Nihilarian

NFN, in 2014 this team has had the #4 overall defense with the #1 pass rush in the league and they didn't even make the playoffs. Oh yea, the player that cost the team two firsts and a fourth in Sammy Watkins played in all 16 games was targeted 128 times and caught 65 receptions for 982 yards, 6 TDs. Watkins had a 50.8 catch percentage. TJ Hockensen caught 49 passes for 750 yards, 6 Tds last season for the Hawkeyes and dropped one pass!

2009 Arron Maybin #11 2010 CJ Spiller #9 2011 Marcel Dareus #3 2012 Stephon Gilmore #10 2013 EJ Manuel #16 2014 Sammy Watkins #4 & Cleveland's pick 2015 Cameron Irving #19 2016 Shaq Lawson #19 2017 TreDavious White #27 traded back from #10 Patrick Mahomes So, who have the Buffalo Bills drafted in the last decade that was honestly worthy of that pick? Gilmore, who is now a Patriot with a SB ring. Dareus, who got paid and became a JAG in Buffalo. Anyway, I'd be all for Hock at #9 and he wouldn't have to put up Kittle, Kelce, Cook or Ertz numbers his first season. I'd be happy with the 2018 Ebron performance and know that his ceiling is very high like that of Josh Allen in that he could be another Gronk or Gonzalez. Buffalo hasn't had a TE like this...ever! Gil Brandt ranks Hockenson at the #6 best player in this years draft. 6 T.J. Hockenson, TE School: Iowa | Year: Sophomore (RS) Hockenson, who played two seasons at Iowa after redshirting in 2016, can and will block and is a very good receiver downfield. He will help his team's running game. The very competitive Hockenson played faster than his 4.7 40 time. He also posted a 37.5-inch vertical jump and a 7.02-second three-cone drill at the combine. He will play a long time at a high level and should be a first-year starter in the NFL.

Okay, I show that the Bills OC was calling for deep passes with three different QBs! And the consensus from the board is that it's all on Josh Allen because he refuses to throw the underneath stuff... Yet, I showed in the Carolina game log 3rd quarter series that he does indeed throw short passes. That game log shows completion after completion with 5 of 6 passes completed. 6 yards, 22 yards, 3 yards, 1 yard, 11 yards. I don't see a problem with Allen throwing a short pass! It's those deep passes to the two guys who didn't catch very well that bothered me. If the OC honestly didn't want the QB to throw deep he would simply call plays that didn't send a receiver deep! Oh, I forgot. Allen would just change the play to a deep pass because that's all he wants to do...

To further my point about the deep pass calls. The week 10 Jets game the very first pass from Matt Barkley was a deep 47 yard bomb to Robert foster that set the tone for the game. Buffalo had the lead the entire game and the Bills still threw it deep eight times. The Jets only threw deep four times despite being behind the entire game. Daboll calling for 5-7 deep throws in 18 attempts for Nathan Peterman in his start against the Ravens. Daboll calling for 8 deep throws for Matt Barkley in his 26 attempts. This shows that it wasn't just about Josh Allen or any issues some fans think he is dealing with. The simple fact was that Bills OC Brian Daboll was calling for far, far too many deep passes when the Bills didn't have much of a run game from the RB's to take the heat off the QBs, or worse yet much protection in the pocket as the O line stunk. Even with Allen's unreal pocket escape ability and ability to run he was still sacked 28 times in 12 games. It wasn't just Josh Allen with the deep passes as both Peterman and Barkley were also throwing deep. It couldn't be more clear to me that the Bills OC Brian Daboll called the scheme his way regardless of the QB. The object should be to move the chains to make first downs, get into the red zone and score. Not to throw deep 30% of the time.

