OldTimer1960

I just don’t think that Etienne is “special”. Good RB prospect with some pass catching skills and has some speed, but is a high-mileage draftee. I think he is fast, but not “extremely fast”. 40 time from these pro days are suspect - hand timed and variable surfaces. I would guess you should add about .1 seconds to all of these reported time to compare with what comes out of the Indy combine each year. If you add .1 to Etienne’s pro day time it is about 4.5. If he ran 4.5 at Indy in a normal year, we are not talking about a top round prospect and that is how I see him.

I think looking at who contributes most immediately is too short-sighted. They are trying to build a sustainable contender here and I am on board with that philosophy. Others may prefer “all-in now” approach, but not me. Too many things, including one key injury can derail that approach. I would be OK with future plays, players who might not be huge contributors in 21, but have a good chance to be big contributors in 22 and beyond.

That isn’t fully true. They knew he would eventually need surgery, they just hoped he could get through his rookie season before he had it in the offseason.

Of course not - I am not omnipotent as you are. What I do know is that Etienne had roughly 2.5x the wear and tear in college as Alvin Kamara did.

Do you want to have to have the ball last to win? A weak D accomplishes that.

What about his workload in college - quite heavy with 650+ carries and 800+ touches. I’d stay away unless you are drafting him for only about 3 years and then will move on.

That is about right and not necessarily bad drafting. Somewhere around <50% of 2nd round picks ever become multi-year starters.

I am not enamored with anyone likely available at 30. I do like DEs Payton Turner, Carlos Basham and Joe Tryon and Greg Rousseau - but not any of them particularly at 30. Likewise, I think they will miss out on the top corners, but who can tell which ones of them will be any good? I watched Tyson Campbell vs Florida and he had tight coverage on Kyle Pitts several times, but gave up 2 TDS to Pitts even with tight coverage. Likewise, he seemed to hold his own against Alabama’s Uber-talented WR tandem, but Waddle torched him(leaving Campbell on the ground) for a long TD. Still, nobody is stopping those guys completely. Shelvin doesn’t strike me as “process” if he isn’t motivated enough to control his weight.

He is a really tough blocker, but at 245ish, he isn’t going to dominate as a blocker in the NFL.

Well, it will be a weak plan, if he does that. Etienne had a HEAVY workload in college and will be lucky not to be worn out by year 4. Beyond that, I think he is a good prospect, but not a “special “ RB.

Kamara had about 250 touches in college. Etienne had 650 rushes and almost 800 total touches with receptions included. He is a high mileage late-model used car and the prior owner drove him hard. For similar reasons I would shy away from Najee Harris (700+ touches). Meanwhile Javonte Williams is at about 400 touches, mostly carries.

But in what few games I watched of Wilson he jumped off the screen. Level of comp is a concern for sure, but some of his off-platform and deceptive throws were dynamite.

Not enough cap room for his salary when the Bills need to pay Allen...

No idea who they will pick. I suspect that they will trade down out of the first. The DEs are all projects and CBs that will be available are crap-shoots (both my humble opinion).

It is a fugly draft at positions that the Bills’ need most. Any DE available at 30 is either a one year producer, low producer-high upside, high-producer with injury concerns or not very exciting as a prospect. CB is mostly a jumble of ok prospects, with exception of Farley who has major injury risk or Newsome who likely goes before Bills’ pick. I trust Beane to make an informed decision. Of those likely available, I am not sure what to do. None of the likely suspects really intrigues me.

Watching highlights is not “scouting”. Everyone’s highlights should look great, else they aren’t really highlights. Here are highlights from a major draft disappointment. https://www.buffalobills.com/video/aaron-maybin-highlights-469524

If you believe the hand timed 40s, Basham ran 4.64. I am not banging the table for him, but I do think he will go higher than many excpect. I watched a few games of his (I am no scout) and I don’t think that he is a big slug.

I’m not disputing that Etienne (or Harris) are good players, but neither seems that good to me that they should trade up for them. I appreciate that a really dynamic RB could meet DL in the backfield faster than Singletary or Moss, but I’m not sure that either Etienne or Harris are the missing piece to unlock another 3 points/game on offense. To be clear, I agree that both are a bit better prospect - especially in receiving game - than the Bills’ current crew, but I don’t think either are true game changers. Now, at 30 if no DE or CB on their board is worth the pick, then by all means stack the RBs up against WRs, OL, LBs and any other positions.

I was impressed with Wilson when watching Payton Turner of Houston when they played BYU.

Concur.

I think that there is a reasonable chance that Samuel will be available at the Bills’ 2nd pick.

Question is whether Samuel can really play outside at his size or is he slot-corner only? If they believe he is a slot-only, I don’t think there is a chance that they’d take him in round 1.

My bold prediction is that many on this board will not like the Bills' first pick. I know, not very bold!

Edmunds is STILL younger than most of this year's draft prospects.

Interesting. Do you think he kind of compares with Epenesa in that regard?