Players the Bills have met with at Combine

[Kirby Jackson]

Wasn’t sure where to put this but think it’s important. For those of you that bet the draft it may also be helpful:

 

 

[Luka]

9 hours ago, BigDingus said:

 

Eh, I disagree. No matter what kind of players we have on D, it's still coached by McD & still fails to show up in the playoffs. Would anyone say our safeties are better than prime Hyde & Poyer? Definitely not, yet they performed pretty much the same come playoff time. I'm not saying it's hopeless, but our defense has been historically bad in these last 5 losses.

 

Whether McDermott goes heavy D in the 1st or 2nd, the end result ends up the same because he still coaches the same & goes after the same types of players. Did Ed, Groot, Basham & Elam have more impact than Hamlin, Bernard, Benford & Williams? Maybe slightly, but those 1st & 2nd round picks haven't really been much more impactful come playoff time than the picks we took later in the draft.

 

In my opinion, might as well keep taking shots at giving Josh the best weapons possible. The offense is the only thing that really has a chance to change & improve year over year, and it's lead by our best player. In a perfect world, Josh would've been paired with a great offensive coach, then if the D isn't carrying its weight, we could replace the coordinator & start over. But we're stuck with McDermott's D no matter what. 

 

We've seen 6 years of McDermott's D suck in the playoffs, while Josh shows up. Spent a 1st round pick on Edmunds & he's just solid. Spent a 5th on Milano & he became a stud. You just never know, but I've yet to see McDermott find a huge impact player in the 1st round outside of Josh, but we've seen him do so in the later rounds.

 

Any scheme can be successful with the right players.

 

What we lack is that Josh Allen on defense. The guy that comes up big in big moments. You can argue what position that guy should play, but we do not have one at any level of this defense now. Before you had Poyer and Hyde roaming the secondary, Tre in his prime could shut down your #1 wide receiver and Milano, when he was healthy, may have been the best linebacker in football. 

 

When an undersized DL is your star player on that side of the ball, bad things are going to happen when playing the best teams in the league.

 

This draft should be as much defense as possible. We need edge rushers, which hopefully one can be obtained via trade or free agency. We need to get much better along the interior of the line. A zone defense is only as effective as the front 4's ability to control the line of scrimmage. A common theme with McDermott is drafting undersized guys with work ethic. That needs to change. The mentality up front needs to be big, physical, nasty. We need a marquee edge player. We need an interior 1 tech with serious physicality to free up the other 3 lineman.

 

The secondary needs a complete rework. Again, in a perfect world we sign/trade for a true #1 corner. I think we also draft a safety in hopes that we can replace Hamlin and hope that Bishop comes around in his 2nd year. You can never have too many corners and you draft another one this year as well. I know Benford has played well but I still believe his ceiling is Taron's replacement as Taron ages. He doesn't have the speed to be a true #1 corner.

 

Josh Allen is the weapon on offense. Since 2020, the Bills offense is 1st in points, 3rd in yards and 1st in points per game. And that's with a dreadful stretch of play calling during the Dorsey experiment. Claiming that the offense can improve is a stretch at this point.

[The Jokeman]

6 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Wasn’t sure where to put this but think it’s important. For those of you that bet the draft it may also be helpful:

 

 

Sounds like Giants must have their sites on Cam Ward and don't want anyone getting him.  The question is what the Titans be looking for to move down and risk losing Abdul Carter meets their needs the most, As Cleveland is an X factor as do they take Abdul at #2 if Ward goes one and than move Garrett? or trade down a few spots and get Sanders before Vegas? Or settle on Hunter? 

[DrDawkinstein]

Am I the only one that thinks Cam Ward is being vastly over-rated? This QB class feels like 2013 all over again, but I guess the difference is the teams at the top are more in need of a QB than they were in 2013?

[Captain Hindsight]

2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Am I the only one that thinks Cam Ward is being vastly over-rated? This QB class feels like 2013 all over again, but I guess the difference is the teams at the top are more in need of a QB than they were in 2013?

