Sumin

You hit the nail on the dot... If anyone is shying away from drafting a blue chip OT player in the first ten picks based solely on the fact that we already have a great OT in Glenn.. and are banking on Chris Hairston.. that line of thinking is actually not long term. I think we can all agree, at least I hope, that OLine is now the biggest need to be addressed. Heaven forbid if Cordy gets injured again? Or Wood? We were lucky to get out of last season unscathed. Moreover, you don't skip a talent because you don't think you can satisfy their needs in the future. That speaks to poor management, IMO. You don't draft a RT in the first ten picks? Okay, so you'd rather grab a less talented player at another position of need if it came down to that? Let's look at the breakdown. The Bills MO has been, over the past few years, to find value with cheaper than the average pay guard. (Williams, Urbik). So the Bills can compensate for this by having two rock solid T's, right? Now, this said, if Matthews and Robinson are both gone, I have no qualms trading down to get more picks and still get a above average lineman. BUT either Robinson or Matthews would shore up that RT position for the next 4-5 years. Because Hairston is such a wildcard, we should operate under the assumption that he currently is not fit for playing. You plan for the worst. This means you have Erik Pears as your starter. If you draft Matthews or Robinson, then it gets you more flexibility on the line. Even if they draft Matthews or Robinson, I don't know that I would cut Pears unless he's truly getting outperformed in camp by Hairston. Tell me, Mark Asper and JJ Unga could be promising players, but would you really want them to step into a game right now to take someone's spot?

I agree on having someone to back Spikes up. My pick would be Max Bullough- I have some concerns with Borland's size, but then again, I had concerns with Kikos size too..

I would still love to snag Austin Sefarian Jenkins in round 2- he's a complete TE and will probably fall due to injury concerns. Great signing, however. We need Chandler because Gragg and Moeaki are two relative unknowns. Chandler/Jenkins/Moeaki would be a great TE core in my opinion

Urbik was hobbled this year. I think he can be productive. If Pears is cut, it'll be in training camp. He's not costing the Bills any bonuses at the moment, so the competition would be beneficial. Great post

For arguments sake, I'll accept your premise that Gilmore has underachieved. But would you not agree that, when healthy, Gilmore has at least performed above average? Maybe not elite, but a solid starter, no? Take a look at his 1st year in which he has healthy. EVEN if he is only decent starter... we don't let him walk. He's young and has room to improve. You want to create another hole? And watch him go to another team and become a shutdown corner that I envision him becoming?

We just signed Corey Graham, so I doubt Carroll is in the mix now, unless they are looking at him as a potential safety.

Look at my post above. I don't trust PFF in the slightest. I prefer the eye ball test. Summers is still raw, but he brings a good skill set to the table.

Interesting fact: When Frank Summers got 20+ snaps a game, the Bills were 5-0. Just saying..

Because, according to a tweet from Chris Brown, Jackson is seeking 7 million per year. No thanks.

From what I know, it is Glenn we cannot resign as of yet due to CBA rules. We can extend Dareus, or choose to active a 5th year clause in his contract and buy another year. Dareus, Glenn, Spiller, and Hughes are now guys the Bills should consider extending

What if he sustains more concussions? Are you placing money over personal health, given what happened to players after football like Junior Seau, etc? Dude had a decent career in the NFL, made plenty of money, and may get an injury settlement. Ultimately it is his decision. Brain injuries are serious, and that is just my concern.

Good thoughts. I'm of the opinion that Ward will command a lot on the market. He's young, had a career year, and embodies the hard hitting nature that teams desire lately. Perhaps Louis Delmas could be an option? He's younger and played in Schwartz's system. I'd love to sign Strief, but there is mutual interest between his party and the Saints in getting a deal done. I'm keeping a close eye on KC for who they retain on their OLine

