jahnyc

Have there been any updates on the injury to Spencer Brown and how long he potentially will be out?

Have to say he gives off a very positive vibe at all times, with a mix of words of encouragement and a message to continue to work hard. Interesting.

The Ben R. reference is misplaced, but I otherwise agree with Cowherd. Bills need to figure out the run game, both in the short and long term to take pressure off of Allen and prolong his career. I have no idea if the issues are with the o-line, the play calling, the scheme or the running backs. I am still surprised we drafted Cook in the second round. If he can't be an every down back, then we did not get good value for that pick. We will see.

In my view, it would depend on Hyde's injury. If the Bills know it is unlikely that he will be able to play again, then I would be all in favor of trying to get some safety help for this season and after.

I think we need more information on both Poyer and Hyde before trying to guess what the Bills will do with Poyer and others after this season. Is Poyer's foot injury a short or long term injury? Will Hyde be recovered for next season at full strength? How do Johnson and Hamlin play today and during the season in place of Poyer and Hyde, respectively? I think there are a lot of questions to be answered before we see how the Bills will proceed with extending or not extending Poyer after this season.

Would think that Fitzy could have a bright future in coaching, potentially starting as a QB coach and then becoming a quality OC.

I do not disagree. If Benford does develop and Elam does not, it does mitigate the overall situation, but we can't miss on first round picks, and there is a significant opportunity cost if that does happen.

If one of the two of Benford and Elam end up being a starting caliber corner, it all will be okay. I seem to recall that there were negatives noted for Elam in the pre-draft reviews, and he did seem to experience a significant rise up draft boards as the draft approached. I also read recently (can't remember where) a review of recent first round CB picks, and it was kind of shocking the number that were already out of the league, on teams other than the teams that drafted them, or performing poorly.

He seems to have good instincts and potential leadership skills. He looked good playing the run, but isn't the question at this point whether he can be effective pass defending?

I think we are all hoping that Brown shows improvement from his first year, but given his recovery from back surgery and lack of reps in camp, I am not sure that we count on that, particularly in the beginning part of the season.

Agree with you. RT on the o-line is a concern.

I guess we will see with Elam. Is converting from press to zone coverage a difficult thing for a corner? Would think going the other way (zone to press) could be difficult if the corner does not have the physical ability needed. If Elam is not a starter at CB in the first game or early in the season (or plays poorly if he does), it will be a big disappointment. We have had some high round draft picks at CB play well in their first season (Winfield, Clements and Tre). Others, not so much (McKelvin). Elam seems to have the desire and athleticism to succeed, but if he does not play well in his first season, I will be concerned about his long-term prospects, since there are a lot of examples of first round drafted CBs contributing immediately. I get it that there is a learning curve for first year players, particularly at certain positions (such as QB), but we really need Elam to be a player this year.

It is silly to rate this draft now, but other than liking the picks for Elam, Shakir and Araiza, not sure that any of the other picks will become significant contributors. Do not like the pick of Cook for the reasons others have noted, including that he may be at best no more than a part time player, which does not seem like good value for a second round pick. Gave the overall draft by the Bills a "C".

Would think that if this is true, that the veteran player or players traded to move up would be players that have not restructured their deals this offseason to provide more cap space because of the cap hit that would result (i.e., Milano). This should mean that we can narrow the possible veteran player(s) that would be traded.

Bad day to day between McKissic returning to the Redskins and Chandler Jones signing with the Raiders. Still have some pretty significant needs at CB and DE.

I am surprised that there has not been more information coming out about restructurings of current contracts with certain players (i.e., Morse, Dawkins, etc.), cuts or salary reductions (Beasley, Williams, others as possibilities), extensions (i.e. Diggs) or even tenders to restricted free agents (i.e,. Bates). Maybe there haven't been any restructures other than the ones reported so far, but that would be odd to me given the rumors of the Bills' interest in a number of free agents and associated need for cap room. Same with possible cuts. I thought the Bills would extend Diggs to get more cap space, but Beane said there have not been conversations about this. I would understand the hesitancy to restructure White's contract given his injury, but there are a number of other contracts that could be restructured freeing up cap space. Will be interesting to see if there have been restructures or reductions in salary that have not been reported yet. There also were a lot of rumors that Morse was going to retire. I assume that he would have decided by now if he was going to do so. As for additional cuts, I would have thought the Bills would make them before the start of free agency to give the players the best opportunity to find employment with another team.

I do worry about big market teams like LA being able to sign players at a discount or players forcing a trade/release because players want to be there. This can result in a competitive advantage. Josh Allen should attract talent, but I don't know if it will be enough, particularly since we will be competing with some other good QBs that also can attract talent (i.e., Mahomes, Herbert, Burrows and Rogers).

How many coaches/assistant coaches will we let Daboll take from our current staff (assuming all are lateral moves and not promotions)?

Maybe they are promoting Hall and are also looking at these candidates potentially to be the new WR coach.

I guess it depends on what Dorsey wants. If he wants to be a HC at some point, staying with the Bills and working with Josh Allen seems the way to go, similar to Daboll's path, because Josh is about the best contributor to potential success an OC can have. If he has a strong relationship with Daboll and/or wants out of Buffalo as a place to live, then he will leave. Job security should be somewhat similar if tied to the job security of his head coach since McDermott is safe for the foreseeable future and Daboll should get at least two, if not three years with the Giants to prove he is the right coach for the team. One wild card here is what is Dorsey's relationship like with McDermott? Do we know anything about how McDermott gets along with the coaches on his coaching staff? Also have seen reports that our assistant QB coach and assistant o-line coach may be going with Daboll. That would be a bit of a problem if our OC, QB coach and assistant QB coach all leave at the same time.

Really depends on who replaces him. I assume that McBeane have been preparing for a scenario where they lose both Daboll and Frazier. I don't know if the replacements will come from the current coaching staff or if the targets will be outside the organization, but I hope they will be competent replacements because it would be hard to argue that Frazier and Daboll have not been, at a minimum, competent in their respective roles.

CB will need to be addressed either in free agency or early in the draft because who knows if Tre will be ready to play by the beginning of next regular season. If Wallace is not re-signed, then maybe CB is addressed in both free agency and the draft. Clearly, will be a position of need. I don't think we have much cap space for 2022, but we have definite needs that can't all be filled in the draft. OG, RB, CB and a stout DT are the areas where we need significant improvement in play or better depth. I doubt they all can be addressed next offseason, but I would prioritize trying to keep our franchise QB healthy by finding upgrades at OG.

I remember there was a lot of chatter about Maybin looking awful overall in his first training camp. I do think busts can be identified early on, with others just needing time to develop, so not true in all cases for first year players that start off poorly.

This is a great post. Thank you.

Would rather spend whatever room we have under the cap for a starting caliber CB if one is available (i.e., Steve Nelson).