GunnerBill

Who? Max or Tre?

Beane pre-draft said basically he thinks Tre is smart enough to do it but "we are not there." I am sure they will start camp with Tre in the corner rotation. But if Max looks ready early I don't rule them out looking at Tre at FS. At least with the idea that he backs up both spots off the bench.

I think Carter was just doing a too cool for school vibe.

There is some additional Bills specific bonus listing thinking ahead to #56 in my Day 1 Debrief too.

And that is why I like the compliment with Benford. He is gonna be really fundamentally sound, play his responsibility to the letter, be sticky in his coverage and sound in his tackling. And on the other side that means I can live with some growing pains Hairston's first year or two if he is a bit over aggressive and undisciplined at times in his pursuit and gives up a few big ones over the top because on the flip side he is going to make some plays for you, turn the ball over and score.

And 18 months younger. But yep, agree. I still think it Hairston was gone they'd have picked Amos. I think they liked them both a lot. I will commend a post by @sven233 which talks about his usage in Kentucky's D and I agree with what he wrote (although will repeat my point from earlier on the Bond breakup - the left hand gets there a bit early on the shoulder / back of Bond before he reaches the right across and he has to watch that in the NFL with the flag happy zebras). I'm about to head out but I will try and come back with some more on similarities to our D later.

Yea. I said this on the pod with Gonzo. I liked Revel's tape. He was a borderline 1st and my 19th overall player. But when you have a choice between slightly more impressive film but older, coming off an ACL and playing lesser competition a GM has to factor that into his selection process.

I was gonna do that joke. You got there first.

Well Johnson was never an option for the Bills anyway. Forget him. They were never picking him. Of Hairston and Amos I do think probably Hairston but I say that somewhat reluctantly because there has been a narrative that Amos is just some lunch pail, low ceiling, averagely athletic placeholder but he reminds me of Tre White and Richard Sherman. And those guys were multiple time all pros. Hairston reminds me more of a smaller version of Jalen Ramsey in his play style. Was interesting to me that he said in his presser after the pick that was his guy growing up. You see the influence in his game.

Yea I was the other way around I was Evans then Sammy. I wanted no part of Khalil Mack, Eric Ebron or Anthony Barr. Yea what RAS does it it assesses you against the data points going back X number of years. And 5'11 for a corner in that time range is average. Same as 4.28 fourty yard dash against the same data points is elite.

Just on the Johnson point, the two are different. Both had injuries last year, that is true. Hairston had shoulder injury, is recovered. Johnson has a degenerative knee condition and the last surgery had took fibres from his good knee to try and repair the damaged knee. I imagine he has been taken off a LOT of teams' boards as a result. Add to that his speed was a legit concern before the injuries (and I think would have meant he was never in reality a top 5 pick anyway). Don't get me wrong, tape grade I still had Johnson over Hairston. I had Revel over him too while you are at it. But both have significant injury red flags. Such that the entire NFL passed on them in round 1 because the risk is too great.

I would have taken Amos. But I felt it was down to him, Max and Nic Scourton and I was good with any one of them and said so yesterday when asked specifically about Amos vs Hairston.

That isn't possible. Because the folks on X know the name before it is even written on a card let alone given to the commissioner. They have access to the official league wire. You'd literally just have to have Rog stand out there all night with an ear piece in and say the name into the mic the second it comes down the wire. Because that is what the twitter accounts are doing as soon as that name comes down they take 1 second to type, press a button and the world knows.

That's only average height relative to the position in the NFL I think is what he means. I promise you they didn't. From pretty close to the horses mouth.

I did not want Khalil fudging Mack. I wanted Mike Evans. More than I think I have ever wanted any draft prospect before or since.

I also think his skill set compliments Benford really nicely. If they end up your starters you have a chance to get quite creative in your coverage looks.

From my part there are two particular posters - one I don't think posts here any more and one who I think does who a couple of years ago were tipping every single pick, being asked to stop, then told to stop, then warned by a mod to stop and just carried on. When I refer to idiots who just want to ruin the enjoyment for others that is who I am talking about. If someone arrives here unsuspecting because they have seen something on twitter, posts in the draft thread, unaware that they are tipping picks I wouldn't call them an idiot. But that is not what we have dealt with in previous years. It was particularly bad that one year... I think 2022. It's been better since. And last night was perfect.

