Sierra Foothills

Not that it changes my opinion that this is a non-story but this is the media we're talking about... network television... newspapers... Diggs wasn't at the start of OTAs last year either. According to McDermott the Bills have 90% attendance meaning there are several other players also not there. That probably includes some players considered to be team leaders.

FWIW we selected Edmunds at #16 after trading #22 and #65 to Baltimore to move up. We also received pick #154 in return from the Ravens and selected Siran Neal. The #22 pick ended up being LB Rashaan Evans (currently a free agent) and the #65 pick became OT Brandon Parker who in spite of starting 32 of 54 career games, is currently listed as the backup at RT for the Raiders. That said, there were plenty of other good players selected after the Edmunds pick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_NFL_Draft

I know we discussed this previously in the context of Leslie Frazier not returning. Most of that discussion was negative and there almost seemed a consensus that managing the game as a Head Coach and calling plays as a Coordinator were at cross-purposes with failure being the most likely outcome. The other takeaway from that topic was the feeling that the departure of Frazier had to do with the fanbase losing patience and the need for McDermott to address that with greater involvement and accountability. This article came out today: https://www.buffalobills.com/news/sean-mcdermott-excited-about-calling-plays-middle-linebacker-competition-and-the Is it possible that McDermott taking on play calling duties will be the catalyst that reinvigorates McDermott and the defense? "I was excited yesterday to get in the room a little bit, that group, the defense, and kind of rolling up my sleeves and getting back to wearing that hat again. So I'm excited about it." "It's part of how I got here," he said of calling plays. "So I just think you'll be in the defensive staff room, having those critical conversations that come up solving problems, trying to evolve where we need to evolve, and where the game is going. And then working hand in hand with our players. Again, that's been mostly the assistants to this point. Then together with the staff figuring some things out and it just feels good." Personally I'm optimistic.

This is a fair criticism of Donahoe but keep in mind that with each year since, the premium on the QB position has increased to the point where it seems we're now seeing QBs that are not worthy of their draft positions being taken at the top of the draft. It's a very different landscape than the one that saw the Bills drafting TE Tony Hunter at #12 and then drafting QB Jim Kelly 2 picks later.

As an ardent Bills fan of many years I easily recall the days before Joel Buschbaum and Mel Kiper... the early "draftnicks." I remember the complete desert that used to exist around the draft and I want to assure all, that when you have professionals who devote their careers to providing free draft content to those who have an appetite for it... it's a much better world. Please take it from me that it's much better than reading Milt Northrop or Larry Felser writing about players they've never even seen play. I remember asking Felser about Tim Couch once. Talk about disappointment... Put differently it's much better to ignore the abundance (aka "riches") than it is to live with scarcity... or to complain about having too much of a good thing.

Oh brother... On the other hand, no one's forcing anyone to read anything. Better too many mock drafts than not enough... ditto with scouting reports and also draft rankings. More viewpoints are better when it comes to this sort of stuff.

In what way is that fact, fun? Just asking... Beane deserves some credit because he worked aggresively to get into a position to draft Josh Allen. But then he was arguably outmaneuvered in the end by the Jets... who then relinquished their advantage by drafting Darnold. To add, Donahoe hired Cowher when Cowher was just 35 years old. Gregg Williams was 43 years old when Donahoe hired him. To the overall discussion (as stated elsewhere), the margin between "success" and "failure" is often very thin... meaning varying shades of grey... not black and white.

Yes, McBeane have to be given credit for the drafting of Allen exactly because he was not a consensus "can't miss" prospect. In fact at least as many people thought Allen would be a bust (we are a bit lucky that the Jets took Darnold). As far as the other thoughts above, this is exactly why you shouldn't "evaluate" a prospect based on highlights. Regarding Donahoe, he did try to move up for Roethlisberger but failed. And even 20 years ago he understood the importance of the quarterback enough to then pursue Drew Bledsoe who was considered an excellent QB at that time. The margin between success and failure is usually much less than people think.

