Magox

That thesis I had last year about running backs being undervalued is really starting to play out. With Achane just landing $16-17M a year, the market is officially moving in a different direction than people expected. I remember a lot of talk last offseason about how Cook shouldn't get a penny over $10M a year, but this latest deal shows that logic was definitely off. Despite his production, Cook isn't even in the top 10 highest-paid RBs right now. After his extension last August (4 years, $46M new money, $11.5M APY), he currently sits at 11th in Average Annual Value (APY) among running backs—just outside that top 10. With the way the market is resetting, I suspect he’s going to be looking for a raise pretty soon—and to be fair, he deserves it. Beane played it perfectly and got him on a really favorable deal for the team, but seeing these new numbers, we have to admit the value has shifted. It’ll be interesting to see if they try to take care of him now to avoid any grumblings from his side. Maybe add in additional performance based bonuses.

One of my takeaways is that Brady dialed up one hell of a game.

I’ve been following this debate, and I think there is a massive structural issue that makes the "Strategy vs. Talent" argument even more lopsided against picks like Jack Campbell. The real problem isn't just that an off-ball linebacker has less positional value than an Edge; it’s that the NFL’s antiquated salary system literally penalizes teams for drafting them. Right now, the league groups all "Linebackers" together for the Franchise Tag and 5th-year options. That means an off-ball, middle linebacker like Campbell eventually gets priced against elite Edge rushers who are the second-highest-paid players in the league. Look at what just happened with Tyler Linderbaum. The Ravens declined his 5th-year option specifically because the CBA groups all Offensive Linemen together. They weren't going to pay a Center the average salary of the top five Left Tackles—it’s bad business. Linderbaum hit the open market, and now the Raiders are paying him $27M a year. That’s the "cautionary tale" for Campbell. Because he’s lumped in with Edge rushers, the Lions (or whoever has him) will face an inflated 5th-year cost or a Franchise Tag that makes no sense for his actual position. From a "real impact" standpoint, a truly elite middle linebacker impacts more snaps than a mid-level WR2. But the finances don’t care about impact; they care about these rigid buckets. We see it with RBs all the time. Can anyone honestly argue that a mid-level #2 receiver like Michael Pittman at $18M+ is more valuable to a win total than an elite game-changer like Saquon Barkley? Of course not. But the market rewards the position, not the impact. The same thing happens to Nose Tackles being lumped in with penetrating 3-tech DTs. Until the league figures out how to separate these sub-positions, drafting an off-ball LB in the 1st round carries a higher financial burden. You aren't just drafting a player; you're drafting a guy you might be forced to let walk in four years because the CBA makes his fifth year and tag value totally irrational.

The Jaguars were a legit good team that could have reached the Super Bowl. Their defense was stout, it just so happened that Josh Allen was better than what they dished out. The defense played well as well. Just a shame we had a fluky high turnover game against Denver, because the Bills were a better team. The offense moved up and down the field against them at will, not a single punt all game.

Is this good? Because it seems good

I hear ya, but I am not convinced. Here is more context to that statement, and I think it somewhat supports it. I do think they will go for another NT, a true NT. That's my belief and I am sticking to it.

A couple things: A) This implies to me that the Bills are still looking for other options at the NT. Deone Walker I think can line up in multiple positions on the line, but he shouldn't be getting over 50% of all the NT snaps. I think they will get someone who will either start or get significant snaps at NT B) I can't think of his name right now but there was a poster who seems knowledgeable that was making the case that Oliver would be the NT. I never bought that for one second, I know people keep saying some sort of iteration of "NT's now adays aren't as big as they used to be and under this defense it will be a smaller penetrating kind of guy" That's just not supported by the facts, there are 15 starting NT's and only 4 are below 315 lbs, the average starting NT is 333 lbs. Yes, Denver had their NT DJ Jones and he is 6'0 305 lbs, but he is a stout 305 guy, and he certainly doesn't fit the mold of the typical NT. It is true that NT's aren't typically your two gapping immovable dudes like they were designed to be before but they are still huge, they just tend to be more athletic than what they were 5 years ago.

Another LB, DT, Edge rusher and CB Mainly for depth, possibly upgrade at NT.

Yeah, There is no universe that Nabers could be had, he is a superstar in the making.

Thats why it’s not just cliche when they say “You can never have enough corner backs”

Stefon Diggs in his 4 years with the Bills averaged 81.4 yards per game during the regular season and in the playoffs averaged 69.1 yards per game. He averaged .55 TD’s per game in the regular season and .21 TD’s per game in the playoffs. His first season with the Bills in 2020, he scored two touchdowns in his first three playoff games, he then went six consecutive playoff games without finding the end zone before being traded. His best year was 2020, where he led the entire NFL in receiving yards (1,535) and catches (127). In the three playoff games that following January, he averaged 103.7 yards per game. In 2021 he averaged 33.5 ypg with 0 TD’s, in 2022 47.5 ypg with 0 TD’s and in 2023 31 ypg and 0 TD’s. With New England he averaged 27.5 yards per game and 1 TD in 4 games. I don’t think anyone is arguing that he wasn’t a great route running technician who had great regular season stats. But for whatever reason when it came to the playoffs he usually disappeared. I think you would agree that a professional sports player is also largely defined with how they performed when it mattered most. For me Stefon Diggs is like the James Harden of wide receivers.

That’s why I said rarely. What did he do for the Bills?

His main problem is unlike other great players, he rarely showed up in the playoffs. Great players do