HappyDays

This is usually around the time I would create the NFL draft rumors thread. This year I'll just use this thread though. Here are a few that I consider relevant to the Bills from ESPN insiders: https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2025/insider/story/_/id/44507247/2025-nfl-draft-latest-buzz-rumors-news-hunter-trades-mocks-sleepers

I hope this isn't Beane's mindset though. We aren't drafting a 1st round player for day one, it's for the next 5 years and hopefully beyond. Revel usually would be a top 20ish player that we have the opportunity to draft at 30 only because of the ACL. So that is a risk I'd be very willing to take, even knowing that he might not be able to start until the middle of the season. If it was like Benjamin Morrison's injury I'd be more concerned but recovery from ACLs for young players is pretty clean these days and there is low risk of re-injury. JMO

I wouldn't be too sure. EDGE and DT are arguably just as big of needs as CB. It's almost certainly going to be one of those 3 positions, not just because of need but because that's likely where the value is going to match up.

I've come around to really liking Harmon. Despite being projected as more of a 1T he has some pass rushing upside and in that regard I like him better than Grant. As far as trading up for him it would depend on how far. If you really like him you probably want to jump Detroit to be safe. Our later 4th should be enough to swap with Baltimore.

At least that regime kept it a secret. Beane last year publicly congratulated himself for attempting to trade up for Cole Bishop before landing him at our original pick. I mean c'mon man... He's been in the job too long to make rookie PR mistakes like that.

With the 49th pick, the Bengals select Princely Umanmielen, EDGE, Ole Miss. Seahawks @Logic are on the clock. This is our second pick in a row that feels like a no brainer. Despite Trey Hendrickson leading the NFL in sacks with 17.5 last year, as a team we ranked 24th at just 2.1 sacks per game. Hendrickson's future with the team is uncertain. Other than him we have Joseph Ossai who has developed into nothing more than a rotational depth level player. Umanmielen projects as a pass rush specialist in the NFL. He has a solid frame and great length, and natural speed and bend to get around the edge. And we aren't just betting on traits - he collected 10.5 sacks his final year at Ole Miss so the production matches the profile.

The only positions that would be crazy to draft in round 1 are QB, RB, and OL. Anything else should be on the table.

I would just keep both of them on the roster honestly. I don't worry too much about how it all fits together. Maybe if nothing else we end up with a really impactful 3rd down pass rush which would fix a big problem from last year. And since this coaching staff loves to rotate the DL no amount of investment is going to be too much.

Yeah because I do mock drafts based on what I expect, not what I want. Given the option between Amos and Nolen I would expect Beane to select Amos.

The issue with drafting Kincaid wasn't that it didn't fill a strict need, it's that the player turned out not to be as good as they thought. That's what the final evaluation always comes down to. If Kincaid had turned into our version of Kelce no one would care that we had drafted him while paying Knox. To me drafting just a solid starter in the 1st round would be spinning our wheels. And that's kind of how I see Amos, of course I could be wrong and he develops into an elite CB. More than anything this roster needs high end talent that can make difference making plays that go above and beyond the scheme. If you think Nolen can be the next Chris Jones, you don't think twice about drafting him even with Oliver on a highly paid contract. Howie Roseman drafted Hurts while paying Wentz. He drafted Jalen Carter soon after drafting Jordan Davis and Milton Williams. Just take the best player and if your evaluation is right it will be a winning move.

Yeah there are different levels of character concerns. Like with Nolen it seems there are general questions about his maturity and his effort. That is the kind of thing I think we can afford to overlook and trust that our culture and our locker room are strong enough to help him grow. The next level would be James Pearce where it's apparently like Jermaine Burton, like there are times where he just doesn't show up at practice and no one has any clue where he is... That's scary enough that I probably wouldn't touch him in the 1st, but you'd do your due diligence and gauge the severity. And then there's Mike Green who has had two sexual assault allegations and there are rumors of a pattern of behavior that is even worse than what's been reported, so to me he's not even a conversation worth having.

