OldTimer1960

Epenesa looks a little bigger through shoulders and chest than he did last year. I would not write him off, I think he will find a solid contributing role. Basham looks like he may have dropped a little bad weight that he carried last year.

He thinks he has time to “bulk up” before training camp? Must be some good PEDs available to make much of a gain in a couple months.

True if you are buying a few for your own use and for some reason want to sell some games. This is meant to prevent big players from buying hundreds or more just to try to sell at higher prices.

I think that There is a bit of arrogance among Long-suffering Bills fans. The Bills are a very good team on paper - one of the favorites in AFC, but make no mistake there are other outstanding teams in the AFC.

Oh man, that’s bad. I feel terrible for a guy who was working hard and potentially ended his career.

I’m not a 40-time is all that guy, but Khalil Shakir ran 4.43. It isn’t just 40 yard dash times that make a deep threat.

Is Araiza’s release quick enough? I’m not saying that it is, but it seems a little slow from what I’ve seen. Does he take an extra step compared to many punters?

I agree that good players come in different shapes and sizes. I also agree that athleticism can make up for less than optimal size. I also recognize that there are examples of great players who have less than ideal size and some that succeed despite less than ideal athleticism. Further, intangibles matter. Still, Bernard is light - maybe he can add some strength. He is a good athlete and is supposed to be a leader and high effort player. All that I am saying is that his athletic testing numbers say good, but not eye popping and he is somewhat undersized.

I’m not trying to be argumentative, but overall players were lighter back when Ham and Singletary played. Remember Refrigerator Perry was HUGE at 300 LBs back when Singletary played.

Citing one undersized player who has excelled at the NFL shows that it can be done. It doesn’t mean that being undersized isn’t a concern. He has good speed and quickness, but not sure excellent speed and quickness. If he plays fast, that is important as well.

Sometimes you get lucky being turned down.

I hope that he can contribute beyond special teams. He is very small for a NFL LB and isn’t super fast to make up for his lack of size. I understand that he is very smart and a hard worker.

We don’t know what weight under control means. He looked to be carrying some bad weight last year. If he drops 10 LBs of fat while maintaining strength, that doesn’t seem like a bad thing.

Again, late in the rounds, theoretically you aren’t getting as talented of player as early in the rounds. It’s also pretty early to give up on Rousseau and Basham after only their rookie year - and Rousseau was a starter who played well. Sack numbers are not the only measure of a DE. Also, Bills’ secondary plays soft zone a lot which gives QBs easy underneath throws which doesn’t give the pass rush much time to get home. Hopefully, the DEs develop and Elam, White and Jackson can be more aggressive in coverage to give the rush more time.

Rousseau was picked 30th in round 1 and Epenesa and Basham were late 2nd round picks. Shocking that they haven’t been as good as a top 10 pick DE…

You're kidding, right? Jackson is a sub-par athlete by NFL standards and was a 6th (I think) round pick. I *hope* that he is as good as you think, but I'm very skeptical of that. Elam has better size and athletic ability, played in a better conference than Jackson did and has NFL blood-lines. Best case, both Elam and Jackson are starting calibre and White returns to his previous form. How is that bad? I'm not the biggest fan of the Cook pick, but he can play and make an impact at the NFL level. He is more receiver than RB, but he can for sure tote the rock a few times a game. His hands and speed make him a threat. Could they have found a WR there? I don't think so - I think he is a better fit than Skyy Moore who went just a pick or two earlier and he does more, too.

He was picked for his receiving ability and he can handle 10ish carries a game as well. I like this pick better than dropping a 1st on Hall who is bigger, but a lesser receiving option. They run empty backfield sets relatively frequently and Cook can play in that without worrying about his blocking. Few, if any, RBs come into the league as good pass blockers.

Call me an old curmudgeon, but that Brandt sh*t was embarrassing. I know that it was meant as entertainment only, but it was horrible. Combine that with the head-scratching pick and I'd rather not talk about it...

