BigAl2526

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.

I think we all knew Buffalo has struggled to contain KC's offense in the post season. We had to get bigger and create more pressure up front while getting DBs who can cover on the back end. I think Buffalo had one decent defensive back in the post season in 2025 (Christian Benford). The Bills may like Taylor Rapp, but he's always going to have some vulnerabilities that great safeties don't. And he is the better of the two incumbent starters. I'm hoping Bishop develops enough to win a starting job It's probably too much to hope that either Darrick Forrest or Jordan Hancock can win the other starting spot at safety. I'm counting on Hairston to nail down the #2 outside corner spot.

The fact that a team drafted a short armed tackle fourth overall does not negate the fact that arm length is a factor in the valuation given to prospects. Will Campbell started at left tackle starting in his freshmen year for a top notch SEC school. Lundt started for the University of Connecticutt. He ran a sub 5.0 40 (Lundt ran a 5.4). Campbell had what are considered elite numbers in his vertical and broad jumps and outweighed Lundt by 15 lbs. Lundt is 2 inches taller, but I don't know that 6'8" height is considered to be an advantage. Lundt apparently did not do a vertical or broad jump in testing. All of the above, except for the arm length are among the reasons why Campbell was drafted so high. Lundt might develop into a good offensive lineman. He apparently has pretty polished technique and good lateral movement. I just don't think he's going to jump Ryan Vandemark on the depth chart at tackle or Alex Anderson at guard/center. Buffalo also has Tylan Gable, who played pretty well, well enough to threaten Van Demark's spot as a swing tackle before he got hurt, and Travis Clayton, the Brit who has freakish athleticism.

Short arms, small school for football (level of competition., doesn't have a lot of lean muscle. That is, he needs to get a lot stronger. I think his near term ceiling is the PS.

I don't disagree with this. The problem is Buffalo has precious little at 1 tech ahead of Walker. They have Daquan Jones, who wasn't very effective last season. Unless Jones somehow has discovered the Fountain of Youth this off season, Buffalo really needs a fairly significant contribution from Deone Walker. If not Jones or Walker, then who? Dewayne Carter? That doesn't seem likely. Zion Logue? Please. The only other option is to line up 2 3 techs side by side. That might work against the pass, but at least against some teams, (Baltimore?) Buffalo is going to be badly bullied in the run game. That prospect has me hoping that Deone Walker can up his game to a pro level pretty quickly.

You really thought he might be traded/cut, House? You're smarter than that.

I would be happier if he were 2 or 3 inches taller for outside work, but on balance it's a solid signing. He makes the receiver group better.

At DT, Oliver, Sanders, Walker are locks and probably figure into the Bills' future beyond 2025. Daquan Jones is a lock in my opinion to start the season. More than likely he finishes the season with the Bills, but I don't know that it is a lock that he do so. Carter probably makes the team, but it's less certain he finishes the season with the team. Logue is PS material. He's got to show something to warrant more than that. Ogunjobe's future with the team after his suspension probably depends on what DeWayne Carter can show at 1 tech. Obviously, the intention of the Bills to try Carter out at 1 tech despite the fact he's underweight for the position indicates they probably aren't very happy with what he showed at 3 tech. Since he is a bit undersized, I think, makes him a long shot to be in the long term plans of the Bills. Using him at 1 tech sounds like a last chance to me. So, here's my depth chart at DT for the Bills to start the season- 1 tech: Daquan Jones - Deone Walker - Dewayne Carter 3 tech: Ed Oliver - T J Sanders Carter will also be available to take some snaps at 3 tech. When Ogunjobe's suspension is over, he could essentially step in and fill Carter's role if Carter fails his 1 tech tryout. If Carter is great in his new role, then maybe the Bills send Ogunjobe packing. At DE, Rousseau and Jackson are locks who figure into the Bills' long term plans. Bosa is a lock this season, as long as he's healthy. I think The Bills like Javon Solomon as a pass rusher, and he may get a few more opportunities to show what he can do. I think Epenesa is safe to start the season. He's dependable but not flashy. The Bills would like more, but they aren't going to throw him away until they know they've got a potential upgrade. When Hoecht comes off his suspension, things will get a bit muddy. If Bosa is still healthy, he obvious owns a roster spot. That leaves one or two roster spots for Epenesa, Solomon and Hoecht. Hoecht has the body of a DT, but ran a 4.65 40 in the pre-draft process five years ago. If Hoecht can give the Bills more than Steady Epe, I could easily se Buffalo parting ways with Epenesa, hopefully with a trade the nets Buffalo something in the process. If the Bills feel like they can't part with Epenesa, they might end up cutting Solomon at that point, or of Both Solomon and Epenesa are showing enough, maybe Hoecht never gets a real shot at the team. My depth chart for DE looks like this- LDE: Rousseau - Jackson - (Hoecht) RDE: Bosa - Epenesa - Solomon If the Bills part ways with Epenesa after Hoecht is activated, I think the Bills might flip Jackson to RDE.

He won't make the 53 man squad, but I wouldn't rule out the PS again. I don't know that we've heard anything about what the Bills might think of him.

Ran a 4.55 40 at the combine, so, not especially.

I agree on Solomon over Carter. There's nobody like Solomon on the roster, a smallish edge rusher with great explosion and bend on the edge

The exception being Jacksonville in London.

I'm drooling over Nyck Harbor. I'm seeing him listed at 6'5" 235 and running a 4.24 40. Essentially, he's bigger and faster than Megatron. That's hard to do.

I assume Beane traded up for Sanders because he had reason to believe another team was interested in him. Given that Ogunjobe is out until late October on suspension and Carter is being tried at 1 tech, there certainly was a need. Obviously, Beane valued Sanders well above Collins and Josh Farmer and anyone else they could have considered between pick 41 and pick 56When the Bills do something in the draft, I tend not to rush to judgment. He had his reasons. Time is the only judge of whether or not it was a good move whose decision carries any weight.

I don't think so myself. It's not that he's a great player, and maybe not even a good one anymore, but he's the only veteran guy on the team that has natural 1 tech size. Hopefully, Deone Walker has a very bright future, but I can't see the Bills trusting him to be "the man" right out of the gate. The Bills have a history of trusting what they know, even if what they know is only average or a little less. If Jones falls on his face, the Bills may be forced to dump him and try something different, but they are not going to let Walker start until they are sure he can handle it. They sure aren't going to start Carter or Zion Logue and I'm pretty sure they are planning for TJ Sanders to be in a rotation with Oliver at 3 tech.