Logic

Just thought I'd give a quick rundown of the Bills' draft class as I see it, with a few non-Bills draft thoughts as well. If this should be merged elsewhere, please do so. My favorite non-Bills draft class: Cleveland Browns - They got immediate help to their defense (blue chipper Mason Graham and LB Carson Schwesinger), offense (Quinshon Judkins, Dylan Sampson, Harold Fanin Jr), and most importantly, they attacked the QB position in an intelligent way, taking Dillion Gabriel and Shadeur Sanders in the middle rounds AND collecting a 2026 1st round pick that should help them climb the board if they like a QB prospect next year. Very savvy draft for a team not exactly known for them. My least favorite non-Bills draft class: Minnesota Vikings - Sure they didn't have many picks to work with, but they didn't exactly do anything to try to fix that by trading back to gain picks. They took an offensive lineman in the first round despite spending big money there in free agency and...proceeded to do not much else of note. Time will tell, of course, but when I look over the names, I see what feels like a wasted draft class. On to the Bills... Ask yourself a few simple questions, Bills fans: which side of the ball has been keeping Josh Allen and the Bills from reaching the Super Bowl once the playoffs hit, the offense or the defense? Which side of the ball performed more poorly in the AFC Championship game this year for the Bills? How did the Bills defense perform on third downs throughout 2024 and again in the AFCCG? If you answered those questions the way I think you did, then this draft class should make a ton of sense to you. The Bills attacked their consensus biggest defensive roster holes with multiple players with varying skillsets. In the case of the first four picks, all of them are premium athletes with impressive RAS. All of them had great production in the SEC. That, to me, was the first major through line of this draft: Productive college players in big time conferences who are also premium athletes. The other major through line of this draft was a common Brandon Beane principle once again being on display: drafting high ceiling, extremely physically gifted players and entrusting his coaching staff to maximize their talents. Max Hairston has unreal speed and athleticism which, combined with his eyes and instincts and aggressiveness, give him a sky-high ceiling and a playmaking potential we haven't seen in a Bills corner in years. Tre White should be the perfect mentor for him. TJ Sanders and Deone Walker are both excellent athletes and havoc-creating interior pass-rushers who, with refinement and NFL strength and conditioning programs, have the chance to be steals at their respective draft positions. Landon Jackson has a rare build and wingspan and was highly productive at Arkansas. He has the potential to be an edge-setting early down rotational lineman and, with added refinement and technique, to develop into much more than that. Beyond that, they took a smart and technical outside corner and what looks to be a positionally versatile slot corner/safety/special teams demon. On offense, they only take a blocking specialist TE3 (think Lee Smith but with a degree from Yale), a developmental o-lineman (they sure love doing this in late rounds) and a developmental outside receiver. I certainly hoped they'd take a wide receiver sooner and/or add a pass catching, kick returning running back type. But hey, when you score the 18th most points in a season in league history and then give up 30 points to a mediocre Chiefs offense in the AFCCG, you can hardly blame the GM for aggressively attacking the defense rather than the offense. All in all, the Bills sent a strong message with their free agent additions and with this draft class: Our defensive line wasn't good enough, our cornerback group wasn't good enough, our DEFENSE wasn't good enough. They did not sit on their hands. They very purposefully threw multiple resources at multiple players who all possess different skillsets on the line and in the secondary. The first result is that they now have quite an array of weaponry on the defensive lines. The mix and match combinations with guys like Groot, Bosa, Jackson, Oliver, Sanders, Walker, and eventually Hoecht and Ogunjobi are frightening. They leaned into the strength of this class and put heavy effort into remaking this line. The second result of this is that they suddenly have a very deep cornerback room. So deep, in fact, that a guy like Dane Jackson or Jamarcus Ingram may find himself on the outside looking in. Turning your two biggest defensive need areas -- DL and CB -- into deep pools of strength and versatility in one offseason? An impressive feat. Add in the litany of re-signing the Bills completed this offseason (keeping their young, homegrown core in tact for years to come), the internal improvement expected of guys like Kincaid and Coleman and Carter and Bishop, and you have a potentially improved Bills squad who once again looks ready to try to reach their first Super Bowl in 32 years. Not a bad few months of work, Mr Beane. On to camps.

Will Johnson Nic Scourton Tyliek Williams Walter Nolen Trey Amos Were all either a round higher or lower on our hero Joe Marino’s big board than where they wound up being drafted by NFL teams. No one is infallible. Rankings differ.

Not sure if positivity is still allowed in this thread, but here’s a glowing scouting report.

I think that wanting to see a larger body at DT is very reasonable. Which, by the way...the draft is not over. But calling Sanders "small" at 6'4" 305 lbs seems perhaps a bridge too far.

