transplantbillsfan

Actually our 3rd round pick is apparently 6'9"

To me this would make all the sense in the world if we weren't desperate for CBs at this point. Now I'm genuinely worried about our CB situation beyond White... and next year it'll only be him and Jackson under contract. That said, I think the Super Bowl proved pretty well that if you can get a lot of pressure on Mahomes, he's human... pretty much just like absolutely any other QB in history. I don't know much about college football, but this guy was evidently Dane Brugler's 44th ranked prospect so we got good value there if that's true. Does anyone have a clue whether we still save money on the Cap if we cut Addison before the season? Regardless... Beane is looking towards the future. Even if Hughes and Addison remain... they're old and at least Addison will almost certainly be gone next year... but likely both. Reading the tea leaves I would say Beane understands he's about to pay Josh Allen big money and he wants our edge rushers to be set. In order to ensure that, he's making sure they're part of a rotation this year so they can learn from the savvy vets and then will be our starters next year. But... what about CB?

Sorry if posted in here... but thought this was an interesting pre-draft bit from Joe B about our first round pick based on best fit.... he puts him at #5 but only because he assumed we would have had to trade up to get him: https://theathletic.com/2499756/2021/04/06/bills-2021-draft-preview-ranking-the-top-defensive-end-prospects-by-best-fit/ 5) Gregory Rousseau, Miami (FL) Why he’s a fit: As size and untapped potential goes, the 21-year-old Rousseau could be a big-time contributor in the Bills’ scheme down the line. Rousseau is long and lean with enough strength to compete consistently right now but will likely need to get stronger to realize his potential. He uses his arm length of almost 35 inches to disengage from blockers, shows great bend around the edge and has the extra gear when he needs to close on the quarterback. You just do not find Rousseau’s bend around the edge in players with his size, but it comes at a cost with the rest of his game, which has a lot of unknowns and things he has to iron out. If a team develops him correctly, he could be a monster in the right NFL scheme. Why it might not happen: Rousseau is a conflicting case. The reason I like Turner ahead of Rousseau for this list is because of the opportunity cost to draft each player. Given his size, ability, and potential, Rousseau runs a legitimate risk of being selected well before the Bills are on the clock or within the trade-up range. There are elements to Rousseau’s game that give hesitation to the idea of trading up for him. There isn’t a ton of move variation and he can get gobbled up by a blocker if the initial move doesn’t work. The playing strength isn’t quite there despite his size, and he isn’t always the aggressor in the one-on-one pass-rushing battle. He also is a little tight and struggles to change directions. There are also some concerns with his run defending, which could be an issue for the Bills. If he’s available at No. 30, the value meets up with his potential despite how raw he might be at this point. But with Turner being a similar ‘potential’ prospect that they can likely draft later, the Bills might be better served using No. 30 on a different position and targeting Turner in a trade-up from No. 61. I see those two players as similar prospects with how they fit the Bills, so it just matters how the Bills rate them.

The thing is that Atlanta analogy is unrelated. There really weren't any lingering effects from the Julio Jones trade by the time Atlanta was 28 points up in the Super Bowl. The year Julio was drafted the Falcons made the playoffs and lost in the Wildcard and then the next year they made the Conference Championship and went 13-3. And then the floor fell out and the Falcons had 2 losing seasons and one 8-8 season before the Super Bowl season. It might also be relevant that the year the floor fell out for the Falcons is also the year Jones only played 4 full games before getting injured and missing the rest of the season.

A few years? Jones was drafted 10 years ago. He's an aging vet at this point. And I saw somewhere else in here someone mention the Falcons falling off a couple years after Jones was drafted, which is true. What's also true is that he only played 4 full games in his 3rd season before getting injured and missing the rest of the season. That year they went 4-12. The next year they had another losing season (and Jones seemed to have some lingering injury issues). Then their coach was fired and they had season 1 with Dan Quinn where they were 8-8 and then had their Super Bowl year. It's completely reasonable to not make the move because of what could happen 3 or 4 years from now, but if he's the player you believe gets you over the hump and Buffalo wins a Super Bowl this year and/or next year, then hindsight becomes 20/20 and it becomes the right choice.

