Logic

Good post. And I won't agree that "incomplete" is the logical final grade. But with an "A" in all the major categories you explained, I'd say the grade is trending toward...well....an "A"!

I voted Oliver because he is the PERFECT guy to fill the giant shoes left by Kyle Williams and be the playmaking 3T for the next decade. It's funny to watch Oliver be the runaway favorite so far. Bills fans (myself included) were so adamant that the 1st round pick needed to be spent on an offensive player. Then Beane went out and signed 37 players on offense. Now we're all on board with Oliver. Good stuff.

Chargers please, if the Colts are taken

I have said this it feels like a thousand times, but I'll say it again: When you look at the production of JuJu or Kupp, you need to factor in the offense in which they are playing and the quarterback throwing them the ball. If you inserted Zay Jones into Cooper Kupp's slot spot, between Woods and Watkins/Cooks, I am not certain that he wouldn't produce at the same clip. Smith-Schuster's case is different, but not by much: He was in an extremely high volume passing offense, and was the beneficiary of both catching passes from a Hall of Fame quarterback and of having Antonio Brown on the other side of him. The Rams and Steelers both had top 5 offenses and top 10 QB situations. Again, take Zay Jones away from the Rick Dennison offense and the Taylors, Andersons, and Petermans of the world and put HIM in a high volume passing offense with a high quality QB and lets see how he does. Until I see Zay Jones get to operate in a legitimate NFL offense with a legitimate NFL QB, I'm not closing the book on him. Even just in the post-Allen-injury portion of last year, Jones posted games of 4/67/2, 5/67/1, and 6/93/2. Let me see him this year with an improved o-line and improved Allen before I'm willing to admit he's Josh Reed. Is there a point you're driving at or do you actually want me to answer this question? If you've got a point, well...Pitter patter, let's get at 'er.

Hyperbole, much?

I'm with you. Me, personally? I think the number 1 priority for the Bills is making sure they do absolutely everything they can to help Josh Allen succeed. If Josh Allen turns into a franchise QB, the Bills are perennial contenders for the next 10-15 years. They've already visibly committed to upgrading the offensive line and WR corps. The next logical step would be to give him the best tight end you possibly can. I like TJ Hockenson quite a bit and would be thrilled if the Bills selected him....I just don't think they will. And as far as the notion of taking a defensive lineman with the first pick instead of an offensive player: I can certainly understand the logic of wanting to make sure your defense is elite, since that will ALSO help Josh Allen, just in a different way. Doesn't mean I don't want an elite tight end or wide receiver. The draft is weird this year. There are five different positions that I could reasonably see them spending a 1st round pick on, and I wouldn't fault them for any of them.

Agreed. I don't see any room for a rookie guard at this point. Among the guys you mentioned, they break down into three pairs for me: Young, developing guys: Boettger, Teller Versatile interior swing backups: Feliciano, Sirles Experienced starters, probable early advantage in starting competition: Spain, Long If they add a draftee to the o-line, as you said, it seems likely that it will be a tackle. And frankly, I'm not sold on Nsekhe and Waddle as fixes at that position. I'd like them to spend a 2nd or 3rd on a tackle.

Indeed. Beane and McDermott don't seem like "tight end in the 1st" types to me. Ditto for WR, actually. I have expected all along and continue to suspect that it will be a defensive tackle or edge rusher. Nothing has changed. I also know they can't be happy with just Kroft, Croom, and Fisher. Hard to read the tea leaves on who they like in the draft, though, for the reason you mentioned.

I believe that was the 1.0 big board. He's on 4.0 now, in which Murray is 11th.

I think you're correct on both counts. It's clear to me the Bills will draft a tight end, but it's a lot harder to predict which one. Irv Smith or Dawson Knox are my current best guesses.

This. Give me Hock all day over Fant. Not even close.

Your post is kind of a perfect example of the undue Zay hate. You just mentioned Zay Jones in the same breath as Aaron Maybin and EJ Manuel, both of whom were draft busts. Zay Jones is not a bust. He has not yet become an upper echelon NFL WR, that much is clear. But to mention him in the same breath as Aaron Maybin? Zay Jones has 968 yards and 9 TDs across his first two NFL seasons, catching passes from guys like Tyrod Taylor, Nathan Peterman, Derek Anderson, Matt Barkley, and rookie Josh Allen. He had more touchdown receptions last year than AJ Green, Alshon Jeffrey, TY Hilton, Odell Beckham Jr, Keenan Allen, Robert Woods, etc. Just for the sake of comparison, Bills all time great Eric Moulds had 573 yards and 2 TDs in his first two seasons, and he was catching passes from Jim Kelly in year 1. Zay's no All Pro at this point. But he's far from a bust, and I think he'll be a #2 WR in the NFL for a long time.

