Logic

Are you saying you believe he WILL or WON'T do this? Personally, I would be EXTREMELY surprised if Beane drafted a WR in round 1 AND round 2. They want a TE (more likely two of them), they NEED a viable MLB...I just don't see how they could take two receivers early. Not to mention that I don't believe the roster space exists for that.

In whatever order makes sense, I'd love a receiver, a middle linebacker, and an offensive lineman. That makes good sense to me. I sense they may pick a tight end high, too. Often, the draft is not that cut and dry. It would seem to be a logical path, though.

In terms of just the 2023 season, our defense now seems relatively set at all positions except middle linebacker, particularly if they re-sign Shaq Lawson. Going forward, though, there will be lots of needs. From no DTs under contract past this year, to AJ Epenesa's contract expiring and Basham not providing much, to Von Miller being 35 years old, to Hyde and Poyer getting quite long in the tooth. There are about to be A LOT of defensive needs starting in 2024. The question is: Do Beane and Co primarily use this draft to try to get a headstart on filling the pipelines on defense, or do they ride with what they have for one more year so they can bring in some more offensive protection and weaponry, and then worry about the defense next year. Personally, I prefer the latter approach.

This makes sense to me, too. If there's one coaching staff in the NFL that has shown it can get great production out of safeties that were previously considered "average", it's Buffalo's. McDermott is the safety whisperer. Maybe Rapp sees an opportunity to get on the field in sub packages, special teams, and as the first safety off the bench, and then to see if he can impress the staff enough that he can be the future at one of the safety positions in the years to come.

From his NFL.com draft profile the year he came out. I have bolded the reasons the Bills likely just signed him. Strengths Good size with compact frame and well-built chest Mister Fix-It asked to play all over the field for the defense Football intelligence considered top notch Despite compact frame, moves well Able to handle man cover duties on tight ends Impressive talent to diagnose and flow as box safety Recognizes run lane development like a running back Takes accurate pursuit angles Hip sink and footwork are catalysts for open-field tackling Always comes to balance and widens out to tackle Loves to thump Gifted kickoff cover man Weaknesses Hands out punishment but absorbs his share as well Can trigger a little earlier in run support from two-high Average lateral burst as open-field tackler Might be out-paced by NFL runners in his race to the edge Ability to range over the top appears to be just average Ball production has dropped since freshman season Routes to the throw can be fairly conservative Might have left some interceptions and breakups on the field

I'm not understanding why a 2nd round pick in his 5th year, just entering his prime, would sign with a team that's already set at its two starting safety positions. It must mean he either didn't have better options elsewhere on the market, OR...perhaps this is sort of a one year "let's see if you're the future at this position" type signing. See how he does as the third safety on the field and how he picks up the system, and then maybe he replaces Hyde next season. Huh. I'm happy to sign safety depth, but a little bit perplexed. Edit: Or maybe he just stinks. That's definitely a possibility.

I mean...they're no Donald Jones and David Nelson, but I guess they'd be fine.

When this thread was first created in January, I thought it was silly and pointless and a pipe dream. Now here we sit in March, deep-diving Twitter users' post histories, scouting flight paths, staking out chicken wing restaurants, and rapid pressing the F5 key. What a world.

Fair. The Bills obviously need to add more offensive weaponry one way or another, as they have been so far this offseason. I'm just leery that Dorsey will actually know what to do with the talent added, after I watched him (in my opinion) misuse/underuse/refuse to use Dawson Knox, James Cook, and Nyheim Hines last year. I really, really hope Dorsey improves from year one to year two in terms of personnel deployment and usage, and that he and Beane are on the same page this offseason in terms of exactly what types of players he wants. They did NOT seem to be on the same page last season, in my opinion (See: Hines, Nyheim).

I expect the Bills to draft a tight end within the first few rounds this year. That said, until they actually start using the very good tight end that's already on the roster and getting paid big bucks, I don't really care WHAT they do at TE2 or TE3. Dawson Knox has the talent and ability to be this team's de facto WR2. He has the talent to be a 1,000 yards and 10 TDs guy. The Bills PAID him to be that guy. Until Ken Dorsey figures out how to use him and Josh Allen re-commits to hitting his short and intermediate targets instead of always big game hunting, the tight end depth conversation is just noise to me.

