OldTimer1960

The Giants draft SO much earlier than the Bills in each round that there is no way the Giants are altering their draft strategy to keep players away from the Bills. IF they knew a couple of players that the Bills could be targeting at the end of a given round AND they were interested in one of them, they *could* trade up to take such player. Is that much different than what many other teams in similar situations likely know or surmise? I doubt it. I think it is still too early to dump on Epenesa and especially on Basham. Zay Jones had a pretty good season for the Raiders. 2nd round picks, especially later in the round, are really no sure things to ever become good starters.

It would be great, of course, if Jackson is really a decent starting outside CB. I’m just struggling to see how to draw the conclusion that the staff sees him that way. They had Levi Wallace playing ahead of Jackson until White was injured. They let Wallace walk in FA for a pretty small contract. One I interpretation of that *could* be that they really want Jackson to start - but if true, why wasn’t he starting over Wallace before White’s injury? Other possible interpretations include: - they view Jackson as basically the same as Wallace - they think Jackson is a good backup and they want a better starter. Given that Jackson sat behind Wallace, whom they didn’t like enough to keep for low-end starter $, Jackson was a late draft pick and that Jackson didn’t test as a super-upside athlete, I think likely that they would prefer to find a better starter and keep Jackson for depth. If I am wrong, then that leaves an opportunity to take a WR or OL in round 1. If I am right, not addressing CB early or by FA or by trade, leaves them very exposed. In conclusion, I hope that you are right and that Jackson can be a mid-level starter, but that still leaves a hole on the other side if White misses time early. I am NOT one of those that thinks that RAS or any particular athletic testing score necessarily defines a player, but Dane Jackson's RAS was well below average for the position he plays, so if you are right and Dane is fine as a starter, it will be based on his smarts, experience and maybe that the scheme can hide some of his below average athletic ability (relative to NFL athletes). Here is a link to his RAS: https://ras.football/2020/02/07/dane-jackson-ras/

My concern with Burns is that many of his plays did not involve running much of a route (just hanging around near the LOS). He might be able to develop the route running, but I don’t know that right now, so it is at least a question.

The Bills have a very good roster except for CB right now. There are areas to improve, but more importantly, fans need to recognize that the AFC is STACKED. Even with a great season, no guarantee that the Bills make it through the AFC playoffs. Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos with Wilson, Bengals, Browns with Watson and Ravens are all outstanding. Just a notch back are Pats, Dolphins (maybe best WR/TEs in the league), Raiders, Titans and Colts. I really believe that there could be an AFC team that goes 11-6 and misses the playoffs.

When his rookie contract expires.

I think that Zion Johnson is a good prospect, maybe very good, but I don’t think he is the next Quentin Nelson. With Josh Allen using up a big chunk of cap, would you be willing to pay Johnson big $ and scrimp somewhere else for his 2nd contract?

Linderbaum is quite undersized. Love his wrestling background, but for that size I am not sure he is a must-pick first rounder. I get that Loyd is a very good prospect and he might be interesting if no CB or top WR left.

I hear you, but that would take big ones for sure. What if he gets stuck with a QB as his first round pick and can’t unload him for what he paid? That is an unmitigated disaster scenario. Different story at the end of the 2nd, but then nobody wants a QB who was unpicked in 2 full rounds.

This one is not bad and semi-realistic.

For a pure speed guy who produced for only 1 year, I worry that his knee injury could rob him of some of the speed that makes him special. I might be over worried, but he hasn’t proven that he can win without dominating speed and that is in at least a bit of doubt now.

Who are the players that you DON’T want the Bills to take in round 1? For me: Zion Johnson, Kenyon Green, Tyler Linderbaum: Good interior OL and that is a need, BUT not super special and IOL is not a premium position. Of the 3, could maybe see Green because he could fill in at T in a pinch. Jordon Davis: I’m not a full believer, but mainly the Bills have DT covered for this season. Breece Hall or Kenneth Walker: they are good, not great prospects. Without better OL play, no RB will really be much better than Singletary. Any of the LBs - Unless they are moving on from Edmunds, no room this year. For me, only positions for consideration (except for extreme value at another spot) are: CB or S that can play CB, OT or OT that can move to OG, WR (outside, or reluctantly a slot WR like Dotson)

That all comes at a future cost.

