.  

 

And a 3rd Super Bowl win.

 

19 hours ago, Augie said:

Coleman probably concerns me the most, but I am strangely intrigued by his body control. Is that enough? 

 

We're still talking about football, right?

 

Seriously, it's Coleman for me too. I wasn't a fan of the pick but I'm hoping to br wrong.

 

 

[eball]

19 hours ago, ryguy101 said:

Keon Coleman - imo too much hype on a guy can hurt him

 

I guess I’m not paying enough attention, but where has there been a lot of “hype” about Coleman other than the Bills selling a t-shirt?  He was their first draft choice so fine, but I have extremely modest expectations for this season.  If he gets us 40-50 catches and shows signs he can beat NFL coverage I’ll consider it a win.  50 is only three a game.  I think he’ll be their 3rd or 4th option on most plays (Kincaid/Shakir/Cook/Samuel).

 

Edit:  and to answer the original question, I’m going with Von or Bass.  Both looked like toast and inspire no confidence going forward until they prove differently.

 

Edited July 1 by eball

[BobbyC81]

Von Miller.  I think he’s just about done

[NeverOutNick]

I hope I’m wrong on Drake Maye. I know he went to the worst possible situation, but the kid is the best QB in this draft class and I hate that he’s in our division.

[Eastport bills]

21 hours ago, Rubes said:

One player I hope all the rest of you are wrong about is Tyler Bass. I still think he will get back to form, but it sure feels like a lot of folks here have already given up on him.

 

He can’t be allowed to blow games anymore. He’s just a kicker who has a crisis of confidence. It’s incumbent on Beane to get competition for training camp with the idea of getting rid of him. You assemble a roster with guys bleeding internally to get a roster spot and this critical position has a guy that ended our season, missing a chip shot. He was undependable during the season and sucked in the playoffs. Get a kicker from Canada, the UFL or a great college kicker. Start again with a young guy who doesn’t have the baggage of disappointing his team.

[JP51]

20 hours ago, Beck Water said:

Tyler Bass.  

 

He went from Bass-O-Matic to Bass-Turd in one season.

 

Runner up: Chase Claypool.  If he could return to the form he had his first 2 seasons with Pitts, that would be big,

He was my two pick I think he has this maddening ability to get into funks and miss multiple kicks... my breath is held on every extra point. 

[frostbitmic]

McGovern at Center - I think he played great last year at LG and that's where I think they should leave him.

 

I've heard it said that Center is his natural position but I'm not sure what I'm missing. McGovern said himself that in High School he was the smallest starting lineman on his team and that made him the Center by default. In college he played RG as a Freshman, moved to Center as a Soph, but then was moved back to RG as a Junior. His experience at Center in Dallas was minimal.

 

Don't get me wrong, I hope he flourishes wherever they put him and will be our Anchor on the line for the next 5 years, I just have doubts right now without seeing him actually play Center ... I think Clapp has 21 NFL starts.

[hondo in seattle]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

It's easily Von for me. I hope I am wrong because I think he is done. My expectations for his season are so low. If the over/under on sacks from him was 4.5 I'd still take the under. 

 

I hope I'm wrong on Taylor Rapp and Keon Coleman to lesser extents too. But the potential differential benefit of being wrong on Von is greater. 

 

I'm kinda agnostic on Von.  

 

On the one hand, I read the quotes about how angry he is and how he's out to prove his critics wrong.  As a Bills fan, I want to believe.

 

On the other hand, he had recovered enough to play 12 games last year and all he could produce was 2 tackles and an assist.  Over the past 6 years, he's only averaged 4.2 sacks/season.

 

I don't bet,  But if I did, I wouldn't take the over.   

[Florida Bills Fanatic]

For me, that player is Elam.  He has shown flashes of talent but has also shown the propensity for making big mistakes.  If the change in position coaches doesn't help him this year, he'll likely be gone.

[Shaw66]

For me, it's Rapp.  

 

The biggest loss for the Bills has been the safety combo.   Yes, last season wasn't their best, and that's one of the reasons last season's defense wasn't the best.   Over the past several years, the mastery of the defensive scheme that Poyer and Hyde showed was a key to the Bills' success.  Now, that mastery is gone. 

