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Given the way Beane has talked about college OL (mainly on how long it takes those guys to get up to speed at the NFL level), I'm inclined to think he's going to try and shore up the line through free agency because he may want guys that are already experienced. This way, they don't have to worry too much about coaching up a kid who just spent four years in a spread system without putting his hand in the dirt. I think they'll still go for some OL in later rounds for depth but if they're looking to hit the ground running in revamping the OL then going after some experienced guys seems like the way to go.

Top 50 Free Agents as per The Athletic Age is in parenthesis. 1. Demarcus Lawrence (27), DE, Dallas Cowboys 25 sacks over the past two seasons. Dallas used the franchise tag on him last season, could use it a second time but likely want to work out a long-term extension. 2. Jadeveon Clowney (26), DL, Houston Texans Became a versatile player that Houston moved around a lot last season. 18.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss over the past two seasons. Injury history early in career but has only missed one game over the past two seasons. Might get the franchise tag. 3. Frank Clark (26), DE, Seattle Seahawks Has racked up 32 sacks since 2016, hasn't missed a game over the past two years. Had a lot of red flags off the field upon entering the league but has been consistent since then. Franchise tag candidate. 4. Nick Foles (30), QB, Philadelphia Eagles Hasn't started more than 11 games in any season but has put together tremendous stretches of play and was instrumental in helping Philly win a Super Bowl. 5. Dee Ford (28), DE, Kansas City Chiefs Finished with 13.5 sacks last season, good for 7th in the league. Back injury in 2017 limited him to only six games but he didn't miss any time last season. Also led the league in 2018 with seven forced fumbles. 6. Trey Flowers (26), DL, New England Patriots Versatile player that may not always rack up huge numbers but has been productive. 14 sacks and 119 tackles over the last two seasons. 7. Earl Thomas (30), FS, Seattle Seahawks Age and durability are a concern as he's missed 19 games over the past three seasons. When he's healthy he's one of the best safeties in the game. 8. Grady Jarrett (26), DT, Atlanta Falcons Consistent three-down player that's only missed three games in four seasons. Should be entering his prime with his arrow pointing up. 9. Le'Veon Bell (27), RB, Pittsburgh Steelers Sat out all of 2018 after racking up 742 touches in 2016 and 2017. Dynamic player but attitude is concerning. 10. Landon Collins (25), SS, New York Giants Had a breakout season in 2016 but hasn't been able to match that. Versatile player that can play in the box or deep. Finished 2018 on IR with a shoulder injury. 11. Donovan Smith (26), OT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Has never missed a game in his four-year career, totaling 64 career starts. Upside may be limited, gave up 5.5 sacks last season. Could be a franchise tag candidate for the Bucs. 12. Trent Brown (26), OT, New England Patriots 44 career starts at left tackle, allowed 3.5 sacks last season. 13. C.J. Mosley (27), LB, Baltimore Ravens Consistent player but hasn't made a lot of flashy plays (one INT, zero forced fumbles, half a sack and six tackles for loss in 2018). Has started 77 out of 80 games in his career. 14. Adrian Amos (26), S, Chicago Bears Great instincts and strong coverage skills. Might be one of the more underrated free agents this season. 15. Tyrell Williams (27), WR, Los Angeles Chargers Size and speed outside receiver, viable downfield threat having averaged 15.9 yards per catch in the last three seasons. Has 42 receptions for 20-plus yards (12th in the league) and 13 catches for 40-plus yards (tied for 5th) over that same three-year span. Likely to receive a deal that outweighs his production due to a thin crop of free agent receivers this year. 16. Ezekiel Ansah (30), DE, Detroit Lions 16 sacks over the last two seasons but played in only two games in 2018 as shoulder injury put him on IR. 17. Ndamukong Suh (32), DT, Los Angeles Rams Past his prime but still a viable player on the DL. Very durable, missing only two games in his nine-year career. 