OldTimer1960

Very nice post and I agree with the majority of it. I realize that it is a gray area, but I’d put Flacco on Dalton’s level or vice-versa. Both give a team a chance at success, but neither(nor the tier above) can single-handedly carry a weak team to playoff success. i think that many herethink that getting a QB high in this draft somehow guarantees that the team will magically compete for the Super Bowl every year even if the supporting group is poor. I think that there is a very low probability of that happening.

In his first TWO seasons, Eric Moulds had a COMBINED 49 catches and 2 TDS. In year 3, he had 67 catches and 9 TDs. Of course, thT doesn’t mean that everyone will excel in their third year, but it does suggest that it is not prudent to give up on a guy after his rookie year. Sorry, I didn’t see your post and posted the same later. Too many are WAY too willing to trash a guy after one season.

Yes

I don’t think this team is a likely playoff contender with even a top rookie at QB. They have several holes on defense, a BIG hole at WR and many lesser holes.

Is 4 or 6 worth 12 & 22 & a 2nd this year or maybe more? None of the QBs available scream future HOFer, but 5 have at least a very small chance at that. IF the Bills have a strong conviction about one or two of these QBs, then by all means try to move up. Still, unlikely to be able to make that happen. If not, I think let the draft play out through pick 5. If someone they are very high on lasts to pick 6, be willing to trade up to both 12 & 22 for him. Otherwise, sit tight at 12 - pick whomever is left (Alle, Mayfield, Rudolph) or another position and regroup to find a QB @ 22 or trade up - or in 2nd round, but know that you will have to move up in round 2 to secure White, Lauletta or Falk...

I agree. I am not a trained scout, but watching his game cut-ups, I think he is a quality prospect. I would rather have Rosen, Darnold or Mayfield, but I'm not sure I would take Josh Allen over him. Allen surely has more upside with his arm strength and better movement skills, but I think Rudolph has a pretty good chance to be a good NFL starting QB if he is given a good supporting cast. I understand Rudolph's arm isn't as strong as some of the other prospects, but it still is adequate and he seems capable of "making all the throws". I don't buy the knocks about not working under center, because that is mostly true of the other prospects as well and A LOT of NFL plays are run from the gun. For sure, the Big-12 defenses are not the best, but Mayfield played there as well and the PAC-10 isn't exactly known as a conference that plays a lot of D either.

Or they could go full-rebuild and trade Manning or “gently” encourage him to retire then draft a QB. If I were a Giants fan, I would definitely want them to take a QB at 2, even if he has to sit behind Eli for up to two years.

We are in agreement. Cleveland is sitting VERY pretty as it is going into this draft. They have a very good chance to get a good or better starting QB and to get another excellent prospect at another position at pick 4. That is before we even see that they have the first and 4th or 5th picks in round 2. They have 4 of the first 35 picks in the draft and they already had some good defensive talent on that team. If they are patient with the QB they draft and let Taylor play until the rookie is ready (perhaps all year), they could be set for quite some time. The flip-side of this is exactly why I would not like to see the Bills trade too much to move up for a QB. I could be on-board with trading 12 and 22, but I wouldn't really like to give up any picks next year and would ideally like to hold 53, 56 and 65 as well. If the *right* guy (in the Bills' minds) is there, I could see giving up 12, 22, and 53. I think the price is going to be too steep for my blood to get into the top 4, so I'd be content to sit and wait to see how the top 5 plays out then decide if a move up to 6 or so is worth it for whomever is left. Like most, I don't know who among Mayfield, Rosen, Darnold, Allen, Jackson will be any good, heck I have a feeling that someone like Rudolph, Lauletta or White will end up being better than at least 1 of the "top" group.

Maybe I am missing the point, but are you saying that you think that Darnold will be a good starting QB, but he won't help Cleveland much by just being good? Are you saying that only a HOF-level QB can really help a team, unless the team is stacked around a lesser QB? If yes, then I agree that you need more than a good QB. You need talent around almost any QB to succeed. Can an all-time great like Brady, Rodgers, Brees, Montana lift the players around him to heights that they couldn't achieve otherwise? Yes, but those all-time great QBs are VERY rare. To make a team building plan dependent on getting an all-time great HOF QB is not very realistic. Sure, you can *hope* that you find an all-time great, but you need to have a plan to succeed with a merely good QB.