In addition to his reputation exceeding his play, there's this: "White is heading into the fifth-year option season of his rookie contract, which means he has a guaranteed salary of $11.706 million this season and then becomes an unrestricted free agent in 11 months. Any trade of White would likely involve his new team also agreeing to sign him to a new contract." https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/04/11/report-buccaneers-have-zero-intention-of-trading-devin-white/

Look at his avatar. Slot receiver is not a need? Last year none of Jamison Crowder, Khalil Shakir or Isaiah McKenzie was adequate to the point they felt the need to bring back Beasley. This year only the still unproven Shakir returns from that group. While I like Harty he is not a proven commodity and McBeane spoke of him as slotting in as the number 4 receiver. I also like the Sherfield signing but even the aggregate of those two can't be viewed as a sure thing to adequately fill the position. IMO slot receiver is most definitely a need. For one there needs to be more competition at that position and the need to surround Josh with more weapons, especially those who can separate early enhances that need.

I don't know how the season would have gone had Von not gotten injured but it was undoubtedly a huge blow to our chances. I certainly felt our chances of winning the whole thing nearly evaporated with his injury.

Yes, purely from an athletic standpoint Kingsley Jonathan has pretty rare skills.

Yes, the return of AJ Klein, Shaq Lawson, and Jordan Phillips were not in the least surprising and in fact expected by many on this board. Moreover if these three can stay healthy and play to their expected levels they will be good signings. Staying healthy will be the key. Yes, for the money that Klein has played under as a Buffalo Bill he's always been an excellent value and an asset to the team. I tend to doubt the acumen of those who feel otherwise. Klein epitomizes the expression "a good pro" and all winning organizations need players like him who can be counted on to bring acumen, toughness, and competence to their position group. None of the "known names" in the bargain bin inspire any belief that they would be an upgrade over Klein and the only type of signing that might possibly end up being an upgrade would be a speculative pick on a player analogous to Kevin Jarvis, the offensive lineman the Bills signed two days ago.

Lance Zierlein's solid (and free!!!) work on NFL.com has the order as: Sanders 6.70 Simpson 6.24 Campbell 6.20 https://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker/prospects/lb/all-colleges/all-statuses/2023?page=1 Have you watched the actual games... NOT the highlights? I think he'll be fine against the pass but not elite. Campbell reminds me a lot of Jack Del Rio. Very similar size and athleticism. Del Rio was 6'4" and 250 lbs with good mobility and instincts. He played collegiately at USC and was a very decorated college player (All-PAC 10 for 4 years) including being a consensus first team All-American. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1985 draft. Del Rio played 11 years in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl in his 10th season... really good, solid NFL player.

Apparently all three are fairly closely grouped because Sanders and Simpson were both given grades of "1st-2nd" round grades whereas Campbell was given "2nd."

FWIW, The Athletic's respected annual Draft Guide, "The Beast" came out on Monday. It's written by their draftnick Dane Brugler. In their rankings Jack Campbell is the 3rd rated LB behind Sanders and Simpson. In addition The Beast gave Campbell a 2nd round grade. Here's an excerpt of what they had to say about him: STRENGTHS: Above-average size and frame with room to add more mass ... anticipates well and trusts his eyes to play out in front ... has the range and awareness to mirror the run at the line of scrimmage ... shows the gap-to-gap quickness and lateral shuffle to work around the noise and find the ball carrier ... transitions well in his zone coverage drops (his 6.74 three-cone and 4.24 short shuttle were No. 1 among linebackers at the Combine) ... displays a keen sense for route spacing and finds passing lanes (15 career passes defended) ... plays with the body strength to match up with blockers ... elite toughness ... two-year team captain in high school and again in college ... not very vocal, but his teammates say he sets the tone with his tenacious effort, and his coaches call him an “amazing” practice player (Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz: “Everything he does, he goes hard”) ... egoless and humble off the field (didn’t pursue NIL deals and considers social media a “distraction”) ... film study in the foundation of his game ... became the first Iowa player to win the William V. Campbell Trophy (Academic Heisman) ... combined for 271 tackles over his final two seasons. WEAKNESSES: Doesn’t play with sudden twitch in his lower half to quickly react to ball carriers or blockers, especially in space (his testing showed better short-area suddenness than on tape) ... average lateral and closing burst ... occasionally waits for the action instead of thumping downhill consistently ... inconsistent stack-and- shed skills and must improve his leverage, reach and handwork ... vision is focused on the ball and late to locate climbing or side-angled blocks ... needs a clear lane to be effective as a blitzer ... strong tackler, but not an explosive tackler ... missed 2022 spring practices because of a knee injury ... has battled a nagging left UCL injury. SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Iowa, Campbell was the “MIKE” linebacker in defensive coordinator Phil Parker’s 4-3 base scheme. Head coach Kirk Ferentz wanted to move him to defensive end or center as a freshman because of his frame, but Campbell pushed to stay at linebacker and averaged 10.0 tackles in his 27 starts, and became the first Hawkeyes player to win the Butkus Award (nation’s top linebacker) and William V. Campbell Trophy (academic Heisman). Fueled by his preparation and smarts, Campbell plays with impressive play speed and awareness vs. both the run and the pass, working relentlessly to maximize everything in his tool box. Though he has a keen eye for tendencies and a nose for the ball, he tends to wait instead of attacking downhill and struggles to quickly redirect/react when ball carriers or route runners put a move on him. Overall, Campbell is inconsistent as a thumper, but his athleticism, intangibles and instincts will keep him in the NFL for a long time. He has the talent to compete for starting reps as an NFL rookie. GRADE: 2nd Round (No. 52 overall) Link (behind a paywall... subscribers only): https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2023/04/10172057/TheBeast_NFL_Draft_Guide-2-1.pdf

