BADOLBILZ

I think using the term "weapons in the passing game" makes it seem like the returns in giving RB's touches are much greater than they are.

It's not a nerve.........it's just something we go thru every 2-3 draft seasons on here......there is always a different rationale........"the winning mindset" was a creative one......points for that. Me pointing out how nonsensical drafting a RB is in round 1 is just part of "the process". First of all.......the further we get from the regular season the further removed fans get from what actually works on the field. And I'm not saying that Beane won't make the mistake of misallocating a valuable asset.........he's made his share of mistakes like reaching past better players at more important positions to fill perceived needs at lesser ones with the likes of Cody Ford, Singletary, Moss etc. But I do think that they are more likely to pick up a player at a more important position. The financial pinch they are in will really limit their ability to re-stock much more important positions in the coming years. And the idea that "well a RB can help right away and if you get 5 top years out of them....." just doesn't actually pan out because as the position has become devalued so has the overall quality of athlete playing it. With less than a full handful of exceptions......the lead backs of today would have been the Kenny Davises of yesteryear...........fine for a short period of time.......but not up to the task longer term. Which is fine..........it's a passing league.........Josh Allen produces 8 yards on average every time he passes the ball.........Jim Brown couldn't make it worthwhile to take the ball out of his hands. The difference between top backs and guys like Singletary and Moss is less than a measly half yard per carry.

Name one RB that the Bills passed on that went in round 1 that you regret missing on. Go back 30 years to 1990 if you'd like. It doesn't happen. And no, the 30th pick is not almost a 2nd round pick.........having the 5th year option alone is a HUGE distinction.........especially if that player turns out to be someone who can man one of the "$20M+" positions (QB/PassRusher/LT/CB/WR1). Wasting your top pick on a RB when you are about to enter a period where you are going to be tight to the cap for the foreseeable future is not so much a "winning mindset" as it is a shortsighted one.

I was unaware that there was so much hate about the Bass pick..........that seems a bit exaggerated on your part. I liked using a late pick on a talented kicker.........late round picks are fair game for any position. As for getting a true game changer for 5 years..........that's a lot to ask of a RB nowadays. Zeke Elliott was IMO the best RB prospect of the past decade of drafts...........and he's been the best producing RB selected in round 1 in that span........and has now actually played in the NFL for 5 years..........and still in 2 of those seasons handing the ball off to him has been a less-than-league-average per-carry proposition. The odds are more in favor of that RB ending up producing like Fournette or Sony Michel than they are getting 3 "game changer" seasons out of 5 like Elliott. The era of RB's you could expect to be good every year until they turned 30 seems to have ended with guys like AD and Shady..........the position doesn't pay so the best amateur athletes just don't say there. Instead each draft class of RB's seems to be a field of players like Etienne who don't have the size or length to project to a more premium position. Today's starting RB's are the athletes that would have been the backup RB's 20 years ago.

This is the equivalent of a futures contract signing..........I will be a bit surprised if he even makes it to camp.

Who is the last RB you regret the Bills passing on in the first round? You can deny every other metric that tells you that drafting a RB in round one is foolish...........but the fact that we can't even cherry pick one guy who was a consensus high draft worthy RB this century that the Bills passed on says it all. All successful organizations have systems in place to limit mistakes. Systems defy the "open mind to everything" mindset that leads a talented rostered Raiders team to select a kicker in round 1.

If he could get back to his 19 sack level of play, yes that would be the best pass rusher they've had since Bruce. I would really be surprised if they brought him in.......he's got a lot of baggage and is more of a 3-4 OLB. He started out great then was ineffective for most of the season but the fact that Dallas doesn't seem to want him back at any price..........makes me wonder if he wasn't slipping off the field last season.

Yeah he was a big time athlete in that draft that at times was mocked as a first rounder. Carolina might have held him in high regard so getting a look. Or maybe just leverage to get Marlowe to take the $1M deal.

Actually I have liked all of Beane's first round picks..........which is easily a first wrt a Bills GM. I do think he seemed to learn a lot working for Dave Gettleman..........a lot of what not to do. And ol' Gettlenutz is just the guy to keep an open mind like you and select a RB or offensive guard in round 1 and call a loss a win.😉

Honestly I don't want to see them take a RB in any of the first 3 rounds. Frankly, the Singletary and Moss picks have both turned out regrettably...........and it's not that they are even bad players........it's just that the amount of impact you need from a RB to justify passing on harder to fill positions is rather substantial. "Who offers the most upgrade" probably shouldn't carry much weight in a $20M decision(which all first round picks should be considered). Sammy Watkins offered a greater upgrade to the WR position than Khalil Mack or Aaron Donald did to the Bills DL.

If you want to call siding with the math "entrenched".........so be it..........you aren't going to regret passing on a RB in round one in this day in age. Your first round picks are your primary chance to find players at high value positions that you won't get an opportunity to acquire otherwise. The draft is an ongoing process of team building..........it shouldn't be treated like an unrelated event from the prior year and the year prior to that........ Free agency is an event. That's where you address your needs in that moment. Beane seems to understand that better than any GM the Bills have had.........but those shiny RB's and off-the-bus starters(like Cody Ford) are very alluring.

