GASabresIUFan

It's certainly possible he goes earlier, but he isn't exactly reliable hands wise. Lots of drops. Here is a pretty good review of his game. https://collegefootballnetwork.com/matthew-golden-scouting-report/#:~:text=Matthew Golden's combination of strength,in he 2025 NFL Draft.&text=Texas Longhorns star receiver Mathew,Day 2 prospect to watch. A later round sleeper - Tai Felton. Excellent speed and very productive at Maryland. We've had some success with a WR from Maryland. 4.38 speed. 6'1" NFL combine page projects as depth in the NFL, but I saw him multiple times against my Hoosiers and he is a very good WR who gets open. Stat line: 96 catches for 1124 yard and 9 TDs. Very underrated prospect IMHO. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/tai-felton/32004645-4c74-6837-2f7c-6dbeb6fa58ca

Why do you say that? Worthy was there for us last year had we not traded the pick. Golden is projected as a late 1st early 2nd. His speed at the combine is not a surprise. Bond's 4.4 is perfect for him to fall to us late in the second. He is an excellent route runner and knows how to get open.

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/buffalo-bills/2025/02/buffalo-bills-2025-nfl-combine-prospect-meeting-tracker-latest-news-reports-and-notes.html Here is a list of players the Bills have talked to at the combine. I am curious about how many of the guys they talked to last season at the combine they ended up drafting. Some of the guys on the list I understand their interest, but some of the others …..

I like Porter but you left out Hairston from Kentucky. He ran 4.28. Also had a nearly 4O in vertical. He is a likely 2nd rd pick. https://sports.yahoo.com/article/kentucky-cb-maxwell-hairston-posts-015348001.html He is Taiwan Jones’ cousin. Watch out for Quincy Riley later in the draft. Ran a decent 4.48 and made a ton of plays at Louisville including in run support.

Schobel - 78 sacks in only 133 games. 2 time pro-bowler and one time AP Mario Williams 43 in 63 games, but 4 seasons is not a career. Still 2 time Pro-Bowlers as a Bills and 2 time AP as a Bill. I give the edge to Schobel because he is a career Bill.

Indiana DT CJ West just ran a 4.95 40 at 315 Lbs. Was great for IU this year and showed well against OSU and ND. He is someone to watch.

Edmunds stats Age 20 2018 80 solo tackles, 41 Ast tackles for 121 total tackles (also the most tackles of his career) Williams stats Age 23 2024 68 Solo tackles, 49 ast tackles for 117 total tackles

Like any database, garbage in, garbage out.

It's not about the coach vs first class, it's about a 6-5 350 OL trying to fit himself in a seat design for a 5-10 175 person. I once flew with Leon Seals in the seat next to me and I have never seen someone so unconformable in my life. I have full sympathy for those lineman and taller players.

The problem against KC was not getting pressure on the Mahomes. I don't know the pressure rates exactly from the KC game, but they looked worse then the mediocre stats outlined below. This is from the Rochester paper. https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/football/nfl/bills/2025/02/07/buffalo-bills-defense-needs-a-game-wrecker-can-nfl-draft-provide-one/78286267007/

Cook was in PFF's top 101 NFL players for 2024. His 4.9 yards per carry was 5th behind Barkley, Henry, Gibbs & Irving. He had 2800 yards+ from scrimmage the last 2 years plus 24 TDs. He is without question the 2nd best skill player on the team behind Josh. Only 16 RBs hit 1000 yards last season while 22 WRs accomplished the feat. It's pretty clear that WRs are now very overpaid and RBs underpaid. That will be changing. Nearly all the playoff teams had balanced offenses and that doesn't happen without a good running game. Pay the man, he's earned the extension. It's not like the contract will be forever. Give him the same deal you gave Shakir and lock down a critical piece of your offense. By the way here is a good trivia question. Who has carried the ball more between college and the NFL, Ray Davis or James Cook? Ray Davis - 859 carries to Cook's 763. Davis had 746 carries in college alone. Just food the thought.

LMAO, so don't respond and you are completely wrong. If Beane gets him for under 15 mill we should all celebrate, but if Shakir is worth 15 so is Cook.

Actually 16 games (he didn't play against NE) and he did it on only 207 carries. Barkley carried the ball almost 140 more times than Cook last season. Cook's 4.9 yards per carry were 5th behind Henry, Barkley, Gibbs, and Irving. The reason he wasn't on the field was plain stupidity by Brady. Cook was the most dominate player on either side of the ball for both teams against KC and Brady simply stopped calling his number. Stupid. We win that game if Brady leaves Cook in the game. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry against KC and 16.3 yards per catch. He was also 3 for 3 on targets. Nice try!

