OldTimer1960

Additional help for the offense helps make everyone better. There are many ways to help the offense. Most want a receiver to challenge Gabe Davis - I agree with that, but if you can’t get one of those an OL would help by providing better pass protection to allow the receivers they already have more time to get open. OL help would also possibly allow the RBs like Cook and Hines to go into pass patterns instead of staying in to help block. The idea of this massive TE who can help pass and run block also would help the offense.

Depends how well he shows he can move. He is HUGE, but can he move well enough? He is probably too tall to move to G.

This would be nice.

Zay Flowers measured in at just over 5’9” and a solid 182lbs. I’d seen him listed taller and lighter. Can’t really believe measurements until events like the Shrine and Senior Bowls and the combine.

From the limited videos I have seen, he doesn’t play like a guy who runs away from corners and that is against mostly modest competition. Rice has very good size and seems to have good hands and contested catch ability. Is he better than Davis? Further, again limited videos review, he seems to have a lot of his success from the slot.

I agree with the sentiment, but I think you are missing a big possibility. It can be that late 2nd and 3rd round picks are generally not as good as early 2nd and 3rd round picks. I think many people really exaggerate the ease with which it is to draft an "impact player". The draft is hard. You are drafting young men who have played against a wide variety of competition and trying to "rate" each against players who play different positions, played against different competition levels and, generally different circumstances. For example, players on dominant teams tend to play against the best competition (like the SEC), however, because the talent on those teams is so good, they may not stand out statistically. Further, some players are older and some are younger. Some have more room to physically develop and others are "maxed out". We don't often have access to information about a player's work ethic and football intelligence, both can be significant factors in pro success.

Well, there are maybe a handful to 10 people interviewing for HC jobs, so not a surprise that one of the 64 coordinators in the league is not interviewing. Head Coach interviews tend to be "hot names", usually meaning guys whose O or D was highly ranked. People and owners forget that players have a great deal with success. Yes, coaches can make a difference, but there are few coordinators or position coaches that are so good that they can make a good unit out of lesser players.

Agreed. Looking at the NFL receiving leaders shows that many of the leaders were not 1st round picks and that the leader board is not dominated by ultra fast guys. Not a lot of undersized guys there, either. Now, Tyreek Hill is both fast and smaller, but he is an exception on that list. https://www.nfl.com/stats/player-stats/category/receiving/2022/post/all/receivingreceptions/desc I do think recent trend is more receiver being picked early - reflection on the emphasis on passing today.

I love Downs and Flowers. I just don't know if you take a small slot WR at pick 27. I would love to see either in a Bills' uniform. Addison and Johnston will both likely be gone before 27th pick, but small chance Addison makes it to the early 20s which might make a trade up semi-feasible (still, not much draft capital to play with). Hyatt is quite a wild card - his speed means someone might nab him mid-first, but reported need for route running development could push him back from there. Rashee Rice would seem to me to be a consolation prize at 27, but he probably goes first 10 picks of 2nd round so not a terrible reach at 27.

Good discussion- I love draft talk!

Really like that Hyatt was productive against SEC competition. His hands seem good and speed looks high end. I understand that few college players come into the league fully developed, but man Hyatt might have a long way to go in route running and we really don’t know if he is willing to make catches in traffic or shake a guy with a good route.

Totally aligned that Bills need WR and OL help. Not sure yet that I think Hyatt or Rice are good value at 27. I would not rule out OT there, especially one who could move to G temporarily or permanently.

How about Parker Washington for slot 5’10” 212? He can catch and run after the catch.

Coming out of the draft with all the players you list would be nice. If you want Flowers, have to take him in round 1, but can he play anywhere except the slot at 5”10” 172? I think Hyatt will go pretty early because of speed and production in SEC, but right now is a one-trick pony. I don’t think the WR group is top heavy - I just don’t think it is nearly as stacked as past few years. Isn’t Wan Dale Robinson 15-20 pounds heavier than Dell? Not against Hyatt, but he will need a lot of development beyond “just go long”.

That is cherry picking. Of course in many drafts someone finds a star later, but that doesn’t make it a high probability to occur. If any teams knew that the examples you cite were going to be as good as they are, they would have been picked sooner.

And that might be the right play if Miller is going to miss a lot of next season. Premium position and clearly the don’t have a premier pass rusher. Still, picking as late as the Bills selected Epenesa and Basham, you aren’t likely getting the next Bruce Smith. somewhere in the thread above someone was lamenting the impact for “top 100” picks. Really you get past the top half or so of round 1 and you are doing well to get solid players. If all top 100 picks became top level stars, there would be a lot more stars in the league. Of course, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t stars picked late in the draft or as UDFA, but those guys are pretty rare. Sometimes you hit on guys like that (Milano, for example).

Which is also affected by where in each round you are picking. The Bills have been picking late in each round for the past several years. That obviously has an impact on the quality of players left to choose from in each round.

I think the porous OL required the RB to stay in to block on many plays.

There may be some OTs that they consider at end of round 1. Pick could compete with Brown or maybe move inside to G temporarily or permanently. Maybe Cody Mauch is a possibility.

Late 2nd round picks like Epenesa and Basham were are never sure things. Of course, we can all look in hindsight and see a few players picked later that have been better. Epenesa had 6.5 sacks in part time and Basham has played a fair bit. Are they great starters? No, I admit that, but they aren’t complete busts either. there have been a few receivers they passed on that I’m sure they regret, but a lot of bad ones have been picked in rounds 2&3 also.

I think people will miss Edmonds if he leaves in FA. I know he is a whipping boy here among some fans, but he covers a lot of ground in the middle of the field with size and speed.

Right, FA likely not the answer with Bills’ cap situation. Draft is reportedly poor for interior OL, but OT might be decent. Maybe can find a T that can move inside. I still have hope that if Brown is healthy enough to train in the offseason, he might improve. Missing all offseason and training camp due to back injury can’t have helped him this year.

Stop. Believe it or not Josh Allen is not the only outstanding QB in the league and some teams have better rosters than Bills. Honestly, I have no defendable complaints with Bills. They overcame bad injuries and Dane Jackson disaster. They are very good, but not the only team that is very good.

They don’t have a pass rush, even though they have tried to build one.

I see it differently. I think the media overhyped them. They were a contender, along with KC, Cincy, Ravens, Chargers, Eagles, Cowboys. I think they did a very impressive job staying competitive through many injuries. I do think that Bills overestimated McKenzie’s ability to play slot.