Yantha

I want a TE as well. Take a good look at my sleeper pick from Stanford, PARKINSON.

I've got 3 guys top of mind in round 2. DT Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma: We have to stop the run, and our interior D-line is pretty up there in age. A youth infusion is needed. WR Michael Pittman, USC: There are plenty of WR's that we could draft in round 3 and still have great VALUE, but if Gallimore and Akers are gone, I'm looking at Pittman. RB Cam Akers, Florida State: I think he's the perfect compliment to Singletary, and would bring some thunder in short yard and red zone situations.

Here's my final, post-FA Bills mock. I went into the draft looking for several needs and thought OL would be a high pick. However, the draft didn't fall that way. I think I'd be happy with this. OL would need some post-draft FA love, but I DO like the talent added. I've never thought that drafts should be used to fix all of a team's problems. I say that drafts should be used primarily to add youth behind aged starters first and foremost, and the fill "needs" secondly. I think this draft fills both (but but DL, Edge, OL not addressed). Just look at the talent below though... I mean holy crap... I used the CBS Composite big board, and the fanspeak.com platform for this mock. Round 2: RB Cam Akers, Florida State: I do think that Singletary is a good back, but in this league, you don't have a workhorse back anymore. Interestingly, D'Andre Swift is almost always available for our second round pick. I'm really wondering how that will play out. In this mock, Dobbins was also there, but honestly, I think Akers is the best back for the Bills. Tough runner and good change of pace to Singletary. Round 3: WR Chase Claypool, Notre Dame: Excellent "get" with Diggs in free agency, but with our other two underwhelming "starters" being 30+ in age, I strongly think that the Bills need to dip a toe into the WR draft pool, as deep as it is. Claypool would easily be a second, even low first rounder in most draft years, so this is a both a value pick and a need pick for the future of the franchise. We need the youth for longevity at the position. Round 4: S Brandon Jones, Texas: While I do think we have one of the better safety tandems in the league, we are an injury away from a deep hole in our defense. Both starters are 30+ in age and we need a guy who can be an heir apparent while also adding options for Dime packages, and a boost to special teams. Heck, Jones in the 4th round sounds too good to be true in my opinion. I doubt he lasts to the 4th, but how can you pass on this guy in the 4th for this mock. Again, a youth need for an old position. Round 5: TE Devin Asiasi, UCLA: Devin is my jewel in the rough pick. Watching film on this guy is impressive, and he could surprise many at the next level. This is a good developmental pick for me, and could add another rotational option at the position. Round 6: ILB Jacob Phillips, LSU: Why oh why do I keep on seeing Jacob Phillips ranked so low on draft boards?? Can somebody help me with this? Definitely underrated player on a championship team! Anyways, adding Phillips would be awesome here in the deep six. He could very well be a star in the NFL IMO. Boom or bust? I think boom. Round 6b: CB John Reid, Penn St.: I'm glad we addressed CB in free agency, and I think that adding another CB with potential, and time to coach up would be a good idea. Reid has been a playmaker for Penn St. and I've got my eye on him for a late round option. Total ball hawk!!! Round 7: FS Shyheim Carter, Alabama: For the same reasons I went with Brandon Jones in round 4, Carter fits the bill as another guy that can add insurance and youth to the position, be brought along slowly, help out in packages, and special teams, and has potential to start eventually. This is a "future" pick.

Pretty hard to argue against taking this kid at 22. Awesome talent.

I'll just leave this here... lol...

Okay here's my first crack at it. Round 1 (P22): WR Tee Higgins, Clemson I have WR as a major need in this draft, due to the lack of having an "elite" WR on the roster, and the fact that both of our starters are going to be 30+ years old during the 2020 season. Our depth is not great, and we have yet another WR on the roster over 30. We need youth, and this is a deep WR draft. I think we can land some amazing starters and depth. Let's get WR greedy! Round 2 (P22): RB J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State RB was also very "old" these past few years and while I like Singletary, I'm not totally sold that he's "THE" guy. Dobbins could give us a one two punch, and I like Dobbins' running style. Round 3 (P22): WR Devin Duvernay, Texas Round 4 (P22): WR Collin Johnson, Texas I'm lumping these two together for obvious reasons. These two were so much fun to watch in Texas. The fanspeak.com mock tool allows these guys to drop in rounds 3 and 4 and if that ACTUALLY happens, I'd be very happy. I'd carry SIX WR's on the roster and cut the fat. Also, ALL of these are taller than our current targets... (Even I'm taller.... ). Will make for more difficult red zone match ups etc. Move those chains. Round 5 (P9): S Jordan Fuller, Ohio State Poyer and Hyde are very good. Love the tandem. However, I'm not liking our depth and I always worry about injury to the starters, especially at their age. Fuller could be brought along, and be a potential heir-apparent. Round 5 (P21): MLB Jacob Phillips, LSU For the life of me, I have no idea why Phillips continues to be overlooked on big boards. Landing Phillips in round 5 would be a huge steal, and he would be an instant upgrade on our special teams units as well as add great depth at the MLB position. Round 6 (P9): DT Robert Landers, Ohio State Round 6 (P22): DE D.J. Wonnum, South Carolina Round 6 (P28): DT Tyler Clark, Georgia I go DL in round 6, not by "automatic" choice, but it just fell that way. Our DT position needs a youth infusion and and we need to address the pass rush as well. If this is how the draft fell, we would still need to address the OL, CB, and OLB/DE via free agency. That was fun.....