I agree with you on Dareus, and Aaron Williams, Cordy Glenn etc. If we were to sign Dareus and AW with the money we were allotting to Byrd, I could then understand- tough business choices have to be made and I would much rather have two solid players However I don't think this team should be looking to make big splashes in FA. FA players are vastly overpaid. According to Whaley, this team will be looking to add some players on later days on FA, which I wouldn't mind at all.. granted we pick up the right players like we did with Branch and Lawson. This team isn't one player away from a playoffs. We have holes in various places and need more depth everywhere. We'll hear more about what teams were offering for Byrd, but my guess is that it was nothing higher than a 3rd given his contract and the Bills wanted a 2nd or 1st rounder. Because tagging Byrd carries some risks, the Bills then decided to just let him walk and follow their FA policy which would net them a compensatory draft pick most likely. Just IMO, I could be completely off on this however. It sucks, but next man up, right? I'm glad the Bills at least somewhat prepared in advance for Byrd's departure. I think this means Leonard is resigned and our safeties next year are AW, Searcy, Leonard, Duke, and Meeks. Or who knows, maybe we address safety in FA or the draft. I would hope we would not address safety in the draft seeing as we already have two safeties from last draft that have good potential.

I completely agree- unless a blue chip defensive prospect falls to us at 9, I wouldn't go for that at 9, especially since there is so much offensive talent in the early rounds in the draft. If we can find bargain deals on defense in FA and UDFA, then we could completely draft offense in the draft. 2-3 OL, 1 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB, 1 P/QB

Exactly. The Bills are fortunate, we are in one of the best cap situations in the NFL. In my opinion, forget about Free Agency unless we get a bargain deal. I would focus on retaining our homegrown talent, like Byrd, AW, Dareus, Glenn, Spiller, and Hughes. Because of rookie contracts we are paying peanuts at positions like QB so we can invest that money elsewhere

In reality, you are only gaining a 3rd round pick for Byrd. I'd much rather keep Byrd for a year under the tag and actually get proven production. I know that there's the possibility that he could take it easy or miss a few games due to injury concerns, but it is a risk you take. Let me even call Byrd "borderline elite" even though I think he is elite. Would you trade a borderline elite player for a 3rd round pick? We have enough holes as it is. If Byrd leaves next year, so be it- by that time, hopefully our younger safeties will have gained some experience. In my opinion- and correct me if I am wrong- we would get a 3rd round pick anyway if we have Byrd for a year and then not choose to give him a contract due to compensatory picks. Byrd would still be the highest paid and sought after safety in free agency. But of course, there is a reason that I am not a GM.. lol

Unless the market for him is so small that his contract demands lessen, I'd say no. We already have some good pass rushers and Hughes is a lot younger and has more potential to improve his game. I don't think Tuck will be willing to take a low contract unless he goes to a contender. Just seems like it is his last payday in FA so he will try to get as much value out of it as possible. But who knows. Anything is possible If we were to grab anyone in FA on the Dline I would want Willie Young. He's young and played in Schwartz's defense. He too, would have to come at a reasonable price. We've invested so much in the DL already and Hughes and Carrington are also decisions we have to make- even more could be invested in comparison to as we stand right now

The Bills are definitely looking to acquire an outside target in this draft, a #1 as some prefer to call it but personally I will not use that term since WRs move around quite a bit. Stevie, draft choice, Woods and Goodwin will be primary targets. Then you have two WRs to round out the roster with some developmental attributes. They would have to be excellent special teamers. I have little doubt that Easley will be on this team because of his sharp special teams play. That delegates Graham to the "#5" spot. However, Graham will be competing with other training camp prospects who also could be good at special teams who may offer more in actual WR play. I think the Bills really liked Kevin Elliott last year in camp and I did too. I'd like for one of these guys to outshine Graham, whether it is Elliot, Barden, Kaufman.... They already have speed so Graham has to distinguish himself, which he has not. Goodwin may not be as experienced but he has done far more than Graham and really provides a threat which I for the most part have not seen from Graham. Let's hypothetically say Graham does not cut it and Elliott does. Then the Bills have three "big" WRs in Elliott, Easley and the draft pick and three "smaller" guys in Woods, Goodwin, and Stevie. This, in my opinion, would greatly improve the WR core. There is no reason why we should have guys like Hogan or Graham on this roster unless there is nobody better out there. We already have skilled possession receivers in Woods and Stevie. While they are extremely valuable, your receiving core cannot be all possession receivers.

