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Ricky Stromberg C Arkansas.

Ricky Stromberg C Arkansas.

Day one of the Senior Bowl practices. He actually has s good first rep against Young from Bama. It goes downhill from there. I'd encourage you to watch day 2 also.

In terms of edge rushers...Anyone at the Senior Bowl not named Will McDonald. Well, I'd take a chance on Yaya Diaby in later rounds. He was at lest winning some 1 on 1 battle. But this group as a whole was really pretty bad. Andre Carter from Army...he needs a half decade of work. Foskey from Notre Dame..his blend of size and speed didn't help him from getting taken down. Young from Tenn...I had high hopes due to his speed. But he was just getting engulfed on his reps. In terms of the offensive line... Blake Freeland OT BYU. People will look at his measurables and be happy we drafted him. But he was getting beat continuously to inside moves. It was glaring. Nick Saldiveri. OT/G Old Dominion. Another guy whose measurable might make people happy. But he was getting driven back nearly every rep. And not just a step or 2, but 4 or 5. The Senior Bowl is a great place for a small school guy to shine and...he didn't. Both Cody Mauch and McClendon Curtis had much, much better showings. I have my fear that the Bills will wait until the middle rounds, take one of these 2 and people will say how we improved the Oline.

I did a mock last night where I took both... Mingo at 91 and Dell at 119 (after a trade down.) But only after I took Wright and Avila. Yeah, that's me...Im not messing around with fill ins in the OL. Anyhoo...the Mingo situation reminds me of the 2008 draft, but in reverse. That year, everyone seemed to be looking for the big possession WR who "was open when he wasn't open". Guys like Devin Thomas, James Hardy, Limas Sweed, Malcom Kelly, Earl Bennett came off the board in the 2nd and 3rd. Of those, Jordy Nelson was the only one who made it. But during all of that big man furor, the Eagles took Desean Jackson, one of the few Smaller WRs with speed. This year, its flipped. Everyone seems to be looking for the smaller, quick slot WR type. Mingo doesn't fit that mold. And he's talented enough to be the outlier for this class. Id love him at 91. As to Dell, he has something besides his ability to create space through his cutting ability. He's very, very good at playing the soft spot in a zone. Most of his catches are him finding the green space between the CB and the safety. And...he's been very successful in doing so. Nearly 200 receptions and 30 TD's in his past 2 seasons.

I don't agree on Darnell Wright, except the LT part, since he's RT and that's where he'll play. When he was born, the doctor most definitely told his mother, "Ma'am, your son is going to be a Right tackle in the NFL." Watch the tape against Georgia and Alabama and watch the Senior Bowl practices. There's actually a great video on Youtube analyzing his footwork. Its very good. If you watch the Alabama tape, you might finish it wondering if its not Will Anderson who might be the bust. Wright did that good of a job on him.

Yeah, I watched it. You're right in that he never brought up slow feet, because he doesn't have slow feet. The dude did a sub 7 second 3 cone drill at the Combine. As far a his technique, all Marino was saying is that his set and his engagement is too high much of the time. He needs to drop his butt and have more knee bend to obtain better balance. Its been a criticism of Brown's, or more accurately, an area that needs improvement, since he came out of college. Not an uncommon thing for someone that tall. As far as his frame being too lean...idk. Lane Johnson was 6'6" and a little over 300 lbs coming out of Oklahoma. He's put on about 20lbs since then, mostly in his gut, but his frame is similar to Brown's. Personally, I have my doubts about whether the back issue (which was never really explained too much), isn't fully resolved. He looks very stiff, even more stiff than he did his rookie year. If you've ever had a back injury, you'll know how bad stiffness can be. Im not as sure about the lack of reps or the lack of learning a new blocking scheme affected his ability to pass block. He was thrown into the starting lineup early in his rookie year, and he looked better than last year. I understand why Beane is hopeful for him. His physical talent, at least when drafted was Pro Bowl quality. It isn't a guy you want to give up on. But he may be damaged goods due to his back. I hope not. If Im Beane, I'd be having some come to Jesus talks with him, with the training staff, with his teammates, everyone I could to see how he is progressing. I'd need to be very sure that he CAN progress physically. Because you can't have that type of play at RT.

