BADOLBILZ

Yeah, I kid............but if some team is going to get themselves in a position where they can't do the math to get themselves under the salary cap.............and challenge the league on what they are going about it..........its definitely the New Orleans Saints. The league isn't going to not let them play just because they are over the cap. The players association won't let the league force the Saints to not play players that they have under contract. The one thing we do know is that draft penalties have always been noted........and it makes sense as it is one thing the league can control. So what if the Saints decide to clear their future cap in 2025 and go into a season $150M over the cap? If the punishment is just one season of no draft picks...........that sure as hell beats the kind of tear down that the Bills did in the early 2000's. It will be interesting to follow because that is definitely the direction the Saints are going..........they haven't changed their spots one bit despite mounting future debt.

I don't underestimate Davis.........I judge him on his merit.........which is as a 500-600 yard type big play receiver.......albeit facing mostly 3rd-4th CB's in his first two seasons..........with notable bouts of inconsistency and nagging foot/ankle injuries. Cinci has 3 young/prime age WR's who have already put up 1,000 yard plus seasons in their careers and combined for 3,400 last season. LA Chargers have two proven 1,000 yard receivers in Allen/Williams. Miami has 100 catch + 1,000 yard Jaylen Waddle and added the big producing Tyreek Hill. So yeah, it's not an act of excess AT ALL for the Bills to be seeking a player to challenge the inconsistent and only modestly productive Gabe Davis and supplant 30 year old journeyman Jake Kumerow on the depth chart. It's not a position of good depth for the Bills.

Yeah I've lamented the Bills being undersized at NT during those SB years.......in part because Smerlas was NOT undersized..........but in reality guys like Buffalo born Jim Burt were even smaller at NT than Wright and held up fine for NYG and SF. NT's in the 80's and early 90's weren't the enormous individuals they are now. Dallas O-line was actually one of the reasons NT's started getting bigger. Aside from center their OL was enormous for the day.

Sadly, the Bills NT across from Stepnoski in those SB's was also in the 260's.

Playing on islands is not how the Bills CB's operate.........including Tre White. White isn't great because he can run in lock step with the best WR's in the league.........he's not a shut down man coverage CB........he excels because he is instinctive and aware and physical and has outstanding ball skills...........traits that are showcased in the Bills zone system. He's a modern day version of Rhonde Barber(former 3rd rounder and many time All Pro Tampa-2 zone CB)..........not a lockdown, "island" man CB. You don't need to draft those traits in round 1. Maybe it's unrealistic to keep using undrafteds and 6th rounders and still keep getting top ranked pass defense's like they've done so far...........but that doesn't mean you have to go to round 1 and overdraft the position.

Yeah Moss and Megatron are the two most "talented" WR's in NFL history..........if Moss had his head right and was committed to being great he would own all receiving records. The numbers he put up he did so without being fully invested in being great.........it came easy for him. There is A LOT of distance between being a star WR in the NFL and being of the talent level of those kind of greats.

You had Fehoko and Imatorbhebhe backward.

Troy Anderson His draft slot may not end up aligning with good value for an off-ball LB but he's a guy who I think has a chance to be tremendous in the Bills defensive system.

He was both the best RB prospect in that draft, IMO.........and still a low ceiling option to use that pick on.

I think the comp I've settled on is Vincent Jackson. Jackson was basically unrecruited..........went to Northern Colorado because they were the only one to offer a scholarship........somehow excelled as a punt and kick returner despite his size........had the size and speed but very little refinement to his game entering the NFL.........entered the league at 22 as opposed to the 20-21 year olds who were 4-5 star prospects..........and had a long career of big production as primarily a deep threat. Watson is a little lighter and considerably faster than Jackson but there are a lot of similarities. Seems like a smart, well spoken guy like Jackson was as well. Jackson ended up being a second round steal but his rise in the draft process was very similar to what we are seeing with Watson........early on Jackson seemed like a late round flyer kinda' guy and rose all the way up to second round. I was a little concerned with Watson's narrow frame..........I was thinking more along the lines of Marquez Valdes-Scantling.........but I think he's going to be much better than the less than physical MVS. Although MVS has gotten paid too.

