billsfan89

Bordine graded out very poorly and most Bengals fans will tell you that he wasn't that good (so he passes neither the eye test or advanced metrics.) I think having an experienced center as a backup isn't bad but I wouldn't count on him as a starter. Newhouse and Mills are about equal, both would be capable backups but neither are great starters. Groy and Dawkins are the only starters on the line I am comfortable with, Miller at RG I am 50/50 on, if the staff feels Miller will convert to the new scheme then at best you still are down 2 starters at LG and RT.

InCog's retirement means that there is a glaring hole at LG now. Even if you are comfortable with Groy at Center (Which I am) and Dawkins at LT (Which I am) and the regime feels like John Miller in a new scheme will turn it around at RG there still are 2 glaring holes along the O-line. I think you have to see a fairly high pick along the O-line.

I wonder what Lamar Jacksons grade is. Jackson is a risky pick since he needs to polish up his fundamentals a lot and he could use some maturity. But Jackson has unmatched athleticism for a QB, the most athletic QB prospect since Cam Newton and arguably the best athlete at QB since Vick came out. Jackson is super fast, he has a cannon arm, and while he might not come off as the brightest kid he by all accounts has a good work ethic and has football smarts. I think Jackson has the highest ceiling of any QB in this draft. Jackson could develop into what Vick was on the Eagles that one magic season but unlike Vick who wasted a lot of his physical prime in Atlanta relying on his athleticism and not working hard, Jackson could acquire that passing capability much earlier in his physical prime. 2010 Eagles Vick was a QB that you could win a Super Bowl with. Vick never sustained that level of success with the Eagles because he was already 30 by the time he got into the right system and he had sustained major injuries in Atlanta (Plus rules protecting the QB weren't as good back in the 00's as they are now.) Jackson is a project but he is a tantalizing project. I wouldn't trade up for Jackson but if the top 4 QB's are gone by pick 6 then I don't think Jackson at pick 12 is a bad fall back. The team would still have 4 picks remaining in the top 65 to address other needs and can build a better team around AJ while Jackson sits for at least 2 seasons.

1:12 Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma 1:22 Vita Vea NT Washington 2:21 Harrison Phillips DE Stanford 2:23 Chukwuma Okorafor OT Western Michigan 3:1D.J. Moore WR Maryland 3:32 Alex Cappa OT Humboldt St. 4:21Auden Tate WR Florida St. 5:29 Jalen Davis CB Utah St. 6:13 Lowell Lotulelei DT Utah This simulator is a bit awful. No way Mayfield is there at 12, Vea there at 22 is also a stretch.

If the Giants take Barkley at 2 for some reason, then the Browns will be in business at pick 4. They get their QB at pick 1 and then without Barkely their at 4 I think they certainly would turn down 12, 22, and a 2nd next year for pick 4. The Browns could get their QB and draft 12, 22, 33, 36, and 64, while pocketing a 2nd in 2019 (Which would hypothetically give them an extra 3rd and 2nd in 2019 thanks to the Danny Shelton trade.) But that being said I don't think the Giants pass on Rosen or Darnold.

Jackson at 12 was smart, he is a project but he has Michael Vick levels of athleticism and ability, but unlike Vick he has a good work ethic and willingness to learn. I would go O-line at pick 22, the right side of the line is a mess and outside of Dawkins and Groy there isn't a lot of youth along the O-line. Take someone to fix the right side and fill out some more needs in round 2.

The Bills were a mid-level team that got lucky, good turnover luck, some tiebreakers fell the teams way, and they had enough talent to beat bad teams.

You can contend with a game manager as a QB if you have a great defense, good to great special teams unit, and a lot of talent surrounding the QB. Most recently Denver proved that you don't need a dynamic QB to win a Super Bowl. However, since 2000 only 3 teams have really accomplished a title without at least a top 10 QB (Ravens 2000, Tampa Bay 2002, and Denver 2015 only other one you can argue is Ravens 2012 but 2012 Joe Flacco had a good regular season and an amazing postseason.) So at best you have 4 teams out of 18 that won a Super Bowl without top 10 play at Quarterback. So if you look at the percentages not having a top 10 QB is a huge impediment to winning and contending consistently. Even considering the fact that paying a QB close to 20% of your cap compromises other aspects of your roster it still is a tremendous advantage to have a top 10 QB considering how hard it is to have an effective and consistent offense without one. Tons of teams with a stacked roster but subpar QB's make the playoffs and some even win games or make it to the Super Bowl. But eventually, in the playoffs, you run into a team that has a top 10 QB and a capable defense and your team will more than likely lose. You also still run into cap issues even if you aren't paying a QB much. Your best defensive players and the best players in other parts of the offense will want to get paid sooner rather than later. So it isn't like building up the rest of the roster and going cheap on a QB is sustainable more so than paying a top QB a lot of money either. The cap, injuries, and players getting older will always make consistent contention almost impossible in the NFL. Unless you have the perfect storm like the Pats* where you have a top 3 QB willing to take less money, a HOF coach, and a consistently bad division then consistent contention will always be next to impossible to achieve.

