Sierra Foothills

While I think you make some valid points, I don't think you're being completely fair. Yes Beane's had his misses as all GMs do but on balance, no one would dispute that he's one of the top 5 GMs in the NFL... no one... so we're lucky to have him. The glass is more than half full. Of coure we're all impatient for that Super Bowl win but that shouldn't obscure from all the great work he has done. Changing the subject, I actually question his recent 2-day media agenda... I'm ambivalent about his defiance and pushback against his perceived detractors... I always liked him better when he was above the fray. It's easy for me to say but you need big shoulders in his position and I don't think stepping out of character and going from affable to angry really works for him. While many here are in favor of Beane lashing out, doing so creates an equal and opposite reaction, which will turn up the heat on him and McDermott... which is fine as long as they realize it. Things are getting warmer in Bills Nation... which they should. That said, I fully support this regime.

The introduction and discussion of Mahomes in this topic is misplaced and weakens the conversation. The trading of the pick to KC happened BEFORE Beane was the Bills GM. Thank you for the hard work adding up to a great post. Some teams get lucky here and there when drafting wideouts but it's hard to get a difference-maker where the Bills draft. Besides the high miss rate at the position and the Bills constantly-stated philosophy that games are won in the trenches, there haven't been many opportunities for them to pick one where they think he's the BPA and fills the biggest need. This is a really great breakdown. A historical breakdown of recent drafts has shown that the Bills (at best), spend an average amount of resources on defense. A constant narrative in our playoff history is that we suffer numerous end of season/playoff injuries on defense and can't perform well enough to win. The Bills have been thin on defense during the McBeane era and that's why KC's defense has been better than ours... that and Chris Jones. BTW, imagine having a difference-making D-lineman... Yes, the average playoff loss to the Chiefs has been: Chiefs 34.75 Bills 28.25 I actually feel McBeane are feeling the pressure... as they should. They're smart guys and understand the Josh window. More great work and a great post. Thank you. This reinforces the idea that for a team drafting where the Bills draft (late 20s, early 30s) that it's very difficult to draft a difference-making WR unless you move up. The problem is that moving up to that degree doesn't guarantee anything and is costly. Great post... thank you. The Bills allocation to defense has been about average. The team has been afflicted by defensive injuries in the late season/playoffs. Of course I'd love to see a field-stretching WR but I love this draft and am looking forward to being a bully on defense for once. Another great post... thank you.

Besides an excellent 2023 season, Walker had an excellent Senior Bowl week, showing that his back has improved since earlier in the year.

When a CB is as fast as Hairston is, Darrell Green is one of the first comparables that comes to mind so it's interesting to note that Darrell Green was barely 5'9". It's gotten lost in the 37 pages but it bears mentioning again that Hairston's measurables are almost identical to those of Denzel Ward, who Cleveland took 4th overall in 2018 and has made 4 Pro Bowls.

After the phone call he nods in affirmation and says "Buffalo" upon which the room explodes in celebration. Obviously it was the fact that he had been drafted but also, being drafted by the Bills is no longer a reason to temper one's joy.

Agreed. Again addressing others who are complaining about strict, inflexible ideas of 1T vs 3T, etc... on WGR Beane said (yet again) that you can't have guys that can only play the run... or the other team will simply pass. It connects to what he said before the draft that you can get run stuffers in later rounds if that's all you want. The Bills want DTs who can pressure the QB when there's a pass play called on 1st down. Last year 29 of the 32 teams passed more on 1st down than they ran.

I'm in the majority that wishes we'd gotten the field stretching deep threat though I still love our draft and gave it an A. The thing is I wouldn't change our first 4 picks/trades. I was definitely getting excited in the 4th when D'onte Thornton was still there... but he was taken the pick before we took Deone Walker at 109. Then I was disappointed when KC took Jalen Royals at 133. Post-Walker trade, we would have had to trade 3 of our last 5 picks (probably including two of our 5th rounders) to move up and take him ... but like you said had we not traded up for Walker we could have had Royals at 132, assuming KC or another team didn't trade ahead of us. Another interesting feature of the draft is that the Bills took Jordan Hancock at 170 with Chris Paul Jr. still on the board. I wonder if they were hoping to get Paul on their next pick but the Rams took him at 172 just before we took Jackson Hawes at 173. Regardless, I really like the Deone Walker pick and I'm generally content with the draft... largely because I'm expecting the defense to be excellent this year.

Is there a better chance that he's naturalized or deported? Asking for a friend.

. I agree with your post but ask you to state which receiver you would have liked the Bills to pick at which spot Thanks! Actually, you don't know Josh. 🙂 Barring an injury there's no way that Tre White isn't on the opening day roster.

I agree that Josh is not a great deep ball thrower. I agree that the Bills should have a deep threat to force their opponents to honor that throw. I agree that the Bills don't currrently have a legitimate deep threat on the roster. It may be the most glaring roster weakness they have.

Beane said they plan to try Hancock at Nickel and at Safety. Statistically the likelihood of a second concussion is very high when a player is not given enough recovery time. I believe that if had been the regular season, Benford would have been given the week off. The Bills finished last season with 4 boundary CBs. This year I'm betting it's likely to be Benford, Hairston, White, and Strong. Agreed. I'll worry about keeping them straight if it ever really matters. Lost in all the drama is that Dorian Strong allowed a 39% completion rate when targeted last year. Agreed, and the Andrews fumble was kind of a lucky play too. I was far from convinced that the Bills deserved to win that game. In my mind we're minimally chasing the Chiefs, the Ravens, and the Eagles. I'm super glad we're beefing up the mediocre defense.

I wonder if the Ravens are getting cold feet.

What if we have him add 2 pounds of lean muscle by camp and another 3 pounds of lean muscle by October 15th? I feel like this would be the best path. Should I start a poll?

Both of you guys bring up the biggest question about Walker and also TJ Sanders for that matter. The critics keep banging on "we don't have a true 1-technique," the argument being that we need to replace DaQuan Jones. However there's some assumptions being made that should be questioned: Are the Bills going to play the same defense that they've played in the past? They just hired a senior defensive assistant, Ryan Nielsen. They also have a new Assistant Defensive Line Coach in Jason Rebrovich. Are we sure we're going to be running the same schemes? Bobby Babich is entering his second year as DC. Cornerbacks Coach Jahmile Addae is entering only his second year with the Bills. The drafting of Maxwell Hairston has raised speculation that the Bills might have a different defensive approach this year. The drafting of TJ Sanders and Deone Walker should give rise to that same speculation. There are lots of variants to the 4-3 defense... over and under just to name the most basic. Without knowing for sure that the Bills are going to be wheeling out the same defense, it's a bit premature to judge whether these players are filling positions of need. "His opinion?" Would you do me the favor of telling me his name, credentials, and why I should give any credence to his opinions? Thank you.

You nailed it as far as the "big swing" theory. Regarding his back, as I said upthread I cannot think of a single player that McBeane have drafted (we're talking 9 drafts now) that was a medical risk that became a medical problem. As I said earlier, I'm willing and waiting to be corrected on this... He apparently had a great Senior Bowl week. I think he's an ascending talent who hasn't reached anywhere near his potential yet. On the other hand, the Bills have re-signed Jordan Phillips 3 different seasons... 2018, 2022, and last year. To me, that means they like him. Besides getting better, the Bills need to get younger and cheaper on the D-line. That's what this draft was about.