Rocky Landing

I think it's worth mentioning the Bills in this thread. Bills going by position (IMO): QG: Push. At an elite level! OL: Push. I'm not willing to call Saffold an upgrade over Williams, and the loss of Mongo means we have a need at backup C. But, Kromer is an upgrade, IMO. RB: Slight upgrade. At the very least, the RB squad is deeper. TE: Clear upgrade. Can't wait to see Knox, and Howard on the field at the same time. WR: Slight upgrade. My bild prediction: Crowder will have a career-high season with Allen throwing him the ball. DL: CLEAR upgrade. LB: Slight downgrade. AJ Klein was legit. DB: Slight upgrade. Cautiously optimistic that White will start the season, and Elam will start as an upgrade over Wallace. Overall? Bills got better.

It's never a good idea to hang one's hat on draft picks going into the season. But, it's hard not to think that the Jets have improved their team enormously over the last few days. They've done a great job this offseason, IMO. The Dolphins did it in FA, and sacrificed their draft in the process. Good for them, I suppose. We'll see if the King's ransom they paid for Hill proves to be worth it. I suspect not. Hill may be the best WR in the league, but with such a lower caliber QB throwing him the ball behind such a crappy O-line, one has to believe his production will fall off, and with it his attitude. It's been a pleasure to watch the Patriots* lose so many key pieces (CB Jackson, G Mason, C Karras, among several others), barely make a move in FA, and then screw up their draft so badly. It's all on paper, of course, but the Pats* might be in trouble. And it's not just a matter of personnel-- they lost their O-line coach, and their long-time OC Josh McDaniels, as well. It's hard to imagine how the cheating, aging GOAT Belichick* might pull this team up.

He hadn't even had a chance to check into his hotel and change out of that suit and they're dragging him to a Sabres game! Just awesome.

Wut...? https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/04/30/odell-beckham-jr-reports-deebo-samuel-to-patriots/

McKenzie can play in the slot, but is more of a Swiss army knife gadget guy. We know that Daboll loved him for all those traits. It remains to be seen if Dorsey will utilize these talents, but he is unique on the team. If Shakir shows real potential in the P/KR game, that would go a long way in securing a position on the 53, and I see no reason not to keep all three. Be that as it may, I have to believe that Hodgins has an uphill climb to break into the 53.

I would put Kumerow ahead of Stevenson, especially if he loses the competition at P/KR, which I certainly hope he does.

Carrying seven WRs last season was a luxury that won't likely be repeated this season. And suffice to say there will be some stout competition for those deeper spots. If Shakir shows aptitude at K/PR, we may have seen the last of Stevenson.

"A coach's dream, combining competitive nature, exciting versatility and elite character on and off the field." This is a Beane pick through and through.

I had totally missed that Taron had changed his number!

One they'll probably be willing to pay.

I doubt that they had any fear that Dallas was going to take Elam. I think the fear was that Dallas was willing to trade down (something that Beane could very well have been wise to), and another CB needy team would trade for the pick. Indeed, that competition may very well have been why the pick was so expensive.

Indeed, the trade may not have been necessary in hindsight. But, Beane wasn't going to finish the night without one first-round-graded player from his board. That would have been a failure, and erring on the side of caution was the right choice, IMO.

It's remarkable that Brandon Beane had a first round grade on Kaiir Elam, but not Devin Lloyd, Jemaine Johnson, Daxton Hill, or Lewis Cine. I have come to the conclusion that the sit-down interview, that presumable all teams have with draft prospects, is more important to Beane than maybe any other GM in the league. And as far as things like work ethic, coachability, culture fit, team-first attitude, and drive, Beane has never been wrong. Welcome Kaiir Elam!

3-D chess, people. Belichick* is trying to lull us into not drafting a punter.

When you look at what McD/Frazier did with a UDFA CB who makes life decisions based on the color of his underwear, I think we can be hopeful in Elam's potential in this defense.

Ekwonu's knees don't look right...

As the rules state "11 times to make the best team," I'm assuming that have to play offense, and defense. Anyone who simply goes for athleticism is getting it wrong. Clone a huge guy, and run it every single time. I'm going with Spencer Brown. He/they'd get three yards a play. go for it on every fourth down. Score points. On defense-- cover zero, rush five.

No, I think that's the old that.

But would you let him date your sister?

Sammy Watkins was a Bill. Don't mess with his jersey.

Personally, I think the D-line rotation is going to be fiercer than ever. In fact, if we were going to have an early “bold predictions” thread, I might predict that a) we will once again have 11 defensive linemen on the 53, and b) there won’t be one of them with more than eight sacks, but the Bills D will be top five overall in sacks in the NFL. Which would be cool…

Madden was great, and there’s always been something comforting about Al Michael’s play by play. Love his voice. I also really enjoy Tony Roma’s color commentary. I feel like I’m learning something when he’s there. Howard Cosell was a classic. At 57, I’m a little young to have a strong opinion on him, but I did know that my father hated him like nails on a chalk board, so that tainted my opinion a bit.

Completely agree with this. However... i kinda feel like we are in a very similar situation to last year, when there was basically one significant hole to fill (last year it was DE), and beyond that we were basically drafting for backup positions. Last year, six out of eight made the 53 (which is a pretty good record, frankly), and the remaining two were poached off the Practice Squad. And compared to last season, we actually may have fewer backup positional needs to fill. If we finish the draft with only having six, or even five draft picks? Trading up (and losing some future dead cap/weight in the process), could not only mean the right number of draft picks, but the elite player we acquire (whomever Beane thinks that may be) might just be a big piece of the future we want to build.

There was a great play in the Bills thrashing of the Patriots* in the Divisional round where the ball was immediately handed off to Motor who breaks off to the right, and Morse, also breaking to the right, runs in front of him like a full back. That dude can run, and he's only 29. I strongly suspect that with the addition of Kromer, and Saffold, the run game is going to be vastly improved from where it began at the beginning of last season, and I believe Mitch Morse will be a big part of that. IMO. Morse will retire a Bill.

How many have you met?