Priority Free Agents for Buffalo? Early Draft talk..

[ghostwriter]

Amari Cooper and Rasul Douglas are our high profile FAs this offseason, I’d argue against signing either of them..

 

Mack Hollins and Ty Johnson I would welcome back at the right price.. As I would Damar Hamlin and Alec Anderson..

 

But with $61M in cap space, I would argue that Buffalo should get an early jump on our 2026 free agent crop.

 

I see our FAs in this order priority wise:

 

1.) Greg Rousseau | He’s closing in on 10 sacks and 20 TFL.. He’s probably the pick of the litter and our trusty stalwart on defense.

 

2.) James Cook | I am usually against signing RBs to big money but this guy is just so good and he consistently takes some of the pressure off Josh. 

3.) Khalil Shakir | If we can get this guy signed to a $10M-$12M per year contract, he would be a great signing. I would not pay him big money.

 

4.) Connor McGovern | Why not? He won’t cost a lot and he’s good.

 

5.) Christian Benford | Is he a system corner? Or is he good? In a DB happy system, do we let him walk?

 

I think if we can lockdown Rousseau, Cook and Shakir at the right price, we are in a good place going into the Draft…

 

Who do you guys think Buffalo should target in Free Agency/Draft?

 

Any early Draft prospects we should keep an eye out for?

[JohnNord]

3 minutes ago, ghostwriter said:

Amari Cooper and Rasul Douglas are our high profile FAs this offseason, I’d argue against signing either of them..

 

Mack Hollins and Ty Johnson I would welcome back at the right price.. As I would Damar Hamlin and Alec Anderson..

 

But with $61M in cap space, I would argue that Buffalo should get an early jump on our 2026 free agent crop.

 

I see our FAs in this order priority wise:

 

1.) Greg Rousseau | He’s closing in on 10 sacks and 20 TFL.. He’s probably the pick of the litter and our trusty stalwart on defense.

 

2.) James Cook | I am usually against signing RBs to big money but this guy is just so good and he consistently takes some of the pressure off Josh. 

3.) Khalil Shakir | If we can get this guy signed to a $10M-$12M per year contract, he would be a great signing. I would not pay him big money.

 

4.) Connor McGovern | Why not? He won’t cost a lot and he’s good.

 

5.) Christian Benford | Is he a system corner? Or is he good? In a DB happy system, do we let him walk?

 

I think if we can lockdown Rousseau, Cook and Shakir at the right price, we are in a good place going into the Draft…

 

Who do you guys think Buffalo should target in Free Agency/Draft?

 

Any early Draft prospects we should keep an eye out for?

Only way the sign Douglas or Cooper would be on a short-term one-year contract.  
 

I think Benford is probably their biggest priority in the offseason.  He’s somewhat under the radar and while a new contract won’t be cheap it will likely be cheaper in 2025 than it would be in 2026.  
 

I think Shakir will be next.  Rosseau is a question mark IMO.  I think they really like him but might be unsure if they want to pay when he’ll get on the open market.  It remind me a lot of Tremaine Edmunds.  
 

As good as Cook has been I don’t think Beane likes the idea of giving a big contract to a RB.  He hasn’t done this before but we’ll see

[Sojourner]

Sounds like a win to me.

 

Groot is our best DLineman, need to retain him. 
 

Shakir is an absolute must. Still a rising star in this league. 
 

McGovern, solid at the Center. Him and Edwards have been a great pairing for what appeared to be a potential concern starting the year. 
 

Benford absolutely gets the money if you’re giving it to any corner, hence why I agree against Douglas. That money will be pretty decent and better allocated to 47 staying with some finances sprinkled elsewhere. 
 

Love Jimbo. Think he’s an absolute game changer but if he’s not accepting offers we match from other teams or wants more than what’s on our table, you let him walk. Whilst we don’t know entirely what we have with Ray Davis, him and Ty Johnson have been very effective when on the field. 

[ghostwriter]

Just now, JohnNord said:

Only way the sign Douglas or Cooper would be on a short-term one-year contract.  
 

I think Benford is probably their biggest priority in the offseason.  He’s somewhat under the radar and while a new contract won’t be cheap it will likely be cheaper in 2025 than it would be in 2026.  
 

I think Shakir will be next.  Rosseau is a question mark IMO.  I think they really like him but might be unsure if they want to pay when he’ll get on the open market.  It remind me a lot of Tremaine Edmunds.  
 

As good as Cook has been I don’t think Beane likes the idea of giving a big contract to a RB.  He hasn’t done this before but we’ll see

Rousseau is arguably our best player on defense and outside of Josh Allen, James Cook has been our biggest difference maker on offense.. I think you sign these two men first.. Both are apex players.