He has excellent taste in music, but that's about all I can say for him. Between the failed OJ Howard experiment, the pre-draft meetings with projected early round TEs last offseason, Beane's talk of how a good second tight end allows more pro sets and to dictate matchups to the defense, and them letting Sweeney walk, it seems quite clear to me that bringing in a legit TE2 is a high priority. I expect one to be drafted in the first three rounds, assuming one is not signed in free agency (are any decent FA TEs still even on the market?)

Buckner's $18,000,000 base salary seems......kind of impossible to fit under the Bills' cap.

I don't disagree with this notion in theory, but if they get Hopkins, it's hard to see how they'd have the roster room to also add a highly drafted rook. Diggs Hopkins Davis Shakir Harty Sherfield MAYBE they'd carry 7 receivers. But with Harty and Sherfield both having special teams roes, said rookie would probably find himself inactive on game days in year one. With a currently glaring need at MLB, as well as similar "youth in the pipeline" needs at DT, DE, and S, it's hard to see them acquiring Nuke and ALSO drafting a receiver in the first three founds. I'd be thrilled if they did, but I don't think they would.

I'm hoping that, if nothing else, the Bills being in on Hopkins means they recognize the need for a bona fide #2 WR. If they feel the need is sufficient to consider trading for a Deandre Hopkins, then they must feel it's a fairly big need indeed. That being the case, hopefully they spend high draft capital on the position if the Nuke trade doesn't come through.

Sunk cost fallacy. Just because they have spent a bunch trying to improve the D-Line doesn't mean that the D-Line is good enough and that they should stop trying to improve it. Don't get me wrong, I want offensive upgrades, and I DON'T want to see a bunch more premium resources be spent on the DL any more than the next guy, but..."we already invested a bunch" isn't a good reason not to continue to try to improve a unit if said unit still is not up to snuff.

I feel like "The Bills are trading for Big Name Receiver X", followed by "Breaking News: Big Name Receiver X has been traded to not-the-Bills" has become a yearly tradition. I'll believe it when I see it.

McGovern and Edwards are both starting level guards. I think they're both better than the usual level of IOL that Beane signs at this time of year. I think they're both better than Spencer Long, Greg Mancz, etc. I like it.

The ongoing obsession of some Bills fans with garnering compensatory picks is bizarre. Then again, the perpetual inability of the Bills to garner compensatory picks is also bizarre.

I predict that no one will officially hold that title this year. It will be a group effort between Sean McDermott, Eric Washington, Al Holcomb, and Bobby Babich. When it ultimately comes to who will be most responsible for calling plays on gameday, my money would be on Coach McDermott or Coach Washington.

Fair. I'll say this: I don't have a ton of complaints about Brandon Beane, but of the few that I do have, a key one is that he can remain committed to players he drafted or "believes in" for too long, past the point at which all available evidence has suggested that he's wrong. He seems to fall prey to "sunk cost fallacy" and to remain too willing to stick it out with players that don't deserve it. I'm not saying Spencer Brown is one of those guys, for sure. I think it's too early to say. Ironically, the one time Beane DID give up pretty quickly and trade a drafted player away, said player immediately became an All-Pro elsewhere. Unfortunately, that incident only seems to have increased Beane's willingness to stick it out with other, lesser players.

I don't disagree that Brown had rough stretches last season. It's clear after listening to Beane's presser that he blames the back injury and the lost offseason for much of Brown's struggles, and also said he felt like Brown was playing better down the home stretch of the season. As much as some here may want it, I did not got the impression after listening to Beane that tackle is a spot where they're going to bring in a high round draft pick or premium free agent. I think Quessenberry and Doyle are about the level of competition Brown will be looking at this year. Maybe if a tackle they like slips in the draft, they'll take one in the mid rounds. I don't expect much more than that. All of that said...the Bills under Brandon Beane have signed cheap veteran O-linemen in past free agency periods, only to cut them in camp in favor of younger talent or a different path. It could certainly happen again with Quessenberry.

Good re-signing. A capable swing tackle. Multiple posters will no doubt flock to this post, complaining that the Bills didn't do better. In truth, how much did anyone really expect a cap-strapped team that is forced to work the fringes of free agency to spend on a third tackle? And yes, this likely means they're committed to giving Spencer Brown the chance to lock down the RT spot for good this season, but anyone who listened to Beane's recent presser already knew that.

Respectfully, I disagree with...just about all of this.