mjt328

I haven't been happy with a lot of Brandon Beane's moves lately. But when it comes to Tremaine Edmunds, there really wasn't much else he could do. The free agent contract he signed with the Bears was ridiculous, and way more than he was worth. Teams tight against the cap have to set a limit on what they can spend for a player. Letting Edmunds walk for that amount was absolutely the correct thing to do, even if he isn't easily replaced and our defense ultimately takes a step back (which I do believe is the case). It's possible Beane could have traded Edmunds for a draft pick before the 2022 season. But that would have left a huge hole in the middle of the defense (like we have now), in what was supposed to be a Super Bowl contending season. And at that point, I also don't think it was a given that Edmunds was going to walk in free agency. I think the Bills always hoped to re-sign him, but the dollars just never worked out. Not to mention, players with expiring contracts have a decreased trade value. Teams are mostly paying for the ability to avoid a bidding war in free agency. Before the 2022 season, we maybe could have gotten a 2nd Round pick for Edmunds. At the end of the day, we still get a 3rd Round compensatory pick.

Bills will trade out of the 1st Round, and end up taking Jalin Hyatt. DeAndre Hopkins will be traded to the Chiefs, not us. Jack Campbell will last to our 2nd Round pick, and we still won't take him. We will take an Edge Rusher on Day 2, but not address the Offensive Line until Day 3. The Jets will absolutely kill this draft, and be the clear AFC East favorite by the weekend.

Based on our pre-draft visits, I think the Bills are targeting WRs with versatility to play outside and in the slot. Quentin Johnson seems like an X receiver only to me, so I don't really think he fits the mold. He was also one of the only early WR prospects (1st Round or early 2nd Round) we didn't reportedly bring in for a visit. The other WR missing from that list is Josh Downs (another popular mock pick for us), who most people feel is a slot receiver only. In the scenario above, I believe the Bills would probably seek a trade-down first. If not, they would probably consider Jalin Hyatt or Darnell Wright (not a receiver, but good value at #27).

Based on my observations of how the Bills conduct their pre-draft process, I also believe the signs are pointing towards us targeting Wide Receiver early. Specifically a WR that can rotate between outside and the slot. Although the Top-30 Visits aren't a dead give-away, they do tip our hand towards what positions we are considering in early rounds. The Bills have met with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jordan Addison, Zay Flowers and Jalin Hyatt. Pretty much every 1st-Round WR prospect with the exception of Quentin Johnson (who only projects to the outside). Combine that with their interest in Odell Beckham mid/late last year... them eventually being forced to re-sign Cole Beasley and John Brown when ODB wasn't going to be ready... and their clear interest in DeAndre Hopkins this offseason... I would say WR is clearly a position they are looking to upgrade. Deonte Hardy is more of an Isaiah McKenzie replacement. Trent Sherfield is more of the Jake Kumerow replacement. Now if another higher ranked prospect falls unexpectedly (such as OT Darnell Wright), they may go in a different direction. But I do believe that if we stay put at #27, Beane is expecting to take one of the four WRs listed above.

Josh Allen always seems to struggle against the Jets defense. They have taken us to the wire a couple times over the last 2-3 seasons, and last year we even lost to them with Zack Wilson as QB. New York adding Aaron Rodgers is not a joke, regardless of the arrogant and overconfident responses in this thread. Hope the Bills rediscover their A+ game this year. Because they played at a B- most of 2022, and that simply isn't going to cut it.

Copying other teams isn't always the best path to success. The last three Super Bowl champions (Chiefs, Rams, Bucs) had totally different strengths, and were built in completely different ways. Ken Dorsey should be building primarily around the strengths of Josh Allen, and Brandon Beane should be stockpiling talent that fits the scheme/system that Dorsey creates. Neither should be worried about how the Chiefs achieved their success. Having a great O-Line should always be a priority, regardless of system. But just because Travis Kelce is the perfect fit for Patrick Mahomes, doesn't mean our offense needs another elite TE to succeed. Josh Allen's greatest success has always come with a top-level slot receiver (Cole Beasley) as his safety outlet. Drafting trends have also changed over the years. The more teams are running 3-WR sets and spread offenses, the more they are putting a value on slot receivers.

The way other Super Bowl teams have been constructed is irrelevant. The Bills run 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) probably 70% of the time, and are one of the most pass-heavy teams in the NFL. There is a reason people are pushing for adding talent at Wide Receiver. Many people who study the Bills on film believe - and have believed since about mid-season last year - that our primary inconsistency on offense was tied heavily to poor production from the slot receiver position. Regain control over the short-middle of the field, and you will see less turnovers from Josh Allen and better production from Gabe Davis down the sideline. You won't get an argument from me about drafting O-Line. And considering the depth at Defensive End in the draft, I won't be upset if we add another guy at that position either. But just because teams like the Chiefs got away with sub-par talent at WR doesn't mean we can do the same.

Even if Von Miller is cleared by doctors and ready to go, I'm not sure Sean McDermott will put him on the field. The whole reason they signed him was to get over the hump in the playoffs. Then they went and lost him for the playoffs. I can see them holding him out until November and then giving him a gradual ramp-up for the postseason (similar to Tre White last year).

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.