billsfan89

I have no problem with the Bills ST spending, ST is an important part of the game and represents about 20% of snaps in an NFL game. Having 3-5 good core ST players beyond the long snapper, punter and kicker specialists allows you to have a strong ST unit and play well during a critical 20% of the game.

David would be a possible upgrade at MLB but what would it cost and how long would they be tied to him? Not a fan of breaking the bank for a 33-year-old linebacker no matter how good he may be. Still worth checking out what the market is for him a one-year 10 million dollar deal wouldn't be terrible.

McGovern is a nice start, a plug-and-play guard at an average to above-average level who can flex into center if needed. But I would like to see a vet RT even another mid-level player brought in to compete with Spencer Brown and add depth. The Bills from 2019 to 2021 had decent depth on the O-line. In 2022 that depth was lacking. Queese was seemingly the only decent backup. The Bills need to enter into the season with another high-quality IOL depth player, an heir apparent at center for Mitch drafted in rounds 3-5 and a quality RT option to compete with Spencer Brown at a minimum. I would have liked a higher-end guard than McGovern but I can live with it if more depth is added to the O-line as a result of going with a somewhat cheaper option.

Poyer was a no-name free agent in 2017. I and many others questioned why a player with only 10 starts under his belt was getting a 4-year deal coming off an injury to boot. But that of course panned out in a major way. McD will need to do more with less on defense. From 2019 to 2022 the major draft picks and cap dollars skewed toward the defense. Now the offense which hasn't seen nearly enough love needs more resources to support the franchise QB. So McD will have to make due with mid to late-round picks and lower-tier to mid-tier free agents to plug these gaps.

I was and still am a fan of Edumonds but there is no way this team could have ponied up 18 million aav with a big guarantee for him. He is a good player and in free agency good young players get paid like elite players. The Bears had the luxury of overpaying for a good player, they don't have a lot of big contracts and their QB is on a rookie deal. This team will have to find a way to replace the production of Edumonds who was very good in coverage and esp this past season solid against the run. But I would rather invest the cap dollars on offense and try to replace Edumonds cheaply in the draft or with a lower mid-level free agent.

One less ST and offensive role player hope to fill and some cap savings all around a solid transaction.

Pick 59 and a 2024 conditional 3rd that can escalate to a second round pick.

PFF graded him poorly in 2022 but good in 2021 and decent in 2020. However, Cowboys fans seem to think he is a decent to above-average player so that's a good eye test. The money isn't crazy for a player of his caliber. A young starting caliber guard with positional flexibility is worth the cost. I would ideally like to a vet RT brought in to compete with Brown and another lower end vet guard brought in for more depth.

Ramsey was graded out well by PFF in 2022 despite the Rams down season but I have always found Ramsey to be overrated, a very good player at times but not the elite player he is often stated to be. I am not really concerned about this, the Fins should have spent their resources on the O-line as opposed to their defense.

Fair points and good analysis, I figured that rumor about him being available for a 2nd at the deadline was a good indicator of his value. If it would cost pick 27 and other draft considerations I am not sure if I do it. Diggs while having a fairly large contract was coming off back-to-back 1000-yard seasons and established a level of production higher than Jeudy who was very up and down in his pro career.

It was rumored he was available at the trade deadline this past season for a second-round pick. He now has one less year on his rookie deal (only one remaining) and a not super cheap 5th-year option. Perhaps a 3rd and a 4th in 2024 that could escalate to a 3rd is maybe more than other teams are willing to offer? If no team was willing to pony up a 2nd at the trade deadline then why would a team now give up a 1st? It may take more than a 3rd and a future 4th/3rd but it shouldn't take a 1st rounder to get it done either.

Genuine question, if he is an RB prospect on the level of Saquon Barkley or even a CMC or Zeke why would he be available at pick 27? I think he is a very good firm first-round RB but not an elite prospect on those other players' levels. If he is there at pick 27 I would pass I think you get more impact and value from taking an O-line player or another player at a glaring need.

