Richard Noggin

Estime strikes me as a guy with BAD feet. I can't wait to learn more about Troy Franklin's draft profile and why he is a day three pick and not a day two pick. His production was elite, and his advanced stats/analytics are mostly top-5/top-3, and apparently Joe Brady recruited him way back when. And he gets behind boundary DBs. Seems like the exact kind of guy the Bills are lacking. REALLY looking forward to learning more about why the NFL judged him to be a day three pick. Estime's slow footwork and acceleration are huge red flags for me. I have several family members who are Notre Dame alum, and I tend to watch their games. Estime seems like a bad pro projection. I remember upstairs at Tempo watching Doug Whaley, in person, mock Trent Richardson's lethargic, excessive footwork. To my recollection, Whaley was with a newly-acquired Shady and the rest of the RBs, and trying to fit in by pooping on an RB who CLEARLY (to all of them present) just wasn't a legit pro. But it might have been a year or two earlier than that. I remember Shady (when he first arrived) being a snipey prick who cast mucho SHADE (of course). The younger dudes immediately gravitated to him. Shady was a doosh tbh. So I recall Whaley trying, with success, to match that energy and poop on a former 3rd overall pick at RB who just could not play in the league. Estime seems like that to me.

I shared some pro-Coleman ideation as the process carried on, especially following his combine gauntlet display. He started as a total red flag for me, given his jump ball proficiency. But the deeper I looked, the more I appreciated his skill and athleticism. He looks on tape like a long-striding, speed-gatherer...but also with short-area agility. Won't be a separation-demon who wins on footwork and technique, but will still probably win enough to make plays. I think the Bills offense under Brady will be perfect for him, with an assortment of now-routes and screens and slants and digs and nines...hopefully nothing too complicated or variably contingent on defensive alignments/coverages post-snap.

Never forget Coleman's fastest-ever combine gauntlet top speed (and how damned straight and crisp he ran it while snagging fastballs away from his frame). Puka Nacua vibes (owner of the 2nd fastest gauntlet top speed). I was afraid of his contested-catch red flags early in the process. His lack of separation. But even before his sneaky good, under-the-radar combine, I was starting to see something special in his play. Like he's potentially a better prospect than a Q. Johnston or an N'Keal Harry...

I kinda was gunning for the exact scenario Beane found himself in yesterday and today, with respect to trading back out of 28 (from a thread yesterday that's locked now): "After a million mock drafts where I stayed at 28 and either politely chose the preferred remaining (5th or 6th) WR (usually Mitchell or Coleman back then) or chose an unexpectedly available 1st round prospect at OL or DL just because loud BPA value (usually one of the top OCs, DTs, or DEs)...I started to trade back out of 28, oftentimes more than once. If Franklin is a perfectly acceptable WR target, then he can be picked at the top of the 2nd while also gaining a late day-three, top-100 pick the NFL recently stole. Rosters are built on day two and early day three. The 2024 1st rd draft trade scorecard is as follows: Bills give 28, 133, 200, 248 (232 pts) Bills get 33, 95, 141, 221 (237 pts)" The trade above is REALLY close to what actually happened innit? Just replace Franklin with the previously mentioned Coleman and boom. That fastest-ever combine gauntlet is no joke. 2024's Puka Nacua. I just kept trading back into the top of the 2nd as draft day approached. Didn't see the organizational value in any other approach over a series of simulations. (Personally I actually wanted Worthy tbh, but not when I was wearing my draft nerd hat. Trading back was the ONLY path to satisfying whole draft results when I considered long term team-building and cap health. Needed that extra day two pick. Had to have it.)

Around our bonfire I was making a repetitive joke about picking Franklin from pick 33 on. Started to mean it more and more as day two went on. Was stepping away from the laptop to gather brush needing burning, and when I came back and the Bills were about to pick again I kept asking if Franklin was somehow still on the board (at 60 and at 95) because honestly I'm still surprised by his slide. His analytics and productivity and all-around film are favorable. Just being not heavy seems like not enough to cause this tumble to day three. Our OC even recruited this guy back in the day. It seemed so obvious. But nopers. Who knew?

Google is your friend. I, a person in my 40s, had to google it even during the draft as I tried to keep track. 3 picks each, with Bills moving back in 1st but moving up from 4th to 3rd and up in the 7th.

Bunch of weak-arse constitutions on display, predictably, from Bills fans here. I know the KC x Worthy trade really strains credulity, but it MUST mean Beane didn't value that player at that pick. Then the Car x Legette trade further twists the anti (fan)-consensus WR knife. But again, Beane isn't pulling that trigger blindly. He's obviously trying to recoup value at a spot where he sees a lack of it. So he disagrees with most of us that Worthy or Legette were worthy of picks 28 or 32, respectively, for the Bills. I was mostly in the pro-Worthy and pro-Legette camps, in the spirit of full disclosure. I think we've finally entered the Josh Allen franchise QB cap hit era where YoY draft capital is more valuable than need-based fan consensus. The only scenario where trading back was acceptable to me was with these very minimal moves. That way, Troy Franklin is still available and we've recouped a 3rd (for a 4th) and turned a late 5th into an early 4th, among other moves. OR another trade-back is available for even better value because pick #33 is a power pick in that regard. Who knows? (of course it's also possible that Beane gave KC their next dynamic WR weapon to pair with the QB we also gave them.)

After a million mock drafts where I stayed at 28 and either politely chose the preferred remaining (5th or 6th) WR (usually Mitchell or Coleman back then) or chose an unexpectedly available 1st round prospect at OL or DL just because loud BPA value (usually one of the top OCs, DTs, or DEs)...I started to trade back out of 28, oftentimes more than once. If Franklin is a perfectly acceptable WR target, then he can be picked at the top of the 2nd while also gaining a late day-three, top-100 pick the NFL recently stole. Rosters are built on day two and early day three. The 2024 1st rd draft trade scorecard is as follows: Bills give 28, 133, 200, 248 (232 pts) Bills get 33, 95, 141, 221 (237 pts)

You know whose advanced stats are effing AWESOME by comparison? Yup...Troy Franklin.

Those fastest-ever combine guys tend to apply that straight-line speed to the NFL field in year one, do they?

ooh everyone gonna lose their minds now for sure

LOVE Bills fans showing their emotions as Beane adds day two and three value instead of reaching for guys he didn't want. Gotta fill out the roster with talent when your QB makes a billion dollars (and you're overpaying an old DE, unfortunately).

WTF lol

Nah you hand the phone to the most annoying intern and string em along while looking for a different/better deal

In EVERY single one of my MANY mock draft simulations, I actively rejected so many Chiefs trade offers. In my most recent favorite mock, I traded back to 31, then rejected KC's trade-up offer and selected Worthy, which caused KC to change course and trade out of the 1st. Oddly prescient scenario.

WOWZA

The run on WRs HAS been beautifully delayed, but it WILL happen soon no matter what the Bills do. Can't trade back and just EXPECT your guy will be there. But then again, you could get an extra day two pick and still luck into a dude...

Nah he'll move up in the 2nd and/or up into the 3rd, 4th, etc...

I almost hope so.

A CATHOLIC drink? For a Brit? LOL

What she said

Weird how they're WORSE than "us" innit (sorry)

More talent than production for BTJ innit?