A good list so far. I'll add a few names: -Karl Brooks DT Bowling Green. He may no longer be a sleeper and his Pro Day was kinda meh..but he was one of the best, if not the best penetrating DT at the Senior Bowl. Great first step. Unreal production at Bowling Green, rushing from a number of positions. -Yaya Diaby- Edge Louisville. Bills just met with him. He needs to work on some edge rushing moves, but physically he's there. Strong and quick...did a 4.5 40 at the Combine which would make him the 2nd fastest rusher behind Von. -Nathaniel Dell- WR Houston. I mention him as a sleeper only because he isn't mentioned with the Downs', Flowers, Addisons, etc. IDK, the man left a number of jockstraps on the practice field during SB week. You can tell its not merely because of his short area quickness. He works on his craft. Productive at Houston, 17 TDs last year. You can find a way to make him work. -McClendon Curtis IOL Tenn-Chatt. Had a good SB week, held his own against the best. BIg, built more than Torrance/Avila. 35" arms, goes around 6'6" and 330lbs. Does get knocked backward very often. -Caleb Murphy -Edge Ferris St. A true sleeper. Incredible production at Ferris St. 25 sacks last year and nearly half of his tackles were behind the LOS. Actually won the Ted Hendricks award last season. Led his team to 2 DII championships. Stronger than he looks Not a very good Combine, had a 4.8 40, but his shuttle and 3 cone times weren't horrible. Late round/UDFA...he might be one of those guys that plays better than his timed speed. But its tough to over look his production even at a DII school.

they read my mock in the One Trade Mock thread from a week and a half ago: 137. Yaya Diaby. DE Louisville At the Senior Bowl practices, there was a great deal of disappointment amongst the edge rushers. Foskey, Carter from Army, Gay from LSU, Young from Tenn, Hall from Auburn, they weren't winning many battles. The only ones I saw who were beating anyone were McDonald from Iowa St. and to a lesser extent...Diaby. Juco transfer needs work. But he's 263, built like brick house and joy of joys, ran a 4.5 at the Combine. He's got Von to teach him the finer points of pass rushing. But speed is definitely lacking in the edge rush dept. on this team.

Uh, Eric Wood in 2009, who became a very good center until injuries forced him to retire? Before that..Mike Williams...21 years ago. Not a very large sample. This is a pretty good breakdown of the good and the bad. More good than bad. I kinda think he's not going to be there at 27 now. We aren't the only team that needs help at RT.

Yeah, if they'd have only listened to me. I did an All Small School Draft that year. I got Javon Hargrave in the 2nd, Matt Judon in the 3rd and Tyler Higbee in the 4th. When I did it, everyone said, "who?" Multiple times. Ofc, I drafted Paxton Lynch in the 1st..but you never can be 100 % on these things. The Bills drafted Shaq Lawson, Reggie Ragland and Adolphus Washington that year. John Butler would have been proud.

Washington State. Played previously at Nevada. A decent bio: https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Daiyan-Henley-LB-Nevada

It isn't that difficult of a decision, to me at least... and its a few choices. Most have already said them. You can either use 27 on shoring up the RT problem or get Edmunds replacement. on the former, Wright or Harrison should work. Both spent time before last season working on weak points. Wright worked on his footwork, Harrison on his core strength. Both showed improvement. Unless you are 95% sure that Brown is going to be vastly improved, you need to fix the position. Simply saying, "He'll be better", isn't enough. The other direction is finding Edmunds replacement. Campbell is the obvious choice. He makes up for being a tick slower over 40 yards by diagnosing a play earlier. I strongly doubt he's slower over 20 yards, which is where 95% of his play will come. That's the only starter missing from the 2022 defense. And that is getting Hyde back. If you take a RT first, there are a few choices, like Overshown, Henley or Dorian Willams, who could be good but need work. If you take a LB first, Bergeron from Syracuse is going to be one of the few choices left. He looked good at the Senior Bowl and some think he could be a better guard. The BIlls were working him out at his Pro Day. after that...idk. If they don't get one of those 3 at RT, it will be a wasted opportunity. But most importantly, you have to ignore those tired cliches, such as: -you don't draft a RT in the 1st round (makes no sense for a variety of reasons); -you don't take a 2nd round prospect in the 1st (more likely than not, you WILL be taking a 2nd round prospect in the 1st round); -I like him in the 2nd, but not the 1st (see above); -we can find one in the later round (maybe at LB, but the chances aren't good at tackle, the chances of finding, say a WR who can contribute are better in the later rounds). And most importantly, don't overthink it. The holes to fill are far less than in the past. Fix them...first.