Most years I'd be all over this. But this year, I'm interested in zero FA WR's. Mainly because our top two WR's are going to be on the wrong side of 30 this season, and this upcoming draft is stacked with WRs with value right through round 6. I can't look at the WR's who will likely want too much money, and/or have injury histories etc while we could use some FA targeting money for other positions like O-line (IMO our greatest FA need).

Yep. I agree. I also like Swift as the best option in round one. I'm also liking Dobbins and Helaire. Outside of that, I'm not sure really. As for WR, I'd even be fine with selecting THREE.... Our top 2 guys are long in the tooth by NFL terms and we can do better. I like the TALLER guys...... No more short targets!!

Looking at Singletary's stats from last year and comparing them to Gordons over the past two, a few things stand out to me: 1. Singletary's yards per carry is 5.1 last year, while Gordon MAY be in a decline in that area. Worth the risk/gamble? 2. Gordon is a bit better as a receiver. 3. Overall, Gordon (IMO) would not be a major upgrade to Singletary and would very likely want a paycheque ABOVE his production worth so for those reasons, I'd say no thanks. Really, all along I've thought that we ought to consider RB as early as round 1. There are some great options into round 3 as well. I hope we draft RB early and add some youth to the position.

Hey guys and gals, I love this article! Thanks for posting. I think that the most subjective view that is, let's say "underreported" is that arguably Allen's biggest achilles heel is his lack of ELITE talent at WR or TE, plus he had an aging RB (plus an emerging Singletary) that didn't strike fear in opposing defenses. Defenses could sit back a little more comfortably IMO, and cover the pass. And Brown/Beasley didn't "strike fear" either in my humble opinion. Personally, I think that if we throw more than two early draft picks (even round 1 and 2) at WR, that's a step in the right direction. Adding competition at TE would help too. I'm a big Allen fan, and I think that he can be one of the better QB's in this league if we just give him some targets who can get open and are more than 5'11" tall. Draft two speedy, shifty WR's on the taller side, and watch Allen take a few more steps forward in production! Also, another take on decision making. Is it possible that the appearance of Allen having poor decision making skills is a symptom of not seeing any open receivers? Just putting it out there for discussion. I know Allen is to blame for some blown plays too.

That's good news. Nice to see that some of our younger talent is making names for themselves.

Thanks WRR! I do see OL as the biggest FA need for sure. Our passing D was not bad, and even if we left CB alone, we'd be okay I think. However, upgrading a nice tandem for White OR adding a better Nickel would bring out CB group from good to "Superbowl Good" (which is what we all want right? . ) I've been playing around on fanspeak.com lately and there are quality WR pickups right into the 4th round, so I'm hoping to add some youth to our WR group as early as round 1. Some targets in each round (likely to change after the combine): Brackets: Round 1: Tee Higgins Clemson, or Justin Jefferson LSU, and Ceedee Lamb sometimes slips. However, if we go RB, DL, Edge in round one there's plenty of talent in later rounds, which is why I say we shouldn't PAY for a veteran WR in the FREE AGENCY this year, especially for an injury prone older WR. Round 2: I like Michael Pittman Jr. USC as a potential target in round 2, and in some simulations he slips to the 3rd round. Round 3: I'm looking into WR Lynn Bowden from Kentucky, but I need to see him at the combine. Round 4: I like the two Texas WR's Devin Duvernay, and Collin Johnson, as well as well as Quartney Davis from Texas A&M.

I always differentiate between DRAFT needs vs. FA needs. I look at the 2019 roster and look at how many players are 29+ in age in any given player category (WR, DE etc....). I also look at previous drafts to see if any quality young players were added to shore up youth behind the older vets. Then I make a list of DRAFT needs based on that info. I also look at the STATS in certain categories to see where the team is weakest. Clearly, the biggest weakness last year was PASSING YARDS (ranked 26th in the league): mainly related to QB, OL, WR, TE. However the sacks allowed was reasonable (but not great...), so I see the biggest need to be WR and TE, followed by OL. Our top two WR's are 29 or older and just average ability. WR is a huge need, but IMO it's a DRAFT NEED, not an FA need. Contrast that with our starting OL (all are fairly young). Here are our DRAFT NEEDS (IMHO) in order of greatest need to least need: WR (as many as 3...) Edge OLB - Alexander's retirement RB FB DT (as many as 2) DE (as many as 2) Safety (as many as 2) K DEPTH NEEDS: TE OT OG MLB QB Yes, this is a lot, and there's no way we address everything in one draft. It will depend on who falls to us in each round's bracket of players. AS FOR THE FREE AGENCY, I look at weaknesses at position groups that are YOUNG right now (OT, OG, OC, CB). So.... my final answer for the original post is TWO FA's from that position group (although OL is a bigger need than CB I think)... 1. OT Anthony Castonzo or Bryan Bulaga 2. CB Chris Harris, Logan Ryan, or Prince Amukamara