2025 NFL Draft - Day 1 Debrief

[GunnerBill]

14 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

This is why I loved him as a prospect. The main complaint fans have had about McDermott's defense is we play too far off and give up easy underneath completions which lets elite QBs dink and dunk us to death. In Hairston you add a player that as you said can eat up all of that space in a flash and break on the ball. We haven't had a CB with close to his speed and hip fluidity... I'm really excited to see that skill set in McDermott's defense and I expect it to immediately improve our 3rd down conversion percentage.

 

I also think his skill set compliments Benford really nicely. If they end up your starters you have a chance to get quite creative in your coverage looks. 

[Cash]

27 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

This is why I loved him as a prospect. The main complaint fans have had about McDermott's defense is we play too far off and give up easy underneath completions which lets elite QBs dink and dunk us to death. In Hairston you add a player that as you said can eat up all of that space in a flash and break on the ball. We haven't had a CB with close to his speed and hip fluidity... I'm really excited to see that skill set in McDermott's defense and I expect it to immediately improve our 3rd down conversion percentage.

 

Big agree.  Hairston's speed helps 2 ways: If he's playing off coverage, he can still close lightning-fast to either pick it off, break it up, or at least limit RAC to nothing.  Conversely, he can press at the line, and know that even if he gets beat, he has the wheel to recover and still make a play on the ball.

Edited 6 hours ago by Cash

[HappyDays]

I also want to mention how pleased I am with the rest of the AFCE draft picks. A guard, a RT, and a run stuffing 2 down DT. None of these picks scare me in the slightest.

[Cash]

Just now, HappyDays said:

I also want to mention how pleased I am with the rest of the AFCE draft picks. A guard, a RT, and a run stuffing 2 down DT. None of these picks scare me in the slightest.

 

I like Grant a lot - I think there's value in a guy that size who moves that well - but at #12 he's pretty underwhelming.  The o-line picks are fine, but yeah not scary at all.  I'll give Campbell the benefit of the doubt that he'll be a solid LT, but even then, meh.

[mannc]

19 minutes ago, Cash said:

 

I like Grant a lot - I think there's value in a guy that size who moves that well - but at #12 he's pretty underwhelming.  The o-line picks are fine, but yeah not scary at all.  I'll give Campbell the benefit of the doubt that he'll be a solid LT, but even then, meh.

Would your opinion change if I told you the Dolphins were able to snag him at 13?

Edited 6 hours ago by mannc

[GunnerBill]

6 minutes ago, mannc said:

Would your opinion change if I told you the Dolphins were able to snag him at 13?

 

I was gonna do that joke. You got there first.

[Logic]

@GunnerBill I'm not sure if you know the answer to this question, but I'll ask it anyway:

What, in your observation, are the schematic similarities between Kentucky's defensive scheme and the Bills' defensive scheme? And based on the similarities or lack thereof and given what you've seen on tape from Hairston, do you envision him hitting the ground running and having a legit shot to start the season at CB2? Or do you think it's more of an "ease him into it" situation, where we're hoping he can earn the starting job by week 8?

[gonzo1105]

I think the difference between picking Amos and Hairston is as simple as they prob liked the kid more and he offers more in man coverage than Amos which I think they will run more of next year 

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

I think the difference between picking Amos and Hairston is as simple as they prob liked the kid more and he offers more in man coverage than Amos which I think they will run more of next year 

 

And 18 months younger. But yep, agree. I still think it Hairston was gone they'd have picked Amos. I think they liked them both a lot.

7 minutes ago, Logic said:

@GunnerBill I'm not sure if you know the answer to this question, but I'll ask it anyway:

What, in your observation, are the schematic similarities between Kentucky's defensive scheme and the Bills' defensive scheme? And based on the similarities or lack thereof and given what you've seen on tape from Hairston, do you envision him hitting the ground running and having a legit shot to start the season at CB2? Or do you think it's more of an "ease him into it" situation, where we're hoping he can earn the starting job by week 8?

 

I will commend a post by @sven233 which talks about his usage in Kentucky's D and I agree with what he wrote (although will repeat my point from earlier on the Bond breakup - the left hand gets there a bit early on the shoulder / back of Bond before he reaches the right across and he has to watch that in the NFL with the flag happy zebras).

