Richard Noggin

With a long term extension, though, a team these days usually builds in cap SAVINGS in year one. Nothing particularly clever or surprising there.

Thomas WILL be gone well before 28 in almost ANY sane draft scenario. One of Mitchell and/or Worthy is potentially still on the board, and I think viable at 28 (Adonai Mitchell especially screams future #1 WR to me). Coleman's 40 time could very well push him to Day Two, although I think he's much more dynamic than that isolated test suggests. Picks 20-50 could see 7 or 8 WRs selected in a legendary run (Mitchell, Worthy, Coleman, McConkey, Pearsall, McMillan, Legette, Franklin, Polk, Baker or Cowing, Wilson, and others are all potentially in play).

For the record, I was aware of this discrepency.

This monster falls to 28 somehow. Check out those measurables. "Extremely dense" is right, damn. 6'3" 354lbs and runs a 4.4? Historic athleticism. Even so, tough choice with both Texas WRs available at 28. Although I imagine most Bills fans would snag Worthy, and a few less would pick Mitchell, without giving it much thought. This is how it went. Maybe my favorite total draft haul with no trades, even after losing the projected 3rd round comp pick. Serious prospects (most of them verified Bills targets) who almost all have a shot at making the roster. (Don't LOVE the Kinchens value in rd 2, but with his U Miami coach coming aboard, it feels very possible.)

So...what are you all doing in this scenario? I'm guessing it's down to Johnny Newton or Xavier Worthy, with most Bills fans picking Worthy? How it went (pleased with it overall):

I love civil discourse. Carry on.

Are you thinking of TRAVIS Henry perhaps?

I like the tier you're targeting here, and most of the players you've identified. Can/will the Bills afford more than 1 or 2 of them? **did a little digging on Noah Brown just now. While there is some talent there, and the player has improved in recent years, the relentless injury history and inconsistencies better mean he's CHEAP. And if he's cheap, then it's a justifiable wager. Gotta hit on guys like this every now and then.

Like Morris fine enough as TE3. In the next year or two they should draft a day three guy with traits to ensure the pipeline has at least some cheap young talent. Unlike some posters I've read on this thread, I value Gilliam as an occasional contributor at FB/H-Back and a stalwart on STs. He's not a stiff. Could easily age/price himself out any day now, but until such time, he offers more actual position value than another STs guy like Matekevich, or Taiwan Jones, did. Bills finally shrinking their STs-only portion of the cap allotment. I'm fine with Gilliam sticking around. Or not, I guess, if they deem necessary.

Why should the Bills be looking to bring back ANY of 2023's DTs or DEs who aren't already under contract? In a different salary cap world I could see a kind of NHL "bridge" deal offer for Epenesa (who isn't at all terrible) and a mid-market 2 year offer for a 33-year old Jones (who is kind of awesome when healthy, but is likely a combo of too old and expensive to fit our current constraints), but the current reality precludes expensive depth/rotational players, and all the other aforementioned linemen are vested vets who can be replaced by younger, cheaper JAGs. At DT I liked Settle when he was signed, and I liked Ford when he was signed. Neither really did squadoosh, unfortunately. Surely there are now MANY other such under-the-radar FA targets who are younger and cheaper. And moreover, the Bills need to draft at least one interior guy, if not two. Cheap talent to develop is a must when battling cap demons. At DE the Bills really only need one or two more guys total. Can you really replace Jonathan with someone cheaper and better via FA? The 4th guy should be a young draftee imho.

Thanks, I hate it LOL No offense, but 5 out of your first 6 picks are most likely backups, at best, in 2024. Mustapha COULD be a starter at S. MAYBE one of Van Pran or Keegan beats out Edwards at LG? While depth is bolstered across positions of need, I don't see impact players added here. And ZERO DTs??? Maybe Trice develops on the EDGE? The 2nd rd WR certainly doesn't project favorably as a future impact player. Wilson falls into that Quentin Johnson jump-ball/contested catch mold that does not historically translate well to the NFL. It's the same mold that creates a fascinating debate around Keon Coleman, who is a much more intriguing prospect overall.

This mock draft from Bleacher Report two days ago is reasonable for a trade-less assessment of prospect values and team needs. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10111542-2024-nfl-mock-draft-br-nfl-scouting-depts-post-combine-predictions Bills picks: 28 - Keon Coleman, WR FSU (Thomas doesn't come off board until 26 with Tampa -- so that's an interesting untapped opportunity) - pretty compelling arguments made in favor of his ability despite bad 40 time (including elite combine gauntlet top speed and technique). No doubt his elite hands and body control and underrated athleticism/untapped traits make him a fascinating projection debate. Noteworthy WRs to follow: 32 - Xavier Worthy to Kansas City (FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!) 33 - Adonai Mitchell to Carolina (potential alternative to Coleman at 28? Or enticement to trade back from 28?) 34 - Roman Wilson to New England (dynamic potential but not an ideal X prospect for Bills) 45 - Ja'Lynn Polk to New Orleans (Solid prospect) 48 - Ladd McConkey to Jacksonville (the Garrett Wilson comps are shockingly accurate) 54 - Jalen McMillan to Cleveland (lot of these solid WRs with solid size and solid athleticism and solid tape) 60 - Calen Bullock, S USC Noteworthy WRs to follow: 61 - Xavier Legette to Detroit (really interesting prospect with one year of high end production after quiet 5-year conversion to WR from QB) 63 - Malachi Corley to San Fran (cool fit for their RAC offense) 99 - Tupuola-Fetui, EDGE Washington (no DTs yet but no doubt pass rush needs high end investment for everyone always)