You may be right. Then again, fellow DT Alfred Collins got chosen just a few picks later. I think one point we can all agree on is this: We simply don't know. We can only GUESS what was or wasn't a reach based on OUR OWN rankings or those of our favorite analysts. But there again, those so often prove to be way off base. See Will Johnson, Shadeur Sanders, Colston Loveland, etc.

Thanks. I respect your analysis. I see people like Dane Brugler, who I really like, Joe Buscaglia and others touting Sanders' strength at the point of attack, violent hand usage, and better-than-expected play against the run, not to mention the possibility of carrying more weight. As it stands now, Brugler has him listed at 305, which is significantly different than the 287 or 294 I've seen him listed at elsewhere. Time will tell, but like DeWayne Carter last year, I expect the Bills to try Sanders at both 3T and 1T and see where he fits into the DT puzzle best. Alas, one way or the other, they seem to have prioritized pass rushing ability and upside over run-stopping. Given that they were pretty good on 1st and 2nd down last season and AWFUL on 3rd down, I don't hate it.

It seems a did a fair bit of 1T work in college and has some success there, no? Are we judging him strictly on his weight?

Mel Kiper had Shadeur Sanders ranked fifth, too. I'm thinking there's a CHANCE that Kiper's rankings aren't the be-all, end-all.

I talked after we picked Hairston about how shocked I was at all the positivity in the round one thread... And here we are. THIS is the negativity and instant reactivity I was expecting! This thread here confirms to me that I have not, in fact, somehow transported to another planet. Look: The Bills two top needs according to nearly every human alive were CB and DT. Everyone and their brother said "Beane won't use all 10 picks, he'll trade around and get his guys". So what happened? The Bills' first two picks were a CB and a DT, and Beane moved up the board to get one of his guys. Oh but wait, your favorite draft guide or amateur Bills analyst has him as a 3rd rounder, so you're upset? Well...those same experts mostly had Shadeur Sanders as a top 20 player and Tyler Warren getting drafted before Colston Loveland and Will Johnson going in the top 15. And here we are. Maybe the rankings of the draft analysts who aren't employed by NFL teams and the amateur podcasters AREN'T unimpeachable? Gosh almighty. I get saying "this isn't the player I would've preferred, but I'll give him a chance". But the absolute CERTAINTY people have in proclaiming this a bad pick, a reach, whatever....is just beyond comical. Never change, Two Bills Drive members. Never change 🤣

Gross. Greed greed greed. NFL owners are Icarus. They always have been, and always will be, and they won't stop until they've over-saturated the market, watered down the product, and imperiled player safety to the point that the quality of the league declines and, with it, fan interest. But anything for a buck, right?

I feel like every single year, there are multiple instances of players insinuating that X team told them they'd take them at pick X. I'm not sure how much teams just lie, how much is players hearing what they want to hear, and how much is reality. There's really no way TO know. If I had to doubt these assertions for any reason, it's simply that teams don't have a firm idea who will and won't be on the board when they pick. Why would they tell any player "we WILL take you at pick 30" if they have no idea whether a player they have ranked higher will be available when they pick? Seems weird. Who knows?

Then boy have I got good news for you. Not only Max, but MAD Max. Mad Max Hairston. Can't beat that.

For me it's the Browns-Jags trade. On the one hand, I understand it for the Browns. They get to add a blue chip type DL talent this year and then position themselves for a QB next year in what should be a pretty good QB draft. On the other hand, I sort of DON'T understand it for the Browns. Your fans need hope. You need to sell tickets. You have a generational guy sitting there for the taking (that word is thrown around too much, but Hunter really IS generational)...and you decide to pass on him. If I was a Browns fan this morning, I'd feel very mixed. I'd understand what they're up to and be maybe more hopeful for the future, but I'd also be wondering "did I just trade away the rights to a first ballot Hall of Famer?" As for the Jags...it's rare to see a team give up a future 1st to move up for a non-QB. That said, their GM called Hunter "a player that could change the sport", and I can't really disagree with him. Hunter is the type of talent worth gambling on. Furthermore, the single biggest factor in whether the Jags will turn the corner is the success of Trevor Lawrence. Giving him a BTJ/Hunter duo is the best thing they POSSIBLY could've done to set him up for success. Wild trade. Fun trade. Can't wait to see Hunter on an NFL field.