 

Except for the occasional star who comes along, successful NFL safeties tend to get drafted in the second and third rounds.   The Bills have a trio in Rapp, Edwards, and Bishop, and the Bills need two of them emerge as the successors to Poyer and Hyde.  They have the talent; they need to learn to play the game that McDermott teaches.  

 

And Rapp is, I think, the key.  There have been plenty of flashes but not the necessary consistency.  I think if he can raise his game, he can bring Edwards or Bishop along with him.  That could have a big impact on the quality of the defense.  

1 hour ago, frostbitmic said:

McGovern at Center - I think he played great last year at LG and that's where I think they should leave him.

 

I'm hoping Van Pran-Granger can step up and take over by mid-season.  

3 hours ago, BobbyC81 said:

Von Miller.  I think he’s just about done

It would be great to get Von's sacks, but the Bills can win without him.  

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

Haven't read the whole thread, but I hope I'm wrong about Damar Hamlin.  I want him to succeed, and write a story for Hollywood.

 

But I don't think he was that good a player at the time of "the incident", and I'm not sure he's better now.  We definitely have needs at safety so the opportunity is there.

Edited July 1 by JÂy RÛßeÒ

[stlbills13]

Von and Elam are good answers but I actually have a good amount of confidence in both. Elam hopefully doesn't have to have a massive role (although with injuries he'll see plenty of time either way) and I think Von won't play up to the contract but I think he'll be much much more productive. 

 

Bass is a good answer

 

I considered James Cook. I think both Ray Davis and Ty Johnson could keep Cook off the field on 3rd downs and hurry up situations. He might be the most dynamic player we have but he puts the ball on the turf too frequently. I love Cook and want him on the field constantly but I'm not positive he will be. But maybe that will also be because Davis and Johnson are more than solid.

 

I also considered Dion Dawkins. For some reason, I see him as a guy who once his play falls off, it falls off a cliff. 

 

But I'll go Matt Milano. With how unforthcoming they've been about his injury, I just am skeptical he's going to come back as the player he was. This is to no fault of Milano, I just think that could be more of a hole in the defense than we're expecting. I definitely hope I'm wrong.

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I'm kinda agnostic on Von.  

 

On the one hand, I read the quotes about how angry he is and how he's out to prove his critics wrong.  As a Bills fan, I want to believe.

 

On the other hand, he had recovered enough to play 12 games last year and all he could produce was 2 tackles and an assist.  Over the past 6 years, he's only averaged 4.2 sacks/season.

 

I don't bet,  But if I did, I wouldn't take the over.   

 

Von fell out of the running for me because there’s no long term benefit. Sure it’d be great to have a good (or better) 2024 season from him, but I don’t think there’s any way he’s here in 2025. It would be more meaningful for a youngster like Coleman to hit and be productive for the Bills for a decade. 

[The Firebaugh Kid]

Gonna go with Keon. He was my least favorite productive big school receiver. 

 

[Chicken Boo]

Keon Coleman.

 

I hope he's more Dez Bryant than N'Keal Harry.  

[LeGOATski]

Ed Oliver. I never liked that pick and he hasn't lived up to the #9 spot. He needs to become a dominant DT.

[DaggersEOD]

For me its the Connor McGovern position change / Dave Edwards starting Guard (SVP Lurking) situation.

 

I just see disaster looming here and it has me worried.  I think we all kind of want to see what SVP has to offer, but to get to that place, a lot of bad things up the middle are going to have to happen to force the change.

 

What I HOPE happens is that the DE/CM LG/C combo works and SVP comes in for clean-up duty,  learns the position, and gets stronger w/a year of NFL Training under his belt for a push to start in 2025.

 

What I think will happen (and what I hope I'm wrong about) is that there will be major issues there, forcing JA to deal with pressure in his face through at least week 6, and that includes 4/5 road games weeks 2 - 6. The road is a tough place to test the new lineup.

 

I would prefer they keep CM at LG and just hot swap Morse / SVP using the established / successful portions of the OL to support the Rookie C. Only one question mark position (C). Our current plan turns a strength into a question mark (LG) while keeping the other question mark position a question mark (C).

 

Hope I'm wrong (and good news I usually am).

[Kirby Jackson]

Easy one for me.

 

Keon Coleman. He was about my 15th favorite WR in the draft (maybe lower). His lack of separation at the college level terrifies me. Apparently it was rough find space for him in OTAs. I hope that I’m wrong and he’s a quality #2 or 3.