BarleyNY

It's Kenny G or Smooth Jazz. He's already got the nickname going for him. Honestly, I love him as a player. I think he's a better pro prospect than Braxton Miller. I am very happy he is getting his shot in Buffalo. He's one of those "coaches on the field" kind of players. I would not be surprised if he eventually became the #2 in Buffalo.

http://wivb.com/2014/05/14/boy-who-sparked-blue-4-ben-movement-loses-cancer-fight/ Unfortunately Ben just passed away yesterday. Thoughts and well wishes to his friends, family and everyone he touched.

Martavis Bryant is a good call here. He might be the exception to my point. I'd have been very okay with the Browns taking him in the third. He could really be a player if he keeps his head on straight.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=149&f=1767 SOBO is the guy who did that mock draft. He's a very good guy who's very knowledgeable, particularly concerning the big uglies. And he enjoys a good beer - I've had a few with him myself. He's been around the Browns boards, specifically the draft centric board linked above, for many, many years. It was very cool to watch him grow from a football/draft nut and former player and college coach to where he is now. The Draft Brew forum is a good place to just talk draft stuff with some almost creepily dedicated folks. Fans of many teams hang out there so don't be shy if you're interested. He posts a lot there and answers questions from just about anyone who asks.

Again, these metrics are only supposed to give an idea of a player's ceiling from a physical talent perspective. Maybin could've scored very well, but that doesn't mean he'd ever play up to that. People piss their talent away all the time, injuries happen, people do stupid stuff, etc. I'm not one to get upset if others don't like what I (or my team, etc.) have done. It's an opinion and - right, wrong or incomplete - it is backed up by facts and is unbiased so I'll give it it's due. When I watch these players play and develop, succeed and fail, this report will be one of the things I think about. Not only the overall grades of these players, but their pluses and minuses according to those metrics. That will inform my opinion of these metrics in the future.

I just happened across the article and thought I'd share it. Some people put a ton of weight on analytics and some don't. I see it as one tool in the toolbox. The aim of analytics is to determine the likely ceiling of players, not how good they will be. I was surprised at the low ratings so many Bills' picks got. I'd like to see how that compares with the field of prospects as I'm not sure what that looks like. I am a proponent of going after the prospects that rate highly on the analyitics scale as the draft goes on. Small school prospects fit well into that approach since few get quality coaching. Bigger school prospects with high physical abilities who haven't translated that to on the field success are more likely to have other issues, like not taking coaching well.

Or Nate Burleson fresh off of another broken arm. No pizza involved this time. The dark horse to watch is Charles Johnson, a small school player who the Browns snagged off of Green Bay's practice squad last season when he was a rookie. Small school prospect (Grand Valley State I think) who is a physical freak. 6'2" & 215 lbs. 4.39 & 4.38 40s at his pro day. 11'1" broad jump. 39.5" vertical. Lots of Browns fans are chomping at the bit to see him. For some reason the Packers didn't IR him with a torn ACL and left himm on their practice squad. The Browns didn't know he had it until after they signed him. Apparently he's good to go now though. Edited to add: maybe even Travis Benjamin would be a good #2 WR in this scheme. He would be doing what Santana Moss did in that position.

I'm not saying that they don't need a wide receiver to step in for Gordon if and when he is out. But I don't think that the wide receivers available in the third or fourth round were going to be any better than what they have in the roster now. Even an earlier draft pick wasn't going to come right in and make a difference. I think they're better off acquiring one who can help them immediately via trade or after cut downs if they think they still need one. One last thing to consider is Shanny2's offensive scheme. The number two wide receiver does not have a big role. There are players on the roster now but can cover that. The X and slot receivers do, however. And we covered the slot WR spot with Hawkins.

Lifelong Browns fan here. I would have taken a different QB - Carr or Bridgewater at 26 (or 22 if I thought I had to trade up). I was very happy with the compensation in the Bills trade. At 4 I'd have gone with Mack if no trade. I loved what the Browns did overall. The positions they took and where they took them hit almost exactly like I thought it would happen. I expected a higher trade up for the quarterback and I expected to safety late, but those were the only differences. True, but a second corner who could play in Pettine's defensive scheme was a necessity. They did what they had to do to get that piece where they needed to get it. I played around with a lot of of the mock draft generators. They were not good for projecting where specific players would go, but they did give a great idea of where the tiers of talent at different positions would be. A corner the caliber of what Pettine needs had to be an early first. There's a reason that the Browns tried hard to get Revis this offseason. Have they done that I think Mack would've been the pick. I really hate people dinging a draft because a team didn't fill a perceived need. It makes it impossible for teams with multiple needs to ever get a good grade. And even when teams do take a player at a position of need, how often do those players make it? I'm glad that the Browns didn't panic over the probable suspension for Gordon - especially when they don't know how long that suspension will be. There is still plenty of time for them to find a stopgap. Well I'm very happy with the draft - and I'm not even a Manziel fan. I see his incredible upside, but I just think that he has a tremendous amount of risk. I liked him a heck of a lot better and 22 than I would've at 4 though. If anything I'm incredibly pleasantly surprised overall. I honestly didn't think that they could pull off what they did. A second shutdown corner, a potential franchise quarterback (even if the odds are longer than I would like), an almost certain starter at guard, a probable starter at ILB, a rotational RB and another developmental CB. I'm not just being a homer here. Gilbert was the best fit at CB for Pettine's defense. Check. I'd have gone with Bridgewater or Carr instead of Manziel. I'm hoping we hit our inside straight on that gamble. I love his upside, but just think the odds of him reaching it are long. I did think that we would get our quarterback in a trade up from 26. We were going to have to take a guard or an inside linebacker in the second. The talent drop off was huge. I expected Sua-Filo, Bitonio or Chandler Jones. We got Bitonio. (Incidentally we signed Chandler Jones as a UDFA). In the third round we got ILB Christian Kirksey to fill that need. He wasn't a guy that I knew much about to be honest. From what I've seen and read I think he can be a solid player overall, although I don't ever see him providing a pass rush. We also got RB Terrence West in a trade up to replace the third they gave up in the 26 to 22 trade. CB Pierre Desir was the last pick. Both were specific small school players that I wanted to Brown's draft. I'd have loved a free safety (although I wonder if Desir was drafted to play there or CB) and there were a couple other guys I would've loved to see them draft, but you can't get them all. The cherry on top is the extra first, fourth and sixth round picks in the 2015 draft. I don't see how someone doesn't love this draft. The one glaring thing that is a huge negative is that the Browns don't have a sure franchise quarterback. Until they know they have a proven QB that they can count on they will only go so far.

