BigAl2526

Bobby McCain. "I'm not the tallest player. I'm not the fastest player." If you need a CB/FS regardless of athleticism, he's your guy. The Bills are trying to upgrade their size and athleticism. They already have short try hard guys.

He's small and has no elite traits. He's a good RB who played in a system that enabled some gaudy stats.

Or trade'

The sources I saw listed him at 310 lbs. He is probably at the low end of what I would want to see size wise as a nose tackle. Dallas drafted a couple of DTs and apparently ended up with more than they felt they needed. One of the guys they drafted is huge, Quinton Bohanna at nearly 370 lbs.

You like 'em small, don't you.

I wonder what Ja'Wuuan James thinks of the Players Association now. Heeding their advice just cost him 10 million dollars.

Charles Davis from the NFL Network said he talked with five offensive line coaches, and every one of them named Brown as the rookie offensive lineman they wanted to coach. He has the most athletic profile for an offensive tackle in the last two decades. I think he's close to a guarantee to start for Buffalo as soon as the salary of Dawkins or Williams becomes a liability for Buffalo. I could see Beane trading either one of them for a second round pick and more in a year or two so Brown can start.

I don't expect any starters right away on offense or defense from this draft. That doesn't particularly bother me. Had a top 5 corner dropped to Buffalo in round 1, that was really the only shot at an immediate starter. It is more a sign of the strength of the roster than of poor drafting. As you point out, there are immediate special team starters. Stevenson is all but penciled in as our return specialist. The defensive ends are all about finding future starters, though I wouldn't be at all surprised to see "Boogie" Basham starting at left defensive end before the end of the season. Rousseau will get plenty of reps in rotation with Jerry Hughes.

I would have liked to see Buffalo pick up a solid starting caliber CB in the draft, but the sky is not falling. With more pressure from the defensive line, Levi Wallace's lack of strength and premier athleticism becomes less of a liability. He is an excellent technician and does pretty well with what he has. Dane Jackson's upside is promising. He's feisty and has a little more to offer athletically. The UDFA's Buffalo signed also have potential to be more than the typical UDFA scrubs. Nick McCloud is a physical corner with sub 4.4 speed and Olaijah Griffin reportedly has outstanding ball skills and instincts. The negative on Griffin has some of the same drawbacks as Wallace. He's underweight and not that fast. In addition, he's had something of an injury history. Still, he's on Gil Brandt's short list of top UDFA candidates.

With a low position in the draft and few skill position needs, a boring draft with middle of the pack ratings is hardly a surprise. We can argue about running back, but the premier guys were gone. I don't know that Gainwell offered Buffalo a lot more than Matt Breida. Buffalo could have gone with a CB in round 1, but the top tier gues were all gone, and even some of the second tier guys. Rousseau was clearly the better value. I take Beane's word that the the picks they made followed the values they had assigned to prospects.

Abry Jones or McCullers could provide some competition at least for the 1 tech spot. There's not much out there to be sure. If the Bills get to training camp and don't like what they have, maybe they can look for some training camp cuts at the end of August.

I agree with this. Cody Ford is sink or swim at guard now. Brown may compete to be the swing tackle this year. I think Doyle needs some tie to clean up technical flaws in his game before he can play a meaningful role. The question is, can Buffalo find some place to stash him where another team won't be able to poach him. Look for him to sprain an ankle in training camp.

Obviously, Beane is fully aware of the Bills' needs and who was available when the Bills were picking. He must have felt that the value just wasn't there at NT when the Bills were picking. He also knows where Harrison Phillips is. My best guess is he believes that Harrison Phillips struggled because he was still not fully back from what was a pretty serious injury. I think the Bills may try to move Butler from mostly 3 tech and have him compete with Harrison Phillips at 1 tech. That will leave Ed Oliver and Justin Zimmer to rotate at 3 tech, with Rousseau and Basham getting reps on the interior in obvious passing downs. Butler played some reps at 1 tech last season, and reportedly got better at lit late in the season. He's certainly big enough for the job. I'm not sure that either Phillips or Butler are guaranteed a roster spot at this point.

This was a weak running back group in this draft. Ettienne and Harris were probably the only RBs in the draft who brought qualities that Buffalo really lacks in their running back group. Javonte Williams is a good running back, but he doesn't really have any elite qualities. I would not be surprised if the Bills are looking for a running back in next year's draft.