I think think that there is much more to playing QB in the NFL than who has the most physical tools. Leadership, drive, preparation and ability to quickly process what you see are as important (maybe more important) in my mind. Looking at some of the all time greats: Montana, Brady, Manning - none of them had the strongest arms or were the most physically talented.

It is very easy for me to believe that a young QBcould be ruined. If he is getting pummeled with no chance to get passes off to receivers who haven’t had time to run their routes - that would seem like it could lead to injuries, poor decisions, poor mechanics and destroyed confidence.

I can see trading up near the top for Rosen, Darnold and maybe Mayfield. I think it would be too risky to trade 12 and more than 53 for Allen. I know that there are significant mitigating factors and that he has some great tools and size, but his stats are worse than Tyrod’s (including passing yards) and some games were truly terrible. That has to at least be considered.

I think fans and media are going to be brutal on anyone they draft at QB, just wait until the guy who many think will be “the savior” throws a bad INT on a rookie mistake.

I’m not arguing that they should draft Jackson, but while he has some work to do as a passer, he threw more NFL type throws in college than Tyrod ever pulled the trigger on. I also think that Jackson may even be faster than Taylor and I strongly believe that Jackis more elusive as a runner.

USC is a high profile school that generally has more talent than their opponents. That can tend to mak some QBs look better than they are and lead to them being over drafted. If Mark Sanchez had played at another school, he likely would not have looked as good in college and hence wouldn’t have been drafted as high.

Funny! Because so few College QBs succeed in the NFL, you can say pretty much the same for all colleges. i guess Michigan might be the QB factory having produced Brady and Harbaugh.

I don’t think that Rudolph will be selected higher than Rosen, but I do think that there is a realistic chance that Rudolph will be selected in the 1st round.

The Bills are guaranteed Brady, Rodgers,Brees if only they give up all of their picks to trade up for Darnold, Rosen, Mayfield or Allen. These guys are mostly a crap shoot and there is not one QB that is on the same level as Andrew Luck (who has not led the Colts to much of anything in spite of his obvious talent. Supporting casts matter.

They are all projects to more or less of an extent. I'm not sure that Rudolph won't be better than Jackson or Allen. I like Mayfield a lot, but I don't think he will be available at 12. If he is on the board after Denver's pick, I hope that they can swing a deal to move up for him, but I wouldn't give up 12,22, and next year's 1st to move to 6 for him. If they could get to 6 for 12, 53 and 96, I would do that.

I would be willing to take the chance on him. You might even have to trade up a bit from 22 to get him and I could get on board with that. Can he become Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson? I hope so if they go that way.

I’m not a fan of trading up, but I’d be stoked at that deal!

With recognition that Newton has turned out to be pretty good, Mayfield’s off-field transgressions are light-weight compared to Cam’s.

How much trouble do you think USC has recruiting? They won the PAC-12, so had an automatic bid to Rose Bowl (I believe). Did he truly carry that team or was he part of the team that won. To to be clear, I am not deprecating Darnold, I think he is very good. However, many seem to believe that if only the Bills trade up for Darnold, Rosen, Allen or Mayfield that whomever they pick, will be On the level of Brady or Rodgers and magically carry a team that is currently under-talented and will spend all of their prime draft picks to move up for one of these “saviors”. i acknowledge that if a team has one of the very few all-time greats at QB, that will surely keep them competitive for a decade. However, you *might* find one all-time great in this QB class and then a couple very good starters that keep you competitive, but can’t single-handedly carry a marginally talented team beyond .500. For SURE, that is better than what the Bills have had for a long time, but go look at the Chargers’ record for the last decade when they’ve had a very good, but not HOF QB.

You are either not understanding my point or you don't care to. Mason Rudolph has nothing to do with whether it would be smart to trade 3 1sts and a couple of 2nds for one of these guys. My comment was simply saying, expect Darnold, Rosen or Allen to be good, but trading that much for good (not great) should at least give you pause.

The Patriots are always picking up guys like this to see if they can bring out the talent that lead him to be a day 2 draft pick. Sometimes, different schemes and environments help guys like this play better. If not, you let them go.