Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘After spending most of his high school and early college years as a guard, Ford knew he needed to slim down in order to make the transition to right tackle. He shed 15 pounds in the offseason for increased mobility which paid off with him earning first team All-Big 12 honors.’

‘“I believe my size doesn’t matter because there’s multiple guys that have shown that size doesn’t matter in the league,” Singletary said, answering a question he gets often. “I feel I’ll be able to do the same thing; my size won’t play a factor.”’

‘”I have him as the second-best back, and actually for comparison, I wrote down he’s got a little Shady McCoy to him,” NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah told NJ.com. “So he can make you miss. He does a great job in tight quarters. He could be in a hallway and you can’t get a finger on him. Just real loose, nice little nifty jump cut that he uses. I don’t know that he really has that big time, big time top speed, but we saw some of those same comments made about LeSean when he was coming into the draft, and we know how that worked out.”‘

‘“I think coming from playing quarterback, it’s one of my biggest advantages because I’ve been able to pick our coverages a little quicker and know how linebackers drop into certain zones and read safeties,” he said. “It always helped me manage how I was going to run my routes and create a little extra separation.”’

‘My only fear for Oliver right now is can the Bills manage expectations, their need to replace the retiring Kyle Williams and improving their 26th-ranked pass rush being as great as it is?’

‘”All of us in Buffalo, we just want to wish him the best,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said in a message posted to Twitter. “We’re thinking about you. Draft night last year was so awesome. I got the chills back again talking about it. ‘Viva Los Bills.’ We’ve got you on our mind.”‘

‘“He’s a competitor, he’s tough, plays from the snap to the echo of the whistle,” said Beane. “They used him in Houston a little different than we’ll use him. They used him right over the nose; for us, Sean will slot him in as a three-tech which is a very important piece. We lost Kyle and we weren’t able to fill that in free agency, so this fell pretty good for us.”’

‘Oliver had a tremendous 2017 season and was thrust into the 2018 Heisman Trophy conversation, but he suffered a bruised right knee four games into the season and he never really bounced back.’

‘”If you watch him at Houston, throw away that tape. Here’s what I know you need in the NFL, quick twitchy guys. Think of Warren Sapp, think of John Randle. He has the highest ceiling of any defensive lineman in this draft.”‘

‘I want to tell them that I love them,” Castro told WGRZ-TV by phone Thursday. “I want to thank them for accepting me and for being there for me through thick and thin. And most important, making me an honorary Buffalonian. I will cherish that forever.”‘

‘First of all, what the defense lacks is a tackle who can penetrate into the backfield and not only sack quarterbacks but blow up running plays. Kyle Williams used to be that player, but he’s retired. Star Lotulelei and Jordan Phillips will never be that player, and it doesn’t seem like Harrison Phillips will be, either.’

‘When: First round, Thursday at 8 p.m. | Second-third rounds, Friday at 7 p.m. | Fourth-seventh rounds, Saturday at noon.’

‘The Bills will try to rush off the edge with their linemen, players like Jerry Hughes, Shaq Lawson and Trent Murphy, plus a possible first-round pick. Thus, what the Bills need is a more traditional 4-3 outside linebacker who can do a little of everything: rush the passer as a blitzer, set the edge against the run, and drop into coverage.’

‘Waterloo native Tom Coughlin, who is now Jacksonville’s executive vice president of football operations, released a statement after the Jags’ season-ending loss to Houston last season, saying he was “disappointed in the behavior today from T.J.. Yeldon and Leonard Fournette. They were disrespectful, selfish and their behavior was unbecoming that of a professional football player.”‘

‘9. Bills: DT Ed Oliver, Houston.’