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Obviously, I wish Coleman had 4.3 speed. But I think what's interesting that if you look at our receiving options: Samuel, Shakir, Coleman, Knox, Kincaid, Hollins... they're all different. They all bring something unique to the table. I still wish longevity scientists could do some kind of plasma therapy or genetic/epigenetic engineering with Andre Reed or Eric Moulds to make them young again so they can play with Josh. But if Brady is as talented as some seem to think he is, he should be able to put together a capable WR-by-Committee passing attack with the guys we have.

Congrats for having the courage and self-esteem to admit this! And I hope the trend continues!!! As memory serves, more than half the Bills mafia disliked the Allen pick at first. Then as people read more about him, and watched more video - and as homerism did its furtive work - he started growing on people. Sadly, we fans aren't talented talent evaluators. My own takes have been wrong so often, as have the takes of the media draft gurus I once trusted, that my opinion on Coleman is: Wait and See. Same as my opinion on every other draft pick.

Maybe you missed this part: "Beane says Coleman is a 4.5 kind of guy. These receivers all ran 4.5 or slower: Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, Mike Evans, Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, Davante Adams, Dez Bryant, Jarvis Landry, Tyler Boyd..." As for Largent, he didn't line up in a Wing T formation wearing a leather helmet. His career overlapped with Jerry Rice's, Andre Reed's, and James Lofton's. The NFL had already transformed into a "Passing League" by then and speed was considered as important back then as it is now. But speed is only one of the attributes a wideout needs. There are other traits that contribute to success.

Yep. I think the most interesting thing this year isn't who we did, or didn't, draft at wideout. It's what Brady does with the offense. Belichick said yesterday that Josh Allen is "pretty special." I want to see if Brady can build a good offensive scheme around his special QB. If Brady schemes right, Coleman and the other WRs will be productive. Steve Largent was slow. He didn't run at the combine (it didn't exist yet) but reports said his 40 time was somewhere between 4.7 and 4.9. Even though he was productive at Tulsa, Largent wasn't drafted till the fourth round by the Oilers due to his slow feet. The Oilers evaluated him during the preseason, decided he was indeed too sluggish for the NFL, and traded him to the Seahawks for an 8th round pick. When he retired, Largent owned all the important career receiving records: most receptions, yards, and TDs. His bust resides in Canton. Speed isn't everything. Beane says Coleman is a 4.5 kind of guy. These receivers all ran 4.5 or slower: Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, Mike Evans, Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, Davante Adams, Dez Bryant, Jarvis Landry, Tyler Boyd...

Thanks for posting. This makes me feel better... even though I won't form an opinion until I see him play in a Bills uni.

I was torn between DeJean and Mitchell. DeJean because I think he's the BPA. And Mitchell because he's the best wideout. But what the hell do I know? Here's my unpopular take of the day. Talent evaluation is hard. Most fans don't know squat when it comes to evaluating college players and projecting their success in the NFL. In fact, most media guys likewise don't know jack. The draft grades they hand out rarely turn out to be accurate. Even some GMs, despite all their experience, insider information, study, tape, and multi-million-dollar organizations, suck at talent evaluation. I'm sure Matt Millen, for example, put in a lot of hours to achieve his miserable results. At this time of year, I take my opinions like I take everyone else's: with a large grain of salt.

Given our cap situation, Beane needs to get some playmakers on rookie contracts.

I mostly agree except that we didn't get any extra picks.

I agree we badly need a WR. But maybe Beane isn't enamored with the remaining WRs and thinks they're more Mack Hollins than Andre Reed. We can get a JAG later on in the draft, or cheaply in free agency, if that's what we're down to. I'd love to see Beane's board and how he's got guys rated. But I'd rather get a superstar safety or DL than a jag receiver if that's what's left.

I voted "yes" simply because I trust Beane (he's an above-average GM) and I didn't love the WRs available based on the little I saw and read. I'm really curious to see what he's going to do today, though. And I'd love to hear his reasoning. (I would have selected "wait and see" if Gugs included that).

The draft is like gambling. You play the probabilities and hope the cards come up right.