If you don't think you're a player or two short this year, then sure. The reality is that Buffalo could really benefit from a top end player or two this year. Despite what I said in the OP, I don't think we'll trade up for Pitts and kinda hope it won't matter because I still have hopes our TE corps comes into full swing this year with Sweeney, Hollister and Knox. I'm genuinely curious if Beane is serious about trading up for Etienne or if that's just a massive smokescreen. Every indication in the offseason was he still has all the faith in the world in Moss and Singletary and we went out and got our theoretical HR hitter at RB in Breida. So my gut says it's a smokescreen. I could genuinely see us trading up for either an EDGE rusher or CB, though. Both of those (particularly CB) are pretty close to glaring needs this year and I think this year's team would really benefit from top end talent at either position. I also still kinda think Davonta Smith is a wildcard if he falls. Basically... I think Beane would/should trade up into the early 20s or mid teens if "his guy" is there.

Well... I don't think trading up in that draft was a mistake. In fact the moment we did it I was SUPER STOKED!!! We just traded up and drafted the wrong player... we should have drafted Khalil Mack.

I agree... but that doesn't mean I won't be super excited if we actually do it.

I understand we have players with contracts running out. But we don't lose much even after this season. Hughes is the biggest UFA we'll have next offseason... and that is why I would include whoever Beane's #1 EDGE rusher is on this list for trading up. Yes Allen's and Edmunds's contracts will be up, but my guess is Beane extends Allen soon and exercises Edmunds 5th year option. We have other players we'll lose here and there, but our OL will pretty much be in tact along with our WR corps in general. We need CBs, which is very true. Other than Allen, I just don't see us having to break the bank for anyone immediately. Even with Diggs (and Allen) Beane can work his masterful hand with the CAP to pay both guys big bucks and move the money around. We also still have some draftees who might come into their own as starters over the next year or 2 (Daryl Johnson, Vosean Joseph, Epenesa, Hodgins, Jackson) so I wouldn't rule them out as depth at least. We're in "win now!!!" stage, aren't we?

When Atlanta traded up to get Julio Jones they jumped 21 slots and gave up their 1st, 2nd and 4th round picks that year along with their 1st and 4th round picks for the following year. Buffalo would need to go up an additional 5 slots so I'd guess it'd be something more like a 1st, 3rd and 4th next year along with a 1st, 2nd and 4th this year. It's a lot... but Atlanta won in that trade because they got a Superstar Stud HOF worthy WR. If that's what Kyle Pitts truly is.... he might be worth it... especially for a team like Buffalo without any actual gaping holes at the moment. That said... Kyle Pitts is more of a longshot. I do, however, think trading up for someone else Beane covets (Parsons? Horn? Samuel Jr.? Smith? Etienne?) might become more and more realistic as we get into the mid teens.

Because? How many impact players do you think we need this year in order to be Super Bowl conten... oh wait... we're already Super Bowl contenders... so what positions were really holding us back last year in the AFC Championship game? We didn't lose anyone in the offseason (even swap at worst in terms of Brown for Sanders). What's the fear? If you KNOW a player is going to be an impact player for you, this would be the year to go up and get him. Yes I think 4 would generally be too much, too... but honestly I'd be damn excited if we do it. Realistically I think Beane should go into the low 20s or teens if he's eyeing a specific player like Etienne, Parsons, Horn, Samuel Jr., etc. One player I'm kinda wondering about in terms of Beane targeting potentially is Davonta Smith if he starts to fall. Seems like he'd be the Isaiah McKenzie cog of the offense moving forward... and Daboll seemed to love using McKenzie.

So I hadn't even realized this, but evidently there are only 657 eligible draft picks this year vs 1,932 last year because the NCAA allowed an extra year of eligibility for college players. That combined with limited game tape on many of them combined with a lack of Combine and face-to-face might make for a true wheelin and dealin Brandon Beane. Basically... this also likely means that there's going to be LOTS of depth in next year's draft and 7th round picks next year willl likely be better than 7th round picks in other years. I attached a video below making the argument for essentially trading ALL of this year's draft picks (or our 1st this year and next year along with a couple 2nds, 3rds, or 4ths) in order to trade ALL THE WAY UP to #4 for Kyle Pitts. Would that be wise or is it even close to what Beane is thinking? Probably not. But with the recent report about us wanting to leapfrog the Jags and Jets for Etienne, maybe Beane is legitimately eyeballing Micah Parsons or Jaycee Horn in the teens. Or who knows.... why not swing for the fences to get Pitts?

