Logic

I don't envision the Bills signing a "big bucks" guy like Clowney or, if he somehow became available, Ngakoue. Instead, I see guys like Mario Addison and Robert Quinn as much more likely options. Quinn had a career resurgence last year with 11.5 sacks. Whatever it was about the scheme switch from Miami to Dallas, it worked. He's 29 years old, which may be "old", but it's not OLD old. I also think that the Bills might take a swing at Dante Fowler or Vic Beasley -- both supremely physically talented former 1st rounders who haven't lived up to expectations. Beane seems to like to take chances on really athletic, former high picks, banking on the notion that the Bills coaches and system can get more production out of them. Fowler, like Quinn, had 11.5 sacks last year. Vic Beasley was no slouch, with 8 sacks last year, which would have led all Bills defenders. His career high year saw him tally 15.5 sacks. Another big question, of course, is whether or not they re-sign Shaq Lawson. In any case, I don't see the Bills getting anyone young or dynamic enough in free agency to "solve" the position, so they'll need to draft a youngster or two either this season or next. If they re-sign Lawson, it probably buys them a year, and then can more meaningfully address the edge position with youth next offseason. When all is said and done, my prediction for the Bills 4-deep depth chart next season is something like Hughes, Lawson, Addison, draftee.

Good post. Matt Miller's "team by team draft nuggets" article today -- though it seemed to be possibly little more than speculation -- did note that Miller has heard that the Bills are in on "big guys" like Bryan Edwards and Donovan Peoples-Jones. They've also spoken with Chase Claypool. Then again, they've talked to just about EVERY WR at the combine, so take everything with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, I expect them to come out of the draft with two wide receivers: a "size guy" as well as a burner or a McKenzie-style gadget player.

I would just like to a take a moment to say the following: Anyone who could honestly look at a simple post stating that the head coach said Buffalo makes you the best version of yourself and a bunch of players agreed and that this is probably a good thing and decide "this is fertile ground for me to talk smack about McDermott" or "let me explain to you why this is a BAD thing" is soooommmee kind of special. That is all. Please carry on now with your craziness. Awards will be given out at the end for the most creative takedowns based on this seemingly small and positive quote.

McKinney is a draft crush of mine in terms of his fit with Buffalo and what I believe he could do in this defense. I know, I know, how original and creative to "crush" on the best safety in the class and an obvious 1st round talent. I think the Cowboys would be silly to pass on him, since they've needed a stud safety for over a decade now. With needs on the D-line and at corner, though, they may go a different direction.

After spending a bunch of time watching NJPW in recent months, it is even more glaringly obvious how clueless and thoughtless the WWE's booking is. Not surprising, since they have aging and increasingly out of touch Vince McMahon and a bunch of TV writers running things. Meanwhile, NJPW clearly plans things out well in advance, with angles and character progression and trajectories that go on for YEARS. It is all clearly well thought out, with thought to both maintaining current stars AND building future stars in a way that doesn't hurt either camp. I mean...it was obvious BEFORE watching NJPW that WWE is a ship without a rudder these days, but now its even MORE obvious. The shame of it all is that the WWE -- between Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and 205 Live or whatever its called these days -- has an INSANE roster of talent. They just don't have ANY idea what to do with them or who they should or shouldn't be giving pushes to. I wish guys like Ricochet, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, and even Roman Reigns would break away from WWE and either go back to NJPW or start joining AEW and ignite a new Monday Night Wars style feud of companies. SUCH a waste of talent going in right now. Shame, shame, shame.

Yep. They have a lot of young guys they'll need to pay in the coming few seasons, and they can't keep everyone. Getting a young safety in the fold now would allow them to use more of the three-safety or Buffalo Nickel looks that McDermott likes this season while having him replace Poyer as a full-time safety next season. Or, if they like using him as a roving, jack-of-all-trades player and he succeeds in that role, and if Jaquan Johnson continues to progress, they could just keep him in that roving role. It gives them flexibility. Lastly, I'll say this: McDermott seems to be a safety whisperer. He has been able to get tremendous production out of afterthoughts like Kurt Coleman, Jordan Poyer, and Dean Marlowe. Just imagine what he could do with an actual blue chip safety prospect. I'm picturing game-changing, All-Pro type production. A safety like that can really change the face of a defense and can flip football games. I know it would anger 90% of Bills fans if the team took a safety high, but I'm not in that 90%. Passing and stopping the opposing passer is how you win football games, and a game changing safety is a big way to stop the opposing passer.