I am all for locking up Shakir. He is a very important safety blanket for Josh. As I have pointed out many times, he was second in the NFL in YA; second only to Chase. However he also ran the shortest routes of any starting slot receiver in the NFL last season. He averaged only about 2 to 3 yards of air on his receptions. I'm perfectly happy he was re-signed, but he isn't exactly a down the field threat. If I'm comparing who is more critical to the success of the offense, Cook vs Shakir, Cook is way more valuable.

Really, if anyone can run behind a great Oline, why was Davis a yard a carry less (3.9) then Cook (4.9)? Why then in the playoffs did Cook rush the ball 53 times to Davis' 7 when during the regular season Davis received about 50% of the carries Cook received? (Cook 207 to Davis 113). I don't think I'm the one who is off base here.

Hard to know. If it is, then they lack the necessary depth at WR and RB to survive. Overpaying a No. 1 receiver is a good way not to be able to afford adequate depth.

Yep and they need an elite RB to make it work.

and teams are getting almost zero bang for the buck.

I'm not saying don't sign Shakir. I like the signing. What I am saying is that people need to re-think the group think of top flight RBs are a dime a dozen. They aren't and the best teams seem to have good RBs. The truth is WRs are a dime a dozen and they burn out just like RBs do. My greatest criticism of Beane was for failing to invest premium picks on skill players to support Josh. He finally started doing it with Cook, Coleman and Kincaid the last 3 drafts. Now people want to throw away Cook because they think, wrongly, that he's easily replaced. They argue that any 4th rd RB can so the same job. How did Singletary and Moss work out? Why were all the top 6 rushers in the NFL last year top 2 round players. Why are 6 of 8 elite RBs listed in the PFF grade 1st and 2nd rd players? The answer is pretty simple, the scouts do know what they are doing and premium picks are premium picks for a reason. The bottom line is keep your best players if you can.

This is the problem with conventional thinking about any sport. The Bills score 30-31 points a game. That equates to about 4 TDs and a FG. To produce those points, the Bills need to average about 370 yards per game or about 6300 yards per season. Why do I care where the yards come from as long as I get the yardage? Why would I pay 15 mill for a 900 yard WR if I can get a 1400 yard RB for the same price who is effective in both the running game, protecting the QB and the passing game? There was 27 WRs last season costing their teams $15 mill or more in cap. Only one of the 27 produced 1400+ yards and only 3 produced 1250 yards. Only 4 of the 27 produced double digits in TDs. That doesn't seem like a good allocation of limited cap space.

The pendulum is swinging back toward the RBs. With the exception of KC, nearly all the playoff teams had a nearly 50/50 run pass balance. Some of that was helped by mobile QBs like Allen, Hurts and Lamar, but so did the performance of gifted backs like Robinson, Cook, Barkely, Henry etc... Also their were only 16 1000 yard backs last year vs 22 1000 yard receivers.

So Shakir is worth $15 mill a season and Cook isn't LOL. Shakir has 1443 yards and 6 TDs the last 2 season on 148 touches. Cook has 2834 yards and 24 TDs the last 2 season on 520 touches, has made 2 Pro Bowls and was just voted to the NFL top 101 players by PFF. People who want to trade Cook instead of extending his contract need to re-think their priorities. I'm glad our management is finally investing in our drafted and developed skill players. It's long overdue.

If I can get Egbuka at 30, I draft him.

These numbers are probably close given how deep last year's WR class was. Worthy was the 5th WR taken in 2024 with pick 28. Then Pearsall (6th), Legette (7th), Coleman (8th), McConkey (9th), and Polk (10th) with picks 31 to 37. Egbuka and Golden would fit in nicely with that group.

Oh good, another trade Cook thread. Maybe just maybe we should invest in a player other than Allen who is central to all parts of the offense. I'm not saying sign him to a ten year extension, but is $15 mill so out of whack for a player who racks up 1400+ yards from scrimmage and is critical to both the running and passing game. Let's put that contract into perspective. There were 27 WRs costing over 15 mill last year. How many of those 27 contributed 1400 yards of offense? One! Only Justin Jefferson. How many of these overpaid WRs had over 1250 yards? 3 - Jeudy, St Brown and Jefferson. The best WRs touch the ball about 100-120 times a season. Cook, even in a rotation, is touching the ball 250 times. I'd rather pay Cook 15 mill per season for years 5-7, then waste 15 mill+ on a "No. 1" WR. (Cooks years 1-4 are his rookie contract). https://overthecap.com/position/wide-receiver https://www.nfl.com/stats/player-stats/category/receiving/2024/REG/all/receivingyards/DESC Maybe, just maybe, we should keep a star offensive player that we drafted and developed. Given McD's comments on Cook, I suspect management feels like I do. As to the draft, draft a WR early and another late and lets see if some cheap spaghetti sticks. With the other premium picks get a DL and a CB. If Johnson walks, grab a RB mid to late to add talent to the depth. I like GA's Etienne as a replacement for Johnson.