This game you linked was a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers and it looked like both head coaches got together and said let's not blitz like crazy. So the QB's had more time in the pocket to throw in this game. On that very first play why should the QB look at the underneath guy when the deep post receiver had beaten his man and he had time to throw? (1)The very next play after that deep ball Allen throws a short pass that was incomplete just to make a first down. (2) Next pass after that was another short pass over the middle to Clay for a first down. (3)The play after that was a mid range 20 yard pass on 2nd and 8 for a first down. (4) The next play is a pass to the back in the flat five yards behind the line of scrimmage...(5) The next play on 3rd and 13 again Allen throws a short pass 5 yards beyond the LoS and some yards behind the first down marker. (6)The next play on 4th down and 3 Allen scrambles and attempts to throw it away. (7) So far only one out of seven passes attempted was deep and most were short passes in an attempt to make a first down. Next play on 1st and 10 a short pass attempting to get to the first down. On 2nd and 10 from the Bills 25, Allen steps up in the pocket and hits his receiver at the Bills 45 for a first down on a deep pass. Really a darn shame Allen didn't have protection like this during the regular season! The thing is, the Bills had two open receivers underneath and the camera view from the end zone showed how open the Bills receiver was and that a defender fell down on the play. From ESPN, (11:15 - 3rd) G.Gano kicks 65 yards from CAR 35 to end zone, Touchback. Kick through end zone. 1st & 10 at BUF 25 (11:15 - 3rd) J.Allen sacked at BUF 19 for -6 yards (J.Carter). 2nd & 16 at BUF 19 (10:35 - 3rd) K.Ford up the middle to BUF 31 for 12 yards (L.Doss). 3rd & 4 at BUF 31 (9:57 - 3rd) (Shotgun) J.Allen pass short left to K.Clay to BUF 37 for 6 yards (D.Southward). Flat pass, caught at BUF 36. 1st & 10 at BUF 37 (9:23 - 3rd) K.Ford left tackle to BUF 39 for 2 yards (B.Cox). 2nd & 8 at BUF 39 (8:49 - 3rd) J.Allen pass short left to J.Croom to CAR 39 for 22 yards (D.Cox). Caught in flat at CAR 49. 1st & 10 at CAR 38 (8:17 - 3rd) K.Ford right guard to CAR 33 for 5 yards (C.Frey, C.Elder). 2nd & 5 at CAR 33 (7:36 - 3rd) (Shotgun) J.Allen pass short left to K.Clay to CAR 30 for 3 yards (C.Elder, M.Palardy). Screen pass, caught at CAR 36. Penalty on BUF, Illegal Formation, declined. PENALTY on CAR-J.Carter, Lowering the Head to Initiate Contact, 15 yards, enforced at CAR 33 - No Play. 1st & 10 at CAR 18 (6:48 - 3rd) J.Allen pass short right to M.Murphy to CAR 17 for 1 yard (S.Bailey). Screen pass, caught at CAR 23. 2nd & 9 at CAR 17 (6:32 - 3rd) (Shotgun) K.Ford up the middle to CAR 16 for 1 yard (L.Doss). 3rd & 8 at CAR 16 (5:59 - 3rd) PENALTY on BUF-K.Ford, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at CAR 16 - No Play. 3rd & 13 at CAR 21 (5:49 - 3rd) (Shotgun) J.Allen pass short right to K.Ford to CAR 10 for 11 yards (R.Brown, L.Doss). Caught near sideline at CAR 17. (5:03 - 3rd) Timeout #1 by BUF at 05:03. 4th & 2 at CAR 10 (4:53 - 3rd) J.Allen pass incomplete short left to J.Croom (D.Hall) [J.Carter]. Pass tipped in flat at CAR 20. The next series Allen attempted more deep passes but those were because of the down and distance 2nd and 10, 2nd and 17, 3rd and 22. In the last series it captured one reason as to why I think Daboll kept calling deep passes in some games during the regular season and that is because the Bills were behind in the score 23-28 and he wanted to catch up by throwing deep... as the last 4 of 5 passes were deep.