Ugh, not sure how the Rams are managing cap space, but Stafford is considerably older than Allen, so smaller “good window” likely. When their spending comes home to roost, the bottom will probably fall out for them. As far as CB, I’m not sure how they fit a decent vet under the cap unless they cut or trade someone who has at least a moderate cap cost. While there are really good WR prospects this year, I am confident that Wilson, London and probably Olave will be gone before 25. Unsure what to make of Williams- ACL could rob some speed and he is a one-year producer. I don’t need to see a 40 time to know he is very fast, but will he be after the ACL? I can’t decide if I like Burks or not. I’ve watched a few games and he has a lot of plays where he doesn’t run any sort of route - just a behind the line toss. He shows that he can get deep and make contested catches, but he lets balls into his body sometimes and i think Allen’s bullets could ricochet off him. Burks should be more dangerous on crossing patterns, but I did not see many of those in the 2 games I watched. Really like Dotson, but a slot WR in round 1? Watson has the tools, but his ascension has been extreme. I understand why he is liked and he could be great, but I am wary. Anyone at 25 isn’t going to be perfect, but maybe best to fill another spot in 1st and take advantage of the WR depth in 2nd or 3rd

Thank you for the thorough response. I agree that his movement skills suggest that he could improve his route running and I have read that he does have a good work-ethic. I think that we would all love a really fast and quick game breaker at WR, but many of the best WRs in the league aren’t 4.3/low 4.4 guys. I think we are out of range for the top WR prospects this year and I would not want to give up the 2nd pick to move higher in round 1. And might be convinced to trade the 3rd to move up in the 2nd depending on the prospect, but that only gets you in the 10-15 range of round 2.

I think terrible is overstating a 4.52 40 yard dash. A 39.5” vert and 10’8” broad albeit at pro day show he has explosiveness.

Is Tolbert really a field stretcher in the NFL? I know that he made many plays deep at his lower level of competition, but unless he develops his pattern running more, he may not be able to get by NFL DBs deep. That is, he’ll need some threat of shorter routes with good moves to juke NFL DBs, because, while he isn’t slow, he also isn’t so blazing fast that he can just run by DBs at this level. Don’t get me wrong, I like him, but drops and that many of his plays are downfield leave room for concern. I don’t think a receiver needs to run 4.3/4.4 to be a deep threat in the NFL, but I do think that they have to fool DBs some in order to do so.

To get near the top of the 2nd will cost the Bills’ 2nd + 3rd + 4th. Depends on who is available and what concerns there are (such as injuries) to determine if that is worth it.

Tolbert looks smooth to me, some reports suggest an issue with drops. I have not watched enough full games to know if that criticism is warranted, but he did have a couple of drops in the two games I watched. Not saying that disqualifies him at 57 - he is intriguing.

Pierce doesn’t belong in the conversation at 25, maybe at 57.

Can he play outside corner or just slot? He could be a dark horse, but I don’t know what he would do year 1. Won’t beat out Poyer or Hyde at S. Taron Johnson is excellent at slot corner. So, if they take Hill, they must believe he can move in at outside corner. I’m not sure what to think of Hill. Is he a safety who played slot and is being projected to outside corner? He is certainly an athlete.

I think Gordon could be a fit for the Bills. I have seen ratings on him from late 1st, early 2nd, to late 2nd. I think those with the lower rating may be there because he ran a 4.52 - which isn’t “slow”. 40 times can indicate speed or lack of, but it is not hard to imagine that guys with a track background could time .1 or .2s faster than others purely on starting technique. Gordon is an outstanding athlete with size and tackling want-to and ability that the team looks for. That is also the profile for Booth. In contrast, Kaiir looks very smooth in coverage with good size too, but he doesn’t appear to me to be as eager to tackle.

He might be talked into an inexpensive contract due to his injury history. Doesn’t look like he played a full season since 2019 - and before that looks like a bunch of injury time, too. He looks like damaged goods, but his pedigree is interesting. I would not say that they have solved their CB problem if they sign Kevin King because of his injury history.

Are you talking about Desmond King? I think he signed with Houston.

Yep. I can’t imagine that a sports hernia would put teams off, but that teams would take a chance on ACL (Williams) and Achilles (Ojabo).

Steven Nelson isn’t coming in at all - he is signing with Houston.