18. Rodger Saffold (31), OG, Los Angeles Rams Top interior OL on the market, should be paricularly attractive to teams looking to improve their run game. Also solid in pass protection, allowing only two sacks over the last two years. Would provide a veteran presence on a young, inexperienced OL. 19. Teddy Bridgewater (26), QB, New Orleans Saints Obviously the knee injury will concern teams but he's still only 26 and showed in limited action last season that he's able to move around the pocket and avoid pressure. May have a chance to be a "stop gap" starter somewhere. 20. Lamarcus Joyner (28), FS, Los Angeles Rams Versatile safety with solid tackling skills. Was franchised last season but likely to get a crack on the open market this year. 21. Brandon Graham (31), DE, Philadelphia Eagles Well-rounded player that has had 25 tackles for loss over the past three seasons. Has had 6.5 sacks or fewer in all but one year out of his nine-year career. May be headed towards a rotational role at this stage of his career. 22. Za'Darius Smith (27), OLB/DL, Baltimore Ravens Versatile player that Baltimore lined up at OLB, edge and interior DL. Finished with 8.5 sacks in 2018. Best suited for a 3-4 defense. 23. Dante Fowler (25), DE, Los Angeles Rams Hasn't lived up to the hype after being drafted third overall by Jacksonville in 2015 but has shown flashes. Any team interested in him is taking a gamble on his upside and potential. 24. Preston Smith (26), OLB/DE, Washington Redskins Never missed a game in four years, doesn't have the huge numbers but shows consistency as he produces a pressure/sack/QB hit on 6.9% of his pass rush attempts (that percentage is better than guys like Fowler and Graham). Probably best suited for a 3-4 defense. 25. Golden Tate (31), WR, Philadelphia Eagles Saw his production drop dramatically after being traded from Detroit last season, averaging only 9.2 yards per catch and 34.2 yards a game. Can be very productive from the slot as he's shown before and has elite hands. 26. Tyrann Mathieu (27), DB, Houston Texans Hybrid safety that can roam deep and also drop down and play nickel. His ability to play several spots may be inticing to a defensive coordinator that knows how to maximize his skill set. 27. Anthony Barr (27), LB, Minnesota Vikings Upon entering the league many viewed him as a 3-4 LB but has played in a 4-3 during his time in Minnesota. Elite athlete with solid blitzing ability but over the past two seasons hasn't made many splash plays, unless you count his imitation of a human hurdle for Josh Allen. 28. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (26), FS, Washington Redskins Young, durable player having never missed a game in his career. Inconsistent after being traded from Green Bay but could benefit from a fresh start elsewhere. 29. Kwon Alexander (25), LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Three-down lineback with sideline-to-sideline ability, but duarbility is a concern. Missed 18 games in his four-year career and will be coming off a torn ACL suffered in 2018. Productive when healthy. 30. John Brown (29), WR, Baltimore Ravens Speedy deep-threat receiver with the ability to beat defenses over the top. His production dropped midway through last season after Baltimore handed the keys to Lamar Jackson and became a run-heavy team. He may be inclined to sign with a team that employs a downfield vertical passing attack. 31. Daryl Williams (27), OT, Carolina Panthers Second-team All Pro in 2017 and has allowed only 5.5 sacks in 29 career starts. Finished last season on IR after playing only one game so health will be a concern for interested teams. 32. Ronald Darby (25), CB, Philadelphia Eagles Elite athlete with strong coverage skills but struggles to find the ball and isn't a great tackler. Has missed 15 games over the past two seasons and will be rehabbing a torn ACL this off-season. 33. Bradley Roby (27), CB, Denver Broncos Former first-round pick who didn't become a full-time starter until last season. Durable player who has only missed one game in his career. Interested teams will be taking a risk on his potential as he hasn't had the most productive career. 