Logic

There's a certain point in the draft that, if he falls far enough, I'd consider him. Not quite sure what that point is. But a speed WR with a potentially chronic foot injury just doesn't sound very enticing to me. Wonder why?

To me, this completely changes the outlook on Brown. We're talking about an undersized guy whose ONLY real calling card is his speed and quickness. Factoring in a LisFranc injury? Yikes. Whereas I have had him on my short list of players that I'd like to see the Bills draft, I now think they should steer clear of him. These types of injuries can linger and re-occur for years.

You make it sound so easy. You should clearly be an NFL GM.

People point out that not all the players the Bills jettisoned were old or untalented. This is true. HOWEVER... The objective from day 1 has been to build a TEAM. Not to build a collection of talent, but to build a TEAM. Belichick has done this for years and years. Time and again, he has drafted players that had analysts and fans scratching their heads. But he doesn't care what anyone says or thinks because his main objective is to find guys that fit his vision and can do their jobs and play as a team. How many All-Star type collections of talented players have we seen come and go through the years in the NFL? And how many of them won championships? Just recently, the famous "Dream Team" Eagles (not the Super Bowl Eagles, but a few years before that with Vick and Asomougha, etc) were the greatest collection of talent on one football team that anyone had ever seen...and then the games started, and they sucked. It's not about collecting talent, which is what Doug Whaley did. It's about building a team. If you want to know why seemingly talented players like Watkins, Glenn, etc aren't on the roster any more, ask yourself two questions: Were they a fit with the schemes McDermott wants to run? Were they a fit with the CULTURE McDermott wants to build? Odds are that in almost every case, the answer is "No" to one or both of those questions. The ONLY exception I can think of is Robert Woods, and he didn't want to re-sign here no matter what because of the way we underused him his first few years in the league. Every single other "super talented" player the Bills shipped off either didn't fit the scheme or didn't fit the culture. Simple.

I'm just wondering in what universe the Bills are able to make 17 draft picks. I'm also wondering in what universe that many draft picks could even make the roster.

I agree that the jury is still out on most of them. However, I'd also say that just about all of them have shown promise. Promise is more than we saw from a lot of previous era Bills players. I'm all for playing the "wait and see" game with regard to Beane's players, but so far the early returns look promising.

The reason this rebuild seems to be progressing well and giving us all hope is that after jettisoning the "old guard", the current front office has been capably re-stocking the cupboards. To wit, the current core players for the Bills going forward: Josh Allen Dion Dawkins Wyatt Teller Robert Foster Zay Jones Tremaine Edmunds Matt Milano Tre'Davious White Levi Wallace Taron Johnson Micah Hyde Jordan Poyer Harrison Phillips Star Lotulelei That's a pretty darn good job setting a new foundation. They seem to have already found quality players at most key positions: QB, LT, CB1, Mike LB. They just need to draft a young, heir apparent edge rusher to complement/replace Hughes and Lawson. And on top of all of the above, as we all know, they'll be adding 10 or so new draftees and some free agents. Great work by McDermott, Beane and co.

I'm having a really hard time narrowing down who I want the Bills to sign. I want to try to be realistic because I know the Bills aren't just going to go on a spending spree. On the other hand, the team has tons of needs and there are MULTIPLE quality free agents on the market. Everybody has already mentioned that we need a Center and an OT. Morse and Paradis are the big names for the former, whilst James, Williams, and Brown are the big names for the latter. Everybody also knows we need WR help, and given how young that room is already, we could really use a veteran. I happen to think Tyrell Williams is the best fit and the only guy worth paying decently big money to. I think an offense with Williams on one side, Foster on the other, and Zay in the slot would be mightily effective. One position I don't see many people mentioning is DT, specifically a 3T to replace Kyle Williams. Of all available players, it would be absolutely AMAZING if the Bills found a way to add Grady Jarrett. He is just now coming into his prime and is an absolute beast. The only problem is that I sort of doubt the Bills would commit big money to the position, given what they're already spending on Star. While I'm at it, there are some great LBs on the market that would be a solid fit in McDermott's scheme. KJ Wright, Shaquille Barrett, and Anthony Barr could all play the Lorenzo Alexander role after he retires. Last but not least, I know the Bills are "set" at safety. I also know McDermott loves 3-safety formations and defensive versatility. I know the Bills WON'T sign Landon Collins, but I sure wish they could find a way to do so. He is a total monster and, like Grady Jarrett above, is just now coming into his prime. Having him in the fold would free up the very versatile Hyde and Poyer to move all around the formation and give McDermott unrivaled versatility in his defense. Quite the free agent crop. Hard to narrow it down.