As a fellow "we need a difference maker" guy, and one who also grants the difficulty of finding one at pick 30, I just wanna say... Watching Hairston a bunch since last night, there are some game-changing type plays in his highlights. His eyes, instincts, trust in himself, and aggressiveness, combined with 4.28 speed, lead to him driving on the ball at times, picking it off and taking it to the house. When a 4.28 guy that's as aggressive as he is drives on it and picks it off, you're likely not catching him on his way to a house call. So while most of the time the best way a corner can be a "difference maker" is to lock down his side of the field, there are occasionally guys -- Trevon Diggs, Deion Sanders, guys like that -- whose ability to intercept the ball and bring it back the other way can make a very direct and noticeable difference. And I'm definitely not saying Hairston is Deion Sanders. I'm just saying that he has some impressive plays on tape against top SEC competition, and I don't think it's crazy to think that there may be some pick-sixes in his future that swing important football games in the Bills' direction. The Bills having just one interception in the AFFCG of the variety that I saw Hairston make at times at Kentucky may have sent the Bills to the Super Bowl. Maybe it's the optimist in me, but I have hope that Hairston can be a legitimate playmaker. Here's hoping.

@GunnerBill I'm not sure if you know the answer to this question, but I'll ask it anyway: What, in your observation, are the schematic similarities between Kentucky's defensive scheme and the Bills' defensive scheme? And based on the similarities or lack thereof and given what you've seen on tape from Hairston, do you envision him hitting the ground running and having a legit shot to start the season at CB2? Or do you think it's more of an "ease him into it" situation, where we're hoping he can earn the starting job by week 8?

Instincts, eyes, fearlessness, aggressiveness, and high football IQ are so important in corners. Combining those things -- all of which Hairston seems to have -- with 4.28 speed seems like it makes for a potentially lethal combination. I foresee game changing pick-sixes in Mad Max's future.

For what it's worth, and with the caveat that experts are often wrong at this time of year... Dane Brugler, who does one of the most thorough draft guides out there and really works hard evaluating prospects all year long (his guide "The Beast" on The Athletic is one of the best draft guides in existence) has Thornton listed as a round 5-6 guy.

Get me a 1T and Jalen Royals and I'm doing cartwheels like John Belushi. Would also be fine with them snagging Emmanwori or Watts if they like one of those guys.

Yeah. While some may have preferred other positions, anyone who complains about taking a corner after watching Kaiir Elam get absolutely smoked in the AFCCG last year should probably have his head examined. The Bills were DREADFUL on 3rd down last year, and it probably cost them a Super Bowl berth. Corner was so clearly a need, and the guy they filled that need with was a "swing for the fences" type pick who has playmaking potential we haven't seen from a Bills corner in years.

Haha I truly don't ever remember reading a 1st round Bills draft thread like this. It is SHOCKINGLY devoid of hot takes and anger. Why is that? Because corner was such a glaring need? Because the guy we picked ran a 4.28? WHAT IS BEHIND THIS MADNESS?!?! An academic study on the matter needs to be completed, I think.

Can I just say how NICE it is to have so many players that I WANT to root for? Like genuinely good people, dedicated, hard-working people, funny people, LIKABLE people. I know, I know...we'd all take a few more turds on the team if it meant winning a Super Bowl. The point is to win championships, not "nice guy" trophies. I get it. Really, I do. But still...there are plenty of fan bases out there whose teams regularly draft absolute garbage humans. Abusers and rapers and drunks and jerks. But here in Buffalo? All you hear about is this family culture where everyone hangs out together outside of work and helps shovel each other's driveways, and all we get for players are guys like Tre White, Dion Dawkins, Josh Allen, Keon Coleman, Ray Davis, Max Hairston, Micah Hyde, Terrel Bernard, and on and on and on. GOOD PEOPLE. It's nice. It's nice to root for guys like this. Good humans. It feels good. Laugh at me all you want. IDGAF.

I'm sure this has already been said in this thread, but... Thinking about Mad Max getting to learn from Tre makes me so happy. I think their personalities will mesh really well, I think Max will be a willing student and Tre a willing teacher, and there are reps where I look at Max at Kentucky and see young Tre White. For his on-field mentorship contributions alone -- though I do think he'll provide more than that -- the Tre White signing was a good one. Also, if for whatever reason Hairston isn't immediately ready to start on day one, Tre and Dane can certainly hold down the fort for a quarter of a season until he is.

I love that your "irrationally upset" post still included the facts that DL and WR were picked over, that CB was probably the best value at our pick, and that we may now have one of the deepest CB groups in the league. If this is the new "shouting angry Bills fan", I'll take it! 😅 Bravo!

If you wanna be a little bit amazed at technology, go ask ChatGPT “Is Maxwell Hairston a good scheme fit for the bills and was he a good value at pick 30?”. AI is bananas, y’all. *Spoiler: the robot likes our pick.