Bills give up the farm to move up for the final piece of our Super Bowl puzzle... Kyle Pitts

Can't wait for Shadow and Bone to come out tomorrow!!! And I'm halfway through the final season of Homeland... which is a fantastic show for anyone who hasn't seen it. I've been doing monthly subscriptions to Showtime solely for that show for the last few months. I set my subscription to cancel on May 3rd because I'll be done by then and there's nothing else on Showtime I really wanna watch. I have mixed feelings about Ray Donovan... also on Showtime. Good acting, interesting storylines. But the people in there (including the main character himself) are just so often lacking in redeeming characteristics to make up for their terrible--and often vulgar-- mistakes. I'm no prude... but there's just a gratuitous nature to the show and almost every character is despicable in one way or another other than Ray's 2 brothers. Kinda sad about that. Made it all the way up through the 4th episode in season 2 and my wife and I mutually agreed at the same time the show wasn't worth watching anymore.

I hate that it took him so long to get his shot. I wonder what his career would have looked like if he didn't get the UDFA treatment.

Sheesh. Guess there's a reason these guys play Defense. Put me out there. I'll catch some of those.

Oh my God Fred Jackson and it's not even close. If we had Freddy from his prime we would have an RB who could catch, block and get tough yards. Still one of my favorite players of all time. And it's such a shame that he was wasted and overlooked for years.

Completely agree with you. Frankly our starters are pretty much set with the exception probably of a #2 CB (perhaps our 1st round pick) and possibly a DE (perhaps our 1st round pick). Whoever we draft will likely be a good pick and make some kind of impact. But since the Bills are already (FINALLY!!!) really good, I don't know how noticeable that impact will be. To me... drafting an RB like Harris in round 1 or doing something insane like trading up for Kyle Pitts would be the only things that push this draft into excitement territory. I'll watch and pay attention and hope for the best with our picks. But we no longer need to count on them. And that's a good thing. I'm more excited about the schedule release a couple weeks after.

As a Bills fan living in Hawaii who has to wake up by 6 am for a 7 am kickoff... I can attest to this.

Been arguing vehemently since his rookie year he's significantly better when he scrambles than when designed runs are called. I actually broke it down his rookie year and he gained nearly double the yards on scrambles as designed runs. Even if it's Allen audibling to a QB draw I don't mind as long as it's his decision.

I don't think it will happen, but it's not like it would be unconstitutional if they did. After McConnell's flagrant obstructionism and hypocrisy I would like to see it happen. I just don't think the Democrats can unify well enough to get it done.

I actually understand the skepticism of the new mRNA technology to a degree. That's actually part of why I chose the J & J. Glad I got it when I did (almost a month ago) with the current pause going on.

There's a tipping point, though. This might regrettably bring us into a general Covid Vaccine hesitancy discussion, but if a gigantic chunk of the population refuses to get the vaccine, then not much changes. Unfortunately, despite the deepest desires of some for "herd immunity" through infection, we live in cautious times in a cautious society. So while maybe 30% of the population is waiting things out for everyone to get infected so everyone can finally get out and about normally thanks to herd immunity due to mass infection (and death) as was the result of the 1918-1919 Pandemic, the vast majority of the country is waiting for that 30% to get their darn vaccines so we can get back to normal already. This is the incredibly frustrating part of all this. Qanon's leader and prophet himself got the vaccine along with his wife and did it silently... behind closed doors. Wanna complain about everything being shut down and things not being back to normal...? Get your darn vaccine and then complain. Be the solution rather than the problem. That goes for Football players, too. Love Josh Allen. He's amazing on and off the field. Josh... get your damn vaccine and set an example. The NFL's bottom line is all that matters... Yeah, the NFL got through a season making significantly less money than they used to... but the NFL is a business, not a charity. Owners don't own teams for the altruistic sake of fan enjoyment. They there to make money. That's reality. The NFL won't survive too many seasons like 2020. Don't be naive.

Apologies if this is already a thread here in PPP, but nearly every single thread about vaccinations in the NFL is getting shut down on the main board, which is unfortunate because it's a relevant discussion to the NFL specifically. This isn't meant to be an overarching discussion of vaccine hesitancy in society as a whole... just vaccine policies in the NFL as we move into OTAs, minicamp, Training Camp, and the 2021 season in the NFL. Apparently a few weeks ago the NFL said it wasn't going to mandate players to get vaccinated.... but they would be incentivized. NFL Employees are essentially being mandated the vaccine without a "bona fide" reason not to get it. It's looking like fan attendance at some stadiums--if not all--will be determined based on whether you've been vaccinated. So... any additional news? Info? Thoughts? Frankly, I think the NFL should mandate it for all players, employees and fans entering the stadium and be done with it already. They have the right to do it. Rip the band aid off and make the announcement already and let's get on with it.