I once listened to an interview with a successful GM - I think it was Ron Wolf. He said that he considered a draft decent if he got one Pro Bowler out of it and it didn't matter if the guy came from the 4th round and the 1st rounder was a bust. A really good draft netted him two Pro Bowlers. That's how he rated his drafts. He explained that most players fill roles (i.e., they're JAGS). To win a SB, you needed players who were difference-makers. He said that it's better to get a difference-maker at a position you may not need than a role-player at a position where you do have a need. I rarely watch college football and am no talent scout. But if DeJean is truly a difference-maker when the WRs left are mediocre role-players, then I'm all for the pick.

I also have reservations about Ruff and maybe you're right that he'll have problems relating to younger players. But, again, thinking of Andy Reid... Reid was rated A+ by his players in the NFLPA survey after this past season - best in the NFL. And he relates well enough with his players to win championships. If Ruff fails, I don't think it'll be because of his age. nflpa.com/kansas-city-chiefs-report-card-2024

This was a bad trade for Carolina. The fact we were willing to make the trade pretty much tells them we didn't want Legette. If we wanted him, we would have made the pick and not traded it away.

As someone who's 65 and - arguably - physically fit and mentally sharp, no I'm not concerned that Ruff's 64. Why should I be? Andy Reid is 66. Age doesn't seem to interfere with his ability to coach a team to a championship. Hopefully things aren't so bad with the Sabres that we need Ruff to suit up again.

It depends. Let's say you're a CB playing press coverage in a zone defense. Jamming a smaller, quick guy is easy if you can get your hands on him. You'll push him back and disrupt his route. But once he gets away, he's gone - unless of course you're also very quick. In any case, in zone you probably have a safety backing you up. And let's say you're a smallish DB going against a 6'4" receiver with good hands, a big catch radius, and speed. And he's a talented route-runner. He's going to be hard to defend in any defense. I don't think you can say big receivers are either better or worse than small quick guys. It depends on the receiver, defender, and the defensive play-call.

When he was in college, I hoped he'd have a good career just because I liked his name. Amon and Ra are both Egyptian gods. But 'Saint' is a Christian concept. His parents seem ecumenical... or very confused. His brothers are named "Osiris" and "Equanimeous." Fun family.

Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think having Knox and Kincaid as our two 'ends' is a winning formula. Not enough speed to threaten defenses vertically. And what if one gets hurt? TEs are nice. But a team needs a diversity of weapons to challenge a good NFL defense. Let me daydream for a moment. Imagine we had our current TEs and wideouts and added Eric Moulds and Lee Evans to the mix. That would make for a dynamic aerial attack. We need to move more in that direction.

Pro Football News rates him a bit better... "Kneeland grades out as a fringe top-100 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. He could sneak into Day 2 or be a priority prospect on Day 3. Either way, he’s a quality addition in the middle rounds, with an intriguing mix of high-floor and high-ceiling tools."

My bad... I was looking at his playoff records. Feel somewhat better now.

Yeah, that quote was a nothing burger if we're using it to try to predict the draft. Every HC and OC wants receivers who present matchup problems. The comment told us nothing about the future, but it might have told us something about the past. I'm guessing McD didn't think we gave opponents enough matchup problems last year. I saw some analytics that showed both Davis and Diggs were below the NFL average in separation. I'm 65 but can still catch a football. If there were teams that didn't care about matchup problems and my 6-minute 40 time, I'd have a shot!

I love coaching people in my day job. And, as a former combat leader, I love strategy and tactics. If I had 10 lives to live, I'd spend on of them as a football coach.

I don’t think our opening day roster will be as good as last season’s. But I think McD is a solid coach and Josh is an exceptional QB. Brady is my biggest worry. But if we’re healthy at the end of the season, we can make a run.

These guys are all either fast-but-small or big-but-slow. Not encouraging. Then again, Steve Largent was neither big nor fast and still did okay in the NFL.

Generally speaking, you're right. But it doesn't mean Beane is lying. Clearly, he's not going to share his board with the media. But it seems like he's decided there's no harm in talking about generalities in regard to his draft philosophy this year. He was sufficiently vague that he didn't give any other teams an advantage. We were left with some hints about what he won't do but very few about what he will do. He gave enough clues to get the mafia's cerebral juices flowing without giving away anything definitive. And my cerebral juices tell me Alpha is right and Beane's not moving into the top 10. If that's right, it's not a surprise given our lack of trade capital.