The more I look at the needs of teams in front of Buffalo in the 1st round, the more convinced I am that the top three wide receivers, top three-four offensive tackles, and top 2-3 pass rushers will be gone. If this happens, it obviously puts the Bills in a bit of an odd spot. My hope is that they don't force a pick at any of the above mentioned positions if the value isn't there. Luckily, Beane seems to be the type to stick to his board and not reach for positions of need. As such, if the above scenario plays out, we may see the Bills end up taking a player at a position that fans consider less of an immediate need, like cornerback, safety, or linebacker. With mega-bucks about to be handed out to Tre'Davious White, a cheap rookie on the other side for the next 5 years would seem to make sense. Likewise, a Kenneth Murray or Kyle Duggar to maintain/improve the potency of the defense. In such a deep wide receiver draft, we should all be prepared for their 1st round pick to NOT be at that position. Lastly, I'm not usually a "trade down at all costs!" guy, but I would love it if they did so this year. Getting an extra 2nd and 3rd rounder in a year where the WR and RB value seems to lie there would be a wise move.

To me, the cumulative weight of having state-of-the-art facilities, great ownership and front office, great coaching, recent playoff appearances, a potential franchise QB in place, the best fans in the league, and players all over the roster raving about the family culture here....It's huge. Free agents are going to see it. Rookies are going to see it. We're seeing it already with how draft prospects are replying to Bills-related questions at the combine the past few days. This stuff matters.

So was Tyler Shatley.

Definitely because of Dareus.

Did you hurt yourself stretching so much?

No.

The more I think about it, the more I hope the Bills find a legit running back to pair with Singletary. No bargain basement veteran that isn't that good, no 6th round afterthought, no 36-year-old who we bring just for leadership... I'm talking a legitimate, talented, touchdown-scoring complement to Motor. Build a true two headed (or three headed) monster in the backfield. The surest path I see to consistent offensive production in the immediate future is to hedge more toward the Baltimore/San Fran gameplan (lean fully into a diverse, menacing run game, build a creative play-action game off of that) than the Kansas City model. Yes, I'm fully aware that passing wins in the 2020 NFL, but that's not EXCLUSIVELY true. Again, Baltimore and San Fran's recent success shows that. Furthermore, I think building a scary running game is what would help Allen most. I'd like to see him take the Roethlisberger/Cam Newton path: complement the running game and be more of a game manager and a running threat while he learns and progresses, and then, as he gets the mental aspects of the game down, grow into more of a pass happy offense. Give me a high quality running back or two to pair with Motor, upgrade at TE2, and start running a lot of 12 personnel. Make the defense pick their poison. Specifically, with regard to the subject of this thread, Edwards-Helaire would form an AWESOME 1-2 punch with Motor. People may say their skillsets are too similar, but I don't care. Having two three-down backs is NEVER a bad thing.

If anyone out there still doesn't think team culture matters, or wants to see an illustration of what is so special about what Buffalo is currently building, look no further than McDermott's original quote and the fact that multiple players and family members have validated the truth of the statement. Awesome stuff.

The bolded part is true. That being said, I have absolutely no idea how you could conclude that Ford "hasn't panned out well so far". He struggled at times in his rookie season, sure, but MOST rookie tackles struggle. He also had stretches where he played quite well. The offensive line as a whole was also MUCH improved from 2018. The running game, in particular, went from bottom 5 to top 5 in the league. Combine that with the fact that we have yet to really even see him at what is likely his best position (guard), and it's just bizarre to me that anyone would conclude that he "hasn't panned out well so far".

To be fair, the Bills offensive line was HISTORICALLY awful in 2018, and it's hard to get the ball to your wide receivers if you can't stay upright. I liked Metcalf, too, but to mention passing on Metcalf without also acknowledging that the player they picked instead ALSO filled a gigantic -- and arguably more important -- need for the Bills is only telling half the story.

Not surprising. He's a good player. I kind of figured he might be out of the Bills' price range anyway, assuming they don't want to spend big bucks on a 1 to 2 down linebacker.

Another trade win for the Beaner.

Agreed. He's another one. It's actually a sneaky great class of FA linebackers for what the Bills like to do. Whether or not they sign any of them will tell us a lot about how they feel about Joseph and Thompson.

RB1

Agreed. This occurred to me when the "17 games" inevitability was announced. And like you say, the Bills not only got in -- they got in TWICE. ?

It'll be interesting to see which direction the Bills go in to fill their vacant linebacker spot this offseason. They could go for more of a "Zo replacement" in Kyler Fackrell, or they could go for someone who more closely fits the mold of their other linebackers, like Alec Ogletree. Alternately, they could draft a youngster and have him compete with Corey Thompson and Vosean Joseph for the role. Will be one of the better camp competitions this year.

Meh. Bills made the playoffs that season. They still have two draft picks to use that ultimately resulted from that trade. Dareus, meanwhile, made about a half a season of impact for the Jaguars, did nothing the next two seasons, and is now being cut. I still say the people that freaked out about it when it happened were -- predictably -- overreacting and have been proven wrong. Just my opinion.

Now's the time for all the people who complained that the Jaguars fleeced the Bills in the Dareus trade to show their faces.