Bad year to need a QB

[gonzo1105]

8 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Sounds like Giants must have their sites on Cam Ward and don't want anyone getting him.  The question is what the Titans be looking for to move down and risk losing Abdul Carter meets their needs the most, As Cleveland is an X factor as do they take Abdul at #2 if Ward goes one and than move Garrett? or trade down a few spots and get Sanders before Vegas? Or settle on Hunter? 

I think Ward has always been the clear # 1 QB in this class and people are just catching up. 
 

Missing out on Carter and/or Hunter would hurt but neither of these guys are elite can’t miss prospects like a Myles Garrett coming out. Plus the Titans have so many need that them dropping to 6 or 7 and selecting a guy won’t hurt in this draft as much as long as they get the proper draft capital in this and next years draft. This will allow them to either trade up for the QB they want next year or if they are still # 1 pick bad allow them to build around a guy like Arch Manning 
 

It’s really Carter, Hunter, Graham and then a mass of similarly graded guys behind them. 

[SoonerBillsFan]

On 2/26/2025 at 8:49 PM, gonzo1105 said:

Trying to keep a running list of guys that have met formally with the Bills. Only Defensive players, TEs, and Specialists are here right now so this list will be defensive heavy until Friday. 
 

 

 

1. Landon Jackson DE Arkansas

2. Kenneth Grant DT Michigan 

3. Josiah Stewart DE Michigan 

4. Alfred Collins DT Texas

5. Chris Paul JR LB Mississippi

6. Mike Green DE Marshall

7. Walter Nolan DT Mississippi

8. Jamaree Caldwell DT Oregon 

9. Trey Amos CB Mississippi

10. Will Johnson CB Michigan 

11. Jaylen Reed S Penn State

12. Alijah Clark S Syracuse 

13. Andrew Mukuba S Texas 

14.  Malaki Starks S Georgia

15. Nick Emmanwori S South Carolina

16. Denzel Burke CB Ohio State 

17. Mello Dotson CB Kansas 

18. Isaiah Bond WR Texas 

19. Matthew Golden WR Texas

20. Xavier Restrepo WR Miami

21. Jordan James RB Oregon 

22. Jahdae Barron CB Texas 

23. Woody Marks RB USC

24. Jaydon Blue RB Texas 

25. Trevor Etienne RB Georgia 

26. Savion Williams WR TCU

27. Isas Walker CB Villanova 

28. Joshua Farmer DT Florida State 

29. Vernon Broughton DT Texas 

 

 

Informal Meetings reported: 

 

Zy Alexander CB LSU

Arian Smith WR Georgia 

 

Give me Collins. I have seen that cat toss Guards around in  the SEC like they were rag dolls.

[TheFunPolice]

40 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Sounds like Giants must have their sites on Cam Ward and don't want anyone getting him.  The question is what the Titans be looking for to move down and risk losing Abdul Carter meets their needs the most, As Cleveland is an X factor as do they take Abdul at #2 if Ward goes one and than move Garrett? or trade down a few spots and get Sanders before Vegas? Or settle on Hunter? 

 

Cleveland could be sitting in a great spot there....

 

If they trade Garrett they'll have a ton of extra picks. they could draft Carter in that scenario and get younger and cheaper at that spot and still have a star. 

 

 

 

 

[Mat68]

1 hour ago, gonzo1105 said:

I think Ward has always been the clear # 1 QB in this class and people are just catching up. 
 

Missing out on Carter and/or Hunter would hurt but neither of these guys are elite can’t miss prospects like a Myles Garrett coming out. Plus the Titans have so many need that them dropping to 6 or 7 and selecting a guy won’t hurt in this draft as much as long as they get the proper draft capital in this and next years draft. This will allow them to either trade up for the QB they want next year or if they are still # 1 pick bad allow them to build around a guy like Arch Manning 
 

It’s really Carter, Hunter, Graham and then a mass of similarly graded guys behind them. 

As a college player Carter is s close to Garret as it gets.  Carter is going to run 4.4 or better.  His pass rush ability is insane and he has played edge for 1 season.  