34. K.J. Wright (30), LB, Seattle Seahawks Size, versatility and instincts are his positive traits. Missed 11 games last season but prior to that he started 53 out of 54 games. 35. Steven Nelson (26), CB, Kansas City Chiefs Aggressive corner with solid ball skills (15 passes defensed and four INTs in 2018) but can get beat on double moves and was third in the league last season with 121 penalty yards. 36. Matt Paradis (29), C, Denver Broncos Suffered a season-ending injury in 2018 but before that he didn't miss a start between 2015 and 2017. Given the sizeable deals doled out to centers last year (Ryan Jensen at $10.5 million a year, Weston Richburg at $9.5) Paradis could cash in with a team in need of veteran leadership on the OL. 37. Ja'Wuan James (27), OT, Miami Dolphins Competent right tackle but injuries have been a concern (missed 18 games in his four-year career) and struggled last season, giving up five sacks in 15 starts. 38. Sheldon Richardson (28), DT, Minnesota Vikings Not as disruptive as he's been in the past, totaling only 5.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss in the last two seasons. Could be headed to his fourth different team in as many seasons. 39. Jared Cook (32), TE, Oakland Raiders Had a breakout season in 2018, catching 68 passes for 896 yards and six touchdowns. Age could make teams hesitant but durability isn't a concern as he has appeared in all 16 games in five of the last six seasons. 40. Tre Boston (27), FS, Arizona Cardinals Starting caliber safety with eight interceptions over the last two years. 41. Mitch Morse (27), C, Kansas City Chiefs Day one starter with KC since entering the league but has missed 14 games over the past two seasons. When he's on the field he's very good, having surrendered zero sacks in the last three seasons. 42. Adam Humphries (26), WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Very productive slot receiver with only Tyreek Hill, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyler Boyd, and Adam Thielen ahead of him in receiving yards from the slot last season. Effective route-runner and moves the chains, having caught 42 passes last season that resulted in first downs. 43. Tevin Coleman (26), RB, Atlanta Falcons Bit of a polarizing player having averaged 4.8 yards per carry (at least 100 carries) last season. Had 25 runs of at least ten yards, tied for 14th in the league (among 47 ranked RBs). However, he was stuffed or dropped for a loss on 18.6% of his carries last year which was worst in the league. Can be effective catching passes out of the backfield with 90 receptions at 11.0 YPC over the last three years. 44. Shaquil Barrett (26), OLB/DE, Denver Broncos Young player with upside who's had only limited opportunities. 45. Cameron Wake (37), DE, Miami Dolphins 98 career sacks but deal with a knee injury that slowed his production last season. Age is a factor but a team may be interested in having him in a rotational role and providing veteran leadership. 46. Terrell Suggs (36), OLB/DE, Baltimore Ravens Like Wake, he's in the twilight of his career but has still shown he can be productive. A contender could bring him in on a one-year deal and cut him loose after the QB on third downs. 47. Mark Ingram (29), RB, New Orleans Saints Age will be a factor in the type of offers he receives. 5.09 yards per carry last season where he split time with Alvin Kamara. His role out of the backfield diminished due to Kamara being the more dangerous receiving threat. 48. Jordan Hicks (27), LB, Philadelphia Eagles His career got off to a solid start (seven INTs in his first two seasons) but injuries have slowed him down since then. Solid when he's on the field but he misses a lot of time. 49. Kareem Jackson (31), CB, Houston Texans Veteran corner that has started all 124 games in his career. 50. Bryce Callahan (27), CB, Chicago Bears Viable slot-corner with some durability concerns, having missed seven games over the last two seasons. There you have it. The blurbs are a summary of what's in the article.

