Sierra Foothills

Perhaps reprise the deep sideline pass to Patrick DiMarco!

I believe they told him that they want him to become the best version of himself... also to trust the process...

Depends on who you compare him to. Take for instance... Speak for yourself... Marquez Valdez-Scantling anyone? He might be the answer... but then what would be the question?

In the name of being mode, you should rename this topic "Van Ginkel gets the bag." Yes, but he has a very silly name. Very silly. Yes, the silly-named player got the big bag. I see what you did there... Don't you think he has a silly name?

5 People in a golf cart... I know they make 6 seaters too but "falling off the back" makes you wonder if there was a 3rd (rear facing) row or if they were crammed onto a 4 seater.

Tremaine Edmunds' birthday is May 2nd! Is there a plural of umbrage? Excited too and pretty sure this'll end up better than the Coleman signing. Like many others have said, I really liked Moore coming out of college. I'd wager a fair amount that (barring injury) Moore will be a significant contributor this year. Probably the purple stuff... Yes, Coleman underwent a genetic miniaturizing process with the objective of gaining speed. The procedure was successful. He's now only 6'0" but his 40 time is in the 4.4s.

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.

Then why don't you marry him? Seriously impressive... then after he got his degree in Economics he enrolled at Georgia Tech so he could play high level football. It reminds me of when Eric Wood was drafted and was asked why he loved football so much. He said something to the effect "You can do things on the football field that are seriously illegal." You aren't your average Bag of Milk, are you? The last time they asked for Josh's input on a receiver it resulted in Keon Coleman. This year when asked if he had been watching video, Josh said "In Beane we trust." I think Jason Peters is a different caliber of athlete but Paul Costa and Paul Seymour are both excellent comparables, having been drafted as tackles and then moved to tight end during their careers. Hawes is a good athlete though. His explosive measurables (vertical, broad, and 10 yard split) are all excellent. Right on. Davidson is a move tight end. Hawes is an inline tight end with some athleticism. It would be really cool having someone like Patrick Ricard or James Develin (or Sam Gash for those who remember) just blowing people up as a fullback. I could see Hawes having an impact on the roster but it's hard to know exactly where... any of Alec Anderson, Reggie Gilliam, and/or Dawson Knox could eventually be impacted as Hawes' role clarifies.

Nice highlights here and there. There are condensed games on Youtube of him playing against Georgia and Ole Miss from 2024. You can clearly see what he needs work on but also, how he possesses abilities that are simply not coachable. Walker's upside is very high. One trait which jumps off the screen is his backfield vision. He always seems to know where the play is... good instincts and vision. Yes, after 2023 the belief was that he was a 1st or 2nd rounder. The back injury he played through this year limited his effectiveness but it's a non-concern for me. I don't remember McBeane being bitten by a pre-existing medical condition. Have they ever drafted a medical risk? Anyone? Separately, one thing not being mentioned is that Walker excelled during Senior Bowl week. To your legitimate first point, I can't remember ANY DL or OL prospects coming in at 6'7" where there WEREN'T concerns about knee bend/pad level/playing too high, etc. NFL football is the next level up (or in this case, down) and it's a natural progression for draftees to improve their techniques. This is a 21 year old kid who was in love with the idea of playing basketball. He is a diamond-in-the-rough with god-given abilities that cannot be coached. Absolutely. NFL strength and conditioning... NFL coaching... NFL dietary plan... I'm expecting Walker to improve significantly. Agreed. It's interesting how confirmation bias works... going all-in on one person's opinion... and/or choosing one player ranking over another... People should either withhold judgement and admit they have no idea, or base their judgement on having done due diligence. The posting of uninformed opinions doesn't benefit anyone... it's like pollution on a message board.