WhitewalkerInPhilly

I do have to laugh at the silly rule that he technically can't be recruited for 4 more days But can be spoken to somewhere not his home or old school and how Rex exploited it.

Actually, if I'm Collins, I don't care so much about the geography as much as who is going to make him look good. he can't renegotiate until 2 years, so he needs to produce a body of work if he wants big money. So he's likely looking at a place where A) He's starts, preferably at Tackle, which pays better. The Phins already have Albert and James as starters, which will be hard to crack. Maybe he beats Turner at Guard. Maybe. With the Bills, he has a crack at RT, if not is an instant starter at Guard with a chance to kick outside with Glenn's contrace coming up. B) A system that plays to his strength. He's a run blocker. Lamar Miller is not going to any Pro Bowls. The Bills have Shady f'n McCoy, Greg Roman and Kromer. Better coaches, better supporting cast, and a game plan that would showcase him.

Yeah #Trollhak isn't really citing a reason other than "Really? The Bills?" Rex is definitely interested, otherwise I don't see him making the trip, and Collins wouldn't be at least considering it if he took a private meal with Rex and his family. It's far from a lock, and 31 other teams might be interested but Rex was first at the door.

Disagree. Look, if he's guilty he certainly will never play. And he certainly ought to be treated just like any other suspect by the police and he certainly has motive. But... 1) So far, he's not considered a suspect. He's gone in for questioning and they let him walk. I know this isn't CSI where cases are wrapped up neat in a bow in two days, but it sounds pretty thin. 2) if he is guilty, I would gladly have the Bills eat any dead money on a rookie UDFA contract which is middling in the NFL. How many UDFA do we cut without a second thought each year?

I think I have the pitch for La'el. We're the team of second chances. We're a team that was nearly ripped out of its home when our owner died, only to be saved my someone devoted to keeping it here. Our head coach is a brilliant defensive mind who was hung out to dry by his GM in a media hungry town. Rex now says that one way or the other, this is his last head coaching job. Our OC is an incredible innovator who lost out on a HC job because his team did too well, and then was caught in the crossfire from his bosses bickering. EJ was badly mishandled and disowned by his last coach. Incognito and Harvin are trying to resurrect their careers despite being massively talented. Shady got cast out by a coach with an overblown ego. Everyone gets a fresh start. Everyone gets a clean slate in a time when that is an increasingly rare thing. A second chance. Don't screw it up.

I love the #Trollhak tag. Let's make it a thing. I actually feel better about this than I do about Incognito. I'm a believer in innocent until proven guilty, and from what I can tell the police have already taken a look and he's completely cooperated. With Incognito, we knew he was a scumbag from the moment we signed him, even if he's not been convicted of a felony yet. It looks like the official meetings with the Bills and Dolphins are today. With Rex sneaking in for a private dinner the night before, and then going to Philbin after that...with the rookie wage scale for UDFAs capping money, it's going to come down to pitch. And, as people have mentioned, if he wants big money he wants to start right away and shine. Rex, Roman and Kromer sound a lot better than Philbin and...did Kelly try to use Kelvin Sheppard as part of a pitch?

We'd have Drafttek, which our own Astrobot contributes at.

Nice. Solid signing and fixes the depth issue we were looking at, especially at the "Heavy 5 technique" that Pettine ran two years ago.

I'm all for it. Parker got greedy and we were moving to a system where he wouldn't be as useful. Now, he'd likely be a starter rotating in with Hughes. Hopefully the fact that the market has cooled significantly for him gives us a strong bargaining position.

I agree. Our FA period put together a functional team. Apart from Miller I don't expect anyone we drafted to start right away. But with big contracts coming up, this draft let's us roll with injuries. I'm excited about what I've seen from Karlos.

No, we have to give him another chance. He was ruined by Marrone. We have now summed up 90% of this board.

It's especially mystified considering that I give him an outside chance of beating McKelvin on the outside. I love Graham, but I honestly think his natural fit here is as Free Safety. And then what are our odds of going the season without a single injury to Gilmore, McKelvin or Graham. If you can't field an effective nickel, teams will tear you apart.

A little lengthy, but +1. While I'm still not crazy about the Darby pick, I agree that Graham's best spot is going to be as FS. He has great ball skills and instincts but has never been the fastest and is only going to get slower. If Darby can challenge McKelvin this year, it makes me feel much better about the secondary.

Oh thank god. I was worried about this draft, but with Kiper hating it things must have gone well.

That's my hope too. Rex seems to prioritize flexibility, and one of the more common responses to the 2 TE sets has been the Big Nickel. If we want to put our best people on the field, Graham's flexibility to play S and CB could make for a really potent secondary.

Rob Quinn's breakdown of Karlos Williams:http://billsmafia.com/2015/05/02/2015-nfl-draft-breaking-down-buffalo-bills-rb-karlos-williams/ I hadn't seen this posted yet. Honestly, I'm really impressed. I love me some Freddy, but I don't see him getting signed back after this year, and unless Brown has one hell of a camp,I think Rex is inclined to cut him (sadly IMHO). He's obviously raw, considering that he's had only two years as RB, but for a power back, he has some incredible speed and one-cut ability.

Nice! I remember hearing good things about him. I'm surprised he dropped. I've seen him mocked to us in the fifth.

See! That's why you don't deal a first round pick whaley! [/sarcasm]

Don't get me wrong. I want to build a monster O-line. I absolutely wish we had gotten someone besides Incognito in free agency. I would have greatly improved Tre Jackson, Laken Tomlinson, AJ Cann to La'el Collins. But when you've pissed away those opportunities, getting what should be depth and getting average guard play helps, and since he fits the scheme at this point I'm for it. Quick question, where did that Lou Potty guy get taken?

Love the pick, enough that it washes the bad taste out of my mouth from Darby. I'll take a solid, ready to play guard who can step in Day 1 over another long term project with high upside.

Honestly I was shocked at the pick. I still am, a little. I definitely saw bigger holes elsewhere. But because we got Miller I'm less worried about the O-line. As other people have pointed out, McKelvin in aging and has only one year left on his contact. Gilmore's option keeps him another year after this, but we saw the money the Eagles were willing to splurge on Boykin, who isn't as good as Gilmore IMHO. Graham, at this point in his career, is probably best as a tweener DB. I honestly think that you make a point of putting your best 11 guys on the field. And Heavy Nickel formations are one of the few ways to deal with the spread option/shotgun handoffs you see in the Chip Kelly imitators. How does this sound: DL- Hughes, Dareus, Kyle, Mario LB- Brown, Bradham S- Duke (Box S), Aaron, Graham CB- Gilmore, McKelvin/Darby Sounds scary good to me.

I'm not 100% on Duke, but there are far larger problems looming.

I agree that Maxx is likely gone before we get him. But I do think you can get at least one decent starter on O-line in the third. Plus a good TE can help you block, which is why I personally would like to see Walford. I was looking at some Pistol formation diagrams, and they usually call for a Y-receiver. Clay is probably top 5 as an H-back and this could cause some truly terrifying combinations if EJ or Tyrod win the job because of their mobility.

1) If he gets anywhere close to 50 I wouldn't think twice about giving up our 5th for him. 2) Might make Walford an option at 50.

I'd be ok with Golden in the 5th.