GASabresIUFan

Yes there is. I do wonder if they'd trade us Bo Melton. He isn't a core player for them and he really stepped up and played well when called upon late last season. However with Reed, Doubs, Watson and Wicks, he is 5th in the pecking order.

What about Michael Thomas?

Eric Wood says it's going fine. I'll take his word for it.

I've been defending Beane WR strategy this off-season, but that does look awful. I guess Beane will be looking at other team's cuts. I guess it's Hamler time or Shaver surprise. The only silver lining is that they'll be working with Josh and maybe we'll get to see them in a better light without Trubisky throwing to them. Getting Bishop and Edwards back practicing at safety is good news.

Did you look at last year’s PS before you wrote this? Last year’s PS contained some vets like Ty Johnson and Isabella, but most were young guys they were looking to develop like Ingram and Shavers but not necessarily Bills draftees. It doesn’t change the NFL roster categories. The draftees they keep on the roster are still expected to contribute at least on special teams unless they are OL.

I’ve been a Bills fan all my life, but this is the first year I’ve been really following the roster creation. I was fascinated by how Beane was going to extricate the Bills from cap hell and then build a quality team with 60 mill in dead cap. I’ve been wondering if we should sub-divide our 53 man roster to have a special category for ST primary players like Gilliam, Cam Lewis, Neal, Matekevich, Morris last season. These guys played 15% or less on offense/defense while playing 70% or more of the ST snaps. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are 5 types of players on a roster 1) Starters 2) Rotational players - who rotate in especially at WR, TE, DT and DE. 3) Backups who don’t play unless needed - usually OL 4) Backups who play on special teams - often LBs, S, CBs, WRs 5) Special teams specialists - LS, Punter, PK, KR, and the aforementioned guys like Gilliam etc… Given the youth on this roster, I think we’ll see more rotational players than usual. For example, I can see Williams and Deion Jones rotating at LB depending on whether it’s a running play and passing down.

Lol, Cook was 10th in rushing attempts and 19th in pass targets. Not exactly over-usage as your comment implies. The reason he was high on the RBs list was because he had the 4th best average per rush of the 1000 yard rushers and his 10.1 yards per catch was the best, by a yard or more, of the top 25 targeted running backs. The reason he was so high on the RBs list because he was extremely effective. FYI: He was also 3rd in NFL RBs in success% on rushing attempts at 55.7% and he was the top RB in Success % at 59.3%. Success% is basically a stat to show how effective a player is, aka is he moving the sticks. The player (RB/WR/TE) needs to get 40% of the yardage needed to move the chains on 1st down, 60% on 2nd down and 100% on 3rd or 4th down for the play to considered a success. By comparison McCaffrey’s success % on rushing attempts was 54% and on pass catches was 55.4%.

I also like Davidson over MVS. Conventional wisdom says no, but if you think of Kincaid more as a WR than TE, it’s easier to envision. Something like this. TE (3) Knox, Morris, Davidson TE/WR Hybrid - Kincaid WR (4) Shakir, Samuel, Coleman, Hollins The biggest issue is speed. MVS brings deep speed. Without MVS, only Samuel remains with that kind of speed. My guess is Beane goes with a veteran deep threat (MVS) over a 4th TE, especially if he thinks he can get Davidson to the PS.

Here is the best news. There is no way on G-d’s green earth that our very competent GM is going to trade his Pro Bowl RB on a rookie deal two weeks before the season for a draft pick. I know facts don’t matter here, but….. Cook was 3rd in yards from scrimmage last year. He was 8th in total yards receiving by RB’s but his 10.1 yards per catch was the best of the top receivers. He caught over 80% of his targets and this was on par with guys like B. Hall, McCaffery, Etienne, and better than others like Bijon Robinson. His 4 receiving TDs was 3rd to McCaffery and Ford. Cook was 4th in rushing yards and his 4.7 yards per carry was 4th highest among 1000 yard rushers.

You have Jonathan out, list 5 DE’s, but slot for 6. Who is the 6th?

