billsfan89

Ed Oliver "broke out" during his 5th year. I hope Groot can have a break out i n year 4. I think Groot has much like Ed played like an above average player at a premium position his first 3 years in the league but he hasn't played consistently at a high level thus far. I think given how "raw" Groot was coming out of college it is not hard to see why he's not made that huge impact right out the gate. Hopefully year 4 Groot clicks.

I like him as depth, when Hyde went down in 2022 Hamlin played like a solid backup. Hamlin is also a decent and willing special teams player which adds value to keeping him on the roster. Unless Hyde comes back for camp I think Hamlin is more likely to make the roster. With Cam Lewis counting as a safety the Bills usually carry 5 safeties and 6 CB's. If Hyde isn't back that leaves Hamlin as the favorite for one of the 4th/5th safety spots. There is always the possibility even if Hyde stays retired that a UDFA or another low tier free agent shines and puts Hamlin as expendable but I don't think that's likely.

I don't think Hyde is coming back and if he is coming back I think its an in season signing. I think Hyde at his age isn't going to want to do a full camp and pre-season. Probably will mull his options in late September and if he has the itch to play and the Bills want him an in season deal similar to Joseph last year makes sense.

Kicker is probably the one of the easiet positions to translate from a spring league to the pros. The distances and circumstances aren’t changing

Who would you want to replace Beane with? Once again seriously asking because I am not going to replace a very good GM and a good head coach with someone unless there is a lot of reason to think the replacement will be better.

Serious question who would you replace McD with?

I was thinking Going into last season I had several concerns about the team two super glaring ones and two moderate concerns. 2023 start of the season concerns MLB - Most fans including myself didn't know the truth about Bernard, the limited action he saw his rookie year in 2022 he looked small and lost. Starting him at MLB after losing Edumonds looked like a big hole on the team. RT - Spencer Brown showed potential after his rookie season but he was a turd right tackle in 2022. The Bills brought back a marginal backup in Queese and a marginal vet competition in Snell so there wasn't much of a plan B for Spencer Brown. Luckily after an uneven/bad start he turned it around and was a quality starter. WR2 - The Bills spent their biggest draft resource on Kincaid but the Bills were still running out Gabe Davis as a WR2. Shakir was an unknown and Harty and Sherfield were marginal players. This ended up being not as bad due to the fact that Gabe was decent and Shakir emerged and Kincaid had his desired impact. Safety Health and Decline - Hyde was 33 coming off a huge injury and Po was 32 coming off a season where he was banged up. Both were around the age where safety play declines and the injuries the year before were not a recipe for success. Luckily they hedged by bringing in Rapp a quality backup so the concern was alleviated. 2024 going into the season my concerns are WR- No Diggs and Davis, a lot riding on Keon to come in and Shakir and Samuel to step up. It's a major area of concern as glaring as MLB and RT were thought to be going into last season but the position seems to hold more weight to the offenses success apparently. DE - Floyd is gone and Von was a no-show last year. Shaq Lawson also is not there anymore but wasn't much more than a JAG last season. There's a lot riding on Von bouncing back closer to his 2022 form to fill in for Floyd while the back end of the rotation is a rookie in Solomon and unproven players in Toohill and Kingsley Jonathan. Kicker/Punter/Special Teams - No secret Bass collapsed in the playoffs and was shaky in the regular season, Martin is a vet but coming off a below average year. ST unit also wasn't that great. The Bills drafted some ST aces in round 5/6 that should help but Bass is a major concern. It's less overall concerns in 2024 but the top concern is so glaring and vital that it makes me feel a bit uneasy. But I think the Bills will win 11+ games, take the division and win a playoff game. The rest is going to be about luck and development and rookie impact.

The position “inflexibility” is not going to impact the Bills much because McGovern can flex out to guard so having a “pure” backup center is fine as it’s not severely impacting the bench. As if there a center or guard injury then Van Pran steps in. Right now with the addition of Van Pran and Grabel in the draft and the addition of Collin’s in free agency the depth along the offensive line looks better. I think the projected top 9 is pretty set. The starting 5 is Dawkins-Edwards-McGovern-Torrence-Brown Then the bench is likely 4 out of the following 5. Van Pran, Van Denmark, Alec Anderson, Collin’s and Grabel I think barring injury I think they carry 9 and unless Grabel shows out fantastically I think they maybe put Grabel on IR and “red-shirt” him like they did Shorter.

I don’t doubt the Bills would consider bringing Hyde back if he wants to come back. However, he’s either gotta attempt to be a full time player or retire. I don’t think the Bills are going to rotate safeties. I think it’s a 90% chance Hyde retires and I would bank most of the remaining 10% that if Hyde comes back it’s gonna be in season if an injury happens. There’s not going to be big money for Hyde and I just don’t think with the wear and tear on his body and his age (34 this year) he’s going to want to go through camp and a full season. Take the summer and first 6-8 weeks of the season off and come back if needed.

Seems like a camp body, kick the tires so to speak.

In 2026 I see Torrence, McGovern and Van Pran as the interior trio. McGovern will be 29 (and I think likely signs a second contract), and Van Pran and Torrence will still be on their rookie deals. Tackle is harder, Brown will be a free agent after this season and Dawkins will be age 32 but he will be fairly early into his extension. I think Dawkins in 2026 at age 32 will be there but they probably will look to replace him with another tackle soon. So Brown is a possible cap casualty and Dawkins will be heading into his final years but the interior will be hopefully young or prime players. I think on the bench they likely hope to keep Van Denmark and Anderson, maybe Edwards sticks around as a high end backup but he may seek playing opportunities elsewhere after 2025.

There’s plenty of rotational snaps for Groot even if Soloman shows out. That being said I don’t expect too much for Soloman as a rookie. I think he’s going to be penciled into the Shaq Lawson snaps right now and if he can provide a little more pass rush “pop” than Shaq I think that’s a solid rookie campaign. In fact I do wonder if the Bills will not look to add a vet DE once Tre’s money hits. There’s some decent players still on the market at DE. Yannick and Ogbah are still free agents among some other options out on the market. I don’t know if the Bills are going to want to be “forced” into relying on a rookie in anything more than a rotational role.

I am hoping this ends up being at worst a solid draft that produces 2-3 starters and 2-3 roles players. I cannot see this team that has been a top organization at drafting not getting multiple starters and role players out of these 10 picks 7 of which were in the first 5 rounds. In the case of Van Pran he’s played a lot of high end college football at the SEC and playoffs winning two national titles. He’s started 44 games and over 2500 snaps all at Center. So if there’s ever a prospect to handle stepping into a pro system asap it’s gotta be someone like him. I feel like he can do it but it’s all on paper right now…

I am interested to see how Brady molds the offense no Diggs and different continuity. But I am also interested to see if the Bills make any additions once Tre’s money hits? Do they add a piece at WR or DE? There’s some decent options on the market and the Bills will have space to work with. I feel there’s one more consequential signing left but not sure where they go on the market.

I think Hyde is going to retire. I think they are comfortable with Bishop and Edwards starting while Rapp plays as the primary backup and situationally. Hamlin and Cam Lewis are depth ST players. That’s a solid 5 deep group at safety I just doubt they are going to bring in Hyde and yoyo him on snaps.