Logic

Fair enough. But bear in mind that there are 64 starting guards in the NFL, so this places Spain barely south of "average" at the position. I'd venture to guess the Bills' starting guards all ranked well worse than 40th last year. As such, this would represent an upgrade, and isn't that the point?

I'm an admitted optimist, but I like the signing. First of all, he comes with 2nd round pedigree as an offensive lineman, so putting him on the field as a tight end should be a real boon to the running game. Secondly, having him in goal line jumbo packages should present one more tool in Daboll's toolbox. Third, these are the type of "low risk, high reward" signings I always like. The Bills have literally NOTHING to lose by giving this a try. There's no guarantee he even makes the team. Fourth, his addition gives the Bills just a little bit more draft day flexibility, as they now have three tight ends on the roster: a classic in-line guy (Kroft), a move tight end/receiving option (Croom), and a blocking specialist (Fisher). While we all want and expect a rookie to be drafted at tight end, it is no longer QUITE such a dire need, from a "personnel already on board" standpoint. Between this and Mo Alexander and hosting Quinton Spain, I'm liking what I'm seeing from "wave 2" of Bills free agency.

Not immediately, I don't think, since they have to bring 90 guys to camp anyway. But if they sign Spain, I can absolutely see a scenario where they end up cutting either Long or Feliciano.

I think Bush and Alexander represent about as good a set of depth safeties as a team can have.

Per Alexander himself on Twitter.

I have a feeling the Bills were interested in him from the get-go, but his asking price was too high. Now that free agency is progressed and he has seen that he doesn't have any suitors at his asking price, he is circling back to interested teams. I would love it if the Bills signed him. It would mean a likely starting trio of Spain, Morse, and Long, which would be great, and would allow Teller to learn from some vets for a year or two.

He offers next to nothing, unless it's a headache you're after. Hard pass.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/03/22/jeremiah-sirles-spencer-long-organize-dinner-for-those-affected-by-nebraska-flooding/ Cool to see some genuinely kind and charitable actions by some Buffalo Bills! Massive flooding in Nebraska has caused over $1.3 billion in damage this week with three-quarters of the state’s 93 counties having declared a state of emergency, according to NPR. Buffalo Bills linemen and former University of Nebraska football players Jeremiah Sirles and Spencer Long tried to do something to lend a hand to the people affected by the devastation. According to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, Sirles and Long organized a dinner Thursday night in Schuyler, Neb., located 75 miles west of Omaha, for first responders and people directly affected by the flooding...

Tough crowd. It's a blocking tight end who'll be signed for peanuts if at all. EVERYBODY PANIC!

Just got back from the premiere showing of this movie in Portland. Holy wow. Nightmare fuel. Peele is a hell of a filmmaker, with quite the knack for suspense. Gonna have to go see this one again.

Unless someone unexpected falls, I don't love the DTs that are expected to be available in the 2nd round. I believe they should either spend the 9th pick on a DT, or sign a veteran and draft a DT in the middle rounds and then re-assess the position next year.

Fair enough. I respect your opinion on this matter. I also respectfully disagree. I don't feel that Harrison Phillips was drafted to replace Kyle Williams. I don't believe Harrison Phillips' best position is at 3T. He CAN do it, but not well enough to be the full time starter at that position. I believe Phillips' best position is 1T, or even as a versatile backup who can play both positions. I also don't believe that Jordan Phillips has shown enough to be counted on as "the answer" at that position. Knowing how heavily McDermott rotates the defensive line, knowing how many snaps Kyle Williams took last year, and knowing how crucial interior pass rush is to modern defense, I rate 3T as a pretty gigantic need currently. As such, I would be fine with the Bills spending a high draft pick on one. I also agree that Edge, TE, or OT would be good uses of high draft capital. I'm fine with any of the above, but I DO think a legitimate addition at 3T is perhaps more necessary and important than you're giving it credit for.

The #2 ranked defense featured a Pro Bowl level 3T. Without a quality player at that critical position, there is no guarantee that the defense will remain #2 overall or close. Maintaining an elite defense helps a young QB, as well.

Born into it. Grew up in Rochester, NY. My verrrry first sports memory is of crying because the Bills had just lost another Super Bowl. I didn't really understand WHY I was crying, but the adults were all very upset, and the Bills had lost. I knew that much. I grew up thinking that the Super Bowl was just the last Bills game of the year, every year. By the time I REALLY started following closely, paying attention, and knowing all the players' names, the drought was just beginning. It has lasted my whole adult life.

If I could say only one thing with certainty about Sean McDermott, it is this: I will never question him when it comes to defensive backs, particularly safeties. The guy knows what's what when it comes to secondary play, and he knows what types of players he needs to make his defense successful.