I think the Bills can land a top 3 guard for around 9.5 million aav which I would be happy with. If the Bills do all the restructuring they can they should have some good space to work with not crazy amounts but if they get Hines to take a modest pay cut and restructure what they can and do some cap magic they could have between 40-50 million in cap space depending on if they want to extend Oliver, cut Tim Settle and work out some other deals and restructures. I can't see the Bills getting multiple big pieces like some people want to sign a top 3 guard and a top-end RT. That's simply not doable. But one big ticket item to plug a big hole is possible while still having enough to spread around some mid-level and lower mid-level contracts to other ends of the roster.

The 2017 and 2018 Bills draft classes were amazing but the 2019-2022 draft classes thus far have been OK. The Bills in 2017-2018 hit a lot of "home runs" and "triples". I would say that Josh Allen, Tre White, and Matt Milano were home-run picks while Dion Dawkins, T.Johnson, and Edmonds were triples so to speak. Whereas from 2019 to 2022 the team has hit a lot of single and double. The Bills have found productive players who can start at an effective level or play a role such as Knox, Singletary, Ed Oliver, Groot, Elam, Davis, AJ and Dane Jackson but they have not had any truly elite players or even "very good" players come out of those drafts outside of Bass who is a ST player. I still hold out hope for Groot, Elam, Cook and others to take that next step but the 2019 draft class and 2020 draft classes don't look like they will be producing that type of player. The two best players in those drafts are Knox and Ed Oliver, both are solid starting caliber players but neither is elite or close to being a "Pro Bowl" caliber player. If the Bills hope to win a Super Bowl they need more development from the 2021 and 2022 classes and a good impact from the 2023 class.

The drafting under McBeane has been better which is a huge reason why they have been winning in recent years. From 2017-2018 the team found All-Pro talents in Josh Allen, Matt Milano, and Tre White, they also found Pro-Bowl caliber talents in Dion Dawkins and Edumonds and some underrated players like T.Johnson. 2019-2022 has not been as strong but they have consistently hit on productive players. Elam, Cook, and Groot have a lot of potential and already are starting caliber players, Knox is a top 10 player at his position, Bass is a stud kicker, and the level of production from other players like Davis, Singletary, Ed Oliver, Dane Jackson, and AJ has been positive. And there is still hope for late bloomers in Boogie, Spencer Brown, Shakir, and others. I also disagree that the Bills have never found elite talent in later rounds. Matt Milano was a 5th-round pick but going back even father Jason Peters is a Hall of Famer that was undrafted by the Bills and was a stud his few years here before being traded for a 1st and 4th. Kyle Williams was a 5th-round pick and an All-Pro/Pro-Bowl talent for a stretch of time. On top of that, Pat Williams was an undrafted player and was a stud. I think you are not really giving credit to a player like Jason Peters who was one of the best-undrafted players of all time or other very good to great late-round and undrafted players the Bills have had come through. Outside of Kurt Warner, Brady, and a few others, I can't really think of too many transcendent players that went undrafted or were drafted very late.

I would rather take an O-line player with a high second-round grade than an RB with a firm first-round grade. Cook is going to be a very good RB I don't think Robinson presents enough of an upgrade to warrant spending pick 27 on him esp if the O-line is made worse for it. I also disagree that OG, RT, MLB and S have less value than a RB. Given how RB's are paid compared to those other positions I would say the value of those positions is equal or higher. I would also rather fill a defensive need than go with Robinson at RB. Robinson while a really good prospect is not that generational type of RB prospect or else he likely wouldn't be there at pick 27. If Robinson were a CMC, Zeke, Barkley or Adrian Peterson generational-type top 10 pick RB I would say if he were there at pick 27 you could argue it. But Robinson is just not that type of prospect in my opinion.

It's why more and more players are retiring earlier. through the 2000's it was pretty common to see a player play 10-12+ years in the league at most positions. Now players seemingly retire after about 8 or so years.

No more running backs taken up high, this team just spent a 2nd round pick on a RB in the previous draft and that RB had a nice end to his rookie season. No need to draft one at 27 when other pressing needs will need to be addressed.

A third alone wouldn’t likely get it done which is why I think you would have to include a 2024 pick. Ideally a 4th that could escalate to a 3rd. I would consider pick 59 for Jeudy and pick 194.

NFL free agency is hard to predict. I would have predicted a guard like Alex Cappa who was a starting guard for 3 seasons including being on a Super Bowl-winning team while grading out very highly at age 27 would have gotten a 10+ million dollar contract. He signed for 8.75 million aav. Not cheap but not some massive contract either.