 

My problem with Shakir is I’m seeing $19M/yr averages and I think that’s an absolutely ridiculous amount of money to pay a #3 guy. Without Josh his production falls way down. Why not take that money and sign a true #1 or even just draft one? I mean, for $10M-$12M sure! But $19M? C’mon man.

[Aesop]

I apologize for being a broken record, but a 1 tech is needed. Alim Mcneill would have been a great look, but the Lions resigned him in October. Not sure who else is a free agent. But may be a smart place to look in the draft. It will also be interesting if the Bills look to switch D. Carter to 1 tech next year. So far he has been subbing in for Ed O. At the 3 tech.

[f0neguy]

Ty Johnson and Ray Davis are showing to be good players but James Cook is playing a whole different game.  If Beane can figure out a way to keep him I think he should.

[ghostwriter]

1 minute ago, Aesop said:

I apologize for being a broken record, but a 1 tech is needed. Alim Mcneill would have been a great look, but the Lions resigned him in October. Not sure who else is a free agent. But may be a smart place to look in the draft. It will also be interesting if the Bills look to switch D. Carter to 1 tech next year. So far he has been subbing in for Ed O. At the 3 tech.

I would argue that a dominant NT could take this defense from mediocre to great.

[Aesop]

1 minute ago, ghostwriter said:

I would argue that a dominant NT could take this defense from mediocre to great.

Absolutely. The McD defense needs a great 1 tech. Especially since our base d is a 4-2-5.

[LABILLBACKER]

Probably letting Douglas and Cooper walk.  We're not using Cooper anyway. In 4 years Greg Rousseau is averaging 6 sacks per season. I'm letting him walk. Not paying him huge money for 6-7 sacks/ yr.  I'm signing Cook, Shakir, McGovern & especially Benford. Release Von and try to sign Malcolm Koonce to replace Groot.  Draft heavy DE because next season will be Epenesa's last.  Trade Elam to a man heavy defense. 

[NoSaint]

13 minutes ago, ghostwriter said:

Rousseau is arguably our best player on defense and outside of Josh Allen, James Cook has been our biggest difference maker on offense.. I think you sign these two men first.. Both are apex players.

 

My problem with Shakir is I’m seeing $19M/yr averages and I think that’s an absolutely ridiculous amount of money to pay a #3 guy. Without Josh his production falls way down. Why not take that money and sign a true #1 or even just draft one? I mean, for $10M-$12M sure! But $19M? C’mon man.

because a true #1 is 30+ on the market?

 

19 is Christian Kirk money. 

[BuffaloRebound]

Until they change the rules to not favor the offense, continue drafting offense early and  spending most of your money on offense.  I like Rousseau and Benford but i’m not breaking the bank for them.  

[ghostwriter]

19 minutes ago, NoSaint said:

because a true #1 is 30+ on the market?

 

19 is Christian Kirk money. 

That’s too much for Shakir.. Draft one instead, (or two).

[LABILLBACKER]

28 minutes ago, ghostwriter said:

I would argue that a dominant NT could take this defense from mediocre to great.

BJ Hill I'd try to go after as a 1T.  Odighizuwa is too small to play the 1.

[ghostwriter]

7 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Until they change the rules to not favor the offense, continue drafting offense early and  spending most of your money on offense.  I like Rousseau and Benford but i’m not breaking the bank for them.  

EDGE or pass rushers in general are worth the money. People fail to realize that Rousseau has nearly 20 TFL this year as well.

[starrymessenger]

36 minutes ago, ghostwriter said:

I would argue that a dominant NT could take this defense from mediocre to great.

Kenneth Grant. Michigan. Elite A gap defender. That's our first rounder. Will have to move up but we will have ammo.

Edited Monday at 03:12 AM by starrymessenger

[philholbroo]

dont forget extending bernard too

[RyanC883]

need to bring in a WR1.  Use the draft for DL and LB.   Groot is good, but will command too much money.

[BuffaloRebound]

12 minutes ago, ghostwriter said:

EDGE or pass rushers in general are worth the money. People fail to realize that Rousseau has nearly 20 TFL this year as well.

He’s a good player but not a guy who consistently gets pressure on the QB or demands a double team.  I like him but he shouldn’t get paid as a top edge rusher.  Will be a tough decision because he does make some winning plays and some team with a load of cap room might over pay him.  

[Brand J]

Paying Rousseau $20+M/yr won’t make him a better pass rusher. My limit would be $18M/yr, if he commands more than that, draft his replacement along with the rest of the DL. Whole unit needs a makeover. 

[Franchiseneedsme]

Are we able to cut Milano in the off-season? Would we save some money? Give me D Williams at this point and save some money. I like Milano but he's average at best. Can't keep big money on mediocre  players. Got to make hard decisions