While I get that Josh Allen likes to throw the deeper passes just as he did while at Wyoming and that McD and Daboll have stated they would like to have Allen throw more underneath, dump off passes. They didn't state this until later in the season. This should have been taken care of internally after the first game. LeSean McCoy was the leading receiver in 2017 with 77 targets, 59 receptions for a 76.6 catch percentage which makes me wonder why he wasn't utilized more often in Daboll's scheme regardless of going from a "west coast" scheme to the EP they now run in Buffalo. The scheme that Daboll is running is the "Erhardt-Perkins" which is very versatile in allowing the OC to tailor the offense to the players he has on the roster. Yes, the scheme they run "Ghost Tosser" calls for a deep out to stretch the defense... the QB doesn't need to focus on this one particular receiver to make the big play one third of the time. In particular in knowing that the top two receivers can't even catch one half the passes thrown their way! Also knowing that the offensive line would barely allow for a two second drop back in the pocket, much less a three to five seconds needed for those deeper passes. The way the Bills offense worked in Buffalo in 2018 sure wasn't the way the Patriots run that same scheme. With all those deep passes Buffalo was 31st in passing yards, 32nd in passing TDs. It clearly wasn't working at the start of the season, at the middle and only in the very last game against Miami did the play calling settle down and stop with all the deep passes. The Bills only went deep twice in this game with 33 rush attempts vs 26 pass attempts. Josh Allen threw for three TDs and ran for two more. I have a difficult time believing that Allen was this raw and yet was the #7 player taken in the 2018 NFL draft. I also don't believe it was all Allen making the decision all on his own to throw those deep passes. If you go look at the game log of that very first Bills vs Ravens game in which Nathan Peterman started he went 5 of 18 for 24 yards. He was sacked in the first series on third down probably with a deep pass called. Threw deep left on third down in the second series. Third series sacked on first down probably because a deep pass called. In the fourth series on second down a deep pass incomplete to KB. Fifth series on first down deep pass incomplete to KB, on third down deep pass incomplete to KB. Sixth series. Seventh series on 3rd down deep right to Jason Croom. Eighth series ended on an INT on a short middle pass to KB. Peterman sacked three times and attempted five to seven deep passes as two of those drop backs resulted in sacks. Josh Allen entered the game in the 3rd quarter and the second play of that series was his first pass which was a deep pass incomplete to Zay Jones. Next play Allen was sacked, probably attempting another deep pass. Both Peterman and Allen were attempting far more deep passes (10) then they should have and both QBs were sacked three times each for 6 sacks total.

You missed the point here as the very last thing you should be doing with a 2nd year QB In Nathan Peterman and rookie Josh Allen is asking them to attempt a throw that takes three to five seconds to develop in the pocket when they clearly won't have that time. Especially not one third of the play calls. Deep outs take five to seven step drop backs in the pocket and those drop backs take time in the pocket to develop and when you have an offensive line as bad as the Bills was last season those deep passes are the very last thing you should be calling or even asking the receivers to be running. This was clearly the offensive play calling by the Bills OC and not the QB taking it upon himself to attempt to throw deep one third of the time. Receivers don't run fly routes every play. There was a direct correlation between deep passes called and sacks in some games. Both Peterman and Allen were trying to make the play call work and they simply didn't have the experience to read the defense, change the play or go with the check down. After Allen's injury when he returned to the starting lineup he started running more often rather then hold on to the ball and hope a receiver gets open and his protection holds. The protections usually never did hold up so he ran. Luckily, due to Allen's athleticism he was able to make defenses look foolish in chasing after him. RG3 managed to do this also in his first season. What bothers me most is that the catch percentage of Zay Jones was 54.9% which means he isn't even catching half the passes thrown his way. Kelvin Benjamin's catch percentage was an abysmal 37.1% and these two players were the top two targeted receivers with Jones at 102 targets, Benjamin at 52. Why? McCoy caught 73.9% of the 46 passes his way! It looked to me like Bills OC Brian Daboll had a fixation with Allen's big arm and tried to force him to use it more then he should have. It eventually got Allen injured and yet Daboll still kept calling for deep passes even after the injury, although not as much. For 2019, more running the ball by the RBs and more short to mid range passes to move the chains should be the scheme. This was the reason for my concern for the play calling vs the nastiness of the line.

