DapperCam

He was a raw prospect drafted because of his ceiling. I don't think route success in his rookie season when he was injured for a good chunk of it will really tell us if he'll work out long term. We just have to cross our fingers and hope he hits that ceiling. This graphic does confirm something I saw, that Coleman is awesome catching a quick slant out of the slot. It's almost undefendable if they get the right look presnap.

I’m not saying Beane did a bad job. He is operating under cap constraints, and we are always picking at the end of the first round due to our success. I’m just not understanding the notion that our defense will be much better than last year. Based on our additions I think it will be about the same as last year (which was kind of average league-wide, and below average compared to most of the playoff teams). If the following happens, our defense will be excellent, but it depends on a lot of bets paying off. 1. Hairston steps into a starting boundary corner spot right away and plays well. 2. Bosa stays healthy all year and is a step up from the corpse of Von Miller. 3. Milano is healthy after a full offseason and is back to his Pro Bowl form. 4. Taron Johnson regains his previous All-Pro level of play. 5. Rousseau, Benford and Bernard don’t regress at all after securing the bag. Some guys just lose their hunger (see: Oliver, Ed). 6. Hoecht provides some nice pass rush, similar to Leonard Floyd when we signed him. 7. Benford doesn’t regress at all after multiple concussions. 8. The Safety position has some pairing stand out and play well. It can’t be Rapp and Hamlin as a pair again. Beane seems to be betting that some combination of Forrest, Bishop, Hancock and Rapp will work. That has yet to be seen. 9. Some combination of Carter, Sanders, Walker and Ogunjobi can outperform Daquan Jones. Beane has done what he can with limited resources. Basically trying to put guys in positions where they can grow into a role. But it’s a big question mark to me.

Most of those drafted guys you listed didn’t have great rookie seasons, even if they did eventually develop into solid or great pros. I’m talking about this upcoming season. The UFAs we added are depth guys except for Bosa. That’s not on Beane, it’s just the way it is with the cap. The UFAs we added are pretty similar to the UFAs we lost. Draft picks are a hope and a dream in terms of rookie production. Likely no draft pick will be very productive this year. That’s just how it usually is for rookies. I hope it’s not the case, but it’s the most likely scenario. Our defense was middling last season, and I kind of expect more of the same this season. We could become a top 10 defense with some luck. We could become a top 5 defense with a lot of luck (every Beane gamble pays off).

Dude has decent hands. Slower than Keon Coleman though. I remember a throw for a TD where Allen threw before Morris even turned around and he made a really nice grab. It was undefendable.

Bosa replaces Miller. That should hopefully be an upgrade. Depends a lot on Bosa’s health. I kind of think he might be on a snap count to save him for later in the season. Hoecht is in the same tier of player as Toohill and Smoot. Probably a slightly better pass rusher than those guys. Not a huge difference maker, but a nice rotational piece. Ogunjobi is just a rotational depth DT. He’s paid the same as Epenesa. Steelers fans say he’s very inconsistent. Hairston/Dane Jackson/Tre White might be better or might be worse than Rasul Douglas (and he was pretty bad last season). That’s a big question mark. Rookies don’t usually step in at boundary CB and light the world on fire, and usually when they do they are top-10 picks. We are crossing our fingers that Forrest or Bishop can step up at safety. Basically hoping players that have never played a certain role can step into that role and excel. The Bills defense might be good, and it has changed some, but it’s a huge question mark to me. There is a good chance it’s not any better than last year. Our UFAs were rotational guys (out of necessity due to cap), and most rookie defenders don’t really contribute much. How sure was everybody that Bishop would step into a starter role day 1 last year? Never happened. Basham never got there. Elam never got there.

If we are relying on rookies to be difference makers, then we are already cooked.

Won’t our new look defense still be suspended 😂

Bengals are a mess, they need a new owner.

Sports Illustrated is barely a company anymore. It got bought by a holding company for pennies on the dollar and then licensed content out to some other company. It's 90% AI slop. Not saying this is true/false, but I wouldn't trust SI for any sports reporting anymore.

Bengals are a terrible matchup for us, but at the same time it seems to take Burrow 4 weeks to get things into gear. I think Bills vs Chiefs and Bills vs Ravens are more interesting matches, but maybe they are saving those for later in the season. I'm not sure when SNF viewership peaks.

I would think so. Maybe a late season add as a street FA if he has healed up a bit with more time.

Sad, Jags probably figured he won’t play much this year or be effective due to injury.

Is Gabe Davis able to play special teams? He could be a Mack Hollins replacement IMO.

Am I the only person that thinks think guy could be decent as a pro QB? I mean way better odds than your average 5th rounder. I would have taken him at the end of the first. But I understand why GMs and coaches wanted to avoid the circus. He’s definitely a jackass.

Best case scenario for me is Bishop and Forrest win the starting Safety spots. It would be a nice injection of athleticism we really lacked. I expect Rapp and Hamlin…

I think he was fairly injured. Between the messed up wrist and smacking the back of his head hard on one of his TD catches. I actually credit him for gutting it out.

All the belly aching about not drafting some 5th round WR, when most vet FAs still available would make a much bigger impact anyway.

I would say the WR group definitely lost us the Texans game, and greatly contributed to us losing the regular season Ravens game after Shakir went out.

Well if this guy says so…my neighbor’s uncle’s nephew says we had a mid draft.

Disappointed Dolac didn’t get drafted.

Bills are going to have a real camp battle this season for DB. Love to see it.

The difference between Josh carrying the offense this season or not wasn't going to be a 6th round pick. When was the last time a 6th round pick WR made a meaningful impact their rookie season? Has one ever? Antonio Brown (6th round) obviously became elite, but his rookie season was very meh. Puka Nacua had an incredible rookie season as a 5th round pick and Amon Ra St. Brown did as a 4th round pick, but it is incredibly rare.

At this point in the draft just go BPA. 4th round and on are likely backups to start, and almost every position group could use competition at backup.

Bishop isn’t really a free safety ball hawk. He’s more of a box safety/strong safety. He would probably be more comfortable in Rapp’s position rather than Hamlin’s. I’m guessing the hope is for Forrest to play FS and let Bishop/Rapp duke it out in camp for starting SS.

I hope that’s true, but he feels inevitable, lol.