The last few years people have been saying "Let Russ cook" and now to find out he's got a chef???

And then you watch Campbell's game video and you see the disconnect between his measurables and his play. He doesn't play as big, fast, or quick as he measures IMO.

If he's way way under the radar, does that mean he's on the sonar?

Agreed. It also depends on specifically who is available at our pick but a Jack Campbell pick at #27 wouldn't have me jumping with joy.

If he was like Leighton Vander Esch excepting that he was injury-free, would you be happy with Campbell at #27?

I've often stated that NFL fans would be much better served by ignoring highlight packages and instead looking for condensed games or "player A vs team A" videos. This is particularly true for non-skill position players. To watch a player over the course of 65-70 snaps during a game instead of watching that player's highlights will make a big difference in how well an observer understands a player. That said, here are such videos devoted to Jack Campbell: Vs. Kentucky: Vs. Iowa State: Vs. Michigan: The added bonus is that you don't have to listen to lousy highlight soundtracks and redundant hype editing. As for the player, I feel like Campbell has a chance to be a Leighton Vander Esch type of player.

Defensive line in general was identified as the primary need for the Bills that year. In my recollection most of the pre-draft discussion here centered around (in no particular order), Von Miller, Dareus, Nick Fairley, Adrian Clayborn, and Cam Jordan. Not quite as much discussion about JJ Watt if I recall correctly. That year (2011) was one of the greatest ever for defensive linemen (both tackles and edge) and of course the Bills blew the pick though in fairness, there was a strong consensus league-wide that Dareus was the second coming of Warren Sapp... only larger. Even Sapp himself said so.

IMO you're missing the point that Hughes and Addison were our best pass rushers. That caliber of player would be pretty useful as the 2nd pass rusher after a guy like Von Miller. As far as the answer to our pass rush problems, two words... Kingsley Jonathan. Or is it Jonathan Kingsley?

I was one of those who wanted Josh Rosen so there's that. I also was happy with the Zach Moss and AJ Epenesa picks. In 2006 I definitely wanted Ngata over Whitner. In 2009 I much preferred Robert Ayers over Aaron Maybin and though I was correct, not by a particularly large margin. The one from the past that stands out as being correct was in 2010 when I wanted the Bills to take Brandon Graham instead of CJ Spiller. I felt that Graham was a fair version of Dwight Freeney. Graham is still playing at a high level even to this day. The 2012 Draft was memorable because we took T.J. Graham at #69 when two players I really liked, Russell Wilson (#75) and T.Y. Hilton (#92) were available. Also in 2012 I really liked the Cordy Glenn pick in the 2nd round though the person I really wanted the Bills to draft there was Lavonte David. Bobby Wagner was also available when we picked Cordy. I think Cordy could have had an excellent career but it seems like he got the big contract and lost motivation. He's still only 33 years old.