In that first game against the Ravens 47-3 blowout, Out of 33 passes attempted 10 went deep with that craptastic Bills offensive line. Peterman went 5 of 18 for 24 yards, 2 INT, 3 sacks a 0.0 rating, Allen went 6 of 15 for 74, 3 sacks a 65.0 rating. Benjamin was targeted 7 times and caught one pass. Jones was targeted 6 times and caught 3. Bills QBs sacked 6 times. Against the Chargers Allen went 18 of 33 for 245, 1 TD, 2 INT, 5 sacks. 10 deep passes called out of 33 which is almost one third. Bosa wasn't even playing for the Chargers. Against the Vikings Allen went 15 of 22 for 196 yards,1 TD. Only 5 deep passes called A WIN! Against the Packers Allen went 16 of 33 for 151 yards, 2 INTs, 7 sacks. 7 deep passes called. Notice a correlation? Blowout loss Against the Titans Allen went 10 of 20 for 82 yards, 1 INT only 5 deep passes called A WIN! Against the Texans Allen went 19 of 17 for 84 yards 2 sacks, Peterman went 6 of 12 for 61 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. 6 deep passes called out of 29. Allen Injured A loss Once back from his injury Allen tended to run more often because he didn't trust the pocket. Against the Jags Allen went 8 of 19 for 160 yards, 1 TD. Allen rushing 13 for 99 yards, 1 TD. 6 deep passes called A WIN Against the Dolphins Allen 18 of 33 for 231, 2 INT, 2 sacks. Allen rushed 9 times for 135 yards. 13 of 33 deep passes called. A Loss Against the Jets Allen went 18 of 36 for 202 yards, 2 INT, 3 sacks. Allen rushing 9 times for 101 yards, 1 TD. 8 deep passes called. A Loss Against the Lions Allen went 13 of 26 for 204 yards, 1 TD, 1 sack. 8 deep passes called A Win Against the Patriots Allen went 20 of 41 for 217 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. 12 deep passes called. a loss. Care to know how many times Tom Brady went deep in this game? Only once! The point is with little or no run game from the running backs the Bills shouldn't be attempting so many deep passes all season long. Especially with how bad that Bills offensive line was all season long. Once you establish a rhythm and the QB has some confidence with some short to mid passes... then you go deep. Last game of the season against the Dolphins Allen went 17 of 26 for 224, 3 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack. Allen 9 rushes for 95 yards, 2 TDs. Only 2 deep passes called in that 42-17 blowout win !! Let's hope the Buffalo Bills 2019 season is like that last Miami game. Only with the RB's making all the rushing yards. Last year Josh Allen was the leading rusher on the team in 12 games. 89 attempts for 631 yards, 8 TD and a 7.1 yard per carry average.

I'm more concerned about the scheme Brian Daboll is going to call vs the O line policing Allen after a big/dirty hit. If he stays with that deep passing scheme that looked like the Mike Martz scheme that concussed Trent Edwards out of the league and gave JP Losman PTSD problems. Then Allen may not survive the season despite the influx of the talented mean/nasty O linemen. Daboll supposedly brought the NE Patriots playbook with him to Buffalo and instead what he called was for quite a few deep passes which require a lot of 3 to 5 step drop backs. Which usually requires the QB 3-5 seconds in the pocket to throw those deep passes. So, many times last season Josh Allen didn't have time to throw those deep passes and he ended up running due to the pocket breakdown or receivers not being open. He also didn't have much of a run game to help him out either. Jim Kelly used to air it out to Don Beebe, James Lofton on occasion and that was usually after they established a solid run game with Thurman Thomas which caused the linebackers and safety's to move up to stop the run. When the Bills faced the ferocious pass rushing Eagles with Reggie White they changed to more quick out throws with more crossing routes. This new scheme enabled the Bills to effectively stymie that pass rush. Even with all the new additions to the O line I highly doubt Allen will consistently have the time needed to allow him to make all those deep throws again this year unless they draft a new LT. Here is hoping the Bills OC changes up his game plan to what the Patriots actually run.

