BigAl2526

Certainly, the Ravens are taking a chance, but Henry hasn't hit the (career) wall yet. They might get three more years of solid production out of him. I hope not, but you never know.

The nice thing about a Thursday night game is that both teams are dealing with a short week, so neither team gains a huge advantage. Then, your team gets a "mini-bye" which gives you a slight advantage over your next opponent.

I think there is a good chance, but I don't think anything is set in stone when it comes to the NFL.

Don't get me wrong. I like the pick. If anything, what Hancock's versatility suggests is that he has some untapped upside at some places where the Bills might use him.

Do you think they'll pick another QB when they pick #1 overall in the 2026 draft?

The challenge of evaluating a guy who played in multiple spots in college is that the player had less opportunity to focus on the techniques and skill set development for any one position. It's tough to find both versatility and a highly developed skill set in one player unless it's Travis Hunter.

That is a spot that Shavers and Prather might compete for. Shavers is a little taller. Prather is faster. Prather is also described as a willing blocker and will work well on special teams. All of that can help him compete for that spot. There is a possibility of one additional WR spot being created if Laviska Shenault can out compete Codrington as a return specialist.

His chances of making the roster aren't great. Rousseau, Jackson and Bosa are locks. Epenesa is probably making the team, unless somebody makes Beane a trade offer he can't refuse. Solomon has a good chance to make the team again. He's the only smallish quick and bendy edge rusher the Bills have. I think the team really needs that kind of player to be able to switch things up sometimes on an offense. I think the team probably carries 5 DEs. Harris is similar in size to Epenesa and probably not quite as quick. If someone gets hurt in training camp, there might be an opening. Otherwise, he'll need to try and latch on to the PS.

I don't think Curtis Samuel is a lock. Elijah Moore is the same kind of receiver as Samuel: shorter, very fast and will take most of his snaps in the slot and can run trick plays. Moore is a little lighter. The big difference is Samuel's cap figure is quite a bit bigger and he's three years older. Moore can play outside, but the slot is his bread and butter. Prather is going to be primarily an outside receiver. If Coleman and Palmer start outside, Prather would fit in as depth outside if he were to beat out Shavers. I could see Buffalo keeping Coleman, Shakir, Palmer, Moore, Prather and Shenault. Shenault would have to beat out Codrington as a returner. I'm not predicting that at this point, but it wouldn't shock me.

The first look at this guy in rookie mini-camp gives the impression of a guy who wants to make this roster in September. He was running great routes and catching everything in sight. The guy is not a sub 4.4 burner, but he's got real good speed to go with enough size to make him look like a slender Keon Coleman. You have to give Brandon Beane credit. He misses on some early round picks like every GM does, but he hits on a surprising number of late round fliers. If Keon doesn't get his act together, maybe he should start looking over his shoulder. That is not to mention the fact that Jackson Hawes and Dorian Strong look strong as well.

Walker is very strong in his upper body and not so much below the waist. I don't know enough about body building to know if he's likely to be able to add lean muscle mass to his legs. The relative lack of strength in his legs is probably why he was used all over the line at Kentucky and only a minority of snaps at 1 tech.

I wouldn't expect he'll make the team, though almost any free agent has a chance to make the PS. I guess he tested pretty well in the pre-draft process last year, but didn't produce very well in college. This season, he would be nothing more than a fringe player.

It's really tough for a mid to late round rookie to make much of an impression in the regular season when they don't go into the season as starters. It's not that they couldn't be good if they had the chance, it's just that meaningful reps are hard to come by except on special teams. Dorian Strong might have a level of play that would make coaches feel comfortable starting him, but the Bills really want their first round pick to succeed. They will give Hairston every chance to start, and if he struggles, the experienced Tre White is going to be the first guy they will think about subbing in. Strong and Hancock are likely to get only a few snaps per game on defense unless somebody gets injured. It will be hard for Hairston to exceed expectations because the expectations are pretty high to begin with. I would guess the rookies with the best chance to exceed expectations would be (#1) Landon Jackson, because he will get a fair number of reps in a defensive end rotation and #2 Deone Walker. Daquan Jones is 33 years old and showed his age last season. If Walker shows well, I think his rep count goes up in order to rest Daquan Jones more, in order to save him for the ends of games and for late season play. Sanders will have chances to impress too, but Ed Oliver should be in his prime.

