Logic

I want to know three things about any WR prospect: 1. Can he create separation? 2. Can he catch the football? 3. Does he have a good attitude? If the answer is yes to all three, then I'm on board. I don't care if he's a giant, an athletic marvel, a contested catch artist, etc, etc...Can he separate, can he catch, is he a good dude? That's all I care about. I don't know enough about this year's crop of draftable WRs to be able to say who checks all three boxes.

I think that Beane and McDermott value two things that Clay doesn't offer: Bang for your buck (his production does not match his cap number), and consistent availability (he almost never practices and is questionable most weeks). Because of these two factors, I expect Clay to be a goner.

Well, I guess all the Culley haters got their wish! Will be interesting to see how replaces him. Position coaching hires aren't always that newsworthy, but the QB coach hire will be, for obvious reasons.

With the Colts having the most free cap space in the league, I wasn't expecting Glowinski to hit the market anyway. However, the OT and OG markets have been set with the recent deals of Massie and Glowinski. Given that FAs tend to get more than they're worth, we can expect an OT to fetch between 10 and 13 million per year. An OG should fetch between 6 and 10 million per year. I think if the Bills can find a way to sign a C and OT in Free Agency, a quality guard can be found in the 2nd-4th rounds of the draft.

Whatever it is about having Anderson in the QB room with him every week as a player, Allen sure seemed to improve a lot once he came aboard. He also has specifically mentioned on multiple occasions how much DA is helping his development. As long as his presence is helping our franchise QB develop, I have no problem with him taking up a roster spot. The continued successful development of our quarterback is more important than, say, a 6th WR who would be inactive most game days anyway.

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I always thought it was the amount of time it took the Bills to figure out they should be running the ball every down against a 2-linemen defense that cost them the first Super Bowl. I'm not convinced they would have won the other three no matter what. Those Redskins and Cowboys teams were incredibly great.

I think the captains for his squad are the ones with the Raiders insignia, actually.

It's funny. Allen seemed to improve greatly under Palmer between the Senior Bowl and training camp with the Bills. But I'm sure you know better. Because, ya know, no former bad or mediocre NFL player has ever gone on to succeed as a coach or anything ?

I was just thinking this exact thing. WTF How could anyone view the Bills quarterback putting in extra work in the offseason as a bad thing? Just because they don't like the person with whom said QB has chosen to train?! Some people could kvetch about a free lunch. Sheesh.

I bet you're right. Opposing o-linemen are gonna be asking him to chill the ***** out. ?

It's weird to me that this year's draft class is discussed by many as not being very good for WRs. With guys like Butler, Harry, Metcalf, Brown, Brown, et al, I just don't know how people can say that. Here's hoping the Bills grab at least one of the top 5 just mentioned. Especially given that this year's free agent WR market is lacking in quality.

Thought this was really neat. Some of you may remember this game. Steve Tasker named Pro Bowl MVP. Also a big play by Nate Odomes. Awesome stuff!

Given that Beane was part of the Panthers front office when they drafted RT Daryl Williams, that is who I'm expecting to be the one "big ticket item" the Bills spend on -- assuming the Panthers don't re-sign him first. I also expect them to hand out a moderate contract to an offensive guard. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess. I DO agree with the notion that they're not gonna go out and spend crazy money. A lot of Bills fans who've set themselves up to think we're gonna be big players in free agency may be disappointed. If they can get the offensive line mostly squared away and find some linebacker or corner depth, I'll consider FA a big win.

Just saw a USA Today mock draft which had the Bills trading back to the 15th spot and garnering and extra 2nd round pick. In the first two rounds, they had the Bills taking: OT Greg Little WR Hakeem Butler WR Marquise Brown Not too bad. And in their scenario, TE Hockenson was actually still available when they picked Marquise Brown. That's who I'd take instead in this scenario.

Two makes sense to me. Foster Jones McKenzie Williams Draftee Draftee And that's without knowing whether they add any WRs in FA.

Thanks for taking the time to write up this report. Excellent stuff. As I mentioned in another thread, Risner is my #1 draft crush this year. He just has "process" written all over him.

I hope you're right. I keep thinking about Beane's recent quote about how our o-line lacked cohesion and leadership this year. We never really replaced Wood's leadership. I can't think of a better candidate to come in on day 1 and be the alpha in the o-line room than Risner. Interesting. I'm not familiar with him, but am reading that link as we speak. What position would you see him playing in Buffalo? His size has me thinking he could be a candidate at weak or strong. Perhaps a guy to be a goomed as eventual replacement for Lorenzo Alexander?