While Gronk is up there in a top ten. I gotta wonder how he would do with another team with a not so dominate QB, HC, offense. After all, the guy was being thrown to by the GOAT! While being in the NFL for 9 years, Gronk has played less then 6 full seasons. Talk about tough? Guys like Ozzie Newsome never missed a game in 13 seasons and he helped redefine the position. Oakland's Dave Casper was nicknamed "the Ghost" and it was the Ghost to the post while being one of the best Tight ends in the 70's-80's. Denver's Shannon Sharpe was on three super bowl winning teams and was the prototypical pass catching TE. The Chargers Kellen Winslow was like an extra WR in "Air Coryell's " offense. Mike Ditka was the very first TE to transform a blocking role position into a pass catching position, the very first TE in the HoF. John Mackey. There is a reason as to why the award for the best tight end each year in college football is named after this man. Tony Gonzalez, played 17 seasons, 14 pro bowls, 6 times first team all pro. Played from 1997-2013. Had QBs like Elvis Grbac (3 years), Damon Huard (2 years), Yancy Thigpen (1 year), Matt Cassell (4 years) throwing to him He also had Trent Green (5 years) Matt Ryan (5 years). The guy is second in the NFL for all time receptions, 6th in career receiving yards. Some of those players helped redefine the position in the game and if you are old enough to watch them you couldn't help but see them take over games. I'll never forget that 1981 38-41 OT playoff game in Miami with Kellen Winslow blocking a FG in the last seconds to send the game into overtime. 13 rec for 166 yards and a TD. His performance in the game had to be one of the single greatest efforts in NFL history as the guy would come off the field and fall down exhausted and then rise again to make a play. His yardage total in this game was an NFL record for over 30 years. What made Winslow's performance all the more memorable was that fact during the game he was treated for a pinched nerve in his shoulder, dehydration, severe cramps, and received three stitches in his lower lip. After the game, a picture of Winslow being helped off the field by his teammates.

Panthers Greg Olsen, Still playing SF Russ Francis, *KC Tony Gonzalez, 14 pro bowls will be in the HoF Holds NFL records for career receiving yards (15,127), receptions (1,325) and touchdowns (111) for tight end Denver Shannon Sharpe HoF, Cleveland Ozzie Newsome HoF, SD Antonio Gates, still playing Bears Mike Ditka HoF, *Oakland Dave Casper HoF, *Dallas Jason Witten, just retired, 10 pro bowls *Colts John Mackey HoF, *SD Kellen Winslow HoF, Dallas Jackie Smith HoF, Lions Charlie Sanders HoF. Gronk isn't even the best of the bunch IMO

I honestly don't think it was Beane's or anyone else's intention to tank last season as they did attempt to bring in some free agents. Some certainly low cost due to cap constrictions. The team also traded for WR Kelvin Benjamin by the trade deadline in 2017, a player that if he had the heart and desire to play his best could have been a huge asset at WR. Anyway, look at the free agent signings. Impact starters, DT Star Lotulelei, DE Trent Murphy, CB Vonte Davis. Borderline starters, QB AJ McCarron, WR Jeremy Kerley, CB Phillip Gains, C Russell Bodine, OT Marshall Newhouse. Backups, RB Chris Ivory, S Rafael Bush, DE Owamagbe Odighizuwa, WR Kaelin Clay, LBer Julian Stanford. Back of the roster, DE Terrence Fede, DT Tenny Palepoi. We also need to remember that the GM usually doesn't select free agents all on his own as he gets info/input from his scouts and assistant coaches. Who else thinks that that O line coach/Run game coordinator was a wasted hire and a waste of space in Buffalo? So, his opinion on O line players was probably worthless as was his opinion on Peterman. Both Bills OC's Rick Dennison and Brian Daboll were fooled by Nathan Peterman into thinking that Peterman was a viable backup QB. In Daboll's case, it was worse because he had that bum pegged as the starting QB last year with him getting all the starting reps for the opener. Last season with literally no holes for the RB's because the line was so bad the run game suffered big time. Which then put more responsibility to carry the offense on the QB shoulders (a rookie, right!). With no run game, it also made it more difficult for the defense to do their job as they were on the field so often in every game. Lack of time of possession by the offense caused the defense to wear down near the end of the game and also was the cause of many blowouts last season. (At least 5 or 6) This season the Bills made C Mitch Morse the highest paid center in the league in free agency as this makes more sense rather than have a rookie calling the protections for the line. This offseason the Bills spent 38 million to six new offensive linemen with 317 games of experience between them. OG Quintin Spain to LG. Mitch Morse to Center. Spencer Long to RG/backup center. Jon Feliciano to backup OG. Ty Nsekhe to RT. LaAdrian Waddle to backup OT. I see the new Bills O line pretty well set in the first round of the draft unless they are unhappy with the play of Dawkins last season. Which was a dropoff from 2017. I'm with you though and can only hope that they go after that stud TE who is graded by some as the 5th best player in the draft. https://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker/prospects