I am wondering who backs up Star. Horrible Harry has played more 1 tech than 3 tech, is undersized. Butler has played more 3 tech than 1 tech, but he has the size to anchor at 1 tech. I guess he was better at 1 tech toward the end of last season, as was Phillips as he continued to recover from injury. If they have enough bodies, they may use a committee approach, but that would mean getting rid of some DEs that we'd rather keep. It will be interesting at least.

Somewhere, Stevenson is reported to have run a 4.37, so he might be a bit faster than his pro day time indicated. He is a returner, so that is likely to be his ticket to making the Bills squad.

Nick McCloud ran a 4.37 at his pro day. The was apparently a total shock as he did not play to that speed. At least there's something there that our coaches might be able to bring out.

Obviously, the Bills don't plan on him starting any time soon. Maybe by the time Daryl Williams' contract is up he'll be ready to step in. Right now, he's competition for Bobby Hart for the swing tackle spot. At 6'8" I don't think the Bills have any thought of playing him inside. What I'm reading is that he has gained a lot of weight over the last few years, and while the weight is lean muscle, I think he probably needs time to adjust to the larger body mass. He has the frame to add even more weight. he's athletic and strong, but doesn't have real refined blocking technique - not a huge surprise considering he played at Norther Iowa. I don't think he is a candidate for PS. Somebody would be sure to snap him up. Probably the hope is that he can prove good enough right now to enable the Bills to trade Bobby Hart. There are only so many roster spots Buffalo can realistically devote to offensive line, and they've got a ton of bodies right now, literally.

I will say I was surprised that Beane doubled up on DE. I heard two opposing opinions expressed on TV. Basham should bulk up some more and move inside, and, He should lose a little weight to gain quickness. I'm of the latter opinion. He actually times faster in the 40 than Rousseau. He might lose a few pounds, still retain his strength and run a sub 4.6 40. He's a natural left defensive end and should help in the run defense as well as getting after the passer. Lots of competition on the D-line now (except at 1 tech). It shows what Beane is thinking.

Oh my, I totally forgot about Obada. Buffalo has lots of bodies. Somebody had better step up.

Hmm. I didn't see that, which is why I presumed what I did. Maybe Beane and McDermott envision some sort of competition where Daryl Johnson could beat out Addison with a great training camp. Unfortunately, there isn't room for everybody.

Well, obviously Buffalo didn't get a sniff at either Phillips or Paye. I'm not going to repeat what I said on a thread about Rousseau, but I don't thinkk the Bills will want him to lose a lot of weight at that height. I think he can work on agility, and the Bills will want him to get stronger.

Daryl Johnson is going to have a tough time making this team.

My thoughts 10 hours after the fact: At pick 30 you're not going to find a player that has elite traits without red flags, question marks or concerns. The last player like that, or at least close, at a position of need for the Bills was Greg Newsome II, and he was gone several picks earlier. Looking at some of the players Buffalo might have considered, Jayson Oweh has elite traits but a worrying lack of production. Joe Tryon is as raw as Rousseau. Assante Samuel is short to play outside corner and lacks elite athleticism. Christian Barmore was mocked to the Bills, but he plays more 3 tech than 1 tech where Buffalo's thinness lies, and there are rumors about his coachability (he may not be a process guy). There are others, but there was no "perfect" pick. I assume with others that Buffalo was in conversation to trade out of that spot, but didn't find the dance partner who would give back what they wanted. Greg Rousseau is raw, needs to learn a lot of technique and get stronger. As has been pointed out, he hasn't gotten a ton of sacks rushing from outside. On the other hand, he just turned 21. He, reportedly is a great kid and a process guy (you didn't expect anything else from Beane and McDermott, did you?) and has elite length and athleticism for his size. His 4.66 40 is unusual for a guy that tall. He has things that he does naturally and well as a pass rusher. I don't expect a huge contribution from him as a rookie. He'll be in on some obvious pass plays. I don't expect his rookie year to be a whole lot different from AJ Epenesa's rookie year. That's why Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison are still here. Meanwhile, Rousseau is going to get a crash course on getting stronger and learning the techniques he still lacks. As for his upside, think a more athletic Calais Campbell. Yeah, I'm an optimist, but why not.

IMO, San Francisco's decision to draft Trey Lance rather than Matt Jones makes it less likely that San Francisco is willing to part with Garapolo this year. Trey Lance has played 13 games of college football at a lower level. You want to put the kind of pressure on him that starting as a rookie would entail?