Their defensive system is built around executing a complex zone scheme...........they aren't "hiding" a CB2 in zone.........that's what they play. And even if they invest the equivalent of a $20M+ chip into a CB in round 1........that CB is still going to mostly be doing the things that Levi and Dane have been asked to do. They aren't going to be running a "box and one" concept where one CB with good man cover skills is running around rogue while the rest of the defense is adhering to their zone concepts/responsibilities. The Bills drafting a stud cover talent at CB is akin to drafting a deep threat WR when your QB can't get the ball over the top of a defense.........it's talent totally wasted if you can't use it.

The Bills need a corner in the same way that they needed a guard when Ryan Bates was a free agent still........and then suddenly didn't. Many fans have this "on paper" notion in their head that drafting a stud cover CB means that player is going to be chasing Tyreek Hill around the field...........and that's not how the Bills play defense. No matter how early you draft that guy he's mostly going to be asked to drop back and make the plays in front of him............a job late rounders and UDFA's have proven to be very adequate at in the Bills defense DESPITE a lack of finishing pass rush in recent seasons. So the Bills may not need a receiver in round 1 but they also don't need a CB with elite man cover skills........which is what you'd BETTER be getting if you invest a 1st rounder in one.

I'll go back to me tryna' sell TSW on the Bills standing pat and drafting the best defensive player in the 2014 draft....... Aaron Donald........when the Bills already had a stacked DL.........they didn't "need" one right then..........but first round picks aren't necessarily about 1st year results. Dude became the best defensive player of this century so far and is still playing at a superstar level. And Gabe Davis doesn't have the All Pro track record of those Bills DL .......... he is a 500-something yard receiver the past 2 seasons. He is a projection who failed to beat out a tired Emmanuel Sanders, struggled with a foot injury yet again, had a terrible in-season game where he had like 3 catches on 13 targets and also had a costly drop in the Jags loss and missed the second NE game entirely because he wore too much tinfoil under his helmet. People are so fixated on the playoff game vs KC that they think the Bills have the best 1-2 combo in the league or something. They don't.

I'd hope that Beane has learned the folly of throwing good draft picks at RB's of this ilk.

He was DK Metcalf-like size/speed athlete who was a star QB in the SEC but didn't have much in the "want to" department.

Any of those WR's and Dotson........except London..........over any likely CB option available........and I've probably gotten to the point where I'd add Christian Watson and put him over Burks. If I thought the Bills were going to become more opponent specific and play more man coverage my opinion of CB value might be different...........but going CB twice in round 1 in 6 years when playing zone coverage doesn't add up, IMO.

Yeah they need more WR talent being in this AFC arms race.........even if they are totally in on Davis as a perennial 1,000+ yard type receiving option. I don't question the talent of the dog in the fight but maybe the fight in said dog........in the dog days of last regular season he was on the f*cking porch. He was more of a meh than a positive until the games started getting interesting and higher profile. If he just turns into a "playoff Gabe" character that's fine..........as long as they have someone else to be the man.

Clever move by the Saints. They know they are going to be too far over the cap to even participate in the draft in 2023 and 2024 so getting picks while the getting is still good. Reminds me of when George Allen traded the same pick twice......... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/04/16/redskins-george-allen-traded-same-pick-twice-before-74-draft/

I'm less worried about roles than I am the overall talent..........the only top regular season producer they have is Diggs. Davis may be able to do it but we don't know if he can. In a league with so many good receivers..........being all-in on a 500-600 yard WR as your #2 and having Jake Kumerow as his backup........that is more of a problem that it would have been a decade ago, IMO. I was less than impressed with Davis not taking playing time away from the tired Sanders sooner last year.........and that dreadful game he had where he was like 3-13 on targets......and that killer drop late in the Jax game....there is reason to wonder if he can bring the intensity/focus to be exceptional week in and week out, IMO.

