billsfan89

The Bills drafted a player and signed a more athletic player in Forrest so would a undrafted player be better than Hamlin?

The lack of size on the D-line has been an issue. But I do think this off-season they made an attempt to address it. Bosa, Hoecht, and Jackson are all bigger guys off the edge. Walker is a big DT and while Larry O and Sanders aren't "big" they are both known to be good run defenders.

If you have "average" players on the bench that's pretty good depth no? The NFL is about surviving a season with good depth as much as it is about star power at the top of your roster. I don't know if you look at other teams rosters but most teams don't have good backups. This idea that we shouldn't have Hamlin a good ST player who can plug in as a below average starting caliber safety off the bench because this team should focus on developing unknown player with theoretical upside is just people doing neuance trolling and demanding perfection. The Bills even signed Forrest to try to add depth and drafted a player in the mid to late rounds. Who else were they supposed to sign for a 3rd/4th safety for 2 million dollars that was gonna provide more value than Hamlin?

I think Samuel starts on the PUP and Moore makes it as well as one of the other WR's. I think they like Moore more than we think for some reason. But it certainly is possible.

I won't put too much stock into pre-season against backups but I wouldn't hate seeing what the rookie has in game 3. It's pre-season so why not take a risk? I doubt they will start him but I also think Hamlin being a decent backup and good ST player is valuable enough for a depth safety spot. Fans acting like for 2 million salary the Bills had so many better options.

Andreesen needs a lot of work as a LB, he's not tragic but he's very smart to have leaned into playing Special Teams capably. It's also one of the reasons Hamlin is on the roster as he is a willing and positive special teams player as well as a capable backup. I think Andreesen is gonna be LB5/6 which is where you are OK with having someone whose maybe just a ST Ace with some upside to being a better backup. But he clearly needs another season of development before he can be counted on as a backup LB. Bills are lucky to have Williams and Shaq ahead of him so it is less likely he sees meaningful action.

Spencer Brown actually looked good in year 1, he was a bit up and down but in 2021 he plugged and played decently. It was 2022 where he had the off-season back surgery and he was one of the worst starting RT's in the league that year. All agreed on the other ones these players rarely have straight up trajectories. You probably need to see a player for 3 full seasons before you really have a good understanding of their NFL careers. And even then guys do "figure it out" in year 4 and beyond.

Hamlin by all accounts is a solid Special Teams player and as a backup he's a solid player if you gotta plug him in for injury. He's a cheap good backup who adds value on Special Teams. Not sure who is that much better off the bench? Are we really that thrilled with Forest or the rookie or Lewis?

Keon and Davis look to be nice additions to the roster we will see if they can ascend beyond role players but I think the early returns on them are thus far positive. Grable and Solomon also have flashed as later round pick depth finds, SVPG was also looking like a nice depth player but injury has derailed his year 2 thus far. The draft class however is hinging on Carter/Bishop the team is going to need one of those players to make an impact on the defense. If Keon is a solid WR2, Davis a nice RB2, Bishop is a starter at safety, and Solomon, SVPG, and Grable are nice depth players the draft class is a solid piece of business.

I am not putting too much stock into a pre-season game where starters were not played at all and the other team played their starters. I just don't see the need to panic. I will say that I was hoping Cole Bishop would have sealed up the starting safety spot opposite Rapp. Hamlin is not a bad guy to plug and play as a backup but this team may be looking at an in season trade at safety if the production level from Bishop isn't there.

Didn’t seem like the Bills played many starters. Are we really gonna be shocked that the Bears starters and primary role players beat the Bills second string up 28-0? The rest of the game was third and fourth stringers so pretty worthless.

VDM is the swing tackle anytime he gets plugged in or gets pre-season action he is solid he's also been in the system for over two seasons I think he's the swing tackle no reason to think he has been unseated by Grable or Lundt. So with the starting 5 and Anderson/VDM that takes you to 7 slots. I think they usually carry 9-10 O-line and I think likely they will carry 9. I think SVPG starts on PUP or goes to IR and they will reevaluate them. So then I think Grable and Lundt round out the last two spots on the bench. Grable with a year under his belt I think is someone they probably like as emergency depth and Lundt is probably the inactive 9th linemen they will develop.

Agreed, The Rams got off to hot starts from 2017-2021 despite not playing starters in the pre-season. So prior to the 3 game pre-season that trend of starters not playing had already been happening. Although I think with how wonky week 1-2 has been in recent seasons teams are rethinking that. Even the Rams the last three seasons have gotten off to slow starts. So I think teams realizing that the reduced off-season program are looking to get some work for starters in the pre-season so as not to come out soft to start the season.

What is his injury? I had hoped he could continue to develop as I liked him a lot coming out of the draft.

They could PUP List SVPG if his injury is lingering. 6 weeks would give him enough time to heal most likely. And if there is an injury along the online SVPG could add depth

They brought in another more athletic vet with some experience in Forrest and draft Bishop in round 2 last year. They even threw another mid-late round pick at it too. My hope is that we don't see Hamlin much because someone else took the job. But Hamlin isn't tragic either. He's sound, a solid tackler, and knows where to go and be. He is just limited athletically so he doesn't have the best range. He's a guy that doesn't screw up a lot but can be beat by smarter more athletic players. But he also is a quality backup and willing to play special teams so he's tremendous value on his cheap contract I actually don't mind seeing him come back next year on a cheap deal?

