Richard Noggin

While I strongly disagree with @Sierra Foothills assertion that the Bills should trade significant draft capital for a 28/29 yr old DT who would then need a BIG TIME contract extension...I must applaud the post itself. Very well composed and engaging. Nicely done. Lawrence could still have several strong seasons left in him, but I don't think he's some missing link to a championship run for the Bills, especially considering the long term use of cap space and short term loss of draft capital (which influences the cap longer term by sacrificing a young, cheap, potential impact prospect or two). Beane needs to get MORE value out of the draft and the cap moving forward, not less. In my humble opinion.

C'est magnifique! Could NOT agree more. However...is there any chance you, like me, were in your teens or twenties in 1992? Right back at ya. Love these compared to their current kits. Roadies were sweet as well. Love the imperfect, dated originality of the design that would never pass through contemporary corporate focus groups. ZERO blue or black or grey tones? Amazing.

4-3 vs 3-4 does NOT have to mean radically different alignments and/or assignments. Denver certainly didn't run a strictly 2-gapping 3-4 with monstrous DL. A DE in a 3-4 is not much different from a DT in a 4-3, generally. Yes. What about last season when Sanders got snaps as a DE in a 4-3? That was likely at 4 or 5-tech, or wider, innit? Otherwise, agreed. Walker likely gets closer to the C as the down and distance increases.

Handing out thumbs-ups in this thread the way Oprah hands out new cars.

While it's the opposite position to mine in this thread, I also very much agree with this take. Pass rush matters. But good to great defenses are STRONG up the middle. Allen at MILB would be cumulative impact for many years. (But still, I think valuing the swing at high upside pass rush IS justifiable, even if the player is graded worse.)

Milano put his very unique and customized house on the market immediately after the season ended. Not a great sign. Then again, crazier things have happened. "2 part question"

Guilty of succumbing to immediate/short term ROI (which is most likely Allen). Lawrence has an intriguing profile as a standup EDGE, and offers real upside. But Allen immediately slots in as a high snap count ILB who also gets to learn from AND PUSH Bernard. Williams shouldn't be relied upon to start in base, and Allen's selection turns a weakness into at least an average position. He has the makeup of a long term starter, so there IS bigger picture value. Lawrence is super gifted and flashes a legit pass rush arsenal. He's just more developmental as a two-phase player. Added: Fair amount of alignment on this thread. Not really a wrong answer to this poll tbh. I understand both selections.

Fair, but you didn't mention Bosa iirc. And Epenesa and Jones were NOT very productive pass rushers last year. Nor was Bosa after a certain point. And all of them were liabilities against the run. So you gotta clear that bloated cap and those mediocre snaps and get younger and cheaper and hopefully the same or better production at the back end of those positions.

You appear to be contradicting yourself within this one post: If "pass rush is the most important aspect of winning a Super Bowl," then how does moving on from Daquan Jones and AJ Epenesa specifically even rate as a loss AT ALL? Chubb alone eclipses their combined pass rush production (despite being somewhat mediocre, statistically). And he's decent against the run. Both Epenesa and Jones were replacement level JAGs last season, so replacing them with younger, cheaper players is almost automatically a win.

Not sure I could disagree more on the bolded. The draft is about ensuring a robust, cost-controlled talent pipeline throughout the roster. Filling immediate "needs" is far less important than maximizing available resources year-over-year. Draft hits eventually drown out perceived fits. If the Bills stay put and select someone at #26, it's way more important that the prospect eventually develops enough to earn a 2nd contract -- rather than seeing him plug a specific hole in his rookie season. Tremaine Edmunds, for example, admirably plugged a hole at MLB as a rookie. But considering the resources spent to acquire him, I'd argue the Bills would have been better served taking more shots with later picks. One of those alternative prospects could have easily eclipsed Edmunds's steady on-field presence and earned a 2nd contract with Buffalo. Play the long game with the draft. Maximize your lottery tickets. Year in and year out. (Super challenging to do in the real world, with real jobs on the line.)

With the 63rd selection, the New England Patriots pick Elijah Sarratt, WR, Indiana. Forget his lack of underwear olympics testing. Sarratt is a better WR prospect than you think; a prototype X. And Drake Maye, with his upright, over-the-top, rainbow trajectory arm talent absolutely EATS on those sideline bucket and back shoulder throws. Perfect match playing shot football. Mack Hollins but more talented and MUCH younger. They already have Doubs, Douglas, and Williams to be shifty, separation guys from the Z and Slot. Need this final X piece. The Seattle Seahawks and @K-No are up next to close out the second round.

I intend to make the Patriots pick still, by the way. Will do so before signing off this evening.

And with this creative invite to my pick. Damn. Inexcusable overextension on my part.

Mea Culpa, gang. Work + visiting family + yada yada... but I would have in fact drafted (for the Pats) TJ Parker so...had really targeted Zion Young after some random cable segment a month or so ago that had Young matched up with the Pats and he seemed so damned calm and confident and just problematic enough...but Parker was the next best choice. I need to look at myself in the mirror after this. Was doing Patriots mocks the night before in preparation. And STILL let daily work patterns make you all wait too long. You folks deserve better. *even started a spreadsheet of two big boards that I intended to cross out names from earlier today in preparation for my fairly easy pick...

Oliver did play a bunch of NT in college, though, and Denver has recently employed some lighter dudes up front, so...a reasonably informed Bills fan shouldn't be "shocked" by Oliver getting the chance to OWN some NFL centers next year. But for sure, Oliver lined up at 0 and 1 more often can invite hard nosed duo rushing attacks and IOLs getting hands on the 2nd level defenders/ILBs.