Not many others picked up on this and I think Brian Daboll should have been beaten with a tire iron for his offensive scheme. Not with that craptastic offensive line they fielded last year. It reminded me of 2000 Rams Mike Martz offense with a lot of deep passing that only worked when they had a top O line. Steve Fairchild brought that offense with him to Buffalo in 2006 and we Bills fans got to watch JP Losman get shell shocked out of the league... he probably still has trouble with PTSD. Trent Edwards suffered many concussions running that scheme too. In my view, that offense that Daboll called was about the very worst you could ask a rookie QB to run with all that deep passing and not all that much time to throw due to the turnstiles of an offensive line. To throw five, seven-step drops you need three to five seconds in the pocket and thus the reason for so much running by Allen. Not to mention all the drops by Jones and Benjamin. Jones 102 targets, 52 catches a 54.9 catch %. Benjamin 62 targets, 23 receptions a 37.1 catch %. Plus, not much of a ran game...except for the QB. Daboll supposedly brought the Patriots playbook with him to Buffalo but like you mention he really didn't utilize it much. With the Patriots it's all about moving the chains, getting first downs and frustrating the defense because the ball is spread around so much they don't know what to expect. The Patriots also run the ball and utilize the tight end A LOT when Gronk is healthy. The Bills should be copying this scheme. If you look at the last game of the season against Miami the Bills spread the ball around to seven different receivers with Zay Jones catching the most 9 targets, 6 rec, 93 yards, 2 TDs. Foster was next with 5 targets, 4 rec, 21 yards, 1 TD. TE Jason Croom was next with 4 targets, 2 rec for 32 yards. Allen tried to find the TE as he was the third most targeted. The point here is that teams will start doubling the outside receivers to take away those deep threat wideouts. Shady and Cole Beasley will work their magic with the short, underneath stuff so that leaves the midrange which is where a really good tight end would really force the defense to defend the entire field. All this is probably moot because McD will most likely draft a D lineman with that #9 pick.

The thing of the percentage of first round hits and misses is because some people develop earlier in life than others and in college, sometimes it's like a man against boys! Almost all these young men are still developing and will gain weight, muscle and change usually for the better. Some are currently closer to their potential than others. Anyway, If you look at the catch percentage of last years Buffalo Bills players, Zay Jones, 56 rec 652 yards and a 54.9 catch % LeSean McCoy, 34 rec 234 yards and a 73.9 catch % Robert Foster, 27 rec 541 yards and a 61.4 catch % Kelvin Benjamin, 23 rec 354 yards and a 37.1 catch % Jason Croom, 22 rec 259 yards and a 62.9 catch % Charles Clay, 21 rec 184 yards and a 58.3 catch % Cole Beasley, 65 rec 672 yards and a 74.7 catch % John Brown, 42 rec 715 yards and a 43.3 catch % Things changed for Brown when Flacco stopped playing and Lamar Jackson took over. I listed those because Noah Fant has a 14% career drop percentage vs TJ Hockenson who dropped one pass out of 51 passes last season at Iowa. Chris Trapasso calls Hockenson a destroyer of worlds, https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2019-nfl-draft-iowas-t-j-hockenson-is-destroyer-of-worlds-as-a-blocker-dynamic-pass-catcher/ I would really, really hate to see the Patriots trade up to draft either Hockenson or Fant and they have one first, two seconds and three thirds.