Don't like the idea in round one AT ALL, but absolutely see DeJean as a more talented/touted comp for Hyde. Versatile, athletic, productive, Iowa. What used to be seen as a tweener...now seen as a secondary asset. So we could reasonably assume McD is salivating.

At least three mentions of "wine and cheese crowd" in this post. I guess that's meant to stand for wealth, but brother, I am not a rich man and I LOVE wine and I REALLY LOVE cheese. This f&b combination has been helping humans stay sane for literal millennia. You might be underestimating demand for Bills season tickets during the Josh Allen experience. I don't deny my own apprehension at the coming PSL bull manure for my own season tickets. But what my family is planning is that the ownership and cost burden of our two tickets, currently owned by myself and my mother, will be expanded to include my sister and her husband in Chicago (both from WNY but making Chicago salaries). Bills tickets will still be cheap enough to justify travel and ticket expense for 2-4 home games for one or both of those two each season, when compared, for example, to Bears tickets. Maybe many Bills fans are already planning such expanded ticket shares to deal with the coming hikes. Conversely, current Bills season ticket holders should be considering the secondary market resale values of those choice games hosting major market teams and regional stalwarts, like Steelers, Packers, Cowboys, etc. I hate seeing the stadium overrun with opposing fans, but I definitely understand the math of it.

Maybe it's been said already, but I don't see many/any of these guys back on 1-year deals. They're all older and more expensive and less productive than what our cap situation allows for from rotational pieces on defense. The only two guys with real value, Jones and Epenesa, would be too expensive in 2024 without multiple years to backload and spread out the cap hit. Floyd proved he can be effective when healthy, but obviously didn't stay healthy. Gutted it out for many weeks, but at reduced effectiveness. So my answer is 0 or 1 of the guys on your list will come back on a 1-year deal. Maybe Settle or Lawson come back at the minimum? Mostly I doubt it. I'd expect mostly net new players brought in via free agency, draft, and rookie free agency.

This is an enlightened perspective. You have a negative opinion of the safety we just re-signed, but you also realize if we should EVER just defer to the team's braintrust on anything, it should be with their personnel decisions at safety. Doesn't mean McBeane are definitely correct, and you're definitely wrong, but does mean some humility is in order until definitively proven otherwise. Nice work. Can't disagree much with the D-line criticisms in first paragraph, but I DO disagree with the Diggs trade criticism in second paragraph. An ultra-competitive "alpha" type at WR was exactly what Allen and the other WRs needed on this team at that time. Diggs was a perfect addition. The offense took another major step forward once he arrived. His chemistry with Allen in those first two seasons helped 17 ascend to elite status. I suspect the ups and downs that we've seen since could even be beneficial to Allen's maturity and resilience long term **rosy outlook on this last point**

Thomas at 28 feels super unrealistic these days.

Love a LOT of this draft haul. Would be happy. Now check out this one with two modest trade-backs and what I think are ELITE results at multiple positions of need (WR, DT, S, and CB):

I also sometimes use TBD as a lazy search engine. Pro tip: instead of asking an easily searchable question (as you've done here), just start a topic with a flawed premise, like "The Bills shouldn't have cut Floyd given his 2024 dead cap hit" or some such bait. That oughta reel in the corrections right quick.

Who does? I've noticed PFN, who I like to use, has Worthy suddenly right behind Mitchell at 33 overall, and Franklin slipping even further back to like 48. Kinchens, at safety, has slid way back into the 50s after being a fringe 1st round guy. They've definitely made post-combine adjustments. Which models are lagging?

Who has 22M in cap space next year? Do you mean in 2025?

Easy little 1st rd trade back results in some favorable results imho: serious WR pipeline talent plus starters at S and DT, and other solid depth. Difficult to quarrel with this innit?

So it turns out Rapp was inactive for both playoff games?! I guess I remember that now that I've reminded myself via PFR, but how does that align with this recent re-signing?? Someone help me make sense of that super incongruent timeline.

That's a pretty safe assumption, and something we saw in the works as last season progressed. Many here have agreed that Rapp's performance seemed to stabilize as he saw more reps down the stretch. Not sure yet how the stats align with this perception, but my own late season observations agree. (I was in the stadium for the last two games, especially, so can't comment meaningfully on those without doing some research. SO difficult to keep up with the minutiae in person.)