WideNine

Beane talked a lot about wanting receivers who ran the correct routes to the right depth too. Beasley graded out very high on being exactly where he is supposed to be, when he is supposed to be there. It can't hurt for a young QB trying to learn to trust his quick reads to have this kind of receiver. I forget what video it was, but they were talking to Foster about the long TD he caught that Allen threw from under a pile of bodies. Foster said that Allen told him he would throw the ball right to the bottom of the 40 and that is exactly where the ball met Foster. It is uncanny how accurate his deep ball can be.

This actually cracks me up. I hope Allen does so well this year that the rest of the pundits start tripping over themselves trying to revise their doom to luke-warm predictions. Say what you want about Kiper, but he does not always follow the herd and takes some chances and heat for his opinions. I can respect that, even if he is waay off some times. Then you have McShay of the play it safe herd-mentality trying to backtrack...ahhhh the sweet aroma of crow for dinner.

You could be right... I think he has reversed course on past retirement comments. We will see.

Not sure if Rudolph has lived up to his draft status. When drafted thought he was more that limited flex receiving option TE and less an inline blocker. That was the case and he was even a bit slow to pickup the passing game at an NFL level. Over the years I think he has become a more complete TE, but perhaps the ceiling is not where the Vikings want it to be and 7 years in they should have a good idea on that. Probably the right idea to shop him to see what they can get...he works as a role player. A team like NE could pick him up on the cheap and figure out how to squeeze more production out of him I am sure with the Gronk-sized vacuum they have currently.

Not sure if that is completely fair. I think a many of us were just surprised that the Bills went RB at the top of the 3rd when they brought in the RB free agents they did and had as many on the roster that they had. As it stands they likely will have to make some roster moves. I was thinking maybe a RB in the 4th or later rounds that they could stash on the PS, but nothing more. Also hard to nail down a type when it comes to their draft board. Which also has less to do with the kid's talent and more to do with trying to get a handle on how this FO evaluates prospects. Singletary, unimpressive combine and measurables, roll the tape and you see amazing production and he ends up high on Beane's board. Knox, great measurables and combine showing, roll the tape and little to no production yet high enough on Beane's board to trade up into the 3rd to get him. What it shows you is that other than work ethic and character, there is not an easily predictable "type". The Bills really do a deep dive on these guys to project how successful they can be in the program the Bills want to run. It is not a narrow evaluation process of limited variables.

Not to borrow worry, but if the refs were calling "roughing the Brady" on just his shoulder pad getting tickled last season just wait till Oliver plants him going 90 miles an hour. Even if it is text book, the laundry is going to fly - Hughes will have to console his new line mate and explain the "unspoken rules" of playing in the AFC East. Not to wish injury on anyone, but I think after facing Oliver, Wilkins, and Williams 6X this coming season, odds are good that Brady decides to hang up those cleats and leave on top of his game rather than a gurney. He's 41 years old - it's time for AFC East teams to convince him to move on.

Not sure where I sit with the Star signing. Good player, but does not seem to be a fit for their 3T defensive tackle philosophy in a 4 man front who are normally expected to get up field rather than collect and absorb blockers. When you hear Frazier talk about him your brain thinks space eating NT... the guy is not slacking, on some All 22 reviews it is clear that he did occupy a lot of double-teams. It's a curious thing and I have to take a closer look at how they use him this year, where he lines up and with what personnel packages.

Trade for picks, and try to do whatever NE does to work the comp system to get 9+ picks a year Beane. I think you are spot on. Don't just let players still under deals to walk for nada. They may not be a fit for the Bills, but injuries and such always leave a few teams with desperate holes to fill early.