If the Browns pass on Darnold for Allen they are !@#$ing up on a grand scale. If the Bills trade up to 2 and Darnold is there then they should take him in 10 seconds.

If the Bills were to dump 4 of their 5 premium picks to get a QB this year they still would have a 2 top 96 picks to acquire talent plus mid-round picks to sure up depth. I also think you are underestimating the windfall of cap space this team is about to get in 2019. In 2019 most of the remaining significant contracts on the team are able to be ousted with little cap penalties. The Bills could easily get 20-30 million more in cap space by cutting players towards the back end of their deals. It's fairly easy to think that the Bills could have a QB in place with a full draft class and 100 million or more to spend. 2018 is about finding the QB, 2019 is about getting a lot of talent around that QB.

I wouldn't mind signing Meredith and trying to get White for a 7th or 6th next year. The Bills receiving core beyond Benjamin and the hope of Zay Jones bouncing back is pretty bleak. Take a flyer on both players and draft a player in the 3rd or 2nd. There isn't much left on the market so take a chance on some players and if one pans out that's a lot of help.

That's a steep price, I wouldn't hate it since it fills the Bills 2 biggest needs while still having picks 56, 65, and 96 to address some other needs. But considering the massive deal Odell would require and the fact that Odell is a headache I would pass, I would rather offer 12, 22, 53, 96, and a mid rounder next year for pick 2 and a late round pick (Helps replace some of the volume the team loses in picks.) Odell as talented and dynamic as he is just doesn't fit the profile of the organization.

I wouldn't put tight end as a primary need. QB, WR, LB RT, and RG are the urgent needs this team faces in that order I would put Tight End up there but because Clay is still good when healthy and O'Leary is a capable backup (And Logan Thomas a decent 3rd string player) I don't think they have to address TE at the moment.

One of the few positions on the team where you can be a me guy instead of a we guy is punter or kicker. King is a good punter but he was being paid like the best punter in the league and that was just not tenable. You can't overpay for a punter. I would love to have King, Schmidt is mediocre but I don't see the Bills paying the price to land him.

B+ seems accurate, Star fills a big void on defense, Murphy helps out the pass rush, Vonta Davis fills in for Gaines, and there were some decent depth signings. Considering the limited cap space the team managed to fill some needs which is a good thing.

Tight ends take some time to develop and with Clay and O'Leary in place for the upcoming season it might be smart to take a tight end this season, Clay gets hurt a lot so depth is always a good idea and even if Clay stays healthy having an heir apparent in place who can learn for a year is a good idea.

I like Mayfield, Rosen, and Darnold a bit better as prospects, I think they are more complete and pro-ready players. Darnold and Rosen could come in and start for a team and be better served getting the experience, Mayfield probably should sit for a year or most of a year. Jackson probably should sit for 2 years in an ideal situation. But I don't know why Josh Allen gets more hype than Jackson. I would much rather have Jackson as a project than Allen as a project. I think teams are biased against Jackson for a variety of reasons, some valid some not. I think scouts are falling in love with Allen for a lot of silly reasons. But I do think that Jackson has the most potential as a prospect than any QB in this draft. But Rosen, Darnold, and Mayfield are less of a project and less risky even if their ceilings are a bit lower. Allen I think is completely overrated. He reminds me of Jay Cutler hype wise coming out of the draft. Now Cutler didn't have a bad pro-career at all but he never was a top level QB, at best he was a top 15 QB for several years here or there but he never lived up to the hype that some placed on him in the draft process. Scouts are falling in love with Allen's big arm much like scouts fell in love with Cutler's big arm. But I think Allen's fundamentals and decision making are suspect.

I fear that the Browns will want Barkley too badly at 4 and the Broncos want Mayfield at 5. There just might not be a trade to be had at almost any reasonable price. I wouldn't mind taking Lamar Jackson at 12 and using the rest of the picks to fill out the rest of the roster. If you can't get Mayfield or one of the top non-Allen QB's then go for a project QB like Jackson with massive potential and build the rest of the team up around AJ.