Watts is my 18th best remaining. I don't have him on my list for #56 because a) they didn't have him in on a 30 visit or do a private workout and b) I don't think they'd actually go safety with their first second rounder. If he were to make it to #62 (doubt he does, but if) then I think he would be in play.

Wow. You know what I had not even noticed. You know when you get word blind to something that you just see it and presume it says one thing and it doesn't? Haha. Appreciate the spot!

He did not say they they factor positions of need into how they grade. Now I am not saying they don't. I actually think they are a bit guilty of that personally. But that isn't what Beane said. It's you projecting. I don't happen to disagree with you expcept potentially on the extent to which that makes a difference. I suspect Hariston was one of those guys that was a late first on some boards and a high second on others. He was a top 32 type player. But top 32 doesn't always mean first round grade. The Bills are one of the teams on the higher end of the evaluation for Hariston because of how he fits their scheme.

The 2025 NFL Draft got off to a fast start with the big trade up by the Jaguars and ended for the Bills with an explosive athlete added to the secondary. In terms of level of drama and intrigue it wasn't quite the bonkers first round of two years ago but was definitely a step up on the Thursday night snore fest in 2024. I have to say I wasn't blown away by Green Bay as a host. Other than the 15 minutes when the Packers were on the clock and then their pick was announced the crowd seemed pretty flat compared to some of the host cities we have seen in recent years - particularly thinking Detroit and Nashville. As ever great fun in the draft thread here though, already looking forward to night 2, but first.... here we go! The Bills Pick It was about two weeks ago that tracking the Bills visits, their history and the likely shape of the first round I first said that I thought the pick at #30 would come down to Trey Amos, Nic Scourton or Max Hariston. And while I ended up with Trey Amos in my final mock, the Gunner and Gonzo Draft pod in its debut year NAILED the Bills first pick as we had them taking Hariston. I suppose the slight surprise was Brandon Beane not trading.... he hasn't done a sit and pick in round 1 since take Greg Rousseau in 2021 and it is only the third time of his entire GM reign that he has done it (the other being Ed Oliver in 2019). He did mention in his pre-draft presser that Brian Gaine and Terrance Gray have a job to do to stop him getting impatient - maybe they stole his phone as the Bills pick got closer? So, what are the Bills getting in Hariston? Obviously a really talented and explosive athlete. You see the speed on the field and while Brandon Beane referred specifically to the recovery speed the thing that I noticed more was his quick trigger to close in off coverage. I don't want to harp back to the Kaiir Elam pick too much here because what is done is done and it is water under the bridge now, but his film worried me precisely because of his transitions in off coverage from back pedal to close where it felt like he had to crank those long levers up to get moving.... with Hariston it is INSTANT and I mean instant. His trigger is fantastic and the speed with which he then closes the space to the receiver is super impressive. He just eats up the ground. I don't have a concern about ball production either. It was there in 2023 when he was fully healthy and played the full season. He is going to get picks in the NFL. His aggressive nature reminds me a bit of a Trevon Diggs or the 2023 version of Rasul Douglas the Bills got right after the trade. Mad Max will jump plenty of routes and when he intercepts the ball unless you got DK Metcalf or someone at wide receiver to chase him down he is taking it to the house. The areas where he needs some work are two fold for me. He does have a little tendency to get there too early when he is in recovery mode and can get his hands on a receiver before the ball is there. Even the big PBU Beane mentioned against Isaiah Bond... great play... but in the NFL that is a borderline flag because he has his hand on Bond's left shoulder before he reaches his right arm across his body to play the ball. He will just need to watch that. And secondly, the mental development. I mentioned yesterday in my draft compendium thread the reason he was my CB6, a point behind Amos who was my CB5, was because there are a few more mental errors on the film. Some of that is the natural trade off for his hyper aggression where he just needs to stay disciplined or