mjt328

Tom Donahoe made some strong moves. His first draft was very good. He just swung for the fences a lot, and became too careless with draft picks and the salary cap. Missing on Drew Bledsoe really sunk everything at the start, and it's hard to blame him for that move. Strike one. He used his only Top 5 draft pick on Mike Williams, who was a huge bust. Strike two. The one time he decided to be conservative, it came back to burn him. He should have traded up for Ben Roethlisberger. Instead he waited and was later forced to make a move for JP Losman instead. Strike three.

Josh Allen was the second-highest paid player in the entire NFL when he signed his deal (behind Patrick Mahomes). His deal was only "team-friendly" in the sense that cap hits could be restructured. Not because he was terribly underpaid. The Bills have also spent enough in free agency over the last 2-3 years to be right against the salary cap. Maybe Florio forgot about the splash signing of Von Miller last year. So no. He does not raise an excellent question... at least in the way he phrased it. He suggested that Allen is being underpaid, and now the Bills are sitting around with a bunch of extra money and refusing to spend it. That is not true in the slightest. Now if he wants to question how Brandon Beane has allocated resources to the offensive side of the ball, that's probably a more legitimate concern.

At this point, I just want enough veterans on the roster that we aren't FORCED to take a particular position in Rounds 1-2 of the draft. If a good Wide Receiver, Offensive Lineman, etc. falls to us at #27... I don't want to pass them up, because we absolutely can't walk away from the 2023 draft without ending up with Jack Campbell. Nobody wants AJ Klein to be the starter at MLB. Everyone would like to see a younger upgrade, or for Terrell Bernard/Baylon Spector to work out. But at least now we have someone who has been OK in this defensive system. If the cards don't fall our way in the draft, we aren't totally screwed.

I agree. Out of all positions on defense, Linebacker is probably the one that varies the most with scheme. That's probably why so many Bills failed to see the value of Tremaine Edmunds. Too many are still caught-up in this idea of a traditional Middle Linebacker in the mold of Ray Lewis, Junior Seau or Mike Singletary. They wanted a guy who could take-on blockers and plug the run. His skillset was more about taking away the middle of the field in zone coverage. Thanks for alerting me to NFL Draft Buzz. I have never heard of that site, and it's the first I've seen with Jack Campbell rated in the top 32 picks. Most have him in the 50-60 range, which is a late 2nd Round Pick.

Even the fans pushing for Jack Campbell at #27 admit it's not really good value. They are ONLY in favor, because they are worried he won't last until #59 and we will then be screwed. To me, this is a huge indictment of Brandon Beane's roster building. A contender should never go into a draft with a need so big, they can't go anywhere else with their picks. At this point, the Bills MUST reach terribly for a Middle Linebacker with their first pick... or they will need to make a significant trade-up in the 2nd Round to get one. That is a terrible situation to be in. I can only hope I'm wrong, and either Sean McDermott is planning some kind of scheme change that changes the type of LB we need... or we have a backup plan with a veteran (trade or signing) if the draft doesn't fall our way.

The situation involving Stefon Diggs is getting blown WAY out of proportion. He was emotional, angry and upset during the Bengals playoff loss. He was frustrated with the coaches and some of his teammates. So was I, and just about every Bills fan on the planet. He wanted to win, and really believed this team had a chance to win the Super Bowl. This does not magically mean his relationship with Josh Allen is breaking down. This does not mean he wants to be traded. This does not mean he is suddenly unhappy being in Buffalo.

Because trading down is not a terrible idea. Drafting Herndon Hooker is a terrible idea. Maybe one of the worst draft ideas I've seen on this board. You never know. But my money would be on Hooker being a 2nd/3rd Rounder.

The situation at DT is easily remedied. Sign DaQuan Jones to a 2-3 year extension, and the 1-Tech spot is completely set for a couple years. All you need is depth. Ed Oliver, Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle are an adequate rotation at 3-Tech for 2023. If a nice prospect falls in our lap in the draft, then someone will be expendable. If not, we can worry about it next season.

Terrible idea. 1. The Bills would get zero value in 2023 from this year's 1st Round Pick, unless Josh Allen gets hurt (in which case the season is sunk anyway). 2. The chances that Hooker's value would increase in 2-3 years is very small. How much value do guys like Malik Willis, Matt Corral and Desmond Ridder hold right now? All had some mid-late 1st Round buzz last year. All went in the 3rd Round. After a season of development, they would be lucky to fetch an equal draft pick.

