billsfan89

Also guys grow into their frames a bit. Hell Tre White was an All-Pro here and he isn't the biggest by CB standards.

TO was just past his prime (which was impressive for a 36 year old as he was producing a 1000 yard season at age 35) but still a good producing WR in his lone year in Buffalo. He didn't rock the boat much off the field and by all accounts was a pretty good teammate while here. I know he played with the Bengals in 2010 and I just looked up his stats and he actually had a better season stats wise in 2010 at age 37! With the Bengals he had 72 catches and 983 years in 14 games. Had he stayed healthy he could have had a 1000 yard season at age 37! Granted he did get 20 more targets with the Bengals but he also had 17 more catches so the increase on volume was efficient. The Bengals were terrible that year (they were a 3/4 win team) but the individual production from him was impressive. It was an off-season ACL tear that basically ended his NFL career. Had he not had that tear he probably plays another season or two in the league at minimum.

I think pre-season is always something I don't put too much stock into either way because you don't know how veteran players and possible starters are coached to approach the game. For example the Bills could have been asking a lot of veteran defenders to do things they were weaker at in order to work on it in live reps but with low stakes. While the Giants are trying to establish 3 new QB's and they might have been leaning into the strengths of their supporting cast to build the timing of each QB. I'm not saying that is what happened. I am more so just saying that this is a possibility as to how teams approach pre-season that may not always be reflective of talent levels.

Knox is a good blocker from all the metrics and pundits analysis but I think he's also a solid pass catcher so I do wonder if the Bills are considering a lot of 3 TE sets with Knox/Hawes in blocking roles and Kincaid in the slot or split wide even? I love seeing Brady adding wrinkles and not trying to stay complacent.

A lot of the analysis/pundits said that Hawes blocking was good. I wonder if a new wrinkle in Brady's offense is going to be Hawes taking some of the snaps Anderson had last season. Replacing a 6th offensive linemen with a blocking TE who for as lacklust as he might be as a pass catcher certainly is a better pass catcher than a 6th offensive linemen?

I was ok with the Carter pick in 2024 I was not super excited but I also thought as a prospect he was a late 3rd early 4th round talent which is right where he went. The Bills also needed some depth and youth at DT in 2024 and after addressing bigger needs at safety and WR they hit DT and it thus far is looking like a miss. But the double dip at DT plus the Larry O acquisition this offseason have made Carter being a possible bust easier to handle.

Kind of worried about Carter, I like what the Bills have in Oliver/Jones/Sanders in the early goings before Larry O comes back from suspension and adds a competent veteran but I think Carter might just be a flat out bust if he can't at least show that he can be a competent backend rotation player. I'm not looking for him to come in and be a dominant starter in year two. But I think it is very reasonable to expect him to as a 3rd round pick with a year under his belt to come in and play like a decent rotational player. I'm not gonna put too much stock into a pre-season game but my concern with Carter is beyond this one game, not gonna call him a bust just yet but if he gets displaced by Sanders/Walker before Larry O comes back then it's gonna look like Carter's trending towards bust.

The vets on different teams could have a different approach given how the coaches approach the game. If you are Daboll you could be wanting your offensive line to protect your new QB's and give them the chance to work with WR's so you have them lean more into their strengths as opposed to working on things? So it is not always 1 to 1.

Veteran players approach pre-season differently, they might just be looking to work on things they are weaker at which might produce less results in a game. If you are leaning into moves and approaches that you are less effective at as a means to work on them you product might not be so good come gameday. I'm not saying that's what happened but rather there's a lot of factors to consider when watching pre-season games.

It is the first game of pre-season I would really calm down. I think last year showed that the Bills linemen do pace themselves well. This is a veteran D-line group. D. Jones is a 10+ year vet as Bosa is also going into year 10. Oliver, Groot, and AJE are in their 5th to 7th years they are well established "young vets". The backend guys who are rookies and 2nd year players (Walker, Sanders, Jackson, Carter, and Solomon) were the ones to watch and I think outside of Landon Jackson they are looked good to decent. The top of the line pass rushers the guys with 5+ years experience they aren't going all out in pre-season and they will look much different in the regular season. Now it is the case that the front 4 pass rush could be an issue. But I'm not ready to say it is an issue just yet based off one pre-season game...