He played tackle in college and seems to have the size for it. He also seems to have a diverse enough skillset that a switch to the interior wouldn't be out of the question. I even saw a Twitter debate over whether or not CENTER would actually be his best position. Me? I would start him out at right tackle and, worst case scenario, he slides inside to guard, a la Zack Martin.

Give me a big money o-line and a mid-to-late round RB all day over an elite RB with a mediocre line.

I believe the scheme is largely McDermott's. Things like the Double A-Gap blitz package, the reliance on simple zone schemes but with great disguised looks by the safeties to keep opponents guessing, the reliance on the front four to get pressure but featuring lots of creative stunts and twists...all of that has McDermott's fingerprints all over it. So I think of it as "his" scheme. Leslie Frazier's defenses, while they have many similarities, also had many differences. For instance, I seem to recall Frazier's defenses when he was the head guy being much more Tampa 2 based than McDermott's. While it's McDermott's scheme, I think Frazier does a lot of the teaching and game day coaching of the defense. So all the emphasis on fundamentals and the teaching of the scheme largely falls to Frazier, and then I think Frazier is usually the primary creator of the defensive gameplan and the one most often calling the plays on gameday. With the defense playing McDermott's scheme, but with it being taught and coached by Frazier, I think of it as a true collaborative effort. Also, make no mistake: While McDermott coaches both sides of the ball and does his best to be an all-around coach and not JUST a defensive guy ...I do think more of his coaching energies and expertise go toward helping the defense. It's simply where his experience lies. I believe Daboll has a bit more autonomy with the offense than Frazier has with the defense. Just a hunch.

Excellent post, and I agree. Those who don't want to see the Bills spend premium assets on the defensive line are going to be the same people bitching and moaning in a year or two when the Bills suddenly can't pressure the opposing QB at all and, consequently, McDermott's defense suffers a huge drop-off. Two position groups that I never, ever get mad at my team for selecting in the high rounds: Offensive linemen and defensive linemen. If the first round is long on quality defensive linemen and short on quality offensive players, then by all means, the Bills should take a defensive lineman. You can never have too many good ones.

If the Bills are able to trade back 5-10 spots in the draft and gain an extra 2nd rounder, it would be AMAZING. I saw a national (non Bills fan) mock draft earlier that saw this exact scenario playing out. By the end of round 2, they had taken OL Jonah Williams, TE Irv Smith, and WR Marquise Brown and still had 8 picks left to work with. *Drool*

It may be a bit early in the process to ask this question, but there's not much else to discuss, so here goes: Every year, there's that one player that, for whatever reason, you really hope your favorite team drafts. Something about said player -- his intangibles, off-the-charts athleticism, whatever it may be -- causes you to watch absurd amounts of Youtube footage and mock him to your favorite team in every mock draft and so on. For me last year it was Harrison Phillips. His wrestling background, high character, and nastiness on the field just screamed "McDermott's Bills". So who is that player for you this year? Mine is Dalton Risner, OT Kansas State. Dude is a vocal leader, has all the measurables you want, could play RT or G right out of the gate, and there was even this, about potentially playing with the Bills: “I have a really good friend, Harrison Phillips, who plays defensive tackle for ya’ll. Another small-town, corn-fed kid like myself. I really like that guy a lot. I’d love to be in Buffalo and help out their offensive line.” If Risner ends up in Buffalo he’s looking forward to battling his friend Phillips in practice. As the saying goes in the Buffalo locker room under coach Sean McDermott: “iron sharpens iron.” “He’s a great player, man,” Risner said. “I’m sure we’ll throw hands at practice and I’m sure it’ll get ugly but off the field we’ll probably go get something to eat together. He’s a great football player and it’d be a battle in the trenches for sure.”

I believe that the Bills will have him on the payroll as an ambassador, just like they do with Kelly and Thomas. Down the line 15 years, after his kids have grown up and gone off to college? It wouldn't shock me if Kyle became a coach. Then again, it also wouldn't shock me if his competitive fire and still-awesome athleticism lead him to commit fully to golf. I'm not sure a lot of people realize just how good Williams actually is at golf.