OldTimer1960

Do you see any similarities between Ezeiruaku and, say, Jerry Hughes? Very similar size, though I think Ezeiruaku has slightly longer arms - Hughes looked a little thicker in old college tapes. Maybe Ezeiruaku has more pass rush moves than Hughes did coming into the league?

I think Ezeiruaku will be a very good pass rusher, but for a team that already struggles to stop the run and has an undersized DT and small LBs I wonder if this would be a good match. Not much of a fan of the WR class as a whole, but for sure Bills need help there. IF Morrison is healthy, he would be a nice pick there. But, if he is healthy he won’t last that long.

Basham was a clear miss - though I'm still not sure why he can't find a niche. He should be at least a good run stopping Edge, but he apparently isn't any good if the Giants let him go, too. Who is the Harrison you are referring to? Is that Harrison Phillips? If yes, he is not a bust at all. While we'd all like more from AJ Epenesa, he is about average for what you find at the end of the 2nd round - he's respectable, but you wish he were better. Finally, Von was a big risk and it WAS working well until he tore up his knee. He is nowhere near the player he was even with the Bills before the knee injury. Sucks, but hard to blame Beane for that except if you want to take the angle that they shouldn't have invested that kind of $ in a FA - that was their "go all-in" shot. I know it's frustrating coming up just short in the playoffs, but don't forget what things were like for decades before McDermott and Beane arrived. They are 37-13 the past 3 seasons - that's f*cking good even if they came up short of the SB. But I don't see a #1 WR in the draft - at least that will be available near the Bills' first pick. I could see taking Mathew Golden, but no thanks on the others that high.

Clearly, he is an idiot as everyone knows only QBs and WRs matter in today's NFL - just an attempt to be funny. It's good to see that defense and OL are being recognized as important. What the Eagles' D did to KC was impressive. At this point, I would like the Bills to go CB, DT, DE in some order with their first 3 picks. Fortunately, DT and DE appear fairly deep, but there seem to be only a few true difference-maker pass rushers at DE - but there should be a number of good run defenders who can get an occasional sack left at end of round 2.

Those are the positions I would like them to address. I do like Umanmielen from the games I've watched, but I'll be surprised if he makes it to the Bills' first pick in round 2 (I think 56). Likewise, I'll be very surprised if Trey Amos is around late in round 2. I might be convinced to move off of Tyleik Williams in round 1 and shoot for someone like Alfred Collins (Tex) in round 2 as the big run stuffer, but Williams is a good player. Just my thoughts - what you suggest would be very much welcomed!

You aren’t wrong, but do you think the Bills have the talent in the secondary to play a lot of man? I think that would just expose their secondary.

I disagree. I think McDermott is plenty driven to succeed. I think Beane went light on the D because he knew the talent level isn't top notch and, seriously, not many Ds have answers for Mahomes and KC. I will be very interested to see how the Eagles very good defense holds up today.

I am not as excited about Tre Harris, but maybe late 2nd is ok for him. He has demonstrated an ability to get deep and he has good size, but I’m not sure his route running is good enough. I’m not one who thinks 40 time is a great indicator of success, but if Harris can run under 4.5 that woud be fast enough for me to consider him. I would not think he would be in the mix at pick 30 - I know just my $.02 worth.

Yep, with little to no outside threat and no deep threat, there is a lot of traffic in the middle where Kincaid should be working.

I think the only WR worth pick 30 that may realistically be available is Mathew Golden. He is worth considering, but I think there will be better options available on defense. Golden is both quick and fast with decent size. In my view, he may be able to play flanker and inject some juice into the WR group. Beyond him, I haven’t yet seen any WR that really interests me in the first (that has a chance to be there) and nobody that really stands out for late round 2, either. Of course, I could be wrong and there is a lot of opportunity for someone to shine at the combine. I think there will be DTs worth late first and there probably will be good ones still around late round 2. i think they need to be looking at CB in late 1 or 2 as well.

They don’t have that much “draft capital”. They have pick 30 in round 1 and two picks late in round 2. They have 2 picks in the 4th (one fairly early and one near the end). They then have 3 6th rounders (together those might be worth a mid 5th). They may get 1 4th and 1 5th rounder compensatory picks for FA losses last year. So, no 3rd. Almost all of those picks are late in the round that they fall in. For example, their first and both seconds in trade might get them to about pick 11 in round 1. Alternatively, they might be able to trade both late 2nds to get to back end of round 1 (giving them 2 in the first). In the latter case they then would not have a pick for more than two full rounds. in my view, they might be better off trading down out of the first. There is supposedly good value in the 2nd and 3rd rounds this year and they likely are looking at 2nd round talent anyway at pick 30.