I voted Amos for the same reason but also I disagree with that logic. This is where Beane has messed up before. Instead of taking the better player he takes the cleaner fit who fills a need. I don't want him to pass on Nolen because Oliver is already on the roster or because of minor character concerns. We desperately need high end talent. Nolen has a lot more upside than Amos IMO. Take the character risk and worry about his fit on the roster later. And of course in this scenario Philly has Nolen fall into their laps. Beane taking a solid level CB while Howie Roseman takes the best talent is such a realistic outcome and I hate it.

This is not the year to trade up in the 1st round IMO. If Beane wants to flip one of his later 4ths to go up a couple spots I guess that's fine, but I would not want to part with either of our 2nds. The book on this draft class is that it has little top end talent, but a ton of 2nd and 3rd tier talent. With our first three picks we can likely get three players that are actually graded as being worthy of those spots. And that is not typically possible. So I would just stay put, especially since we have so many needs. The best bet is trading up into the 3rd round using our first 4th rounder. Minnesota is a good target because they only have 4 picks in the entire draft. Going from 109 to 97 would cost one of our late 5th rounders.

History repeats itself!

Alright I changed my vote to Ezeiruaku, Mike Green won't be on our board it sounds like. I personally would take Hairston out of these options. But Ezeiruaku seems to fit what this regime prioritizes which is character and coachability. I would be a bit underwhelmed by that pick but it feels right.

They never got further than the allegation stage. But there were two - one in high school, one at Virginia. And he ended up getting suspended by Virginia over it. Not a good look, which is putting it lightly, but since there were no real charges I don't know how much you can use that against him as a prospect. Unless like Gunner said there is more that hasn't been revealed publicly.

Are you hearing other legal issues, or character concerns like work ethic and poor attitude? If it's the former I could see us overlooking it if our own background check checks out, if it's the latter he isn't an option for us. Walter Nolen apparently has character concerns too. So we're in a weird position here where maybe the best two players available are also poor character fits, and another BPA is a TE which would be a poor investment. If I was removing those three players I'd go with Hairston out of the remaining options. Amos I'd be fine with, I feel like his upside is more limited than I'd like for a 1st rounder but probably a safe pick.

There is a legitimate case that he's BPA right now. If Beane stuck to the board and picked him I imagine his next move would be trading Kincaid. That would be a real tough pill to swallow though.

If Mike Green falls this far in the real draft it's probably because of his old sexual assault allegations... He sticks out as the clear BPA to me and he fits a need. His pass rush skill set also happens to complement Rousseau perfectly. So I voted for him. But I don't know if Beane would overlook the allegations.

Mike Green Walter Nolen Donovan Ezeiruaku Luther Burden Maxwell Hairston Nic Scourton Trey Amos Those are the most likely Bills options in this scenario IMO.

This gives Jermaine Burton vibes. I wouldn't touch him in the 1st round.

After looking at the calendar, the Bengals are revising their selection. With the 17th pick they select Will Campbell, OT, LSU. The Seahawks @Logic are on the clock. This is an absolute dream scenario for Cincy. We have needs all across the roster but the biggest priority has to be protecting Burrow who has already missed basically two seasons with injuries. One lingering concern with Campbell is he may be a more natural guard at the next level. But in Cincy that's fine. We have Orlando Brown to man LT and our 2024 1st rounder Amarius Mims slated to be the RT. So Campbell can start his career in his more natural position with upside to transition to LT in the future. This is a no brainer pick getting a top 10 prospect at a position of need who happened to slide.

With the 17th pick the Cincinnati Bengals select Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona. That's right folks. The Bengals are building a dynasty on nothing but WRs. Defense? Unneccessary. Mike Brown will have to open his famously large checkbook to pay for a new scoreboard that can fit triple digits on the home side. Offensive line? Burrow's bones and ligaments will be considered optional with this cast of weapons.

Yeah makes sense to let the medical staff evaluate him if nothing else. ACL tears don't concern me too much, young players can rebound from them pretty quickly with no lingering effects other than possible mental hurdles. He apparently is a high character prospect and he has an elite length and speed combination. So he fits a lot of what this regime looks for in the 1st round. If the medicals are clean it would be a great 1st round pick IMO.