Brandon

I think that's probably the plan with Benford, but as well as he played at corner before getting hurt, I'd be tempted to leave him there.

I wouldn't draft one early, but with both safeties in their 30s, it's time to add at least one good developmental prospect.

Good. They need a long-term answer at both safety spots soon, but I'd rather not open up another hole on the defense this offseason if it can be avoided. I'm glad they managed to keep him.

He ran a 4.35 at his pro day. Regardless, it's readily apparent watching his highlights that he has elite speed on the field.

Watching the highlights earlier, he looks like a real WR to me. He's not just a track guy who doesn't have a clue what he's doing. He can run routes and he has good hands. He just has the unfortunate disadvantage of being 5'6". If he can stay on the field, I think he's likely an instant upgrade over McKenzie.

At the time, I didn't know anything about him...good or bad. As I learn more and watch some of his plays with the Saints, I think this is very likely an upgrade over McKenzie and, assuming that McKenzie is released, the net cost isn't much, about +$1.5M.

At the updated contract numbers, it makes more sense. I think the difference is only around $1.5M if they dump McKenzie. I have no idea if he's actually better than McKenzie, but again, I'll give the scouting department the benefit of the doubt for now.

I guess I'll have to trust the scouting department on this one, but still...yikes.

That's true up to a point. They certainly need to improve their OL. The problem is, the Bills only have two RBs on the roster at the moment, and both of them are undersized guys that aren't well suited to that type of situation. I don't care how they do it. They can draft one in R7 for all I care, but to me, this seems like a good opportunity to pick up a proven veteran who fits the role at a price that is likely within their FA budget.

I'm not saying they should do it every game or anything, but that having someone that could grind out 25-30 carries on a day when the wind is blowing 50 MPH in December might be useful.

I think Montgomery's contract is probably the high end for Williams. Or, at least, I wouldn't go over that (and preferably, in the $4-5M per range). Even at that point, I don't mind it too much if keeps some of those short yardage hits off Allen without having to burn an early draft pick to do it. Additionally, he'd also give them a realistic ball control option on those days when the weather isn't cooperating or if Allen is having an off day, and that's something that they don't currently have.

Not necessarily. They likely won't free up more than they need anyway, but it may just be that they don't want to push more money into future years.

I estimated it around 13-15m, so roughly the same range. They probably have around twice that available if they restructure the other major contracts. And then there's the possibility of trading off Oliver and his contract. They can make room to do whatever they want, it's just a matter of how much they want to push into the future.

For that kind of money, better them than the Bills, IMO.

It's the right McGovern, with proof in the twitter thread.

He's gotta be better than Saffold.

Probably not. Although they play the same position, they don't fill the same role. I assume they're going to try to rework Hines' contract regardless of whatever else they do at RB.

At a reasonable price, I'd be all for it. I've been a proponent of adding a good short yardage RB for a couple of years. The Bills can't keep relying on Josh Allen to fill the role.

I have no issue at all with Knox making it as an alternate and in fact I think he deserves it, though Dawkins seems like a little bit of a stretch. But Saffold!? Really?

Nice work 58.

At the end of R1, he won't be. That's the problem with drafting DEs where the Bills have. Elite pass rushers are the hardest thing to find with the exception of QBs. If they are, they go top 5. They got damn lucky getting Greg Rousseau where they did, and he's just 'good'.

Interestingly, the Chiefs, Bengals and Bills are the top three teams in the league for cap allocation to DL in 2023. The difference is that they don't have nearly as much tied up in DBs; they're at the bottom of the league. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/positional/breakdown/

I think I'd rather just bring back Poyer on a one or two year deal if possible and try to kick the can down the road one more year. Sign Marlowe for at or around the minimum and draft one in R4 or 5. If the draft pick looks like a flop, address it next year with a higher investment.

This. Exactly this. I made this argument repeatedly going into the last offseason. With the relative levels of experience they had in the defensive coaching staff vs that of the offense, you'd think it would make more sense to rely on the defensive coaching staff's experience to be able to coach their way around a deficiency or two and give the rookie OC all the tools he needed to succeed. The 2022 Bills largely did the opposite, pouring resources into the D (again) and handing Dorsey a team with a makeshift OL, inconsistent running game and unproven players at WR2&3. Honestly, it was kind of predictable that it bit them in the ass.

I've seen enough of Frazier's defenses at this point, although I know it won't really change anything. It's also McDermott's defense. Speaking of which, I like McDermott, but at some point, making the playoffs isn't enough. We're not quite there yet, but this can't continue much longer, and admittedly, I think it's preferable to have a HC who specializes on offense. As for Dorsey, I expected he'd struggle at times as a first year OC. He needs to show improvement next year and his offense needs to have something resembling an identity, but for now, I think I'd give him another chance.