GunnerBill

Agree and that is why despite non-premium spot I think Holland is the guy I'd now be in on. He is the only guy in this pool now who has a case to be top 10 at his position and it happens to be the biggest hole the Bills have.

I was ahead of the curve on this Beane point. I have been there since after our last AFCCG defeat. That especially in the draft he has struggled aside from Josh to find elite. My take then was "that is the thing he has to do to get us over the hump". But 4 years later we are still here. This isn't a hate on Beane post. He is a really good GM. He misses less than almost all his contemporaries. If he had found one more elite player - at edge or WR - I am convinced the Bills would have a Lombardy and he would be regarded in or around the Howie Roseman class.

Bolton is just better than Bernard though.... but the difference isn't huge - certainly if Bernard can get back to 2023 form. The Chiefs - Bills rivalry isn't turning on the difference between a B+ middle linebacker and a B middle linebacker. So given the choice I'd probably prefer Bernard at 12 per than Bolton at 15 per. Don't love either deal to tell the truth.

I think I am back where I started before the chase for Myles and DK became a thing. Jevon Holland is everything the Bills need at free safety. While it isn't a premium position he is so much better than what he is replacing the value above replacement is huge. Agree. If we throw money at Kupp I will find the nearest wall and bang my head against it until September (not literally but you get the point)....

Yea I had one play with Spotrac around Christmas and I came to the conclusion that the Bills were fine this year cap wise. Unlike last year they can free up money without cutting / allowing to walk starting players. Plenty of room to add a difference maker. Problem is I think they are all off the board trade / FA wise.

I think Parsons is a better end than DK is a receiver, but I get the point you are making. While they are both (DK to a greater amount) one trick ponies it is the trick that has the most value for their position. And yea, even though DK is definitely not an elite receiver he is absolutely the type of guy the Bills have a desperate need for.

Yea he was. The question is in evaluating him did their need at corner affect how they had those guys graded? Do you allow your eyes to see something that isn't really there because you so badly want it to be?

Congrats to Josh. And he hasn't asked to re-set the market. He has his recognition. He has the bag. He is just about a ring at this point.

Love the Ward idea. Sweat and Palmer... I get it... they are the types we need but I think they are really base level of the types we need. Not sure either moves the dial much. As for his draft... we don't have a 3rd? Which is a shame cos Winston is the pick of his I like best. Alexander and Ivey with our first two pick would every much not amuse me.

I'd go to $30m AAV if he is willing to be flexible over the guaranteed %. I think St Brown (who is right at that $30m AAV marker) got 65% guaranteed. If DK wants that I'm out. If he is willing to be closer to 50% guaranteed I'd go to $30m. If he wants a higher guarantee it has to be in exchange for a lower AAV that allows them to manage the cap beyond the next two years.

Yea I thought Garrett genuinely wanted out. Never believed it on Crosby and sceptical on DK but I actually thought Garrett was sick of losing. Seems not.

I think that gets us under the cap.

Ojulari couldn't play in this scheme. He is a 34 OLB only. I think he is overrated too but lots of people like him.

Yea Benford's numbers in man are very good, just not elite. I don't think he is exclusively a zone guy.

Oh at his best he absolutely was. He was a top 3 left tackle when he signed his last deal. He has barely played between then and this past year when it is fair to say he wasn't the same dominant player.

Yea that last point is a good one that I confess I am sometimes guilty of missing. Part of the Bills culture is do the right thing, earn it on the field, be a good pro and get your rewards. And that matters. And is likely why they can win 13 games in a re-set season. I want more elite talent, but it is fair to point out the importance for a team like Buffalo of that messaging to players and agents around the league. We are not Philly or Dallas or LA or one of the Jersey teams with NYC on the doorstep. We have show we are a desirable location.

Reminder from the start that although the cap sites had us c.$10m over at the Combine Beane said his calculations were more like $4m over.

My problem with that play wasn't that he misdiagnosed it. It was that he gave up. And he 100% did. Whatever he tries to say. Reid ran 5 plays against the Bills they hadn't run all year. And 0 against the Eagles even when they couldn't move the ball. You better believe the Chiefs play the Bills differently than they play other teams.

But he had his worst game as a Bill in the biggest game of his career. It is fair to say that.

He is not a better player. He IS a better pass rusher.

I don't deny the overall is bad business. Beane has not done well enough with the dline. But I don't think that changes whether this deal was market value or not. They are separate points.

See I mind this less than Bernard. I like the Shakir deal. I would have waited on Groot but I don't think this is an overpayment. I do think Bernard was. The overall strategy - paying a DE2 when you don't have a DE1 - and going for what looks increasingly like a run it back strategy is what I like less than any of the individual deals specifically.

Greenard had a season best 12 sacks the year before he signed the deal. But his production over the four years total was in line with this. Sure, he backed it up. Remains to be sign whether Groot can justify the deal. Highsmith had one big year otherwise is right in the Groot range production wise. They are the DE2 market and Groot is a DE2.

When do you guys reckon Beano last saw his family?

Tbf at $20m AAV he doesn't need to be a star DE. If he is an 8 sack a year guy every year of this deal, with maybe one double digit year thrown in and it will be worth it. Just needs to be consistently the best version of what he has been. It is high end edge #2 money. In the Greenard / Huff / Highsmith area. That isn't to say I love it as an idea - paying a #2 DE when you don't have a #1 and as I have said before I thought his AFCCG performance was arguably his worst game as a Bill. But these are high end #2 numbers which is kinda what I see Groot as.