Vick going to jail humbled him a lot and he sat his first year in Philly where he got to learn under Andy Reid's QB friendly system. So by his second year in Philly he was fresh (He had some serious injuries in Atlanta), in a system he knew well, had great weapons (Shady, Maclin, and DeSean Jackson) and still possessed his fantastic athletic ability. It all came together but his follow-up seasons were hampered by injury (Although his follow-up season wasn't bad.) Had Atlanta Michael Vick been developed properly he would have been an MVP caliber QB for 8-10 years. I see that level of raw athleticism and throwing ability in Jackson. Jackson also does lack some fundamentals and doesn't seem to be the brightest kid. BUT the big difference I see with Jackson and Vick coming out of college is that Jackson seems to be a more coachable person and Jackson has a willingness to be a complete player as a QB. I think Jackson is a project for sure, lots to develop as a player and as a person. But what he can develop into is insane.

I think Jackson's ceiling is Eagles Michael Vick. Vick on the Eagles worked so well for that one season or two. He was dynamic yet smart with his legs and a much more willing passer and capable of establishing his passing ability early in games.

Problem is that if Barkley is at 4 the Browns might be unwilling to trade, get your QB for the future and the best player in the draft while still having 3 second round picks to build up the rest of your roster is a hell of a proposition. Then the Broncos could swoop in at 5 and take Mayfield or whoever the last of the 4 remaining QB's are. That's the worst-case scenario for the Bills QB wise. In that event, I could see the Bills taking a flyer on Lamar Jackson as an uber high potential project. Jackson, in my opinion, could be the highest potential prospect at QB but you have to be willing to sit him for 2 seasons to get him comfortable in a system and polish up his fundamentals. If the Bills miss out why not take Jackson and use the rest of the picks to build up the rest of the team around AJ.

I think Jackson is very coachable and a lot of what he is doing honestly seems to come from a place of really wanting to be a QB. That's what I like about him, he might not be the brightest kid but he has a good attitude and seems to want to become a complete player. That's why I think that if the Bills were to take him at 12 with the intention of sitting him for 2 seasons it could turn out to be a fantastic long-term move.

The Falcons !@#$ed up Vick big time by not having him sit for 2 years. The Falcons under the back end years of Reeves and under Jim Mora were not going to mold Vick into the player they needed him to be. To the Falcons credit they did sit him for most of his rookie season but they rushed him into action and while he played well he was going to never develop into the QB that was going to win consistently. If the Bills or any team is going to draft Jackson I think it has to be with the intention to sit him for 2 seasons and build him up.

Jackson just turned 21, he is a young guy who probably was more focused on football than on academics (he also did not go to a very good academic high school) but as a football player and as an athlete this guy has loads of ability. But Jackson needs to be in the right environment to develop as a person and as a football player. Hypothetically if the top 4 QB's are taken in the top 5 picks (I would make a play for any QB besides Allen) and Jackson is there at 12 I take him. I bench him for 2 seasons behind AJ and I use picks 22, 53, 56, 65, and 96 to build up the rest of the roster around AJ. Jackson has Vick type athleticism but he honestly needs to develop his fundamentals and his ability to know an NFL playbook. AJ played for a Sabin in college and he played for a respected coach in Marvin Lewis for 4 seasons (say what you will about Marvin Lewis but he has led 7 teams to the playoffs including a stretch of making it to the playoffs 6 out of 7 years.) I think AJ can manage this team for 2018 and 2019 into the playoffs while Jackson learns the offensive system and works on his fundamentals. A low Wonderlic is a concern but I also have to look at this kid as a man and think about what type of environment he grew up in and what type of guidance he needs to be a successful pro. I think that the Bills could offer him that type of guidance and place him in a good system.

I think you can win with a QB that can run but he has to develop into a QB that can work out of the pocket and use his legs. Jackson has Vick levels of ability but he needs to work on his fundamentals and grasp an NFL offense. Cam Newton is a great example of a QB that can throw and run. Running QB's get a bad wrap because a lot of them don't function well out of the pocket and coaches bias fans against that style of play. I think if the top 4 QB's go in the top 5 picks with no trade up being available and Jackson is sitting there at pick 22 the Bills should take him, you have so many other picks to fill other needs and build a team around AJ for 2018 and allow Jackson to just work on becoming a QB for a couple of years.