 

I'm about to head out but I will try and come back with some more on similarities to our D later.

 

[TheWeatherMan]

4 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

Ya when Benford went down early vs KC, our CBs got smoked.  Just didn't have the depth to achieve the ultimate goal. 

It's telling when our 2 ourside CBs who played the majority of the AFC title game are not on the roster and doubtful either will start for any team next year

Our secondary got smoked all season

[Ethan in Cleveland]

It's hard to say drafting a fast CB,is bad. It's not. And of course the draft is not over.

 

But right now we have an underachieving DE that fell down on the ground the entire AFC Championship game and disappears for huge stretches of the season, a good but not great 3 tech DT in Oliver, two PED cheats, and a guy that is broken more often than not on the DL. 

Lack of pass rush and inconsistent run stopping was the problem with the defense last year. If this kid is an upgrade over Douglas it will help. But they still have serious issues on the DL to address. 

 

It will be interesting to see if there were any trades offered that Beane turned down. Falcons and Giants gave up a ton of draft capital to make moves back into first round. 

[Cash]

1 hour ago, mannc said:

Would your opinion change if I told you the Dolphins were able to snag him at 13?

 

In that case, I think he's the steal of the draft!

[Da webster guy]

wOW great write up Gunner.

 

Beane's best line about Max was it's nice when your area scout has a first round grade on a guy, plus your overall scout team AND he fits your needs and you can get him in the first without having to trade up.   Man he seems like a Tredavious clone, same size, same smile, same energy.   Will be fun to watch the kid.

 

Idiot question:  If we have a 5'11 guy with ball skills that can run a 4.28 does it ever make sense to have him run a go route against man coverage teams or even single high safety teams?   Thats blazing, field stretching speed there....

[MrEpsYtown]

3 hours ago, HappyDays said:

I also want to mention how pleased I am with the rest of the AFCE draft picks. A guard, a RT, and a run stuffing 2 down DT. None of these picks scare me in the slightest.

 

The Jets and Pats can make some noise here early with guys like Emmanwori early, but I agree. 

[davefan66]

2 hours ago, Logic said:

@GunnerBill I'm not sure if you know the answer to this question, but I'll ask it anyway:

What, in your observation, are the schematic similarities between Kentucky's defensive scheme and the Bills' defensive scheme? And based on the similarities or lack thereof and given what you've seen on tape from Hairston, do you envision him hitting the ground running and having a legit shot to start the season at CB2? Or do you think it's more of an "ease him into it" situation, where we're hoping he can earn the starting job by week 8?

Good question.

 

Did Beane allude to any of his skill being a scheme fit in his press conference?  I only heard bits and pieces.  Or, is it just his man coverage and speed that the Bills will be tapping into?  Seems there is an anticipated emphasis on man coverage next season.. 

 

I just hope he has more skills and ability to play in multiple schemes, unlike our last first round CB.

[Simon]

3 hours ago, HappyDays said:

We haven't had a CB with close to his speed and hip fluidity...

 

Somebody posted some video of him working at the combine and his hips looked like they were running on ball bearings 

[No_Matter_What]

12 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

 

The Jets and Pats can make some noise here early with guys like Emmanwori early, but I agree. 

My money is on Browns picking Emmanwori at 33 tonight.

[Bray Wyatt]

3 hours ago, HappyDays said:

I also want to mention how pleased I am with the rest of the AFCE draft picks. A guard, a RT, and a run stuffing 2 down DT. None of these picks scare me in the slightest.

 

The Pats drafting a short armed tackle while we have Groot, a long armed DE, i was happy about

[UKBillFan]

12 minutes ago, No_Matter_What said:

My money is on Browns picking Emmanwori at 33 tonight.

 

Please no. Only because it will result i, "BUT WHERE WILL SANDERS LAND?!" and the talking heads practically forgetting any other player exists.

[MrEpsYtown]

16 minutes ago, UKBillFan said:

 

Please no. Only because it will result i, "BUT WHERE WILL SANDERS LAND?!" and the talking heads practically forgetting any other player exists.

Kiper was losing his mind. It was Jimmy Clausen all over again.