[BillsShredder83]

On 2/26/2025 at 11:54 PM, KOKBILLS said:

 

Stewart, who I absolutely love... Measured in at barely 6-0-248 with 32.75 arms today... The measure process is going to be tough on him. Not sure how testing will go because he absolutely is explosive as a pass rusher. He comes with a plan and gives big guys fits. He is a heck of a good player who may fall to a bargain point due to his measurables.

 

The rest of them make sense. Including Paul who I'm guessing they see as a 4th-5th Rd possibility for that match-up LB to bring in as Milano ages out. A million percent the Bills will have at least a 3rd Rd Grade on Paul... He's their type... But realistically he's a small match-up LB with average speed.

 

Will Johnson? What are they up to? 

 

 

Dude also had nearly a perfect score on the RAS (relative athletic scalwe).  I follow that guy on Twitter.... he makes no claims to high rated players being the best or anything, its one component needed to excel in the league... but Spencer Brown was had in the 3rd and had a perfect 10.0, not something many players get.  Interesting stuff, and Beane does have a tendancy to take genetic freaks

[gonzo1105]

1 hour ago, Mat68 said:

As a college player Carter is s close to Garret as it gets.  Carter is going to run 4.4 or better.  His pass rush ability is insane and he has played edge for 1 season.  

No he isn’t. Someone else tried to compare another prospect to Garrett and it’s laughable 

First Carter weighed in at 250 pounds Garrett weighed in at 272. He’s also a 1 1/2 shorter 

Garrett had 33 reps on the bench which would have cleared the top guy this year by 4 reps. Garrett’s 3 years at A@M he had 11.5, 12.5 and 8.5 sacks with 49 TFLs and 7 FF. 
 

I get that he had one year at DE and had 12 sacks but if he was that great they would have moved him over Adissa Issac at DE who was a solid but unspectacular NFL prospect 

[BillsShredder83]

On 2/27/2025 at 6:53 AM, finn said:

When Beane trades up, watch out. He traded up for Edmunds in 2018, up for Cody Ford in 2020, up for Elam in 2021, and up for Kincaid in 2022. Not exactly an all-star lineup. Plus, who knows if he would have hit, if only by chance, on all those picks he surrendered to trade up.

 

No GM hits on everything, and they all have picks that are howlers. But for whatever reason, Beane tends to do worse than his top peers in the early rounds and better in the later ones. Given this, maybe he should be looking to trade way down, like into the third and fourth rounds, when he may tend to rely on the judgment of his experts instead of his own and McDermott's. 

Id much rather he adjust his approach then trade out of the type of picks we need.  Were an extremely solid team top to bottom, we dont need more day 2 and 3 guys to "exceed expectations", we need bonafide stand out stars.  Take TRUE BPA minus QB.

 

His trading up hasnt worked out the best overall, but I like the aggressiveness, as its the only way to check both boxes of BPA & NEED at same time.  Just use more caution to not over reach.  I trust Beane to make adjustments, hes a top GM in this league whos finally getting some seasoning through experience.  Play with fine tune knobs a bit

[2003Contenders]

9 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Wasn’t sure where to put this but think it’s important. For those of you that bet the draft it may also be helpful:

 

 

Interesting about Golden. Conventional wisdom has him as WR 4 in the draft (behind McMillan, Burden and Egbuka). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

 

I saw that the Bills reportedly met with him at the combine. I never expected him to last until 30 but thought that he could potentially be the target of a mild trade-up like the team should have done to acquire BTJ last year. If this news is true about him being the first WR off the board, there's probably no chance of such a trade up now.

 

[TheBeaneBandit]

3 hours ago, Luka said:

 

Any scheme can be successful with the right players.

 

What we lack is that Josh Allen on defense. The guy that comes up big in big moments. You can argue what position that guy should play, but we do not have one at any level of this defense now. Before you had Poyer and Hyde roaming the secondary, Tre in his prime could shut down your #1 wide receiver and Milano, when he was healthy, may have been the best linebacker in football. 

 

When an undersized DL is your star player on that side of the ball, bad things are going to happen when playing the best teams in the league.