Boy, they dislike Mitch almost as much as the we do.

By the way I love what one of the commentators said about Andreessen. He said he is joining the Bills' UB UDFA development program with graduate Lewis, soon to graduate Ingram and now Andreessen.

So we should trade Kincaid and Shakir this off-season? What about Benford and Benard? Do they need to go as well? Considering it's been 20 years since we drafted a RB in the 2nd round with Cook's kind of production, I would say that's a high replacement cost.

You just don't dispose of your good young players as soon as they become good for the uncertainty of a draft pick. Davis is here to help limit the work load for Cook. He is here to help in short yardage and add an additional weapon for Josh. I love the Davis Pick as I saw him play at UK and Vandy, but this kid has logged a ton of miles as a college RB. He isn't here to replace Cook, but to compliment him. Beane has been looking for this type pair since he drafted Singletary and then added Moss the next draft. That pair didn't quite work out. I'm more hopeful for this pair. The closest Bills comparison to how I think this is going to work is the Thurman Thomas/ Kenneth Davis pair. Granted Cook isn't Thomas, but I think the analogy works. The best thing about the current RB room, is that the team has confidence in all 3 players and I can easily see Davis or Johnson stepping up and succeeding if Cook gets hurt.

LOL - Beane, one of the best GM's in the NFL disagrees with your "rules." Between 2019 and 2022 (4 drafts), Beane used a 3rd on Singletary, a 3rd on Moss and a 2nd on Cook. I do agree with the general premise in today's NFL that you don't draft RBs in the 1st rd, but the rest of your rules make literally no sense, especially for a team trying to get to the Super Bowl.

As to the OP - keep your day job. Let's go over this again. Cook, in his 2nd year in the NFL, was 3rd in yards from scrimmage by a RB in the entire NFL. He was a Pro Bowl selection. Cook is an excellent receiver, has a fantastic burst and average 4.7 yards a carry. He is also 24. (25 in a month). The key to longevity in the NFL is tread on the tire. Cook only has only carried the ball 230 (college) plus 326 in the NFL. That's 556 carries over the last 6 years. That is not a heavy work load. Cook benefitted from UGA's rotational backfield. Now let's compare to Davis. In 5 years in college, Davis carried the ball 746 times (that's 500 more college carries than Cook). He is also only 6 weeks younger than Cook. Davis is definitely here is lessen Cook's workload and hopefully keep both players healthy and productive, but don't be fooled. Davis has less tread on the tire after being the workhorse back for 3 different universities in college (Temple, Vandy and UK). Cook is much more likely to get a 2nd NFL contract from the Bills than Davis. By the time Davis gets to his 2nd contract he'll already be nearly 29. Cook will only be nearly 27. Trading Cook for a 2nd or 3rd round pick now right after he established himself as a Pro Bowl running back is just dumb. When was the last time the Bills drafted a RB who had a season similar to Cook's with a 2nd or 3rd round pick? The answer is Travis Henry in 2001. So lets trade Cook and wait 20 years to replace him. Sounds like a great strategy.

I'm sure Colin Kaepernick's agent has already contacted the Bills. Maybe the Falcons will trade Taylor Heinicke to the Bills for a 6th.

Who? Who in camp has impressed you and makes you think he could be a major cog in the offense or step up if one of the top receivers is injured? Hamler? Shavers? Shorter? MVS? Isabella? Maybe one of these guys has done something during practice to convince management that they are worthy of a roster spot, but I doubt anyone of them will have an impact on the roster even if they make the team.

Have we? Who have we really missed out on? Shakir has developed nicely. We got everything we could from McKenzie. Ray-Ray McCloud? Hodgins?

That’s all they kept last year.

He is definitely on the bubble, especially as Smoot can move inside.

Fixed

No. Coleman is WR3 and Hollins WR4.

Tannehill is unlikely to sign here even if offered. Tannehill is likely waiting for the first major QB injury so that he can jump into a starting role. Think Flacco last year.