Logic

For those who didn't love the value of the Bernard pick -- I am one such person -- the value they got with Shakir should help make up for it. Just switch Shakir and Bernard in your brain and BOOM, problem solved!

My Lindy's Draft guide magazine is incredibly complementary of him. I'll transcribe his scouting report: Strengths: Highly versatile and lined up at flanker, inside at slot, and in the backfield. Impressive initial quickness at the line of scrimmage to gain freedom from press coverage, coordinating light feet with active, surprisingly strong hands to sway away dfeenders. Good agility and acceleration as a route runner, shaking defenders to consistently create separation. Keeps working as the play progresses. Quality receiver in the improvisational game, adjusting on the fly and coming back to the ball. Can catch with his body instead of hands but shows toughness after the catch. Willing to lower his shoulder and use leg drive to finish plays. Good vision and courage in traffic. Experience returning punts and kickoffs. Weaknesses: Well-distributed musculature but overall average size for the position. Quicker than he is fast, projecting better inside than outside. If used outside, average size and speed will be bottled by NFL competition. Played so many roles at Boise State that Shakir will enter the NFL a bit raw as a route runner. Many receptions on screens, dump offs and zone-drags. Too many double catches. More of a pest than a punisher as a blocker. Pro Comparison: Diontae Johnson, Steelers -- Cat-quick, courageous, and stronger than he looks, Shakir is precisely the type of versatile receiver and jet-sweep weapon NFL teams are chasing. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Shakir emerge as a quarterback's security blanket in much the same way the slightly smaller Johnson has for the Steelers. Rating: 7.2/10 -- Above Average Starter

Only gave up one sixth

Will likely work in as a rotational 4th/5th WR as a rookie, but absolutely has long term starting slot potential. Could take over for Crowder by next season.

YESSS! LOVE THIS PICK!!!

We're up next! Hallelujah!

My Lindy's Sports draft guide magazine is quite complementary of Bernard, listing him as their 4th ranked outside linebacker. I'll transcribe the writeup here: Strengths: Runs like a safety when he gets room to build up speed. Always around the ball due to his effort in pursuit. Nifty at evading blocks through both agility and hand usage. Angry and energized tackler who fights to bring people down. Football intelligence is evident on the field. Very loose hips allow him to change directions like a defensive back. Won't take snaps off. Feisty enough to do some damage as a blitzer. Weaknesses: Going to get bullied at times in the run game due to his size and play strength. Uses his chest as a battering gam sometimes to make up for his lack of arm length. More nimble on his junior tape than his senior tape. Will be bowled over by larger backs in the NFL. Drag tackler who may need some assistance to get finishes. Coverage awareness and technique need work. Pro Comparison: Deion Jones, Falcons -- Coming off his sixth year as a starter for the Falcons, there's little doubt that Jones has been able to succeed despite his underwhelming size. Bernard has similar measurables and energy, and he should be able. to find a starting job sooner than later. Rating: 7.5/10 -- Above Average Starter

As for the second bolded part: This is the key, right here. A great fit for the Bills offense, and will become Josh's favorite outlet when the play breaks down. As for the first bolded part, the vertical route from the wing against 'Bama: My pants just got a little tighter.

Ravens..*****...I hate you guys.

*****. Calvin Austin gone. Add the Steelers to list of teams who've had great drafts, in my opinion. The AFC got so, so much better this season. Whew.

Joshua Williams to the Chiefs. Ugh. I hate how much I love the Jets, Ravens, and Chiefs draft classes. Two AFC contenders and a division opponent got a lot better this weekend.

I agree, but the problem is that it takes two to tango, and most other teams probably feel the same way.

I know he's a tiny smurf, but I'm really surprised that WR Calvin Austin III hasn't gone yet. Game changing speed and athleticism, and won out wide -- not just in the slot -- in college.

Scouts’ opinions of Bernard from Bob McGinn’s draft profile series on Golongtd.com: TERREL BERNARD, LB, Baylor Height: 6-1. Weight: 222. 40: 4.59. Wonderlic: 30. Hometown: La Porte, Texas. Fact/Stat: Fifth-year senior, three-year starter … Finished his injury-riddled career with 317 tackles (31 ½ for loss), 16 ½ sacks, three interceptions, no forced fumbles and 12 passes defensed. What NFL scouts told me about him before the draft… AFC scout: “He’s better than the Wyoming guy (Chad Muma) but he’s little and he had a broken shoulder last year. He is a football-playin’ dude. A great kid, and really, really smart. Remember, Dat Nguyen was 218 at his pro day, too.” NFC scout: “He’s just little. He’s got some quickness. He’s extraordinarily smart. Great makeup. He’s a leader. He’s an alpha. But he’s small, and in the NFL they start running power at you. They’re going to make you go straight down the pipe and take on that 330-pound pulling guard. He’s going to get bounced around. He’s tough, but he’s not strong. I wish I could say I liked him more. Put it this way: if he succeeds, it wouldn’t surprise me. He’s the type of guy that will find a way.” AFC scout: “It wouldn’t surprise me if he could wear the green dot.” NFC scout: “He can wear the green dot.” AFC scout: “Undersized guy but he’s a good player. Late pick. He ran in the 4.5s. Best in space and laterally. He can rush the passer. Times his blitzes. Drops easy. Can cover.” NFC scout: “Small guy that plays hard but very limited. He got beat up trying to take on. Not a very good athlete. He knows how to play. He’s got instincts. Free agent.” AFC scout: “He can wear the green dot. Really smart. Just a really good player. Undersized, a little stiff, little limited in space. He just really has a nose for the ball and he always finds it. I do think he’ll be a low-end starter. You’ll want better but it’s hard to find teams that have three linebackers better than him.” NFC scout: “He’s a versatile, every-down starter if he’s able to gain weight and stay healthy. All ball all the time. Confident, but not arrogant. Hard practice player. He’s the type you would hire to be a coach after he is done playing.” AFC scout: “Definitely he could wear the green dot.” NFC scout: “He’s too small and doesn’t make enough plays for me. Fifth or sixth round.”

