Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Valdes-Scantling is by no means a star in the NFL, but the 29-year-old is going into his seventh NFL season and if nothing else, brings some deep speed to a Buffalo receiver corps that needs it.’

‘“Oh, it was great,” Frank Jr. said Friday on the first day of the Bills’ rookie mini camp. “I came to like three games. It was cold when they played the Jets at the end of season. But I loved it here – what do they say, ‘Hey, hey, hey hey.’ Yeah, I loved that. This is like one of the most enthusiastic places I’ve ever been.”’

‘Brown finished out the 2022 season, then handled play-by-play throughout 2023 with analyst Eric Wood at his side. It is expected that Brown will be officially named as Murphy’s replacement, but there has been an indication that others will be interviewed for the position.’

‘Claypool is a massive target at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, but he has not been able to utilize that size and has just 175 career receptions for 2,261 yards and 13 TDs. His best two seasons were his first two with Pittsburgh when he caught 62 and 59 passes and totaled 11 touchdowns, but Mike Tomlin grew tired of his inconsistency and moved on. With the Bears and Dolphins, he was a non-factor.’

‘amuel, Shakir and Coleman figure to be the main ingredients in the Bills’ preferred three-wide formation but at this point, the receiver room is not nearly as dangerous as it was last year. Shakir has made nice strides, but he’s not drawing double teams from anyone, and Samuel’s career-best season came in 2020 – the year Brady was the OC for the Panthers and he caught 77 balls for 851 yards and three TDs. Coleman will need to hit the ground running, but his college production did not scream No. 1 receiver in the NFL.’

‘Here’s how NFL experts graded the Bills’ draft…’.

‘”Where’d you all get all the snacks from?” Coleman asked reporters. “I’m good. Them cookies looking good, though. I ain’t lying to you.”‘

‘Frank Gore Jr. has an NFL pedigree. Gore Jr. was a two-time All-Sun Belt running back and led Southern Mississippi in rushing yards in each of the last four seasons, totaling 4,022 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns in his career. Gore Jr. will have a chance to compete for a roster spot on a Bills team that isn’t deep at running back. James Cook is the starter but behind him are rookie fourth-round pick Ray Davis along with Ty Johnson and Darrynton Evans.’

‘It seemed clear to me that general manager Brandon Beane was hoping that LSU’s Brian Thomas would fall to No. 28 in the first round, but the Jaguars took him at No. 23. We don’t know whether Beane tried to trade up to get in position to pick the player who was widely regarded as the best receiver prospect after the undeniable top threesome of Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze, all of whom went in the first nine picks, but I’d guess that he was working the phones pretty hard.’

‘“Davis has racked up a lot of miles and lacks explosive long speed, but his vision, cutting skills and competitive toughness are translatable traits,” Dane Brugler of The Athletic wrote in his draft guide. “Although he doesn’t offer much on special teams, he can be a productive rotational back for an NFL offense.”’

‘The 6-foot-4, 298-pounder was a three-year starter for one of college football’s dynastic programs and he helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022, the first of those with Bills’ running back James Cook as his teammate.’

‘At 6-foot and 239 pounds, Ulofoshio will probably get a long look on special teams because with Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano starting, and Nicholas Morrow, Dorian Williams and Baylon Spector ahead of him on the depth chart, there’s very little chance he’ll be playing defense if he makes the team.’

‘What’s intriguing about Solomon, though, is while his draft pedigree wasn’t great, he led FBS in sacks last season with 16, which also served as a school record as were his 33 career sacks, so that counts for something as the Bills look for ways to get better production on the edge.’

‘The Bills do not have reliable depth behind starters Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, so Grable will be able to get into the mix for the backup roles with players like Tommy Doyle, Ryan Van Demark, Richard Gouriage and La’el Collins.’

‘Hardy is a 5-foot-9, 179-pounder who was just a one-year starter for the Nittany Lions, playing almost exclusively in the slot, but he also was a punt returner and that might be his only chance to make an impression and make the roster.’