 

This draft should be as much defense as possible. We need edge rushers, which hopefully one can be obtained via trade or free agency. We need to get much better along the interior of the line. A zone defense is only as effective as the front 4's ability to control the line of scrimmage. A common theme with McDermott is drafting undersized guys with work ethic. That needs to change. The mentality up front needs to be big, physical, nasty. We need a marquee edge player. We need an interior 1 tech with serious physicality to free up the other 3 lineman.

 

The secondary needs a complete rework. Again, in a perfect world we sign/trade for a true #1 corner. I think we also draft a safety in hopes that we can replace Hamlin and hope that Bishop comes around in his 2nd year. You can never have too many corners and you draft another one this year as well. I know Benford has played well but I still believe his ceiling is Taron's replacement as Taron ages. He doesn't have the speed to be a true #1 corner.

 

Josh Allen is the weapon on offense. Since 2020, the Bills offense is 1st in points, 3rd in yards and 1st in points per game. And that's with a dreadful stretch of play calling during the Dorsey experiment. Claiming that the offense can improve is a stretch at this point.

So I agree except that Josh needs one more receiver, preferably one with speed of course. But as for the defense, that is going to need a joint effort of both draft and free agency. At least two free agents will need to be absolute solid starters. Throw in either the big trade or nail the first 3 draft picks, that is what absolutely has to happen.

[Buffalo716]

2 hours ago, gonzo1105 said:

I think Ward has always been the clear # 1 QB in this class and people are just catching up. 
 

Missing out on Carter and/or Hunter would hurt but neither of these guys are elite can’t miss prospects like a Myles Garrett coming out. Plus the Titans have so many need that them dropping to 6 or 7 and selecting a guy won’t hurt in this draft as much as long as they get the proper draft capital in this and next years draft. This will allow them to either trade up for the QB they want next year or if they are still # 1 pick bad allow them to build around a guy like Arch Manning 
 

It’s really Carter, Hunter, Graham and then a mass of similarly graded guys behind them. 

Travis Hunter would literally be the best wide receiver in this class and he's cerebral with great instincts and burst at cornerback with great ball skills

 

He should focus on one position at the next level but he's going to be a freak whatever he plays because his football IQ is high

Edited Monday at 08:34 PM by Buffalo716

[JGMcD2]

1 hour ago, 2003Contenders said:

I saw that the Bills reportedly met with him at the combine. I never expected him to last until 30 but thought that he could potentially be the target of a mild trade-up like the team should have done to acquire BTJ last year.

"Mild" trade up? To where?

[gonzo1105]

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

Travis Hunter would literally be the best wide receiver in this class and he's cerebral with great instincts and burst at cornerback with great ball skills

 

He should focus on one position at the next level but he's going to be a freak whatever he plays because his football IQ is high

Just because you would be the best at your position in a certain class doesn’t make you a can’t miss prospect. This class is very weak at the top of the draft. 

[Buffalo716]

23 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

Just because you would be the best at your position in a certain class doesn’t make you a can’t miss prospect. This class is very weak at the top of the draft. 

He's a can't miss corner prospect because his balls skills and length and play recognition will translate 

 

I think he's a better coverage corner than Jalen Ramsey coming out .. Ramsey was a better tackler

[Luka]

19 hours ago, TheBeaneBandit said:

So I agree except that Josh needs one more receiver, preferably one with speed of course. But as for the defense, that is going to need a joint effort of both draft and free agency. At least two free agents will need to be absolute solid starters. Throw in either the big trade or nail the first 3 draft picks, that is what absolutely has to happen.

 

Coleman is supposed to be that guy. Kincaid is supposed to be that guy.

 

My point is, if we can acquire someone in a trade or sign a free agent (Godwin would be my choice currently) that would be fine, but we've spent quite a bit of draft capital on trying to find a weapon for Josh and part of me just wants to see what's going to happen on that side of the ball. Does Coleman mature in year two? Can Brady get Kincaid more involved in the gameplan? 

 

The defense doesn't even have the "what if" guys right now. We know what they are and they have not been good enough.

[Prospector]

Did any of them bring a notebook with them?