I dunno, Ebron was never on my radar in 2014. The Bills even brought in Odell Beckham Jr for a look before the draft and I think they didn't look at him hard enough because he was injured at the time. Anyway, my thoughts on trading up for a WR were Mike Evans at 6'5'' 230Lbs and not on a kid who gained most of his yards in screenplays. I also liked the OG Zack Martin the Cowboys took at #16 in a trade back. I know most Bills fans don't think a TE or OG is worthy of a first-round pick. However, I do if the guy is another Jason Witten type. The thing is, in my view is that Josh Allen doesn't like to check down to the RB in the flat and is always looking for that receiver open downfield. While Robert Foster and John Brown will be going deep with the fade/go/clear-out and Cole Beasley will be in the slot going for the underneath stuff. The Bills could really use a tight end like Gronk who can be a dual threat to block well for the run game or peel off for a mid-range pass. Or the Bills could trade back and pick up his teammate TE in Noah Fant who is not the blocker that Hock is but runs a 4.5 40. Either way, the Bills have never had a pass catching TE like either of these two and Josh Allen needs a go-to TE. The Patriots had Gronk. The Eagles have Ertz. The Chiefs have Kelce, had Tony Gonzalaz. The Saints had Jimmy Graham. Carolina has Greg Olsen. Dallas had Jason Witten. The Bengals have Tyler Eifert. The Redskins have Jordan Reed. The Vikings have Lyle Rudolph. The 49ers had Vernon Davis. The Broncos had Julius Thomas. The NY Giants have Evan Engram. The closest the Buffalo Bills have come to having a top TE recently was Charles Clay whos best year was back in 2013 with 68 rec for 759 yards, 6 TDs. Buffalo bought into what they thought was an on the verge TE and it never happened. Just sayin, I wouldn't be adverse to a TE at #9.

I had considered Ebron a bust too at Detroit and last season paired up with Andrew Luck he had 66 receptions for 750 yards, 13 TDs. I'll not forget that Doug Whaley had stated if the trade up for Sammy Watkins had fallen through he would have drafted Ebron at #9. The wrong system in Detroit? Anyway, TJ Hockenson looks to be on a much higher level as some mocks have him going as high as 6th overall. Bucky Brooks calls his a gold jacket prospect and a top 15 player much like ex Cowboys TE Jason Witten. https://www.rotoworld.com/college-football/nfl-draft/player/39502/tj-hockenson Dunno about you, but I would love to see a Gronk type TE in Buffalo. A receiver that creates a mismatch that few teams can adapt to stop. Bust factor? In NFL mocks I see him going at #10 to Denver, #12 to Green Bay and #19 to Minnesota. Oddly enough that guy who said #19 to Minn also had the Bills selecting TE Noah Fant at #9, Charles Davis. (Fant was Hocks teammate at Iowa) http://www.nfl.com/draft/2019/mock-drafts

I posted the chart to see if it would actually stay as I saw it as a chart. Then added more to it with a link explaining everything. you were a bit fast on the uptake

Historic Success Chart The numbers show us the following outline for finding consistent starters: 1st Round - OL (83%) LB (70%) TE (67%) DB (64%) QB (63%) WR (58%) RB (58%) DL (58%) 2nd Round - OL (70%) LB (55%) TE (50%) WR (49%) DB (46%) QB (27%) DL (26%) RB (25%) 3rd Round - OL (40%) TE (39%) LB (34%) DL (27%) WR (25%) DB (24%) QB (17%) RB (16%) 4th Round - DL (37%) TE (33%) OL (29%) LB (16%) WR(12%) DB (11%) RB (11%) QB (8%) 5th Round - TE (32%) DB (17%) WR (16%) OL (16%) DL (13%) RB (9%) LB (4%) QB (0%) 6th Round - TE (26%) OL (16%) DL (13%) WR (9%) DB (8%) RB (6%) LB (5%) QB (0%) 7th Round - DB (11%) OL (9%) QB (6%) WR (5%) DL (3%) LB (2%) RB (0%) TE (0%) https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2015/2/20/8072877/what-the-statistics-tell-us-about-the-draft-by-round Eric Ebron was a 1st round pick Gronk, Ertz were 2nd rounders Kelce, cook were 3rd rounders Kittle was a 5th rounder From Iowa Anyway, if you look at the CBS mock drafts you see Hock going at #7 to #19 and most have him going at #12 to GB. The kid is the complete package at TE and blocks like Gronk. He dropped one pass out of 51 and was the first sophomore to win the John Mackey award as the nation's top TE. He also won the big ten TE of the year award. Buffalo has never had a TE this good Interesting article, https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/t-j-hockenson-the-better-iowa-te-prospect

Perhaps I should have phrased it differently to what you suggest as I also feel that McD had considerable influence on the Beane hire as they previously had worked together in Carolina. The Pegula's did interview four people for the GM job. Also, the Bills model under these new owners is no longer flawed in my view. It started that way as Brandon had great influence over these new owners at first and I think that changed quickly after they fired Rex Ryan. My take is the new owners in not knowing anything about how to run an NFL team kept Brandon to help them run their new team. Once his character came into question and he resigned. It was then Kim Pegula took over as president. From what I see/read the Pegula's are not involved in the football side of the Org.

