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I'm not sure there's anyone on the board at this point that makes any kind of impact for this season so... And any of the WRs that have a shot at making an impact as a rookie were out of reach. It's possible they grab a guy in the 5th but that'll be a guy they develop and bring along at a certain pace, similar to Shakir. His rookie year he had what, 10 or 12 receptions or something? Had more impact in '23, grew into one of Josh's favorite targets in '24 and has a chance to be the go-to guy this year. I like the Tory Horton kid from Colorado State but I ain't gonna be kickin' rocks or nothing if they don't select him.

I'm good with it too. It seems like a lot of people forget that aside from Ed, Groot, Carter, and Javon Solomon are the only guys not on a one year deal on the DL this season. Then the two DL they signed as FAs are on the shelf for the first six games. DL absolutely needed to be addressed.

Ah, that didn't take long. I knew we'd see some waterworks the minute the pick was announced.

Meh. I know Joe is a good guy and people like his analysis. But the main thing that's missing from any draft analysts reports are what position coaches have to say and what they think they can do with these players. None of these analysts have a DL coach breaking down film with them where the analyst can be like, "Well, he does this too much so I don't like him" and a coach can say, "That's not a big deal, we can help him fix that." So, that's why I really don't get attached to any prospects in the draft. When Beane doesn't take someone's special guy they lose their marbles. I'd rather wait and see what the plans are and how the team plans to utilize these players. Based on what I've read on Walker it sounds like he could be one of those guys that projects to be a much better pro than he was in college. We'll let him get coached up by a pro staff and see how he does.

Seems like another McBeane pick. I think it was reported that the Bills really liked him throughout the off-season process. They're probably psyched they got him where they did. Bosa and Epenesa both 6'5" and then Groot at 6'7" and this kid at 6'6" buncha giants flying off the edges this season. Neato.

Poopin'?

Seems like a McBeane pick to me. Experienced starter with versatility and a lot of upside. Neato.

I'm unfamiliar with this Rivalries business... to Google we go.... Oh... uh... I'm still clueless, I can't find much beyond this announcement. I'd assume if it's some kinda thing to celebrate the city or whatever they'd maybe go with the Electric City theme or whatever. Or is this where they plaster stupid ads all over their jerseys? Marketing is outta frickin' control these days.

Hey look at that, someone who gets it. Also, people forget he broke the drought in his first year here with a Tyrod Taylor-led team that was expected to bottom out. Yeah they snuck in, thanks Andy Dalton, but at the end of the day it counts. And even though 2018 was the mulligan season, that mishmash roster probably had no business even winning the six games they did. McDermott has his flaws like any coach but he certainly seems to know how to create a culture and turn things around.

He doesn't seem like a processy kinda fella...talented tho. Don't know if Beane would be in on him.

Burden has some character concerns that I think would have the Bills weary on drafting him. Apparently he's a lousy practice player and would just straight up skip practices at times. He (mostly) shows up on game day but there's been a good bit of reports I've seen that practice stuff. Doesn't sound very processy to me haha.

If I had to try and predict what they're gonna do based on their tendencies the two guys that come to mind are WR Tory Horton and DT Josh Farmer. Three main components the McBeane crew seem to prioritize highly are character/leadership, experience, and versatility. Horton checks all three. Coaches and teammates love him, he was a multi-year starter and was a pretty solid punt returner. He's got some speed and ability to get vertical and open up things underneath. Also, he's already got a Buffalo last name and the dude is from the same area (Fresno) as Josh. The other Josh in this instance is Farmer from Florida State who the Bills have apparently done extensive homework on. Another experienced player who was a captain in his final year. Reports say that he kinda disappears at times but I've also seen that some of that may have been related to the scheme they were running. He improved each year in college and was said to be super coachable. Those would be my guesses. They just seem to fit to a T what the Bills really like in their prospects.

You're both wrong. I've got it on good authority from Hamburg Hank that they're definitely targeting All American sideline tablet handler and wire wrangler Crotch McElroy from Kickapoo Junior Jr University.

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure Josh had expressed to them that he wanted Kincaid to be the pick. And last year it was said that Keon was Josh's top choice as well.

Haha it's kinda silly how hyped up some folks get over a player signing with his old team. I love Tre. The ACL was a bummer and 2022 was a shaky season for him but he looked nearly 100% like the old Tre at the start of 2023 and then bam, Achilles. I don't think they'd be expecting to come in and start but maybe they feel comfortable enough that he'll do alright whenever he does need to take some snaps.

It's happened a couple of times where their first rounder (or first selection overall) wasn't a top 30 visit. I can't recall for sure but I don't think either Epenesa or Rousseau did an official visit with the team, which would've been virtual at that time. I don't think they met with Elam either. Again, not 100% sure but when I smack together the couple of brain cells left up in that pile of mush those guys came to mind.

I wonder how highly they've rated OT Charles Grant out of William & Mary. A former wrestler coming out of McDermott's alma mater. His scouting report ain't half bad either, checks a number of boxes for what the Bills generally favor in their prospects. I'm sure the more involved draft folks around here have discussed it but I happened to notice that today and thought I'd drop a line about it in the draft thread.

Maybe they meant huge as in like, a huge, well known, very recognized player? I dunno. Like a regular internet commenter, I did not watch da video.

I kinda used to think that as well but then you hear about them being in on a guy like Antonio Brown. At that point I was like yeah, they value high character and buying into their culture but if they're going after a nutcase like Brown then I'd assume they feel strongly enough about the culture and the team leaders that they'd be able to handle a personality like that. At the same time, it's become a little bit of a tell for them. For me it's gotten to the point where I can read scouting reports and see if the guy checks the boxes for McBeane. I guessed they'd go after Shakir, they did. Last year I felt like Bishop was a guy they'd like, they picked him. It doesn't happen every time but if you wanna get a decent idea of which prospects they probably like look for the dudes with one, a lot of experience, two, high character with leadership abilities, three, team first and just wants to win. Typically after a draft is complete I'll go read up on the guys they picked and for like 70% of them you'll find at least one or two of those traits.

A mighty good man?

Sonofabeane!

That's a bummer. I liked Mack. Dude caught nothing but touchdowns or first downs this year. Seriously, of his 31 receptions like 25 were first downs and five others were TDs.

Dude grew up just outside Toronto. Seems like the type of WR they like. I bet it's all gonna be all right.

He definitely seems to be pretty selective with outside projects. I'm pretty sure he's also said he's busy enough with football and doesn't want a constant ongoing workload to deal with. He does some local commercials and he had the Gatorade campaign as well as the Pepsi commercial this year. Seems like he prefers to keep it more low-key as opposed to being all over the place. As for the topic, I bet he'd do pretty well on SNL. When he doesn't have to be in "I'm a professional" mode everything you hear about the guy behind the scenes is that he's a big, light-hearted goofball.

I had the same thought regarding Faulk and Edge James. And you're right, Faulk played alongside Manning for one season only which happened to be Manning's rookie year of '98. Colts picked James in '99 and he played there thru 2005.