Kirby Jackson

There’s really only 1 FA left now that can be considered an impact player. The Bills should sign him post June 1. They’re going to need impact player(s) in the draft. They have a hard time finding them.

Milano is (and was) the 2nd best player on the team. He’s a top of the league player at his position. I’d says he’s the only other star on the roster. The Bills have a lot of good players and most of them are ascending still. They lack top of the roster talent for sure. They’ve lost to the teams who have more top talent.

The short answer, is “yes” it was absolutely necessary. The economics of the NFL are vastly different than 50 years ago. They are vastly different than 10 years ago. That’s been the entire point here. The Bills haven’t been contributing to the pie at a rate similar to other teams. Pricing the stadium in line with the current state of the NFL allows them to “carry their weight.” That was the entire reason for the new stadium. In terms of PSLs, that’s just the way that business is done in the NFL now. These public/private partnerships are the standard. Would it have been nice for Uncle Terry to pay the entire portion of the private money? Sure. Was that ever realistic? Nope. We have been spoiled for a generation (or generations). We are still going to be on the lower half of pricing in the NFL because of the market. This is just a step in narrowing the gap between the Bills and other NFL teams.

This is why I love these mock draft threads. People take their roles seriously and understand the team needs of the teams that they are drafting for. It also has a bit of a butterfly effect. This is a nightmare scenario for the Bills IMO. Clearly it’s possible that many WRs go. They just did. Certain dominos dictated that. This is why they can’t wait until 60 for one. That’s not an option. They probably go with one of the DTs here but that’s not impact for this roster, imo. That’s just where the value is with where there’s a long term need. I’d prefer a 1-T if that’s the route but the board didn’t fall that way. The Bills current needs as I see them: - WR1 - WR2 - Edge - S - CB - DT - power back - LB - Edge - WR/CB with return ability

I think that his upside is “best WR in football.” All 3 of the top guys in this draft have that ceiling. They have HOF potential. Obviously, we are a LONG way from that but that’s where their skills are.

FWIW, I’ve heard that the Bills LOVE Nabers. Obviously he has star potential. Personally, I prefer Harrison and Odunze but each could be great. I’m confident that the Bills will be targeting one of those 3. We will see if there’s a deal to be had.

Certain seats are for internal seats, to leverage sponsorships, etc. Every stadium has that. The Bills have sold as many as season tickets as they’ve elected to make available. That’s the point that I’m making I guess (semantics). That’s what would be considered “only season tickets.” I don’t remember if they still sell individual games to season ticket holders or the general public? They used to but I don’t remember seeing an email last year. After all that, we don’t disagree here 🍻

Lol, this is just wrong. The stadium will be ONLY season tickets as it currently is. Now if you’re saying people will purchase tickets on the SECONDARY market at a higher percentage than they do now, that’s possible. The Bills entire stadium though will be sold with season tickets.

With the 46th pick in the VMD 1.0 the Indianapolis Colts select Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida The Saints sniped our target. The Colts were hoping to pair the draft’s top corner with the drafts top S but he went off the board one pick too soon. We pivoted to a player that we just love. We wanted to give Richardson another weapon and do so by giving him a college teammate. We think Pearsall’s ceiling is sky high and need to keep up with the arm’s race going on within our division. @BuffaloBillyG and the NY Giants are now on the clock.

I’ve probably done 200 mocks at this point. I’ve taken Milton in at least half of them. To me, he’s a lottery ticket. He’s a guy that you hope flashes in the preseason. If Josh ever missed an extended period of time, and you fell out of the race, run Milton out there. If he ever played to his talent, you could trade him for 2 firsts. To me, this seems obvious. Worst case scenario, he replaces Shane Buechele. Be honest, how many people knew that Buechele was on the roster? 😂😂 I just googled it because I thought it was Sam Ehlinger.

If the Bills said “Mike Evans” instead of “Sammy Watkins” you’d think that it was a great trade though, correct? The Julio Jones trade worked out great for Atlanta, right? We need to stop with the thought of, “we shouldn’t trade up for a WR because 10 years ago we did and it didn’t work out great.” Watkins not working out doesn’t correlate to these guys 😂😂.

But if he said “Mike Evans” instead, he won. That’s why I specifically chose Harrison of the 3. He’s the least likely to disappoint IMO. At the end of the day, he will be, at worst, a 1100 yard guy with 8 TDs.

This is another possible angle. They can give Ayiuk the Diggs money.

Yeah, it’s certainly a little optimistic. The cards would be betting a little on regression from the Bills and Vikings. I am a big Pelicans fan and they control the Lakers unprotected 1st in either 2024 or 2025. It is likely to be around 15 this year. That’s not a great pick in a not so great draft. Maybe AD gets hurt next year and age catches LeBron and it’s a top 5 pick. However, if the Lakers go add a 3rd star this summer it may be 29 next year. You are anticipating how they’ll be. The scenario above is predicated on the Cards thinking that there’s too much turnover on the Bills and they become a .500ish team AND the Vikings stink with Sam Darnold and that’s pick 35. now all of a sudden they have a ton of ammo in 2025 (and may need to get a QB).

I think that’s what he’s saying. You can either go get the star (a la Julio Jones) or you can accumulate guys in hopes of filling out the room (Watson, Doubs, Reed, Wicks)

This is the other best way to do it IMO. I’d love a Legette/McConkey combination. I feel like their games mesh well.