While I like the pick the kid has not been one of the 30 players to visit the Buffalo Bills pre-draft George Kittle, 49er TE had 88 receptions for 1337 yards and was the 8th best receiver last year. Travis Kelcie, KC TE had 103 receptions for 1336 yards 10 TDs and was the 10th best receiver last year. Zack Ertz, Philly TE had 116 receptions for 1163 yards, 8 TDs and was the 16th best receiver last year. Honorable mention to Jered Cook , Eric Ebron. In 2017 Gronkowski was one of the best run blockers while also was the 10th best receiver in the league and a game changer for the Patriots his entire career! Also was 12th best in 2015. Having a TE like one of these men can be a game changer for the team and with that size, it makes it very difficult for a linebacker to keep pace or a DB to make a tackle. A good tight end is a QB's best friend as a downfield outlet and can be a great asset in blocking for the run or pass. Hockenson can do both very well as he pancakes in blocking and is a good deep threat.

Whaley was a GM in name only as he had little actual power. He basically couldn't because Brandon was the team president! When team owner Ralph Wilson was team president for decades he had his hands in/on everything in the football side of the Org too. Wilson was in the draft room every draft and he was "helping" make choices. Kinda why the team didn't draft QBs for so many years and instead drafted a lot of RBs, CBs with those first round picks. It took Rex Ryan telling the media that Brandon was so involved in the football process that the team president/head marketing man in the org was in the teams "cut room" and on the phone to players instead of doing his job in the Bills front office. You can't really get more involved in the football side of the team than to be talking to players about to be released during the cut downs. Brandon was so involved football side of the org since he took over for GM Marv Levy as de facto GM in 2008 that when the new owners took over he directed them to do the very same things that the late owner was doing with the team. Thankfully, the Pegula's saw the error in this when they hired/fired Rex Ryan and then hired Sean McDermott. Rather than listen to Brandon who was moved to only the FO of the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Americans. They consulted with many, many NFL people before they hired McD and then gave him the power to select the next GM. Unlike Wilson, Brandon I think these new owners are "hands off" the football side now.

I thought so too. Now for the catch highlights! The kid dropped one pass in 51 targets... Potential generational talent!

I heartedly agree about Juan Castillio as he should have never been hired. There was an immediate downturn in the run game from Greg Roman/Anthoney Lynn who built a #1 run game to what Castillio did. Yards per attempt went from #1 two years in a row in 2015-16 down to 14th in 2017 under Castillio and it was even worse at first, this with the very same running QB and lead back. McCoy went from a 5.4 yards per attempt in 2016 to 4.0 in 2017 and it was worse at first until McCoy turned it up on his own in the second half of the season. Last season without Incognito/Woods the yards per attempt went to 21st. While the actual overall yardage and #5 in rushing attempts don't look so bad... it's because of QB Josh Allen was the leading rusher with 631 yards rushing at a whopping 7.1 yards per attempt. The Bills went from a power or gap scheme means you have double teams at the point of attack and the way you cut the defense is with double teams or kick out blocks. The zone scheme is much more complex! The wide zone or outside zone, the way you cut the defense is to stretch the front side and then the backside you cut the defenders. That's how you create seams by cutting the defenders so there is no backside pursuit. The tight zone or inside zone is different so that you have some double teams but different from the power/gap scheme but it still requires cutting the defender. I think we can all see which was the more successful blocking scheme.

Gotta go with the weakest position on the team and the kid who could have the greatest impact. The TE from Iowa TJ Hockenson who can both catch and block. When was the last time the Buffalo Bills had a player like this...like never?