Depends on what you mean by a Nose Tackle. Traditionally, the NT position is a 0-Tech defensive lineman in a 3-4 scheme. Since Sean McDermott does not run this alignment and probably never will, I don't see us using any resources on a player with this skillset. Now I have occasionally seen the 1-Tech lineman (4-3 scheme) also referred to as a Nose Tackle, although that's not the most commonly used positional term. This is the spot played by DaQuan Jones on our defense. Personally I would like to sign Jones to an extension and keep him as the starter. But I wouldn't be opposed to adding a backup on Day 3.

Disagree on CJ Stroud. Quarterbacks are tough to evaluate, but he has shown the ability to make all the throws and has pretty good accuracy. And I really like the situation he's likely going into with Carolina and Frank Reich. I would take him before Bryce Young without question. My biggest question with him, is that he's played with nothing but NFL-quality wide receivers.

Or you find a way to address the MLB position before the draft, so it's not a desperate need that must be filled. The Bills cannot afford another below average draft, if they want to keep their status as a potential Super Bowl team. They are already lagging behind the Chiefs/Bengals, and have the Dolphins/Jets on their heels in the AFC East.

Can someone point me to a single draft coverage website that has Jack Campbell as a 1st Round pick? I've looked through the Big Boards for NFL.com, ESPN, Fox, CBS, NBC, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, Draftwire, PFF, Pro Football Network, the Draft Network, DraftTek and Tankathon. Not to mention numerous YouTube channels that I've been following for years. The earliest I've seen him ranked is early 40s. Most have him as a mid/late 2nd Round selection. All the hype around this guy is due to the monster hole we have at MLB, and the weak Linebacker class leaving us without many other options. It is a terrible draft strategy to select a guy 15-20 picks too early with that valuable 1st Round selection, because you are scared of being left empty-handed. If this is the thinking, I would rather Brandon Beane sign someone like Zach Cunningham, Corey Littleton, Deion Jones... or start making phone calls for a Day 3 pick.

The Bills offense runs mostly 11 Personnel, and almost never 12. Another Tight End would probably sit the bench and go to waste. If we had a really creative OC, who found ways to utilize the various skills on the roster... then I would be more intrigued. But so far I have been totally underwhelmed by Ken Dorsey. It took him half the season to find ways to just get Dawson Knox the ball. He had no idea how to use Nyheim Hines. He never took advantage of Isaiah McKenzie on gadget plays. He pretty much just used Devin Singletary and James Cook interchangeably.

If the Bills truly believe: A) The general consensus on Jack Campbell as a mid-2nd/early 3rd Round prospect is way-off... B) He is truly a stud 1st Round MLB prospect that is the Best Player Available at our pick... C) Trading down will cost us him AND all the other prospects of equal value... Then yes... it absolutely makes sense for them to take him at #27. But if the primary motivation is fear that we leave the draft without a starting caliber MLB, and that is why Campbell needs to be pushed up the board, then the Bills are screwing themselves.

Again, my opinion on the situation has nothing to do with Campbell as a prospect. It's all about value. The main job of a GM is to fill the roster with talent. Draft and sign starting caliber players. Great GMs find ways to maximize and expand on their limited resources. In free agency, Beane was able to wait out the Safety market. He ended up getting Jordan Poyer AND Taylor Rapp combined for roughly HALF the cost someone like Jessie Bates signed for. That is tremendous value. Which is important, because we only have so much cap space. It works the same way in the draft. After the early 4th Round, hitting on draft picks is very tough. Finding ways to trade-down and nab another 2nd/3rd Round selection is huge. Outside of drafting in the Top 10, you run into big problems when you "fall in love" with a certain player, or pigeon-hole yourself into needing a particular position.

This is why the Bills have seen their draft success drop off a cliff over the last 2-3 years. It's always a huge mistake to go into a draft with a glaring positional need. Regardless of what people say, getting strong value in the draft is important. It's what separates the good GMs from the great. Jack Campbell may turn out to be a good NFL linebacker. But almost everyone in the draft world has him valued as a mid/late 2nd Round Pick. Even if Brandon Beane has a high grade on Campbell, he could probably trade back 5-10 spots (maybe more) and still get him. And in the process, get himself another Day 2 pick or even a Day 1 next season. Another free potential starter on a rookie contract, just because he is wisely playing the value game. But if we absolutely MUST walk out of the 2023 draft with a starting Middle Linebacker, then Beane would be taking a big risk in trading back.

Ehh... There has been plenty of panic going on about the Wide Receiver position, probably since about midseason (see thread on OBJ). Most people just saw the garbage available in free agency, and assumed the draft was the only option. I think the idea of landing DeAndre Hopkins just gave some hope. Reality is also starting to set, now that most free agents have been signed. Fans are starting to realize how many glaring holes the Bills are probably going into the draft with (WR, RT, DE, LB), and it's frustrating.