Agreed. Not sure what's up with that.

Am I the only one who finds these Mock draft generators to be a little unrealistic? I always see people winding up with three 2nds, three 3rds, three 4ths, as well as getting players in the middle rounds that have no chance of falling that far. Perhaps the player rankings update and become more realistic as the draft approaches?

Saw this on Twitter and thought it might be a handy thing to reference during free agency season. If this is in the wrong place or has already been posted, I apologize. I couldn't find it anywhere on here. By the way, this free agency class is STACKED! I'd love to see the Bills sign a veteran DT to replace Kyle: Grady Jarrett or Sheldon Richardson would be awesome. And even though it's not a "need", I would be thrilled to add Landon Collins. Dude's a beast. Anyway:

Even though it was a losing effort, this was my favorite game from Allen. The dart to Zay in double coverage for a TD, the throw from his own end zone to convert 3rd down, running all over the field and giving Kiko Alonso recurring nightmares, the drive at the end...it was awesome. All that was missing was a Clay catch for 6 at the end.

I sincerely doubt he drops out of the first round, and there's virtually 0% chance he drops out of the 2nd round.

Bills are definitely drafting a TE early. Good thing it's the best TE draft in at least a decade.

Dope.

Dareus is the perfect example of a player with all the talent in the world, but who completely lacks the motivation and common sense to harness it. The level of play he displayed that led to his huge contract extension was off the charts. He had the potential to be a perennial All Pro. What a waste.

Right on. I didn't mean to bust balls, I just sympathize with the plight of the dying journalism industry and want to support the awesome people at The Athletic.

I enjoyed the article and I love the Athletic. But aren't we, um...NOT supposed to post full articles from pay sites on here?

Used to park at Kettle's all the time. Fine place to park. Never tried eating or hanging out in there, though.

Outstanding post. What Beane walked into was an absolute mess. He has done a TREMENDOUS job of turning things around in short order. If people's position is "I need to see more", then I'm okay with that. But the people whose position is "he stinks, he's not doing a good job"...well, I just can't even BEGIN to understand that line of thinking.

If we're talking Beane witchery, can we add in the fact that he just signed a player for 1.2 million that JUST LAST YEAR signed for 9 million per year? I realize said player fought through injuries last year, hence the reduced pay level on his new team, but still. Beane got a GREAT deal with Spencer Long who, if healthy, represents a starting level guard or center in this league and is a definite improvement over what the Bills had in 2018.

After seeing these contract numbers, there really shouldn't be a single Bills fan that's still upset about his signing. That is an OUTSTANDING value for a player of Long's talent (when healthy). And if he doesn't remain healthy or is unable to win a starting job, the Bills can easily cut him with no negative long term ramifications. Awesome job by Beane. Also, with these new numbers in mind, I no longer feel that Long's signing will preclude the Bills from signing other quality o-linemen.

Lots of griping about Trent Murphy in this thread. While I agree that his health struggles were disappointing, I felt he DID make an impact when he was on the field. He and Shaq Lawson had exactly the same amount of defensive snaps at 440. What I want to know from the people that don't like Trent Murphy, and Star Lotulelei, for that matter: Do they not get any credit for the Bills' #2 ranked defense? They were both on the field for between 40-50% of the defensive snaps on the season. I find it hard to reconcile our defense's success against the "failures" of these two key acquisitions.