The play of the tourney so far:

yeah, someone in the analytics department must have read something wrong. Maybe tied for 6th highest among guards. But nowhere close to being 6th best among all OL. More important..in his "good" year, 2021, he gave up around 35 pressures, which is about what Saffold gave up last year. McGovern is a little better in pass pro, but not much of a run blocker. I don't really hate the signing, except if it is used as a reason why we "fixed" the IOL and then wait until the later rounds to draft anyone. He doesn't really improve anything.

Ha, not the pick I'd make, but he's better than Maybin. McDonald was one of the few edge rushers at the Senior Bowl who was beating anyone. Wicked spin move. Stats aren't there, but he was being played as a 5 tech last year most of the time. But yeah, he's light in the load.

Don't hate it, but just a few comments. -Jones...eek...yeah I'd be tempted. He's got some footwork issues...but he's so big that it hasn't mattered so far. He could have his feet touching and people might not be able to knock him off balance. The footwork issues are correctable. But Mike Williams, eating himself out of the league flashbacks come back to me. -Tyler Scott might not be the fastest WR in the draft, but he's fast enough. I could see them finding a spot for him. -Saldiveri...sigh. To be warned, watch the Senior Bowl practices. He's being driven back several yards on nearly every rep. I thought to myself.."yeah, this is someone they'd take." He wasn't good. Intelligence is great, but sooner or later, you need to stop the guy in front of you. -Jartavious Martin- like the pick and agree on his versatility. -Chase Brown like the player. I'd love Tyjae Spears. But with both, I have a feeling they wouldn't see much playing time and would be wasted on the bench.

Traded down one spot with the Bengals. Got pick 131 from them. 28. Darnell Wright, OT, Tenn. I liked the Spencer Brown pick. I like Spencer Brown. I thought he had the opportunity to be a PB RT for years. After his rookie year, the best word to describe it was...promising. But with the back injury and his play last year...idk. You can't take the risk of giving up another 42 pressures in 14 games like Brown did. between him and Quessenberry, they probably gave up over 50. You can't have that. You just can't. 59. Jack Campbell, MLB Iowa. Not a tough choice. The clincher was Luke Kuechly getting in McD's ear. 91. Steve Avila OG TCU Got a little out of breath running to the podium when I saw he was there. With him and Wright the OL...the major weakness of the team, just got better. Lots better. No more mediocre cast offs to "plug holes." 130. Jonathan Mingo WR Ole Miss A favorite of Greg Cosell. Everyone is looking for the 5'8" WR, I just went the opposite. 6'2" 220 lbs and ran a 4.46 40 at the Combine with a 40" vertical. He's strong, he's got good hands and can run routes better than many coming out of college. Strong enough to break some tackles, fast enough to gain some YAC. And he's a big target who can make the contested catch. 131. Karl Brooks DT Bowling Green. His college production was off the charts. And more than enough to get him an invite to the Senior Bowl. During practices, he was creating penetration more than nearly all of the interior DL. The next Javon Hargrave...(nah, Im not big on pro comps.). 137. Yaya Diaby. DE Louisville At the Senior Bowl practices, there was a great deal of disappointment amongst the edge rushers. Foskey, Carter from Army, Gay from LSU, Young from Tenn, Hall from Auburn, they weren't winning many battles. The only ones I saw who were beating anyone were McDonald from Iowa St. and to a lesser extent...Diaby. Juco transfer needs work. But he's 263, built like brick house and joy of joys, ran a 4.5 at the Combine. He's got Von to teach him the finer points of pass rushing. But speed is definitely lacking in the edge rush dept. on this team. 205. Jartavius Martin, safety, Illinois. Maybe a lil short at 5'11". but its the 6th round. He can easily plug in at nickel or even boundary CB in a pinch.