Josh Allen gives us an advantage over teams without franchise QBs. He does not give us an advantage over Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow. He does not give us an advantage over Aaron Rodgers, if he returns to 2020-2021 form. If Tua stays healthy and takes another step in his development, he does not give us a significant advantage over him either. In the NFC, having someone like Allen would put us in the Super Bowl conversation without question. In the AFC East, it's going to come down to the supporting roster. And in my opinion, the Bills are slipping further behind with each passing week.

Usually a player (of Lamar Jackson's caliber) can look towards the Top 5 contracts at his position as the rough parameters of a deal. But the NFL is in a very unique place when it comes to Quarterback contracts right now. Especially when it comes to the guaranteed money. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen would normally be a standard benchmark, mostly due to age and talent. But both of them signed extremely team-friendly deals without much long-term money guaranteed. Deshaun Watson is considered an outlier, because he DID get a fully guaranteed contract despite off-field concerns. Teams are trying to make a point not to make his deal the norm. Russell Wilson signed the big contract and then totally busted, which acts as a warning against giving out a fully guaranteed contract. Then you have Jackson himself, who has been dealing with injuries the last two seasons. His style of play is a long-term concern. Whether he can succeed outside Greg Roman's unique offensive scheme is a concern. It's totally understandable why teams are reluctant to give him what he wants.

Fans always look at everything as black and white. Either Gabe Davis is really good and underappreciated... or he totally sucks and doesn't even belong on an NFL roster. The reality is somewhere in the middle. Looking around the NFL, I found only seven teams with a #2 WR that is clearly and significantly better than Davis: - Dolphins, Bengals, Chargers, Eagles, Cowboys, Bucs, Seahawks At the same time, there are about eight teams where Davis could potentially be their #1 guy: - Ravens, Texans, Colts, Titans, Chiefs, Giants, Packers, Panthers, The Bills are not in a terrible position with Davis as the #2 receiver. But in my opinion, this team should be striving to surround Josh Allen with better weapons than "not terrible." We've seen too many times in the playoffs where opponents succeed in taking away Stefon Diggs, and nobody steps up. Having two exceptional outside receivers would keep that from happening.

Tim Graham doesn't have the slightest clue what will happen... because very likely Brandon Beane and Monti Ossenfort STILL don't know what will happen themselves. Social media absolutely blows things out of proportion - in both directions. When reports started surfacing about us being interested in DeAndre Hopkins, many Bills fans took that as absolute confirmation we were making a trade. Just like you are now taking Graham's comments as absolute confirmation that we are not. Of course, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Take all the pieces of information that we've gathered (from Beane himself, local beat reporters and the national media). It's pretty clear the Cardinals are shopping Hopkins. It's pretty clear we checked in. And it's pretty clear the two parties haven't come to an agreement on the price tag to make a deal. Everything else beyond that is total speculation, whether positive or negative. It's totally possible that neither side budges, and a deal never comes to fruition. It's also possible that one side backs off their demands, depending on how everything else shakes off in the coming months. How does the draft play out? Maybe Beane misses out on OBJ and can't land the WR prospect he wants. Then he's willing to switch-up and make a deal. Maybe Ossenfort decides he wants another couple picks when late April rolls around, and comes down off the asking price. Maybe Hopkins starts pushing the issue himself and demands a trade.

It's a much bigger risk to play behind an O-Line that frequently allows free rushers to break through.

Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde are aging, so we need to have a plan after they are gone. Hyde is also coming back from a neck injury, which is always questionable. Damar Hamlin has been cleared physically, but you have to wonder about the mental aspect. Jaquan Johnson signed with the Raiders, and Siran Neal is still a free agent. Safety was a bigger need than many are giving it credit for.

When it comes to Tremaine Edmunds, the timing has just been awful for the Bills. His development was just a little slow... which is why I believe the Bills kept waiting to consider an extension. If we saw this kind of play in Year 3-4, I think Brandon Beane would have locked him up long ago. But by the time he finally turned into the player we hoped for, Edmunds had priced himself out of our range. This also happens to be an AWFUL year for finding replacement Linebackers. Free agency didn't have many decent options. And by most counts, this year's LB draft class is extremely weak and thin. Does anyone really believe a Super Bowl team can go into training camp with Tyrell Dodson, Terrel Bernard and Baylon Spector competing for the starting MLB spot? If not, Beane will be stuck on Draft Day with an absolutely massive hole at MLB. Which means he will need to reach with either his 1st or 2nd Round pick to get one of the few decent prospects available. It's an ugly scenario.