else will give up occasional big plays and some of it is just a bit of maturity. He is still a young guy who hasn't played a ton of college ball and is still developing. Finally, what a great young man he appears to be. Infectious smile, the hugs and dabs for every other guy leaving the green room ahead of him, and the way he conducted himself on his zoom with the Bills beat guys. Can absolutely see why McDermott and Beane would love him. I know Keon Coleman last year was a guy with a fun personality, but he was fun and a little kooky. I think Hariston is just positive, happy, infectious young man. I doubt he will spend his intro presser talking about buying coats at Macey's. I wish him a long, happy and successful career with the Buffalo Bills! My Mock Really good night for the mock after a shaky start. I felt really good about the order I had the top 15 in and then the Jaguars trading up kinda sent it all sideways. But the second half of the round I was cooking and ended up with EIGHT player and team matches (which is new personal best) and 27 of the 32 guys going in round one correctly identified (which matches 2022 and 2023 but is one down on my best last year when I had 28). My eight matches were: Ward (Titans), Carter (Giants) and Campbell (Patriots) - those three were easy - and then Stewart (Bengals), Harmon (Steelers), Pearce (Falcons), Starks (Ravens) and Simmons (Chiefs). That's a pretty good haul. I then had three more right position, wrong player matches including - of course - the Bills. The five first rounders I missed on where: Jaxon Dart (knew there was a chance with a trade back in but don't do trades in my final mock); Omarion Hampton (was the guy I felt least good about leaving out of my 32); Josh Conerly (again, just couldn't find a spot for him) and then Donovan Jackson and Tyleik Williams (both of whom I consider reaches on low ceiling guys). Player(s) I was high on... I broadly thought last night that guys went in the ranges they should have done. I felt a sense of vindication I suppose on Kelvin Banks Jnr who has always been a top 10 player in this class for me and the talking heads were definitely lower on him than the NFL. Only in the last week have you seen him make his way into the top 10/12 of mock drafts after two months of people pegging him in the 20s. He is going to make the Saints very happy. Likewise on Jahdae Barron being the first pure corner off the board. The first time I did corners back in the first week of January it was clear to my eyes at least that he was the best corner in the draft. My word the thought of him in that Denver defense starting opposite Pat Surtain in base and then potentially sliding Barron inside as a matchup weapon in nickel, the way the Chiefs use McDuffie at times and the Seahwaks use Witherspoon... that is a terrifying prospect for opposing offenses. Even Patrick Mahomes might have a sleepless night or two going against that twice a year. And finally Malaki Starks - he was another, like Banks and Barron in my second mini-tier of this class. I knew he'd go later, just because safeties do. But the pairing of a Starks and Hamilton at safety in Baltimore? Not a stretch to say it has GOAT level potential as a combo. The guys I had first round grades, or first round borderline grades on that are still on the board? Mike Green (off-field), Will Johnson (injury) and Shavon Revel (injury). All three of those guys on talent alone would have gone in round one. Player(s) I was down on... It seems in recent years the lowest ranked guy by my board is always a Quarterback and this was no different. Jaxon Dart with a 2nd/3rd round borderline grade was the lowest graded guy taken and I sort of get it, the Giants had to try something at Quarterback and I prefer this route than forcing one of these guys at #3 when an elite talent like Abdul Carter was sitting there. I also don't mind the price they paid, which was a little bit below the trade charts value, coming up nine spots back into the first at the cost of just a compensatory third this year and a third next year? Sensible deal. Think the player is a risk, talented but needs to improve his decision making. Interested to see how it works out. Biggest shock of the night I did mention in my mock yesterday and on the Gunner and Gonzo collab that the word on the street with the Jaguars was expect the unexpected. The sure delivered on that! I had heard whispers in the day about a trade up, but when I checked in with a buddy who runs a pretty influential fan blog for the Jags UK fanbase his sense was they were interested but not willing to pay the big price Cleveland was demanding. That obviously