He was in Josh’s wedding party, yeah I think he’s safe.

It’s the first drive of pre season…

Most teams don't have an average or even below average starter coming off the bench at safety let alone two guys who qualify as that both with a decent amount of starting experience. So while I do think the front line quality hinges a lot on Bishop who you hope can at least in year two be a better than average safety while you have two solid depth guys behind him if needed.

I think 2024 massively overachieving relative to expectations puts him on a 2 year window where his job is safe through next season. But I think that if playoff failures mount the Bills org will probably have the tough conversation after next season if they might just need a new voice in the locker room to get them over the hump?

INT’s aren’t really a marker of great DB play. Most often if you are really good you don’t get many INT’s because teams just don’t throw your way because guys aren’t open. Brown has been called one of the best RT’s in the league by many offensive line pundits a top 5-8 player there. And Dawkins was drafted in 2017 same year as Tre and Milano

Supposedly the Bills and Cook's agent were going to use the Williams deal as a guide for the Cook Deal. I also think the haggling now isn't about AAV as much as it is about guaranteed money.

Dawkins was drafted in 2017 and he is elite. People who know offensive line and secondary play consider Brown and Benford to be among the best players at their positions. Do I think the Bills need to find/develop 2-3 more of these types of players that are above the "good" tier that many Bills players drafted by the Bills are in? Yes, I think the Bills need to develop Kincaid into an elite top 5 TE and get Torrence to being one of the best guards in the NFL, I also think the Bills need to find at least 1 big time D-line difference maker and a player in the secondary that can also move the needle (hopefully Bishop). But I am also not going to sit here and act like some of the players they have drafted aren't home run picks either.

Chargers are just looking like a "Season from hell" team early on. Losing you star LT for the season in camp, breakout year 2 WR banged up early. Only thing I will say is that Harbaugh is such a good coach so that always helps with overcoming adversity...

If he gets paid in the Williams range (let's say 11-12 million) he's gonna be somewhere between the 6th to tied for 8th highest paid RB which is about in line with his talent level (top 10 back) and I think that's why the reports that both sides weren't that far apart are coming from. The Bills simply won't pay him 15 million but they probably are willing to pay him in the range of what Williams got which is probably in line with what his agent is willing to take plus or minus a bit.

The Depth at safety is decent, could it be better? Yes, but it is not bad all.

Hamlin is a capable safety if you gotta plug him in for a few games and they signed Forest from the Commannders who has a decent amount of starting experience and is a very good athlete. They even threw a mid round pick there. The depth at safety isn’t bad overall.

The Bills since 2023 have been a much more "physical" team on offense. I think the beefing up of the interior of the offensive line as well as Spencer Brown rebounding into a mauler at RT have changed the Bills offensive capabilities from a physicality standpoint. Defensively the results have been mixed. I think this off-season with the additions via the draft and free agency the Bills have attempted to get bigger and strong on the defensive line. So I am hoping that the Bills can do bully ball on both sides of the ball with a still strong and nasty offensive line and a bigger stronger defensive line.

I don't think anyone is saying Edmunds isn't a starting caliber player. But last season he was the third highest paid LB the season before in terms of cash spent he was the highest. He's a solid player being paid like an elite one. In fact Edmunds will probably either be cut or have his contract massively restructured after this season given that his cap his for next season is 17.4 million (which would be a top 7ish LB salary) and the dead cap is only 2.4 million.

I put the caveat that Shakir could take a step up and be one of the best slot WR's in the league which getting that in round 5 would be a home run. Benford grades out extremely well in all the advanced metrics, he's an elite top 5-10 corner which for a round 6 pick is a home run.

He drafted one of the best right tackles in the league in round 3 and he drafted one of the best corners in the league in round 6. I would say both of those picks were "homeruns" and I think we could be looking at several other picks like Shakir and Torrence in that same light soon...