I do think KC will be as lucky in one score games and I do think that there is also some concern about their defense and wear and tear from making 3 Super Bowl runs. But I think their defense had 3 picks added to it in the first 3 rounds and Simmons along the offensive line could make an impact. I think KC is always formidable I think they win at a minimum 12 games and take a top 3 seed. Their defense if they don't get a big impact from 2-3 of their rookies could see some regression but their offense with the addition of Simmons possibly giving them a good or at least capable LT, Rice being back, Worthy in year 2 could be more of a weapon if healthy, Kelce is still there and could still produce, and there's a lot of veteran options at WR with Brown and Ju Ju neither scaring me all that much but each could have a game or two being highly productive. KC is still the team to beat in the AFC but I am hoping the Bills offense picks up right where it left off and the defense with the draft and free agency additions take a step up.

KC looks loaded again this year but their division looks to be more formidable with the Broncos looking like a legit tough out and the Chargers are well coached with solid talent. The Raiders this year should be less of a mess too. I think KC got a good pick in Simmons which should help their offensive line and they are getting Rice back when his presumed suspension is done. But I think it would be almost poetic that the Bills knock KC out of the playoffs and keep them from winning 4 straight AFC titles.

I think the Bills attempted to get bigger and more physical along the defensive line to matchup against the Ravens and KC much better. The Bills 2024 D-line while not small and not terrible against the run did have issues against bigger nastier offensive lines during the regular season. Walker is a mountain of a man but they also brought in Larry O who while not a massive player is known to be a good run defender as he has aged into his career. Joey Bosa is also considered an elite edge run defenders and Jackson is a big dude off the edge as well. Hoecht is also a bigger edge defender with a lot of versatility. Sanders is smaller but was known as a good run defender in college. The D-line is less likely to get pushed around this season than it was last season.

Jerry Jones likes generating headlines and keeping the Cowboys in the news. He took Lamb and Dak’s contracts down to the wire and he’s doing the same with Parsons

Most WR's who become full ***** heads usually attempt to behave during their rookie contracts. Once they get paid their destructive behavior escalates. But Bond doesn't seem to be able to keep it together to even get drafted. He just won't make it because while he was a capable on field talent well worthy of getting drafted somewhere in the 3-5 round range if not a little higher if he was clean off the field and tested better he also isn't some sort of generational talent that teams would be very willing to give second, third, and fourth chances to. Simply put he's earned nothing at the NFL level and is imploding before he even gets a chance which means he's never gonna be able to handle it.

The Bills after letting Pat Williams foolishly walk and then Sam Adams getting washed the Bills had a massive need for a run stuffing DT and Ngata was right there. One of the top DT's in the draft who fit the mold of what the Bills needed. The Bills could have in 2006 stabilized the interior of both sides of the ball with Mangold and Ngata and instead wound up with a decent safety and a bust DT...

The drought era Bills were just depressing to watch. Say what you will about Beane but even if you don't like his moves they at least make sense. 2022 this team was coming off having massive interior offensive line issues. They go out in 2023 and they sign Connor McGovern a starting caliber guard, they take a chance on David Edwards as a veteran reclamation project to add depth, and they draft what many consider to be the best pure guard in the draft in Torrence. The Bills in drought era would have signed two low end guards and drafted a player in round 5 and called it a day spending a 2nd round pick on a safety or some other lesser area of need. The Spiller pick and trading away Lynch is the most incomprehensible move of the drought. The whole 2010 draft set the Bills back 3-4 years because they could have in round 1 drafted an offensive linemen they were so desperate (Mike Iupati or Pouncey even Anthony Davis was productive for several seasons) and then taken Gronk in round 2 while still having Lynch in the backfield. The only draft that was worse was possibly 2006 where they could have had Ngata and Mangold and instead came up with Whitner and McCargo.

Well thankfully Josh's career isn't over yet? Keep the faith Josh's time will come...

I do think Jackson was viewed likely as someone that might need a year to develop despite enormous physical tools and potential. I think many teams drafting in round 1-2 and early round 3 are probably looking at getting prospects they feel are more likely to contribute in year one while also having higher end potential. Also you get GM's drafting to keep their jobs wanting a guys that are more likely to contribute right away so they can win an extra couple of games to keep their jobs or at least have a chance to. When reading about Landon it seemed like the consensus was that while he needed development he had a very high ceiling. I think most reports prior to the draft had him going in the mid 2nd to mid 3rd round range which he fell to the lower end of that range being the 8th pick of round 3. I also think the Bills don't have a dramatic need to draft a DE that's gonna contribute right away. They have Groot and AJE as young vets and they signed Bosa and Hoecht that's 4 starting or high rotation caliber players at DE. So they could afford to take a chance on a guy in round 3 as they could see if he can take on a back end rotation role and develop longer term.