Lol, it’s a different world than it was in 2014. The salary cap in 2014 was $133M. The top 10 highest cap hits for a wr in 2014 averaged $12m or 9% of the salary cap. So basically, the teams with the highest paid guys paid them 9% of the cap. In 2024, they average over $26M and 10.3% of the cap. That is BEFORE Jefferson and Chase sign their extensions. That number will be roughly 12% when they do. We need to STOP comparing situations to different generations. For perspective 3% of the current cap is almost $8m of cap space. What happened at WR in 2014 is not comparable to 2024. Good questions GB. You’re probably right on the value being too low. My thought was more them fading the Bills a little and Vikings a lot. I’m on board with all 3 but have Harrison at 1. That’s in large part because of the floor as you mentioned. I think his floor is Amari Cooper’s career. His ceiling is Calvin Johnson. Apparently the Bills really like Nabers. I personally like Odunze even a little more (although that was partially a fit next to Diggs). If it gets to 8 or 9 it’s an easy decision for me. The Bears lack picks so I could see them being in play.

Okay, that’s a fair opinion. I’m not looking for “a good guy.” I’m looking for a top of the depth chart, low risk, stud. The goal of this wasn’t to say what we wouldn’t do. There’s plenty of that going on here already. This was, “who would be your 6 or 7 WRs on the roster this year and how did you get them?” Obviously we don’t know who will be on the board at 28 but we can use reasonable assumptions. Harrison won’t be, Pearsall will be, Mitchell might be. Be reasonable but lay out what your group would look like

Now that the dust has settled, how would you construct the WR room moving forward? Lay out the 6 or 7 WRs that you believe will comprise the WR room. For anyone not currently on the roster, lay out how they were acquired. There is a lot of talk in other threads about draft taargets, trade targets, guys left in FA. This is meant to talk about ALL of the WRs. Please do not use this as a place to say that we think Kincaid will see the ball more. That’s common sense. Let’s keep this strictly to WRs. How would you build out this room if you were Brandon Beane? WR room: - MHJ (Bills trade: pick 28, pick 133, 2025 1st, Minnesota 2025 2nd, Bills 2025 4th) (Arizona trades pick 4) - Khalil Shakir - Curtis Samuel - Michael Thomas (1 year $8M deal post June 1) - Jermaine Burton (pick 128) - Mack Hollins PS (2 or 3 of): - Shorter - Isabella - Shavers - UDFA We are pushing the chips in on a generational talent in MHJ. The Bills get an alpha, that has complete skills, HOF pedigree, on a rookie deal. It was hard to find the appropriate value for Arizona but if they think the Bills take a small step back & Minnesota a step back, the value is there. Those picks could be like picks 20 & 38 in 2025. Along with the mid round assets, it gets done. The Bills pay a hefty price but WRs aren’t cheap anymore. Shakir and Samuel are sort of interchangeable in my mind. They can play inside, outside and run after the catch. Samuel will be used more for gadgets and running plays but they’re both dangerous with the ball in their hands. The Bills get Thomas on a prove it deal. He’s battled injuries for a while but was once great. The “slant god” gives Allen a reliable, big body target, that can help on possession downs and in the red zone. If it works out, and he stays healthy, the Bills could consider bringing him back. If not, they move on in 2025. Burton goes to the Bills in the mid rounds. I haven’t been a huge fan of his through the draft process. There are some character concerns. He isn’t a guy that I’ve taken often while doing mocks, but just feels like the right fit to take the top off the defense here. His long speed fits well with this group. He’s been a really good deep ball guy and the Bills need that. Hollins is a ST guy and has been okay when targeted. He’s a rich man’s Kumerow. 2025 FA class is absolutely loaded at WR (at least at this point). The Bills can decide to chase a big fish (ie Jefferson, Higgins, etc..) if they so choose. The above group should be enough to be competitive in 2024. To conclude: The Bills give up a lot of assets to get Harrison but immediately fill the top of their depth chart on a rookie deal. They add Thomas and Burton to add a couple of different skill sets to the roster. Overall the group has some balance and a true difference maker. How would you build the room out?

That’s not a bad strategy. I think that they’re set on trying to get one of the top 3. They want a surefire number 1 on a rookie deal. They can use next year’s 1 and one of those 2’s (if need be) with whatever mid round picks to secure one. Something like: 28, pick 133, ‘25 1st & ‘25 2nd to get to 4,5, or 6. You can maybe pull out the 2nd next year if you wait until 9. Would the Cardinals take 28, a 2025 1st & 2nd and a 4th this year for 4? The Bills could still grab another WR in the 4th. The draft could start something like: - MHJ - d lineman - Javon Baker or McMillian or Polk

Yes I thought that they might before this deal but they absolutely should. Getting a stud, number 1, on a rookie deal is imperative. You’ll need another guy in the mid rounds as well. Something like Odunze and Baker or something like that would be nice.

The Vikings 2nd is important too. They might be the worst team in football this year if Darnold is their guy.

I went Legette but he felt like the Diggs counterpart. Now, I expect the Bills to trade up and grab one of the big 3. They’ll take another on the mid rounds.

Your options are “have an NFL team” and “do business as NFL teams do” or “not have an NFL team.” Those are the options. Cursing the system isn’t going to solve this issue. The demand, ratings and revenue that the NFL is getting now makes it more expensive to play. That’s what it IS. No one wants to pay an additional $40k to buy 2 seats that they have now. To some people it is worth it to continue attending Bills games. It’s not up to anyone else to tell someone what to do with their money. This is the system. You either get on board or your team ends up in LA or Vegas. They will.

I really don’t understand how the finances of this actually worked.