Brandon

He may want big money, but coming off that knee injury, his options are very limited. He's either going to have to prove he can still play and earn a new contract in 2007 or be willing to sign an incentive based deal right now with his new team.

The 5 year, $18 million contract Tripplett recieved from the Bills indicates that yes, he will start. Pickett will probably cost a little more than that. Throw in Ngata at 8, and you've got close to $60M tied up in those three players and probably have three very good, but not quite Pro Bowl caliber players. Ouch.

Actually, I'd see if the Packers would be willing to make an even trade of Moulds for Walker. If Walker doesn't pan out, the Bills aren't out anything besides Moulds, a player they would have released anyway.

Barring any trades, I think he'll most likely go 6th, though Tennesse might pick him at 3. The Jets, Packers, and Saints seem to be set at DE to me. If I'm right, I'd like to see the Bills try to make a move up the board to take him at 5.

I agree that they probably need two more DTs, but its clear from their interest in Pickett that they want to find their starters in FA. If they do sign another solid FA DT (and I think they will), they probably won't draft a DT until the middle rounds as a backup. Otherwise, you start getting too many resources tied up into one area.

The Bills seem intent on filling their DT need through FA instead of the draft, so I don't think Ngata is anything close to being a lock for the Bills 8th pick. Quite the opposite, actually.

Why does it make sense for the Saints? Again, they have two recent, productive 1st round picks at DE.

That may be true regarding Triplett and Davis, but Royal ran a 4.97 at the combine in 2002. Yikes.

After reading that, its pretty clear that he will not return. The Bills signing of Andre Davis also makes perfect sense now. He is not a direct replacement for either Moulds or Reed, but was signed this weekend as an insurance policy in case they could not reach an agreement with Moulds on a contract.

Why? They have Charles Grant and Will Smith at DE.

I could live with giving up a 3rd (or more) for perhaps the best DE prospect in a decade. The Bills defense won't be good until they can sustain a consistent pass rush from only their front four. That is especially true in a cover 2 scheme where you don't blitz that much. And I'm just sick and tired of seeing almost every opposing QB have all day to throw and pick our secondary apart. If you really wanted to replace that day 1 pick you lose, there are ways to do it. They could probably recover a 3rd by trading down in R2. Or, they could trade next year's #1 for a 2nd this year. Myself, I'd probably just be content with losing the pick in the trade up.

What is a 32 year old WR with a huge contract worth in a trade, especially when he appears to have lost a step or three? Not much, unless they go for a conditional pick that can become a 2nd or 3rd..

The only player I'd be willing to trade up for is Mario Williams. If they can sign another starter or two at need positions, I'll be 100% behind a move up the board to select him, even at the very high cost of trading up into the top 5.

Mario Williams Vernon Davis D'Brickashaw Ferguson Reggie Bush Matt Leinart Broderick Bunkley AJ Hawk

Cut him, trade him, it all counts the same against the Bills cap, so yes, they can do it. The question is whether or not the Bills could find someone willing to part with a draft pick at his age and with his contract. The fact that he may soon be released isn't going to help, either.

I'd certainly consider trading up for Mario Williams. IMO, he's the best player in this draft. My trade offer to GB? The 8th pick, our 2nd 3rd rounder, and next year's 1st round pick for the 5th pick plus GB's 2nd round pick next year. That allows us to keep our 2nd round pick this year (and I really doubt GB would bite for less) and we still have 7 picks next year, though we swap a 1st rounder for a 2nd.

Could also mean they'll pick Gabe Watson or another run stuffing DT in R2 or 3.

I probably wouldn't sign any big name/money FAs this offseason, but that money might very well be useful next year. Remember, that dead money comes off the cap in 07 if he's released or traded now.

Here's a draft profile on Davis from NFL.com: http://www.nfl.com/draft/2002/profiles/davis_andre.htm

Doubtful. Aiken is a RFA, I believe, so it would be very easy to retain him if all they wanted was a STs player.

I'll believe it when I see it. If the Bills were just wanting to add a little depth at WR, it probably would have been a whole lot cheaper to add a rookie in the middle of the draft.

My guess is that the Bills were trying to sign a decent WR before unloading Moulds. Otherwise, there's really no reason to sign a FA WR and could have drafted a prospect at a lower cost in R3-5.

I think this is exactly the type of signing a team makes to ensure that it doesn't necessarily have to draft for need on draft day. So, yes, I think its much more likely now that we will pass on a DT (and I think it would be Bunkley), focus on another position in the draft, and pick a DT in R2 or 3.

Round 5.

His 2002 draft profile from NFL.com... http://www.nfl.com/draft/2002/profiles/royal_robert.htm