BPA is a term rendered bogus by those that have turned it around selectively to make an excuse for the extremely dubious act of drafting RB's early. BPA should entail the value of the position, the difficulty to fill that position and the expected longevity. There is not an imaginary line after "all regular offensive and defensive players" at which point special teams players aren't factored in. There is a scale that starts at QB and gradually decreases in value down to a very low number at RB.....which is the last stop before you get to the kicker, punter and long snapper. The game just doesn't lend itself to putting a lot of value in the RB position..........and as such the quality of athletes and longevity at the position has also declined relative to other positions. It's outright foolish to draft a RB in round 1.

What's funny is when the team signs a guy for just over league minimum.........and then a bunch of fans say the team doesn't need to use a first round pick on that position now.

I didn't trust him to not fumble the ball.........but he should have gotten more chances. Breida on the other hand is a guy who can legitimately hit 22mph in the open field..........which puts him up there with anyone aside from Mostert. RB's are still a at least a half dozen for a dime........but good pickup by Beane.

Plenty of places for rookies: RB - Yeldon's spot is open. Singletary is productive but replaceable. Moss seems more physically beat up than advertised. I could see him being RB1 or even off the roster entirely. WR - Got 5 regulars back but they could carry 7 and none of the depth guys like Duke or Hodgins or Kumerow are special talents. TE - Definitely room for a rookie TE on the roster. OL - Bates is the only veteran reserve under contract......possibly multiple spots open. DL - Need a pass rushing DE and and young DT1T.........they could cut, trade, IR or release vets to make room for better, cheap young talent. LB - Have 4 locks.......but one that really plays ST only........definitely could use one on a rookie deal for sure. CB - Dane Jackson might be too fragile......Wallace and Johnson are in walk years.......definitely can see a rookie making the team. S - Both of the backups are replaceable.........especially if a rookie was able to come in and also play that big nickel spot.

All Star ties up is cap space.

They have pretty much just brought back most of the roster that went 13-3.. Speaking of which........the AFCCG is being replayed at 9 pm on NFL network tonight.

He simply says "he knows for a fact". That + his earned respect as a beat reporter(a job he risks with criticism of the team) + actually watching The Pegula's micromanage the Sabres into the worst franchise in sports = form your own opinion.

$10M for a 32 year old TY Hilton? That's pretty rich in this market.

The moment when they lost the McDavid lottery was IMO tied with the MCM......behind wide right.....for the second worst singular moment in time in Buffalo sports history. But they have still had enough good fortune(and earned draft pick position) in the lottery otherwise where they should be a perennial cup contender anyway.

PERFECT response. The origin of the "DOOOOOOOOOOMED" thing on TSW was people who were making light of the Bills pending salary cap dilemma and general outlook in the wake of the Music City Miracle. The 17 year sentence of doooooooom.....aka "the drought"......went fast for me because the tailgates were awesome............but for those that watch from their couch and don't have that communitas aspect to enjoy and just live and die with the results........I'm told it was kinda' rough.😉

For you non-Sabres followers who do not know how fragile the Bills success is: Sabres beat reporter Paul Hamilton recently stated on WGR that he knows that the Pegula's regret giving McBeane as much authority as they have.......despite the success........so not to expect them to do the same for anyone with the Sabres. That is simply a scary thought coming from a well connected, veteran beat reporter...........so let's hope they stay on good terms with McBeane. Keep in mind that the Sabres are the worst organization in north american major pro sports............by a lot........it gets no worse than the Pegula lead Sabres..........which I believe was another statistical takeaway from that 538 article. If you don't think the Bills success can be undone by meddling from the stewards of the worst franchise around............hey, when John Butler quit the vast majority of this very board thought that there was no way that the organization could fall out of contention. The very thought was a big joke on this board. 10 playoff trips and 4 SB appearances in 12 years.........and owner who seemed willing to pay whenever his GM asked. Ralph was bordering on beloved by those(myself included) who hadn't really suffered thru his terrible late 60's-mid 80's stewardship. The ship lost it's rudder when Butler and co. left town.........and it soon became obvious AGAIN just how bad of a football man Ralph was. And, bless Terry Pegula for his generosity to WNY..........but he makes Ralph look like Dan Rooney by comparison as a man of the sport.

Cap space can be rolled over.........and re-structuring White's deal might have been time sensitive.........so might not be related to a pending personnel move at all. They will want space for in-season moves as well. Might be a good play to see which of these one-year deal pass rushers has a strong start and then.....if their team is in the market to move them....... trade for them at the deadline and get them for the playoffs at half the cap hit.

They just wised up and started coming out playing to win in the second half instead of playing not to lose/trying to protect leads. It was a long running weakness of the team and it was becoming part of McD's identity. Go back to 2017........turtling right after halftime @NYJ game and putting the game on a tired defense triggered their epic 3 game slide.........the issue kept propping its head up all the way thru the blowing of the 16 point lead in the WC game. After the Hail Murray blown second half lead they shed that conservative tendency.........and were rewarded.

Jimbo used to hook him up after games in Buffalo.