I wish I could say I was surprised at his absence. It's what disgruntled players do. I think he and his agent have both overestimated his contractual value to the Bills, so this has the makings of a difficult relationship this year. Only Cook and his agent have any idea about whether or not he will play this season under the terms of his rookie deal, which is still in effect for the upcoming season. I think that is what Beane is hoping. He's pretty sure that if Cook does play, it will be his last season as a Bill. After the season, Cook will put himself on the market and go to the highest bidder. The overriding question is, if Cook holds out, what will Beane do? Play hardball and levy a fine for every day he sits after attendance becomes mandatory? Attempt to trade him to a team that doesn't think $15 million a year is too much? Cave, and pay Cook what he wants? Of course, trading depends on finding a willing trade partner, and Buffalo would be trading from a position of weakness.

I don't think Gabe's return is that likely. I just don't see that there is that much room for him. Ideally, I think the Bills can find blocking elsewhere and his receiving role should be covered by what Coleman could do if he develops as expected. Buffalo doesn't have elite receivers unless you want to put Shakir in that category, but they have receivers that easily compete at Davis' level or better, and may have upside that Davis doesn't. With Davis, what you see is what you get.

I agree. I would love it if Buffalo started 2 new safeties, but McDermott seems to like Rapp. I would be surprised if he's not starting at least to begin the season.

The defensive line and cornerback spots both have potential for significant improvement if everybody Buffalo acquired in those areas pans out as hoped. At linebacker, it's mainly a matter of hoping Bernard and especially Milano can stay healthy. At safety, it's a matter of hoping that Cole Bishop can develop and provide an upgrade to Damar Hamlin. In both cases (LB and safety) the potential for improvement is not terribly high.

You have to get really lucky to nab a top sack artist picking in the back end of round 1. There are not many to be found in any given draft year.

I pretty much agree with this. I think the Bills are hoping Coleman takes a very large step forward. If he does, he could leapfrog several players in front of him. Samuel was hurt by injury las season, but he would probably be in a similar role to Elijah Moore. and Moore is both younger and cheaper. That puts Samuel's roster spot in jeopardy.

Rapp actually times slower than Hamlin. Rapp also times slower than Buffalo's starting linebackers. I actually doubt if Rap times faster than any of Buffalo's linebackers. He's smart, and that's why he has enjoyed some success with Buffalo, but if almost any receiver gets behind him with the ball, and he's the last line of defense, chalk up six points for the bad guys. Both Rapp and Hamlin have to keep the play in front of them or bad things happen.

In terms of traits, it looks like Elgersma beats out Buechele. Buechele has more familiarity with Buffalo's system and some preseason experience, but Elger would not be expected to step in and play in the regular season for a few years at least, so that's not really an issue. If Trubisky or White had to step in and start more than a few games this season, it would sink the team's playoff chances to say nothing of either Buechele or Elgersma.

The labels "reach" and "steal" are connected to preconceived notions about what draft values are. Every media observer and every team have their own criteria for rating the value of draft prospects. TJ Sanders has been called a "reach" by some highly visible sports pundits, but they don't know what criteria the Bills used to judge Sanders as meriting a trade up. Jackson has been viewed as a "steal," but every team in the league passed on a chance to draft him earlier than where Buffalo picked him in the third round. NFL teams all have larger scouting departments and more collective experience at their craft than any media pundit. It's true, sometimes teams make mistakes. Brandon Beane has made a number of them. Scouting is still an inexact science, after all. The bottom line is that while we all have things we like or dislike about the players Buffalo has drafted, and where in the draft Buffalo took them, there is no substitute for a year or three in the league for making evaluations of Buffalo's drafting acumen for Landon Jackson and his fellow prospects.

Spencer Brown has been an iron man since his back issue. I think maybe Walker should be given some credit for playing through his injury

Overall, I think the Bills did a good job. I hoped the offense would have been addressed a bit earlier and I think Beane went a bit overboard on drafting CBs, but signing Elijah Moore alleviated some of my angst. I have to laugh at outlets which grade each pick by a team. Essentially, they start with their own big board. If a team drafts a player that was lower on their board than his draft position, it is rated a reach and a bad pick. If he's higher on their board than he was drafted, it was a good pick. The problem is, every person's board is different. Case in point: Pro Football Focus rated Deone Walker a terrible pick for the Bills, essentially saying he was drafted two full rounds early. I will guarantee you that he was not rated two rounds later on Brandon Beane's draft board than where they picked him. So, whose to say PFF's evaluation is more accurate than Brandon Beane's. The only authoritative judge is time, and even there, injuries and unforeseen circumstances can change what might have been.

I went with Baltimore. Sean McDermott says he wants the Bills to play a physical game, but John Harbaugh wrote the book on physical football, particularly in the run game. I hope the Bills made strides this off season, but I need to see it on the field.