I just googled Locked On Bills. Clicked on the very first result that came up. It's free. https://player.fm/series/locked-on-bills

Hey all. I know a lot of people here are already familiar with Joe Marino's Locked On Bills podcast. I also know a lot of people AREN'T yet familiar with it. I've just spent the past 90 minutes listening to 3 episodes of it, and I wanted to take a second to make sure everyone gives it a shot if they want an informative, optimistic, enjoyable Bills listen. I listened to the 3/12 and 3/13 episodes, where Joe talks about the Bills' free agent additions, and today's episode, where he answers questions (primarily concerning the draft) from Twitter followers. I'm not connected with the podcast in any way, I'm just a big fan. Just wanted to share what I view as one of the best Bills programs going and make sure others have the opportunity to enjoy it as I have. Kudos to Joe Marino, and #GoBills!

I hear ya. I look at the Bills draft history under McDermott and Beane and I see a lot of trading back up into the 1st or 2nd to make sure they get guys they really like. They traded up in the 1st round last year for both Allen and Edmunds. They traded up in the 2nd round the year before that for both Zay Jones and Dion Dawkins. I expect them to trade back into the 1st or 2nd round (or both) AGAIN this year to ensure that they get some guys they've zeroed in on. Me, personally? I'm all for trading down. Give me as many lottery picks as I can get. I just don't know if the Bills will be in that mindset this year. I think, as I said, that its more likely they make a pick at 9 and then come back up into the 1st and/or 2nd to get more impact players. I do NOT expect them to draft 10 players regardless. I'd predict more like 6 or 7.

I just don't see WHY they would be in the mindset of trading down to get more picks. They already HAVE 10 picks and don't have enough roster spots even for those 10 players, let alone more than that. I think it's more likely that they pick a player at 9, and then use some of their extra picks to trade back into the late 1st or back into the 2nd from the 3rd.

They're going to draft either a defensive tackle or an edge rusher. It's a lead pipe lock. To go a step further, I believe Christian Wilkins will be the guy.

Good post. I think the Bills were getting better on offense at the end of last year as it was, even WITH the bad o-line and subpar WR corps. I believe once Allen came back from injury, the were averaging 24 points a year. Add in a year of progression for Josh Allen, an improved offensive line, some more weapons at WR, and don't forget a vastly improved running game due to o-line improvements, and I believe the Bills feel comfortable with the idea that their offense will be quite improved in 2019. Furthermore, I DO still expect them to add some offensive pieces in the draft to further help the improvement on that side of the ball.

One more thing: All of this '18 draft talk reminds me that on the day of the draft last year, I read on Twitter from a reputable source that the Bills were contacting people close to Josh Rosen in the days leading up the draft, making sure they knew how to get the most out of him as a player, how to relate to him as a person, etc. Seeing that the Bills feared the Jets' trade-up might cost them Josh Allen, and seeing that Rosen was 4th on their board, I'm thinking that they DID in fact think there was a chance they could miss out on all three of their top guys (Allen, Darnold, Mayfield). They WERE preparing for the possibility that they'd be left with Rosen and wanted to make sure, in the event that that happened, that they could make it work. All very interesting in retrospect.

It really was amazing and bizarre and awesome the way the Bills strategically acquired an extra 1st round pick with the specific purpose of using it as a trade-up tool to acquire their franchise QB in the '18 draft....and then didn't even have to use said pick to trade up. As bummed as I was that the Bills lost two 2nd round picks in the trade-up, the fact that they were able to get Josh Allen AND Tremaine Edmunds AND still have a "normal" draft (in terms of number of players selected), AND not mortgage their future, was awesome. If Allen and Edmunds reach their massive potential, it will go down as the greatest draft (or at least one of them) in Bills history. Indeed. I don't even see Jackson anywhere on the board. I suspected they weren't interested in him based on the speed with which Beane shipped Tyrod out of town when he had the chance. If you're targeting Jackson, you keep Tyrod. I figured they just weren't interested in what Jackson brought to the table. Looks like that was the case.

I've thought about this a lot, too, because it seemed strange at first. After some reflection, I think there are two main reasons: 1.) ON THE FIELD, I think they see him as an upgrade to Chris Ivory. If McCoy misses time again this year as he has in the past few years, I think they'd rather have Gore carrying the load than Ivory. Specifically, aside from his running and catching abilities, he is one of the top pass blocking running backs in the league. An extra layer of protection for Allen. 2.) More importantly, the INTANGIBLES/LEADERSHIP aspect. I think they feel that Gore can help fill a bit of the giant leadership void left by Kyle Williams. Not only that, I think they feel that his presence will push Shady to be as good as he can be, and maybe even encourage him to play longer. McCoy has said himself that the only guy in the NFL that can really push him to be great is Frank Gore. Bringing in your aging number 1 RB's training buddy and close friend in an effort to provide extra motivation and push to said number 1 RB seems like a fine idea. And the leadership by example that he will provide our young team won't hurt either.

FAR too many people in this thread have either ignored or disregarded the Benjamin Albright post stating that Allen was the Bills' target from wire to wire last year. I believe Albright. He was insistent all last draft season that Allen was the guy from day 1. The picture of the leaked white board backed this up. Also, how did I miss this white board last offseason? I obsessively read about the Bills and their QB quest every single day, but I somehow missed this. ALSO...why do people actively try to sabotage the team for which they work? Why would this moron post this picture? What does he have to gain? I hope he, and others like him, were found and fired. What a goon.