racketmaster

I agree with the qb accuracy playing a role but watching all his targets there were many clear and easy drops as well as contested catches that he had position to come down with the ball and did not. He also made some insane catches so there seems to be a little boom bust to his hands. I was not a fan of the pick, but Coleman does have some freak athletic traits and some elusiveness for a player his size so I hope Brady can play to his strengths and Coleman can continue to develop as a route runner and his catching ability. He is young and if he is willing to put in the work it is possible he continues to get better.

His catch rate was even lower than Johnny Wilson I’m assuming that that wanted a physical blocking presence in the run game similar to what Gabe brought but that just seems to high of a pick for his skill set

I keep hearing that Coleman has much better hands that Gabe Davis but his catch rate was 57.5% last year which was definitely on the lower end of draft prospects. Part of the lower catch rate has to do with such a high portion of his catches ending up being contested since there is no separation. When he makes the jump ball or contested catch it ends up on his highlights and many are sensational plays. However, when you watch all of his targets you see a lot of drops and battles he did not win and come down with the ball.

In the consensus top 15 wrs, the Bills managed to take the one guy I was hoping they would avoid due to lack of speed and separation. He is a contested catch guy which is a hard way to make a living but who knows maybe Coleman can manage to make it work for him in the NFL. He is still young, so many he can learn to become a more savvy route runner in order to gain a little more separation from defenders.

So many other good players on the board.

I guess I would have been more accepting of Coleman at end of 3rd round. This guy is so inconsistent catching the ball, lacks the ability to celebrate, fumbles and then makes the occasional sensational play. I feel like Josh Allen wanted Coleman because he likes to try and hurdle defenders.

I think the 5th option is more important for qbs as it gives significant savings in the option year. For other positions, the 5th year option price is often pretty high and not much of a savings at all.

Rome had the 4th most targets in the nation last year that helped contribute to his stat line. Malik Washington had similar targets and similar overall stats but probably will be had in the 4th. I understand that Rome has prototypical size and that matters but I don’t really see the quick snapping off of routes and separation that Turner sees in Odunze. I more often than not see non SEC defenders draped all over him when being targeted. And there is nothing special that he does to elude defenders, run away from or break the tackles of defenders once he has the ball in his hands. For me, he does not possess elite traits of a top 10 wr. I would hope the Bills don’t make the mistake of parting with significant assets for Rome. If he fell to 28, I would be fine but still don’t see him as a difference maker or matchup problem. Just a reliable consistent wr.

Too costly for Harrison/Nabers and don’t see those guys as legitimate options. Odunze - as stated just don’t see it but if he fell to the second round I’d be happy to grab him there, which seems very unlikely given the consensus thinking around him. Brian Thomas - immediately jumps off screen with his speed and length. He is smooth and just can run away from SEC defenders. He needs improve in overall routes but he has elite skills that cannot be taught. I completely understand trading up into the low 20s or even mid teens for this guy. At 28, I would not mind Franklin or even Worthy. I like Franklins overall game better but Worthy was a much better route runner than I anticipated. Hill like speed and burst. Just small and not sure ho well he would hold up. Could see Chiefs targeting this guy. Mitchell - hard to figure out as sometimes he looks like Lamb with his ability to separate with elite route running. But he also seems to have some inconsistency with his hands and he gets too squatty when running and I seems him trip over himself a number of time in the open field. I think second round is where I’d feel more comfortable. Leggette - he has AJ Brown like traits but I think less bend in him. He is a little more stiff like DK but I like him in the second and probably like him more than Mitchell. Burton is first round talent but character concerns seem to be pushing him down boards. I also like Polk, Cowing and Malik Washington as options to double dip. Johnny Wilson was also more impressive to me than I would have thought at his height. Maybe could be a Marcus Colston type. Agreed. I went in watching his games thinking too 10 wr and just was very disappointed in what I saw. Maybe some of it has to do with expectations but I just feel like everything about his traits and skills are average. No real deficiencies but nothing that makes him a match up problems either.

Odunze may have the character the Bills look for in players but I just don’t see the elite talent from him. I have to think this guy falls outside the top 10 and don’t see him in the same tier as Nabers and Harrison. He had tons of targets in his offense to rack up stats and high volume does not necessarily equal elite. I struggled to see what elite skills as a wr he brings to the table. Often very little separation from defenders leading to having tons of contested catch opportunities. I just don’t see any elite burst/explosion from this guy and it shows up in his inability to separate in his routes and run away from defenders when he has the ball. His jumping ability in contested catches seems average, certainly nothing special. Hands are good but not great as there were many dropped passes on tape. No real elusiveness when ball in his hands and he had several fumbles. Speed, burst, body control, route running, hands, vertical, elusiveness all seem to be just good but nothing jumps out at me. I would absolutely hate to trade up near top 10 for Rome. A player like Chase took me 2 games to watch and be able to see the elite explosion, speed, body control. Not a big fan of trading up unless for a qb but if so, wr has to clearly portray elite traits to make his ceiling worth it. Should not give up picks just because he has a low floor. I think Thomas and Franklin are actually better players/prospects than Odunze. They both display elite speed on the field and the ability to separate from defenders. I’d much prefer those options and Franklin can probably be had sitting at 28. I really don’t see much of a difference in overall talent between Polk and Odunze. I like Polk a lot as a 2nd or 3rd round player and I would feel the same if Odunze were to be drafted in the early to mid second.