This guy is much more Milano than Edmunds. Those expecting him to take over at MIKE are in for disappointment, I suspect. He's not a MIKE. I think he CAN player there if he has to fill in for injury or something, but he's a WILL. When the Bills DO have to play 4-3 -- say, against the run-heavy Colts and Ravens of the world -- they'll now be able to do so while remaining much more viable against the pass. Playing nickel against these run heavy teams allowed them to get trampled by the ground game. Playing 4-3 against these teams left them vulnerable to play-action passing and second level completions. Now, they can play more 4-3 than they have in the past if they choose to. I still expect them to be primarily a nickel defense, but when they DO go base, it should be much more effective with someone like Bernard in the lineup. Versatility and unpredictability on defense. Versatility and unpredictability on offense. These are the themes of this draft. so far.

My counter argument is that football fans and draftniks get way too attached to their pre-draft rankings. We read these draft guides and watch a few Youtube highlight videos and think that all our perceived values are unimpeachable. We think that we know -- without ever having seen these players in person, ever having watched ACTUAL tape, ever having interviewed them and put them up on the whiteboard -- as much as the professional scouts and GMs who HAVE done those things. So you get attached to your Lindy's or Athlon Sports or Dane Brugler draft guide ranking and consider it gospel, and then when the player gets picked earlier, you say it's a "reach", and if they get picked later, you say it's a "steal". This year's draft, more than any other before it, hasn't proven this once and for all: Fans know nothing. Media knows nothing. This isn't to say we have to blindly accept or defend all the picks that teams make. Sometimes they're dumb picks. So you may be right. Maybe Bernard was a reach. Or maybe your perceived value of him is wrong, and the pro scouts are right, and he'll play valuable sub-package downs for two years and then take over for Milano and save the Bills $7.5M.

Not sure if this has been posted, but this video shows that Cook was much more excited to be picked by the Bills than the broadcast video made it seem:

At first the pick had me scratching my head. I thought a guard or a safety would have been the pick. Then I remembered that the Bills never replaced Klein and that, even though they're a base nickel, they DO still need a viable third linebacker. I also remembered that Milano can tend to miss a bit of time due to injury here and there, and in general, it's a good thing to have a guy who can fill in at MIKE or WILL if Edmunds or Milano gets dinged up. Lastly, I view this more as an indication that the Bills will re-sign Edmunds and potentially let Milano walk. They won't want to have a ton of money tied up in the linebacker position, but I don't see Bernard as an Edmunds replacement. I see him as a Milano clone and eventual Milano replacement. Lastly, the fact that McDermott is really tight with Baylor coach Dave Aranda, who surely gave Bernard a ringing endorsement, and the fact that Bernard is said to be a tremendous "heart and soul" team leader with impeccable football IQ and extremely high character were surely the deciding factors on this one. This is one of those picks that seem a bit curious on draft night but then, a few years down the road, is a staple of our football team. I think he's gonna be a player.

I wasn't here to discuss the pick last night, and I haven't combed through all 21 pages, so perhaps this has been said, but... The Bills decided last year in the second regular season Patriots game that the primary way they were gonna beat two-high coverage going forward was to throw checkdowns and dumpoffs and utilize the running back in the passing game. They said "to hell with running the defense out of it, we're gonna THROW them out of it by utilizing the vacated space in the middle of the field". Josh was patient and hit Singletary a bunch, the plan worked, and the Patriots shifted tactics. Cook's addition has a few purposes: to provide a back who can actually make these dumpoffs and checkdowns DANGEROUS. To turn a 3 yard pass into a 12 yard gain. To help revive our long-dead screen game. To add speed and home-run ability to our running back stable, which it currently lacks. And finally, he's not JUST a dumpoff/checkdown back. He can legitimately split out not only into the slot but out wide and win routes against corners. You'll see him start out wide and then motion into the back field, or vice versa. You'll see him in the slot. You'll see him running reverses. He's gonna do A LOT in this offense. Picture the offense coming out in 12 personnel -- Davis, Diggs, Knox, Howard, Cook. This screams "running formation" to the defense. But then the offense goes empty. The linebackers are now forced to try to cover Knox, Howard, and Cook. THAT'S the future of the Bills offense. Still passing it, still spreading it out, but doing so with less predictable and more versatile pro personnel.

This comment shows your lack of familiarity with James Cook.