changed. I don't hate the price as much as some people: this was a Jimmy Johnson chart trade. They needed to make a up a difference of 1100 points to go from #5 to #2 and gave up 1116. By the Rich Hill chart I think they overpaid by a round this year. They needed to make up a 249 point difference and by the chart made up 349... whereas had the pick this year been a third rather than a second they'd have given up 256. Proof if it is needed that there are GMs out there who still hold faithful to getting their Jimmy Johnson value. I think Travis Hunter is a great player, but the Jags are not a team I think were at that "all in for one piece" spot. I suppose their thinking is they are tied to Trevor for AT LEAST the next two years so they are not gonna need that 2026 first for a Quarterback. If Hunter is the guy that finally unlocks Lawrence's potential then it will be worth the shot. Risky, but aggressive, and it shows this younger generation of NFL front office decision makers are willing to make moves which keeps things interesting to say the least! Worst Pick Minnesota Vikings you are on the naughty step. You have four picks in this draft: #24, a compensatory 3rd and two 5th rounders. Your best defensive back, Harrison Smith, is about to turn 104 years old, you still need help on the defensive line and you spend your best draft asset on an interior offensive lineman after spending your big FA dollars on two interior offensive linemen from the Colts (hardly renowned for their line play the past couple of seasons)? Donovan Jackson was the second lowest graded guy selected in round one by my board - I had a late 2nd round grade. He is a good player, he will be a decent starting guard in the NFL. But the positional value sucks and we KNOW there were teams calling for trade ups - the two teams right behind them traded out, and the Eagles started calling for Campbell when he got to #22. I did not understand that move at all. Nonsensical. Big Board Check Okay I did post this last night (well, this morning) before finally getting off to sleep about 6am. But here is my top 15 BPA going into day two: 1. Mike Green^, DE, Marshall 2. Will Johnson*, CB, Michigan 3. Shavon Revel*, CB, East Carolina 4. Nic Scourton, DE, Texas A&M 5. Trey Amos, CB, Ole Miss 6. Princely Umanmeilen^, DE, Ole Miss 7. Luther Burden, WR, Missouri 8. Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina 9. TJ Sanders, DT, South Carolina 10. Benjamin Morrison*, CB, Notre Dame 11. Donovan Ezeiruaku, DE, Boston College 12. Azareye'h Thomas, CB, Florida State 13. Isaiah Bond^, WR, Texas 14. Jayden Higgins, WR, Iowa State 15. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado I also got asked a few times after round 1 concluded last night what I think might be in play for the Bills at #56 and potentially #62. Similar to the exercise that helped me whittle the first round options down to three guys, including the one they selected, here is my attempt to do the same at least for pick #56 based on interest they have shown, positional need, likely value and potential availability - with an indication of where those players rank right now in terms of my board (think Scourton and Sanders - see above - are also in play but both will be gone IMO): Brayden Swinson, DE - 20th best remaining Landon Jackson, DE - 24th best remaining Omar Norman-Lott, DT - 26th best remaining Jalen Royals, WR - 35th best remaining Josh Farmer, DT - 47th best remaining Enjoy day 2 folks. I'll be back to debrief tomorrow!

Possibly. I have him more as a mid 3rd but if the board falls a certain way its possible. More at 62 than 56 Id say.

Yea the Bills are not that hard to work out on this stuff. They have a method and they stick to it year after year. Makes it relatively easy to boil their first round targets down to two or three guys. Just follow the breadcrumbs.

Like @gonzo1105 said above we are probably too far away - 24 picks - to say. If I was putting together a shortlist for #56 right now it would be: Nic Scourton, Edge Landon Jackson, Edge Brayden Swinson, Edge Jalen Royals, WR Omar Norman-Lott, DT Josh Farmer, DT TJ Sanders, DT My instinct says Scourton and Sanders will definitely be gone. And Jackson probably will (though he fell in our collab mock). Which means Swinson, Royals, Farmer and Norman-Lott are my four best guesses right now as in the mix.

Oh the Ravens definitely scout. And in old school depth and detail. I know someone who interned in their personnel department and they are an old school scouting department that put in the grind. I do sometimes wonder if Howie just goes "best big school SEC guy available please" when he gets on the clock!