If one wanted to play the game of putting the puzzle pieces together to make a guess at who the Bills might be targeting at WR you could look at what pro day Beane decided to attend on 3/20 this year. Texas, (Worthy and Mitchell) Ohio State (Harrison Jr), USC (Rice) and Alabama (Burton) had pro day on same day this year and Beane elected to attend Alabama pro day. There are a bunch of CBs, LBs, Edge and OT for Alabama that should be first or day two picks. But are we really going to draft a CB or an OT in round 1 where those players could be slotted to go? WR is obvious priority and it would have been easy for Beane just to attend Texas as there are 2 WRs to see and less obvious to figure out which one he prefers. However, he chose not to go to Texas which might point to Bills not targeting either Worthy or Mitchell. It might be nothing but it could be something of a clue as Beane has stated that he likes to see players in person to size them up and see how they interact with coaches and teammates. It is possible that Alabama just had more talent overall to see but I would think Beane would want to be at the Texas pro day if he was targeting Worthy/Mitchell because it would have to be in round 1 or at the top of round 2 and that is a premium asset.

I agree that the Bills would have to do their homework on Burton to figure out whether he would be a character fit. From what I understand he only attended 2 colleges (Georgia and Alabama) but in high school I think he changed his mind on his commitment several times. And yes there is the fan issue and some of the on the field antics. Bills will have all background info on him and talk to coaches, trainers etc so I don’t want to speculate much but his on field talent is worth a deep dive. Maybe it is that he just has that edge and ultra competitive personality where he just needs to control it more. At least it does not appear like much in the way of criminal background so it just might be a situation where he needs to mature a bit and learn to control his emotions on the field a bit.

If mock drafts and current adp is to be believed, i still believe Burton is a first round talent that can be had in the 2nd round. He passes the eye test and has the speed, burst, size, body control, hands you are looking for in a top end wr. He played in the SEC and regularly separated from top end dbs but played with a qb that was limited as a passer. If it were not for “character concerns”, Burton goes in the back end of round 1. The Bills will have to figure out if this guy is a head case or if the concerns have been over exaggerated. If they think he can fit in with the locker room, then I would jump at the chance of getting Burton in the second all day long. Not giving away big time assets to move up in first would allow the Bills to maneuver the board in the second and third and maybe grab a second wr like Polk, Leggett, Persall etc to pair with Burton. There are other positional players like DT Fiske that I would love to see the Bills draft but if they traded up for a wr in the first we are looking at just having day 3 picks left this year.

Here is Diggs stats for 4 years in Buffalo with Allen: Averaged 111 catches and 1343 yards per year. Here is Diggs stats in 5 years with Vikings: Averaged 73 catches and 924 yards per year. Allen will be fine as he has shown that he can elevate wrs like he did with Beasley and Brown. Diggs is a very good wr but he was the clear #1 here and fed the rock a ton. We will add wr from draft and spread ball around without having to worry about force feeding to one player. It was fun while it lasted but if Diggs wanted to move on, then so be it.

I don’t believe it is in a team’s best interest to trade up that far for a wr. It is generally not good business to do so, especially with the wr class having as much talent as there is. I’d much prefer to stand pat at 28 or move up just a few spots to acquire Thomas jr, Mitchell or Legette. Each has the ability to play the outside x position. I also like the idea of double dipping at the wr position and if we could get a Burton in the second (if he checks out mentally) then that would be great. I don’t see Burton lasting into the 3rd round much less the 4th unless there are major character flags (possible) and in that case the Bills would likely have removed him from their board. not having a 3rd hurts and if Bills want Burton, Franklin, Baker, Polk etc they would most likely be forced to use the 2nd round pick or trade back a few spots and get them. If they wait until the 4th, maybe you end up Malik Washington type wr. I really like him a lot but he is so short and will most likely fall down boards. They already have a few veteran wrs and don’t see the need to acquire another unless someone like an Aiyuk becomes available at a reasonable price and we have struck out in the draft at that position. A lot of targets will go to Cook, Kincaid, Samuel Shakir and Knox so a true x wr is the important position to add.