I don't think that is the case. They only have a few high picks per year. Just because they have not taken a WR in the first or 2nd round so far does not mean that they don't value the position. They had a HUGE hole at CB with White recovering from ACL surgery and only Dane Jackson - a questionable athlete by NFL standards beyond White. If they hadn't found a CB that could step in and play major minutes right away, they risked dumping the season with early losses. I don't think that is overstating the situation at all. 5 CBs were picked before the Bills' pick in the second - and they KNEW that there was going to be a premium on that position because the depth wasn't that good. Look at where this board's darlings Tariq Woolen and the kid from Sam Houston State went - they weren't snatched up early. Cook is essentially a WR. What can Skyy Moore do that Cook can't? Cook can also run the ball from scrimmage. Note that I am not the biggest fan of taking Cook there, but I understand why they did it and it fills several needs.

Great post and I'm aligned with almost all of it. Specifically with regards to Skyy Moore, what can he do that Cook can't and hasn't done against better competition? I never saw what the hype was about Moore - the stellar quickness eluded me when I watched him. Maybe he is so smooth that the quickness isn't evident, but from my vantage point Cook is quicker, equally as fast, about the same size and has hands that are at least as good as Moore. Is Cook an ideal primary RB? I would say no, but he can run effectively 10 or so times a game and make a major impact in the passing game.

Yep. Araiza is an athlete. I strongly believe that he can learn the nuances of punting at the NFL level. I think he will work to succeed. Still, there will be some growing pains and the Bills will have to accept that. In the worst case it could cost them a game, but I think the upside is worth it. On the flip-side, I imagine that several NFL punters could kick it as far as Araiza does if hang time isn't a consideration.

I voted Elam. He wasn't my first-choice CB, but if they like him better than Gordon or Booth then fine. I was not a big fan of his tackling, but they must think they can fix that. He has size, speed and competed at the highest level in college. I didn't originally realize that he was related to former NFL players as well. He sounds like he is quite mature and very serious about being a pro. I will admit that I wasn't originally very excited about Cook, but he is essentially a receiver with the ability to run the ball rather than vice-versa. He has great speed and quickness with very good hands. While Breece Hall was touted as a good receiving back, I think Cook is a considerably better receiver. Shakir in the 5th was a nice pick, but how many slot WRs do they need? They have Crowder as the starter and McKenzie showed a major flash at the spot vs. NE. They say Shakir can play outside, but better in the slot. They did need receiving talent and missed out on the outside WRs, so he was a nice "get". Nobody asked, but my least favorite was Terrel Bernard. Not because they didn't need LB depth or even because of the player himself. My disappointment was just using a 3rd rounder on such an undersized LB. Maybe they catch lightning in a bottle and have drafted the next Matt Milano, but if not, they likely picked a special teams ace and sub-package LB at the end of round 3. I'm usually the one trying to emphasize that the hit-rate for finding starters in the 3rd is maybe 25%, so maybe in that light this isn't a bad pick. I like that they took a shot on Matt Araiza, but it will not surprise me if he doesn't beat out Haack. Haack was horrible last season, but has had a good career before that. Araiza has a very strong leg, but he has to learn how to be a pro punter - show that he can get good hang time, punt directionally and pin opponents inside their 20. It isn't enough to just boom long, low punts that can be returned. Excited to see what he can become, but not a sure thing at all.

I suppose that it is possible that the team won't be able to insure him or perhaps he/his agent are asking for more than an undrafted free agent is worth. It could also be his 4.68 40 time or his 31" vertical leap. https://www.si.com/college/clemson/tigers-in-the-nfl/former-clemson-wideout-justyn-ross-not-selected-in-nfl-draft#:~:text=During spring practice ahead of,he would ever play again. I would think with his size and past success, that teams would be lining up to take a chance on him - even if it takes a red-shirt year. I don't know if they know whether the poor athletic test numbers are from rust/injury recovery or if they are just his real athletic ability.

Directional punting and pinning teams inside the 20.

Punt God is no sure thing. Very strong leg, but lacking in hang time and nuanced punts. Hope he can learn to do those because his leg can be a weapon.