Fort Knox....you know he's money, he's gold. A bit early, but he could grow into his nickname potential

Oliver is explosive. The only knock on him was when Houston lined him up in a 0 technique at nose where it allowed him to get tangled up with a center and then blown off his base with the late double team from either guard. He's a gap-shooting 3T all the way, McDermott and every defensive coordinator that runs the 4-3 as their base knows it. In space over a gap, with his power, and how low his pad level is when he fires out of his stance, he will be very difficult for offensive linemen to get any kind of meaningful position or leverage against to block him. I am expecting a backfield wrecking ball, that will disrupt timing, force RB's to change direction into pursuit. There is always the "if" factor with any drafted prospect, but none can fault this staff for not going after exactly what the defensive line needed. Pressure off the edge opposite Hughes may still be an issue, but we will see .

Maybe Darryl Johnson edge guy we took in the 7th? Small school, but the kid has the size, frame, and bend off the edge. He dominated against inferior competition, but that is what you are looking for at small schools, guys that other teams had to focus on quite a bit that still won their matchups. They will hit the NFL nutrition and strength regimen with him and it will be interesting to see if they found another diamond in the rough.

Thanks for the assist hemma was getting the business from the wife to get off my phone and in a rush. Fixed.

Pretty objective piece. I like the kid and he's young and has room to grow into his game. Interesting to see how much Daboll works him into the offense. With Kroft on board the Bills can ease this kid's into his development and not overwhelm him out of the gate.

Saw another Dallas article where they were comparing him to Witten...not too shabby for any TE. Poor QB play, and too little involvement in the offense could explain the poor catch ratio. I like how he catches the ball on his clips where he is catching the ball. Away from his body with pretty good form. Kid seems pretty fearless too, no KB-esk alligator-arming passes because he sees the safety coming into view. I think we may have a keeper, and trying to stay cautiously optimistic. Been years since I looked forward this much for a season to get rolling.

I am so not going to go down that rabbit hole - we killed that topic to death with Allen. I would say both Iowa and Ol' Miss QBs leave a bit to be desired. Nate Stanley for IA is streaky, when he is hot he looks like a QB who could climb up the draft over 2019, then there are the other games. Ta'amu went undrafted and considering the wealth of talent he had at receiver and the quality of his offensive line one can make their own judgement call on what the NFL talent evaluators felt about his ability to read defenses, timing, ball placement, and arm strength. We have a lot of unknowns with Knox lets just leave it at that - too early for anyone to know for sure what we have. I was only adding some cautionary information on what I am going to be looking at when they use this kid - does he have soft hands, what kind of catch radius does he show us, and can he catch contested balls in traffic (if he brings any of that nasty streak he shows blocking into the latter it will be a given).

I think if Fant had played at Ol' Miss he would have been used as a big WR on the outside stretching defenses or as a red zone mismatch with a limited passing tree. Unlike the Hawkeye approach to the position, Ol' Miss coaches seem to be of that old school mindset of TE's block first and very occasionally serve as outlets or decoys which may in and of itself explain much of the lack of production from Knox from the position. The only real concern I have with Knox is his hands with the 15 catches to 28 targets. So I am tapping the brakes on folks saying just because his height, weight, and speed (measurables) are comparable he is a Hockenson prospect clone. Hock dropped one pass thrown his way last year I think - so yeah, he has hands. He also has had arguably better coaching reading defenses and running routes that pro TEs should know how to run. Not saying Knox cannot develop as a receiver as he seems pretty fluid and athletic when he releases, and just like Hock he is a redshirt jr. just that there may be quite a bit of learning curve before we have a better idea what his ceiling may look like. I will be watching Hockenson as well to see if he lives up to the hype in Detroit. Curious priority for a team that could not figure out how to use Ebron, but we will see if they break their next shiny toy.

Maybe sans the whole 11 kids by 10 different mothers thing. Travis had that run-you-over at the line thing going on, but Singletary really reminds me a bit of Thurman Thomas in those quick few lateral skip steps he has that make the first man miss - then a decisive burst forward (not dancing back there). Has a little Shady in how he uses slight shoulder fakes and hesitation to create or widen the creases to get through as well. He looks like a kid that is good at avoiding the few defenders that may come free on a run blitz and not get stopped in the backfield.