A lot of fans myself included loved his acquisition in 2017. He was the only real "big name" signing that off-season for the Bills who seemingly only signed him, a kicker in Haush, and some no named safety named Poyer. Obviously, we didn't know what they had in Poyer and the overall strategy of staying mostly flexible in the coming seasons until a QB was in place. But Hyde was the acquisition that all of the fans loved, hoping he has one more good season in him.

The Bills have had late-round or undrafted gems. In the drought, the late-round picks and undrafted players were actually not the issues. Jason Peters was undrafted and flipped for a 1st and a 4th. Peerless Price while a 2nd round pick was flipped for a 1st at the height of his value. Jabari Greer and Fred Jackson were undrafted players with a good degree of success. Stevie Johnson, D'Norris Searcy, Nigel Bradham, Terrance McGee and Kyle Williams were mid to late-round picks who panned out well. The issue with the Bills drafting particularly during the drought was struggling to draft well in the early rounds and free agency. The Bills had so many busts in rounds 1-3 from 2002-2016 and the players they hit on that were productive were rarely dynamic players. There were a lot of Donte Whitner type successes where they were solid players but nothing special.

The Bills have by far the best QB situation and a solid supporting roster. I am not too worried about the AFC East just yet. The Jets trading for an average safety is not worrying me. If there is one thing I trust McBeane on it is the secondary. If McBeane felt like Chuck Clark wasn't a fit for replacing Poyer then it likely wasn't a good fit. Poyer in 2017 was a no-name player. Prior to coming to Buffalo Poyer started 10 games for the Browns over 2 seasons and wasn't graded out very high in the games he did start. Many fans were puzzled why in 2017 he got a 4-year deal with 7 million guaranteed. But he far exceeded the contract and even got an extension. Levi Wallace was an undrafted free agent who played fairly well in the system, Dane Jackson was a 6th-round pick and has been a capable starting corner, Dean Marlowe and Hamlin have played decently at times. If there is one aspect of the team I do think the Bills can find players at it is the secondary.

At RB I would like to have the trio that ended last season back. But only if Hines takes a modest paycut and Singletary can be had at a reasonable 3.5-4 million rate. If neither happens go with a vet RB to replace Singletary at that cost and then draft a late-round back to replace Hines as a returner and depth. At backup QB I would like to go after a Mitch Trubisky reclamation project. Sam Darnold is a great candidate for this or just bring back Keenum if he is cheap. At WR I would trade pick 91 and a pick in 2024 for Jerry Jeudy. Jeudy has two years left on his rookie deal and is coming off of a pretty good season considering Denver's terrible offensive situation last year. Having Josh to throw to him and Diggs to take away coverage attention would make Jeudy a great slot WR. I would then draft a WR in round 4 as depth and development. I like Shakir's chances to make an impact but this team needs depth and adding Jeudy and getting a WR in round 4 would assure Josh has all the weapons he needs and help if Davis is gone after 2023 and Jeudy after 2024. At TE I love Knox and Morris is a capable backup, not much needed there. O-line is where the cap dollars need to go. I would sign one of the top guards in free agency in Dalton Risner or Ben Powers. Although I would love a top-flight RT like Mike McGlinchey too I don't know if that is realistic. After signing Risner or Powers I would then like to see some more depth added to the O-line a swing tackle or a vet guard would be a nice piece to add. In round 1 I would draft a tackle to compete with Brown and in round 2 I would draft a center to take over for Mitch after a season. No more half-measures on the O-line. Defensively I am not investing too much but I would resign J. Philips and Shaq to one-year deals if their rates are reasonable. Edumonds and Poyer are gone which I am fine with (although I would have liked to resign Edumonds but you have to live with it). Resign AJ Klein and Dane Jackson as well. I would also invest small cap dollars to replace Poyer and Edumonds but only with lower mid-tier players in the 4-7 million dollar aav range. Draft picks Round 1- O-line Round 2- O-line Round 3- Traded for Jerry Jeudy Round 4- WR Round 5- D-line Round 6- BPA

Unless the market for Edumonds is not there for some reason and the Bills can hop in on a more reasonable deal yeah he is gone. Good for him to get his money. Hopefully the Bills realize that they should be investing more in the offense.