Martavis Bryant, Clemson Clemson just seems to breed WRs. Watkins and Bryant ran 4.4s and Peak ran a 4.3 (unofficial) but watching their games, Bryant has the makings of a #1 receiver. He's 6'5, 202 lbs. I think he is better than Mike Evans in terms of route running and also having his head on straight. I have a feeling Bryant will shoot up draft boards at the combine.

Greg Robinson, RT Austin Sefarian- Jenkins, TE Shayne Skov, ILB Martavis Bryant, WR Aaron Murray, QB James Wilder Jr, RB Walt Aikens, CB 5-7 are straight BPA. I think there are three immediate starters from this draft: Robinson, Skov, and Bryant

I don't think I've seen him in action once during his tenure with the Bills. JAG, I'm assuming

Forgive my hyperbolic filled statement. I was simply annoyed by the knee jerk reaction of some people on this board, and I suppose that was hypocritical to the message I was trying to get across. I will always be a fan of this franchise My point is that releasing a player like Stevie Johnson will epitomize the depths to which this franchise has fallen in asinine decision making that has left it in shambles over the past century. We as fans are so concerned over the monetary aspects of decisions, but at some point, the franchise must keep some assets that are valuable or it will never be successful, period. Moreover, players like Stevie who galvanize the "fire" within this team are even more important to success. Stevie's antics, in moderation, are acceptable. We all saw pure passion from Richard Sherman during that now famous post game interval with Erin Andrews. Every team needs individuals to imbue a sense of urgency and motivation into a locker room in order create a winning culture. Stevie is one of those players. He is a leader of this team. Players look up to him, and to get rid of him without a surefire replacement when we have the cap room is stupid. I will consider the argument that his performance is the reason for this discussion taking place. But giving the revolving nature of our offense this year and Stevie's personal problems, I still think he is one of the best receivers in the league, and for that reason, I will be infuriated if the Bills cut ties with him. But still a fan, nonetheless.

86 is David Nelson, could be reflecting on David leaving the Bills Stevie also could be taking a break from football due to the recent death of his mother. I love how everyone immediately assumes this means Stevie is getting cut or released. It's possible, but he is our best receiver and we have a bunch of unknowns after him. Doug Whaley had already stated that Stevie will be back next year. He could have changed stances, but I doubt it. And if Marrone can't handle Stevie's benign antics then he doesn't deserve to be a coach, period. Completely asinine to release Stevie and I would probably no longer be a fan of the bills if they do so.

If we draft OL at 9, we better be getting an absolutely great prospect. The only OL in the top picks last year that made a difference was Fluker- he was an animal. I see only two OL at his level: Robinson and Matthews. I could be content with either of those two. If I had a choice, I would select Khalil Mack- I think he is a complete LB and one of the better ones to come out in some time and would immediately improve our run defense. Because OL is so deep, I would take multiple picks later in the draft, hoping for a starter-like talent like Glenn to fall and then to pick up solid depth. FA will paint a better picture as to what we shall do in the draft, as will information regarding Hairston. Honestly if the Bills are in good shape cap-wise it might actually make sense to keep Pears around for his last year as a backup. We got lucky this year that injuries didn't decimate our OL, but we might not get so lucky next year. If the Bills get rid of Pears, they will need to be even more proactive in attaining players who can step up to the plate. We shall see.

R1 Jake Matthews, OT R2 David Yankey, OG R3 Shayne Skov, ILB R4 Brandon Coleman, WR R5 Aaron Murray, QB R6 Storm Johnson, RB R7 Xavier Grimble, TE The playmakers I wanted in my draft were all taken in the first round- as a result I took Yankey in the 2nd as BPA. Wouldn't be a bad thing to beef up the OLine. Storm Johnson and Aaron Murray were both excellent values in later rounds. I took BPA for the majority of the draft but felt TE and WR were lacking as they were taken in bunches early. Marquise Lee was drafted 5! Watkins 2! Jeez..