Nah, they took Lane Johnson, not only in the 1st round, but at no. 4. And that was when they had an All Pro LT on their roster (who they got from us). True, they got Kelce in the late rounds...but and were smart enough to keep him for his entire career, as they did with Lane Johnson. Their 2nd round left guard was the 1st pick of the 2nd, or about 5 picks from 27..where we are now picking. And they used another 2nd this last year on an IOL, despite having Kelce still there. When they miss, like they did on Dillard, they aren't afraid of picking OL again. As far as their late round picks...ask yourself...how many of them as this regime found? We are talking 5 years now...and the only one they found..they dumped. Damn, go back with this team and the last one you can find of these mid-late round gems is Jason Peters, over 20 years ago. Philly can find the late round picks because...they are good at it. And they place more importance on the OL unit as a whole. They don't simply say, "we need 'A' tackle..or 'A' guard," and then throw a dart at the board. They have the e v a l. skills to pick the right OL player. That's not the BIlls, or this current regime. They are good at other areas, especially DBs. But OL...not their strong suit. If I were Beane, I'd be bringing in a few of the best OL minds in the scouting realm, at least for this draft. Nothing wrong with asking for help. Those who say, "we can get one later in the draft" usually end up with a subpar OL, and wonder why these middle round picks are turnstiles.

I had a feeling you'd get a few groans. No worries. The "you don't draft a RT!!!!" faction is as strong as the "you can always find them in the later rounds" faction. (though they never do.). I'll throw out another name I'd be considering at RT. Darnell Wright of Tenn. He didn't give up a sack this season, in SEC competition. He worked hard on his footwork before last season, and it showed. He shut down Will Anderson of Bama, who is largely considered the best edge rusher in the draft. To borrow from the Magnificent Seven (the original): VIllager 1: There's a guy we are looking for...look at the scars on his face. Villager 2: The man we want is the guy who gave him his scars. Yul Brynner: You learn fast. There is 0 things wrong with taking a quality RT at 27. I liked the Spencer Brown draft pick, I still don't have a problem with it. But a back injury needing some type of medical procedure at that early age...yeah it makes me nervous. It wasn't just missing training camp last year, as Beane likes to say. Damn, he was starting by about the 4th game last year, his rookie year. And he looked better in 2021 than in 2022. Something didn't look right with him last year. And with a bad back, I don't have a great deal of hope for improvement...not for a guy colliding with 300 lb. repeatedly. Taking Jones from Ohio State...damned..idk. He looked really, really dominating in his Senior bowl practice until he got hurt...I just have Mike Williams flashbacks.

Just throwin' it out there. Don't be shocked if they take Jack Campbell of Iowa at 27, or possibly in the 2nd. He's won every award a defensive player can win in the college ranks. He does everything well, great instincts, smart and 6'4" 245 lbs. The big question everyone had was his athleticism. He got the "he's too slow" label and I think people think he was going to run a 5.0 40. He didn't. He ran a 4.64 at the Combine. In other drills there, he was in the top 3 to top 5. Took the top spot in the 3 cone and short shuttle drills. He answered doubts about his athleticism. if its run D, it improves with him.

Well now that they are all back together, there is a choir of angels right now, all screaming Free Bird, with a bunch of chick angels sitting onthe shoulders of the male angels.

Sometimes you have to balance these stories with a lil good news: https://nypost.com/2023/03/07/minnesota-viking-kj-osborn-saves-man-from-burning-car-in-texas/

That's a possibility. If you're looking to go in that direction, Cedric Tillman of Tenn. needs to be considered. He was hurt early last season, needed ankle surgery, but still came back before the season ended. Over 1000 yards in 2021 with great games against Bama and Georgia in 2021. 6'3" 215 lbs. with great hands and excellent in contested catches. Get it near him, he'll catch it.

IDK. Using the Cinci example, the very next week, Burrow was sacked 5 times and harassed far more. His rating was 70 for that game and they scored about 7 points less than they averaged. Buffalo proved you could win a playoff game with their Oline, but we are not looking to win a playoff game any longer. To me at least, the bottom of the first/top of the second is a sweet spot for finding a quality OL. We'd probably have our choice of the best two interior OL in Torrence or Schmitt (Schmidt?). Either would start day 1, improve our OL and protect our greatest asset/playmaker. In terms of OT's, there will probably be 3 taken off the board before we pick. Wright from Tenn would improve the RT position immediately, assuming there is no improvement from Spencer Brown or Doyle. Id actually prefer a trade down to the middle of the 2nd and pick up an extra pick. To me at least, there is going to be a better chance of getting a WR or S in rounds 3-5 than there will be on the OL, especially at OT. Although I admit, I would be tempted on Hiatt at WR, warts and all.