I would like it if they could do that and use early picks on edge and DT - 2 needs and 2 strong areas of the draft.

I think I read that Schwesinger was a walk-on and was so good that UCLA moved their starting MLB to DE to get Schwesinger on the field. That MLB to DE convert was Oluwafemi Oladejo who reports claim improved his stock a lot at the Senior Bowl.

I think Shemar Stewart is going to be very good. He has a lot of power, yet still has notable speed and agility. He might not be a high sack number guy, but he will de disruptive to offenses on passing downs and a killer in run D.

And likely that a CB will be an early pick in the draft.

Definitely addresses some key needs. I suspect that CB has to be addressed earlier than pick 171, but you have some promising players in the early rounds.

Certainly hard to argue that wouldn’t be a great draft. I don’t think Harmon or Paul will make it out of round 2, definitely not past day 2. Your first 3 picks are plausible and great value.

I think you are right and there is a good chance the Bills take a corner in the first. I know Revel is projected higher than 30, but coming off torn ACL, he will be a risk that some teams might not like in the first. If the Bills draft him, they will have to be OK with maybe not playing him until mid-season or later. I know ACL surgery and rehab have come a long way, but CB play puts a lot of stress on the knee. Revel could be a great long-term pick if they have the patience to wait for him to fully heal, but there is some risk he won’t get back to 100% and there is risk with his level of competition in college as well. With Barron, the seeming only question is can he play outside corner full time? He played a lot of nickel prior to this season. I think Gunner believes he can play outside well and Gunner knows his stuff.

Still a long way to go before the draft, but with the college playoffs and all-star games in the book, let's discuss early draft crushes for the Bills. I'll start with a couple: DT TJ Sanders - He's undersized at 6'4" 285-290, but he has really nice quickness and ability to penetrate/rush the passer. I've also seen him effectively use his height to knock down passes at the line. He wouldn't be the replacement for Daquan Jones at 1T, but I think he would look pretty nice next to Oliver on passing downs early. DE Princely Umanmielen - He's not the stoutest run defender, but he does appear to have the speed and length to be a good pass rusher - something the Bills need. I don't think he is a strong consideration in round 1 and he'd likely be gone before the Bills' first pick in round 2, but he looks good to my mostly untrained eyes. There are whispers of character concern for him and his teammate DT Walter Nolen, but I haven't seen what those concerns might be. I firmly believe that the Bills need a CB early, I just don't know who would be a good fit and after the complete whiff on Elam I am worried about going that way again. Who do you like?

A little early to completely write Coleman off as a bust, but I would not count on him either. Address the offseason as though Coleman isn’t on the team - anything they get out of him next year should be considered a bonus. That said, this looks to be a pretty weak WR draft class. I’m not sure that the top WR in this class would have been in the top 6 last year. I think any receiver that they might find available at end of round 1 will have a ceiling of an average to maybe above average NFL receiver and there will very likely be better defensive players available at each of their first 3 picks, so I’m not holding my breath expecting much WR help this offseason. Agree for the most part and that probably means no WR before the 4th round this year.

Great Lee Evans call. He was so good but held back being on struggling teams.

I think if he was decent, he would have played more and been more productive. Daniel Jones wasn’t the answer at QB, but he wasn’t so bad that he held Hyatt back.

Coleman can sit - he showed some flashes, but was non-existent after Poyer lit him up. Ugh - speed alone doesn’t make a WR. His 8 catches for 62 yards this year don’t warrant trading anything of value. If they would take one of the Bills’ 6ths then maybe. Probably would have to take him by end of 2nd given Bills don’t pick again until the 4th and that feels too high for him.

Not crazy about Walker - I don’t know if he is really the dominant run defender that his size suggests. Sawyer end of 2nd is nice, but he’s will probably be gone before that. Good run defender who can get effort sacks. CB and S are surely needs. I would guess Winston is gone before that pick. I like Bech, but after his Senior Bowl, I think he will go considerably earlier.

Like it a lot if Morrison is healthy. Really think DE is a big need though and there should be someone worth a pick there at 30 or either 2nds. Still, hard to quarrel with CB, WR, DT and I particularly like Collins as a run stuffer in the middle. Like the idea, but would switch out Williams from Ohio State for something else.