They're truly awful. And the all-black alternates? The worst. I much prefer the current helmets to the ones pictured here. In any case, the following remains true: The Bills have the best jerseys in the AFC East and probably in the entire NFL. Red, white, and blue can't be beat!

I disagree, if only because McDermott and Beane specifically mentioned him at the end of last season as a guy they feel was starting to "come on" as the year progressed. They lumped him in with Levi Wallace and Robert Foster as guys who they were glad to have gotten meaningful reps and who they wanted a longer look at. I'll say one thing, though: if Teller is to win the job, he'll darn sure have to earn it. The offensive guard battle might be the fiercest in camp. Cue McDermott: "Iron sharpens iron".

I know this will be a big shocker coming from a relentless optimist, but...I love this signing! Of all the o-line signings this offseason, Spain is only the second guy (Morse being the first) that I view as a surefire starter. In my opinion, the Bills had only one surefire starter (Dawkins) along the o-line when the offseason started. Now they have 3/5. I have confidence that the one of the many guard candidates will capably fill the other OG spot. The biggest remaining concern is RT, where Nsekhe can and maybe WILL start for a year, but isn't the long term answer. Still, seeing two high quality starters (whose strength happens to be pass blocking, by the way) added, as well as a bunch of depth and competition, has been awesome. Outstanding job by Beane making major OL upgrades without breaking the bank or hamstringing the freshly resuscitated salary cap situation.

This. There are lots and lots of new Browns fans in America, all of the sudden.

Two things: 1) Jerry Hughes is on the wrong side of 30 and his contract is up after this year. 2) Regardless of Jerry Hughes' production and regardless of whether or not he re-signs, the Bills were one of the 6 worst teams in the league last year in terms of sacking the quarterback. I fully agree that the defense needs a quality starting 3T to operate at optimum strength. Still, I maintain that if you cornered Beane and McDermott and forced them to pick the position of greater importance, they'd still tell you "edge rusher". Just a guess. Either way, the Bills need one (and possibly two) of them. 3T, Edge, doesn't matter. Pick a quality defensive lineman and I'll be happy.

She'd probably be mad if I didn't say she's a tight end...

My wife

Yeah. Based on the prospects at both positions this year, I feel more confident that they can get a quality DT in rounds 2-3 than an edge rusher. There seems to be a pretty big dropoff after the "big 4" edge guys. There seems to be much LESS of a dropoff from the 1st to the 2nd tier of DTs. Maybe that's just my perception. Either way, I think all the rumors we've heard about the Bills' interest in Clowney, Clark, and Ogbah, not to mention their being one of the final four suitors for Mack last year, lead me to believe that edge rusher is their number 1 desire at this point. It makes sense, too. They've already addressed the other three "premium positions" with Allen, Dawkins, and White. Edge Rusher is the last "fundamental building block" left on the old shopping list.

I keep hearing Beane talk about the "premium positions" in round 1. One would tend to think edge rusher would trump 3T, but it certainly depends on how the board falls. They're not going to forego their #1 ranked 3T to take their #4 ranked edge rusher, for instance. Is it April yet?

This is like a low key Bryant Johnson watch. I dig it.

It's really hard for me to believe that Dougy Marrone would pass on Quinnen Williams.

I just don't think this is what the NFL wants, and at the end of the day, thats who the Bills need to make happy. I HAVE wondered, though, why they don't do the old "parking lot stadium swap-a-roo" like the Broncos did. Build a new stadium on the current site of the New Era parking lots, and turn the current New Era Field into new parking lots. Orchard Park is just such a perfect location for the Bills stadium. Why change a thing? On the other hand, I think the NFL wants the stadium downtown. And a multi-use downtown stadium (with at least a retractable roof, as gross as that sounds) is probably the best way to get the funds needed to build the thing. As long as the Bills stay in Buffalo, I'll be fine with whatever ultimately needs to happen to get to that point.

Yeah. A Dwayne Haskins/Saquon Barkley pairing could work. I'd rather have Sam Darnold/Josh Jacobs, personally. I just think Gettleman screwed the pooch last year by having the 2nd overall pick in a potentially historically great QB class and opting to use it on a freaking running back. Amateur hour.