http://www.allprofootballsource.com/buffalo-bills-2014-outlook-draft-review-season-projection/ I didn't see this posted. It is a purely physical metrics analysis of the Bills 2014 draft picks and roster. It appears unbiased. It says that Watkins has Pro Bowl potential, but is not high on much else in this Bills draft class. Lots of high to moderately high quality starters, but does not like the right side of the OL or the MLB and FS positions.

Agree on all counts. I'm an OSU grad, but not a honk. I watch virtually all of their games. My appraisal of their QBs was that Miller was a better athlete, but Guiton the better QB. The quote I heard from a scout (second hand) was that Miller is a better thrower, but Guiton is the better passer. Kenny G is a player I really like and think he's got a real chance in the NFL. I'm glad it is with the Bills. There's very little tape on him, he doesn't have elite measurable's and when he did play he did not face high-level competition. In a draft that wasn't as deep as this one I think he would've been a late round pick.

I think that trades and outright releases differ in that a released player can be designated as a June 1 cut, but a traded player cannot. I have never seen anything indicating that one could. Other differences exist, too. For instance, a cut player still must be paid any guaranteed money remaining on his contract by the team that cut him. If that player is traded his new team is then responsible for any unpaid guaranteed money.

No it can't. That can only happen if he had been designated as a June 1st cut. He was traded. The Bills must take the entire $10.2M cap hit this season.

1. See link below. It shows current cap situation. $10.2M in dead money. But don't forget the whole picture. All unaccounted for signing bonus proration cap hits accelerate into the current year, but his salary comes off the cap number and some of that signing bonus was already included in this year's cap. It just wasn't "dead" money. http://overthecap.com/teamcap.php?Team=Bills&Year=2014 2. June 1st is the date. Any player traded or cut after that date (or designated as a post June 1st cut) will have their future signing bonus prorations accelerate into the next season's cap. Their current year's signing bonus proration still counts in the current year. The Bills still have over $11M in cap space. I believe that the move actually freed up cap space. I'll look that up. I can't find all of the info I need, but the Bills already paid his $4.5M roster bonus this year so it would probably depend upon how you look at the situation. With that paid they took a hit for sure. That's a big bonus to eat for a 3rd or 4th round pick - one that will likely be late in either round.

Hearing that Stevie Johnson was originally included in the Cleveland trade, but Pettine nixed his inclusion because he didn't want him on the team. This with knowledge of Gordon's possible suspension and Burleson's broken arm. That should tell you something about SJ.

Browns have known about the issue for weeks. The suspension is not a certainty and if he is suspended the duration is not known.

Or how I'll never nail a Victoria's Secret model?

EJ should be thrilled. Watkins is the perfect WR for him.

I'm pretty sure she could talk me into dressing up in almost anything. Almost.

Thanks for the info.

I'd love to know of a good place in a Buffalo to go out and watch the draft. Any ideas?

It does mesh nicely with trade with Buffalo, like the one mentioned as rumor in another thread.

Thanks for posting. I do think this is a good trade for both teams. Watkins is the kind of receiver that EJ needs much more so than Stevie Johnson, coincidentally would fit very well in Cleveland with Shanny2's system. Watkins has an amazing ability to adjust to the ball. I think EJ lacks somewhat from an accuracy standpoint and really needs that. Johnson can do a lot for Cleveland's new offense too. It relies heavily on slot wide receivers and he can do real damage from that spot. It is a lot for the Bills to give up, but something like that might pay off well for them.

It's still probably better than Kiper's. They're fun and no harm is done. While specific players won't drop, some will. This draft is deep.

Not sold yet, but haven't given up on him either. This year should tell us a lot. I'd be ticked if a QB isn't taken by the Bills somewhere in the draft.