This leaves Croom as the only contracted TE on the roster. Logan Thomas is an FA as well and I don't know if he showed the team enough for them to give him a new deal, unless they wanna bring him back to create competition. Solid year to be in the market for a TE, handful of good FAs and a great draft class. Someone mentioned Irv Smith and the 'Bama connection with Daboll and that makes a lot of sense. Whichever prospect compares the most to Greg Olsen is the guy I'd bet they go for.

Yeah, this was bound to happen. I wonder if he'll get another shot somewhere else. His knees are just beat at this point.

Their chicken wing soup is pretty solid. But entrees there are kinda sloppy. I ordered a chicken dish one time and the chicken breast was boiled. Blech.

I think I'd like to see Beane do some wheelin' and dealin' to get a few more picks, preferably within the first three rounds. Take the BPA in round one, and if I had to guess, I think it's gonna be one of these monster DL guys. That class is just stacked this year and if you look at what Carolina did a few years back even when they had a pretty solid DL, they went ahead and took Vernon Butler and added strength to an already strong position group. Unless they drop down towards the end of the first round, they're gonna have a shot at one of those guys. I don't see the value in taking a WR within the first 20-25 picks, same for TE. I like that Hockenson kid from Iowa but I don't think he's a top 20 guy. Behind him there are a handful of solid tight ends that can be picked up in the second or third. I think they'll address interior OL in free agency. They've already signed a guy who might compete for the right guard spot (I'm assuming Miller is gonna be free to explore his options) and maybe they end up with Morse or Paradis... I think those could be longshots, though. If they decide to go with the draft, there are some solid interior OL prospects out there. That Risner kid comes to mind, and Bradbury, the center from NC State. I can't see them spending a real high pick on a right tackle, maybe they go after one in the second, third or fourth round. I know they like Mills because he's a real solid locker room guy and a team-first kinda player which is exactly the type of guys they want on their roster. But performance-wise, Mills started out decent last season but then just seemed to wear down as the year played out. So... I think they'll address either C/G/RT in FA and whatever they don't get in FA will be remedied with the draft. Then I need to see them snag a WR and an RB. Skill position players. I know they say McCoy is in their plans for 2019 but the guy is winding down at this point. Either that or he really had a difficult time grasping what Daboll wanted to do in the run game. He pressed so much to make a play every time he had the ball and 85% of the time he ended up losing yards, barely getting back to the line of scrimmage or falling forward for a couple. I think he'd best be utilized in a specific role as opposed to being the workhorse at this stage of his career. Maybe 10-12 touches on the ground and 5-7 pass targets. Just get him in space, really. Other than that, I think they like backs that just hit the hole and go, so, whichever of these prospects is a north-south style runner is probably on their radar. As for receivers, I think they should be looking at strong route runners with top notch separation skills. They've struggled big time with separation over the past couple of seasons. Maybe they go after one of the big receivers and see if he can be what they thought KB would be. In the later rounds they're gonna go secondary and linebackers for depth/special teams.

The kid is a pretty complete TE right out of the gate. He's versatile and doesn't mind doing the dirty work for the run game. He's a chess piece you can move around and I'm sure Daboll would love to have a player like him. That said, I don't know if you take him inside the top 10 picks. I would like to see them grab one of these TEs this year, though. Bills have never really drafted high on a TE which says most regimes haven't valued the position that much. However, they have Daboll now who worked with Gronk and McBeane saw how valuable a guy like Greg Olsen was down in Carolina. So, yeah, hopefully they snag one of these guys because they need to be well equipped at all the offensive skill positions if they want Allen to take the next step.

Who's grading him? We're just saying he was able to do better in a trade for a player less talented than Flacco. Trades can matter in the long term as well, see Hughes, Jerry.

Dude is a monster... but with that much muscle mass I'd be worried about it impacting flexibility, which is an important tool for a WR to have. Don't think he'll have a whole lot of trouble breaking off of press coverage, though. And as others have mentioned, that much mass can cause injuries and he already had two season-ending injuries in his college career. One this past season which was a neck injury requiring surgery and a foot injury in his freshman year (after only two games). So, he might be one of those high risk/high reward players. Might make some big plays but also may only play 8-10 games a season. And wherever he goes I'm sure the strength and conditioning coach will want him to tweak some things regarding his workouts. He only made it through one full season in college and McBeane really seem focused on prospects with a lot of experience. Not sure where he is on their radar but I'm sure they'll do their homework on him.

Yeah, AB would be awesome but the dudes character is that of a spoiled little brat and I don't think McBeane would want that kind of attitude in their locker room. He's all about himself and they've spent the last two years constructing a roster with guys that are all about the team.

Yeah, fair enough. I was surprised it only took a 4th for Flacco. Beane definitely has a knack for trades, gaining a 3rd round pick for a QB who played like, 1.5 games for Cleveland? Can't complain there.

Good points. I forgot about Kerley. Yeah, I can see them handing out some short-term deals to guys that are 30+ for that veteran leadership they seem to really value. I think the tricky thing with some of these vet receivers is gonna be that they'll likely wanna land with a contender to get one or two more shots at a title. I've heard that about Tate, anyway. Garcon could be helpful. SF WRs stated how much they learned from him during his time there. Also, I hope no one will be too terribly surprised when they see some of the deals the Bills hand out. They're gonna overpay a little bit. It can be a tough to recruit FAs here so they gotta drop a little extra cash in the deals as incentive to sign.

Garcon is 32... feels like the Bills only wanna target players coming off their first contract (or maybe a second contract that's only a one or two year deal). That's what they did with Hyde, Poyer, Murphy, Lotulelei, etc. They're looking for guys in a certain range. If they do decide to sign a vet over 30, I'd bet on them offering a short-term deal only. Just seems to be the McBeane method at this point.