Yep, 3 of the top 6 guards changing teams in a 12 month span..........and no banks actually broken and one day 3 pick liquidated. Imagine 3 of the top 6 All pass rushers getting their deals re-opened or traded and consider the $ and draft capital that would be changing hands.

Top 5 players in their prime signing for $16M aav is cheap, Hapless. To put it in perspective..........Von Miller is a top 20-25 pass rusher in the league now(including some interior rushers) and his advanced age suggests his trajectory is flat or downward........he's certainly not up there in the top 5 with the young guns like these guards in question.............and he got MORE $ than Scherff who is still in his prime. As did Chandler Jones. If Miller were top 5 and similarly unrestricted in his prime he'd be getting a $25M-$30M aav contract. Maxx Crosby wasn't even free and got 4 year $94M this offseason. It's not complicated...........premium positions are worth a lot more. So while you may not find $16M aav cheap for an All Pro........it actually is, relatively speaking.

Well, I mean.........you are only a Bills fan because you were following Josh Allen..........you root for the player first, team is relative............the majority of the fanbase is here to root for the laundry. And actually Diggs going out on top would give him hero/cult status among the types of fans who worship Freddie Jackson and Kyle Williams etc.. This as opposed to underperforming his contract and bitterly playing out the string under fan/media scrutiny........which seems inevitable if a new contract takes him into his mid-30's. For people who are attached to the player it might be a good ending while preparing the Bills for sustained success.

Like I said, sometimes every box is checked. This year the best of a good UFA group was just Brandon Scherff who is generally considered among the 3-5 best OG's in the league(1st team All Pro in 2020).........and is still in his prime. Joe Thuney is also one of those top 3-5 OG's in the league and he was a fully unrestricted free agent who changed teams last offseason. Shaq Mason is more of a top 7-8 OG in the league and he just got traded for a 5th round pick while on a team friendly contract. There is no shortage of examples of how easy it is to get one of the best OG's in the league without investing an early round pick. You're welcome.

Yep, correct, my bad. My point about the defensive scheme is the same though...........the defense began playing better ONLY when the team itself wratched up the intensity mid-way thru the Bucs game. This after 2 months of intermittent sleep walking as a team. They made stops in that second half in Tampa to get them back in the game and played better defense the rest of the season. The idea that the Bills secondary cost them a chance at the SB doesn't jive with what happened with the SB winner..........even Ramsey and the great Rams pass rush got torched in Tampa..........but they made it thru anyway. They outscored the Bucs to move on. The Bills didn't outscore the Chiefs.........they got too conservative on some drives and took the ball out of Josh Allen's hands and that combined with having 2 less possessions is what got them beat. (And yes, they had two less possessions.......first half was even........Chiefs had the first possession of the second half and the last 2 possessions of the game.)

There are 3 good reasons to never select a guard or in round 1. Money. Organizational impact. Successful habits. 1) You can always buy a very good guard or two cheap in UFA.........sometimes all pro's with no perceived liabilities and in their mid 20's even............this is RARELY the case with players at premium positions. Not only can drafting a player at a big $ position save you money in the first contract but it gives you a chance to have negotiating leverage on that player prior to the first contract ending. The savings can be substantial and the tens of millions we are talking about have real value. 2) As far as organizational impact........guards rarely have the opportunity to actually change games on the field.........that's usually done by QB's with significant assistance from edge/island players. This is why the money flows the way it does in the NFL. You want to be good at the LOS but you don't need to draft interior lineman early to be good at the point of attack. And as an aside they don't move the needle off of the field by making your team more interesting/marketable/attractive. 3) And ultimately you either are a consistent, sound decision maker as a GM..........or you aren't. I've been saying it for 15+ years here........the draft is an ongoing process of team building not just an annual event to patch up holes. Is the juice at G ever worth the squeeze to break from common sense? Not when you consider the opportunity cost. Ask the Chiefs if they wish they had that CEH first rounder back. The rationalization for selecting a guard is not much different than a RB.........we tend to think of RB's as disposable and G's as ten year assets.........but what they share in common is the likelihood that if they reach their lofty 1st round ceiling then your team won't feel compelled to retain that player at their open market figure.