I think Thurmal dropped because of concerns with the knee injury he had in college. His combine numbers were not shabby at all I think and somewhat better than Singletary's in many categories (not knocking Singletary - just keeping it real). Thurman was considered a 1st round target for many prior to his fall to the 2nd round of the draft and kept Barry Sanders on the bench at Oklahoma. 4.47 - 40 yd 2.59 - 20 yd split 1.61 - 10 yd split 4.21 - 20 yd shuttle

I don't get too wrapped around the axle with running backs, even elite running backs will stall behind sub par offensive lines. You fix the line, your backs will find daylight. With that in mind, the thing I like to look for is whether a prospect loses the handle and fumbles too often, or does he have a history of injuries, is there any blocking foundation to build upon, and does he have soft enough hands to catch out of the backfield. Singletary seems durable and I am sure with the injection of maulers in the trenches and with better coaching the Bills will have more success running the ball with all our running backs. The size does not bother me too much as I always liked those low center of gravity runners who will get lost behind the big bodies then squirt out for a bunch of yards. Also we already have players who can fill the role of the short yardage bangers on the roster. Will be interesting to watch this kid grow and to see if the Bills move any RBs currently on the roster.

He may have not been at the top of their board at RB, but there was a bit of a run on the position and perhaps their board was getting a bit thin at RB a position they were determined to inject with some youth. The Bills only brought in Darrell Henderson and Miles Sanders for official pre-draft visits, but there were 27 teams in attendance at the Iowa State pro-day to see RB Montgomery too. After they moved up to the 6th spot to nab Ford in the 2nd they held the 11th pick in the 3rd. During that wait Miles went 21st in the 2nd, and Henderson went to the Rams on the 6th pick of the 3rd, and Montgomery right before their 11th pick to the Bears. Probably felt they had to pull the trigger when they did, so I get it. Wishing "Motor" much success.

Yep, and Beane explained that there were some guys they liked that did not fall to them and that they were trying hard to stick to their board - It happens. Seems like a good kid and I am rooting for him and hope that the ?'s marks around his game can be coached up. And yes, I am glad they went after a TE who can block and provide some kind of passing threat. Excited for this season. Think it is going to be all about teaching Allen that he does not have to do it all to be successful.

I think he was their plan B after Josh Oliver. They swapped with Detroit to get in front of us early in the 3rd, but the Jags took J. Oliver. Right after that NE traded down and we took our RB. We later traded back into the 3rd in front of NE and took Knox who was probably on their radar.

Amazing to me that the Ryan's old man Buddy was known as a team disciplinarian who ran a tight ship. And Wrecks ran the NFL's version of Animal House.

Josh Oliver TE.... NE and apparently the Jags both had him targeted. Understand the confusion....will edit.

That is where I am at. I am still a bit salty that we did not move up enough to get in front of the Jags and grab Josh Oliver, and I feel the RB in the 3rd was a bit of a reach where he was taken. The measurables are a head-scratcher, but he seems to be baller when you look at the tape, just think he would have been there in the 4th, but who knows - maybe they had some intel that he was being targeted by another team and he was BPA there for more than the Bills. I was pretty vocal about the guys I wanted at TE and we didn't get them - moving on. I am not such a homer that I will simply ignore Knox's lack of TD's or the catching ratio of 15 to 28 targets in 2018; Those two things concern me and rightfully so. It is not like Beane and Co. never make mistakes (exhibit A. Kelvin Benjamin). It is alright to doubt some of their decisions, does not mean that I do not like the direction overall that they are taking this franchise. Re: Knox, he does have very similar measurables to Hockenson, is a decent blocker in space, and did not come out of a school that is known for coaching up their TE's so maybe the untapped potential is there - sure hands are a big deal for me if you plan to run a lot of spread offense and need to move the sticks in increments. I am not going to do the chicken little thing and say the sky is falling, I love what we are doing with the trenches and I am chill with waiting to see where this goes.