Yeah, I typed it up kinda quick. I wouldn't be surprised if that ends up being the case, though. Groy didn't do very well at center, Bodine is... eh, but he can be upgraded. I read more on Long and a lot of Jets fans said he played a lot better at guard than center (issues at center may have been related to a hand injury). So if they want him at guard I wonder if that means John Miller will move on. I feel like they really want Teller to lock down the left side and with the way they bounced Miller in and out of the starting lineup last year, it's easy to see that they're in the market to upgrade on the right side.

It's down to 3,498 players. Keep up.

44 starts in a 53 game career, only ended up a FA due to coaching changes. This will be the end here for Groy. Long and Bodine compete for the starting center gig.

Hahah, ok. There is no team out there that is going to give a guy $10 million a year to play a quarter of the defensive snaps. Lotulelei is being paid for more than just his on-field work. He's here to be a leader and a role model for a young team. He's a selfless, team-first guy and isn't concerned about showing up on the stat sheet each week. He has a specific role and they assign him specific tasks where he's not always the one making the tackle or getting the sack but he's doing what he's supposed to be doing and helping this defense run the way it's supposed to run. And I can't see any "problems" created by signing Lotulelei. They've cleared all the dead cap, they have plenty of money to throw around right now. Star's contract is not negatively impacting what they do whatsoever. Seems like you're trying to create problems that aren't there.

If he thinks he's gonna get anywhere near that, he's nuts. He played only 26% of all defensive snaps last season. He might receive a nice deal for what he is - a rotational player.

While it's a good write-up, I do think someone oughta slap Andy Benoit for describing the Pats DL as "meaty." What a weirdo.

That one was weird. "Eat like Andy" WTF does that mean? Dip your burger in ketchup? I don't think doing that is that unique of a thing lol

The post-game was a massive clusterfunk. Didn't Wolfson actually get knocked down at one point? And I couldn't understand for the life of me why they kept her mic live with all that commotion going on. Cue the audio back to Nantz and Romo or anyone else and let them babble until things cleared out enough for them to get a minute with Brady.

That was such a bad pick too. I think he got excited that he almost hit Cooks for a TD on the previous play and he wanted to go right back to it but the Pats sent a ton of pressure on the next play and instead of living to fight another down he tossed up a gimme to Gilmore. Kid just looked off all night. I think we can count on one hand how many money throws he made.

Oh man, I remember that game. I truly felt like they were gonna be wheeling Favre out of the stadium. He got pummeled on almost every passing down. I could've. But I didn't. Aw man. I couldn't have done it without your support.

Despite McVay taking the blame for being out-coached, he actually provided Goff with some answers against the Patriots but Goff was never able to capitalize. One of the interesting things the Rams do offensively is they don't really huddle much. They stand a few yards off the line, Goff gets the play and gets everyone set as quickly as possible and that affords McVay a few seconds to still be in Goff's ear and tell him how to adjust based on how the defense is lining up. There's a cut-off for helmet communications (I think it cuts off with 10 or 15 seconds left on the play clock) but even when the cut off happens, they usually still have time for Goff to look at the sideline and get hand signals. This shows that Goff really struggles to read defenses pre-snap. This article right here breaks down a number of plays in which Goff had open receivers but either didn't see them or did and just decided to go elsewhere with the ball. The throw to Cooks in the back of the end zone that got broken up needed to be thrown much earlier as Cooks was wide open almost right off the line. Goff even had a better option on the INT he threw to Gilmore. They even break down one play in which Robert Woods recognizes a blitz is coming. He calls it out and points right at the blitzer and signals to Goff that he's going to run the hot route. Goff never saw it coming despite Woods helping him out and was sacked on the play. And it wasn't even some kind of exotic blitz from NE, it was a blitz they had ran three or four times against KC. That's on film. How did Goff see that in film study and then not put things together when he saw them lining up the exact same way? It just makes you wonder how good Goff really is or is it McVay's scheme that really makes things extremely easy for him. He's almost running a college-style offense at times, especially with getting everyone on the line quickly so McVay can asses the defense and tell Goff to adjust or not. That was a huge knock on Goff coming out of college, he never made pre-snap adjustments on his own, everything was called from the sideline and he just had to relay the message. Just thought it was an interesting article to share and an interesting look at how things went down.

Interesting piece. I'll have to check out the whole thing later on. Man, look at Pittsburgh in the 70s. That's dominance... but also, the Patriots from '09 thru '18... holy crap.