BillsFanForever19

Parker hasn't even played a down yet and we're already lumping him in with Keon and saying he's "not looking like (a) great draft pick"? 🤨

Maybe. Ciarlo was in a similar position last year and he was able to impress in a short time. They probably don't want Benford playing much or at all. Maybe the same for Dee Alford. And Hairston and Kani Walker have been sitting out practices. So this is basically just bc they needed an extra body for the Pre-Season.

I'll break this down pretty simply... The Goo Goo Dolls are on Tour right now. You say they sell out shows. They exclusively play Ampitheaters. Their current standing and their body of work is one wherein they cannot fill larger arenas and stadiums. Guns n' Roses and Green Day, off the back of multiple legendary albums, many hits, and both having legendary careers that have seen them inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - play Stadiums. Tame Impala has the #5 song on Spotify right now and are a current act and even they don't play stadiums. If you ask a hundred random people if they've heard of or can name a song of the Goo Goo Dolls, Guns n' Roses, or Green Day - The Goo Goo Dolls is going to be mentioned third and by a large margin. I think 'Iris' is a great song. 'Dizzy' was a great album. But one great album 26 years ago that they couldn't follow up on and a slight resurgence on TikTok doesn't equate to a "massive" act for me. Especially in 2026. Again, if they're "massive" than artists like the aforementioned are indefinable.

Javon Solomon is also a core Special Teamer and is likely to stick for that. Ty Johnson often logs snaps on Special Teams as well. The LB unit will produce at least a few. I see Keonta Jenkins as the front runner for LB5 and he'd be a Special Teamer. As would Jimmy Ciarlo if he won the job or if they kept 6 LB's bc they need more Teams. And it wouldn't surprise me to see KEO being used on Teams during the Pre-Season as well.

I couldn't disagree more. Being 110th on any chart doesn't scream "massive". There's a million hot TikTok songs at any point. That doesn't make *all* of those artists massive. Massive to me is an all time legendary act that still performs like, for example, (to differing levels) - Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Metallica, Guns n' Roses, Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Beyonce, or Green Day. Or They're one of the current hottest Pop Stars like, for example - Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, Bad Bunny, Ariana Grande, or Chappell Roan. And those are just the biggest off the top of my head. There's an even bigger numbered list I could come up with between artists of their statute and where I see the Goo Goo Dolls right now - that I would consider above Johnny Rzenik and the boys. If the year were 1999, coming off "Dizzy Up the Girl" or if they had a string of hits that followed that album then maybe an argument could be made. But it The Goo Goo Dolls in the year 2026 are considered "massive" - then there simply isn't a word in the dictionary to quantity artists in those two categories above...

Very slightly. Pride was a 7th Round Pick. The 7th Round (unless you're taking a Punter or Long Snapper or something) is looked at as basically getting a jump on Undrafted Free Agency. They're essentially priority UDFA's. So it's not at all shocking to see a UDFA outperform a 7th Rounder, as there's little to no separating the talent level. And very rarely are they making the roster anyways. Especially on a team like ours. And while Walker is technically above him, I don't see either of them making the 53. With the flexibility we have along the Secondary, there's really no need to keep more than Benford, Hairston, Alford, IGB, and Hancock. And both Pride and Walker are extremely low risks to be signed to another teams 53. So they're tailor made for the Practice Squad. The only way I see either making the squad is if a.) There's a serious injury to the CB room or b.) The Special Teams room needs more bodies and one of them excels there. In which case they aren't really there as a CB anyways (like Sam Franklin is a "Safety").

The first depth chart at this point in the Pre-Season really doesn't mean much. Especially if you're looking beyond the starters. Even that can change. I've seen guys who are "buried" make the team and guys who are high up on the Depth Chart be cut. Lots will change between now and the Depth Chart listed before Week 1.

Certainly, where he selected a WR in 2024, he's been proven right. Xavier Worthy and Xavier Legette who went before Keon have proven to be no better than Keon. Ja'Lynn Polk, the next Boundary WR after Keon was worse and outright cut. My issue in the 2024 Draft isn't who he selected. In hindsight, he was damned no matter which direction he went for a Boundary WR from Picks 28-33. My issue is that he put himself in the position to have to take one of those guys instead of moving up a bit. Everyone knew there was a dropoff after BTJ. So why stand pat and take a 3rd Tier guy when you could have moved up 5-6 picks and gotten a 2nd tier? In 2023, we picked 27th. And when Pick 20 came on the clock - JSN, Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison, and Quentin Johnston were all on the board. Again, a minimal trade up could have gotten us one. Instead, he watched them one by one come off the board and landed none. This year, we picked 26th. When Pick 20 came on the clock - Malakai Lemon and KC Concepcion were on the board. We all knew Cleveland was a prime landing spot for Concepcion. Again, he chose not to move up. And then passed on Omar Cooper as well. They haven't played a down yet, so we don't know what they'll be. But if either become legitimate starting WR's, that's another missed opportunity. I didn't say "he sucks". But he certainly doesn't prioritize the WR position in the Draft. And he really should - as it's one of the most expensive and important positions in Football. While picking where we are makes getting the top tier talents basically impossible, that doesn't mean he should sit on his hands and let the board come to him. That's a failing proposition, as evidenced by 23, 24, and 26. Move up a little bit and get a 1st Round Talent. Get the best talents you can and keep churning that position until you have bonafide starters in your stable on Rookie contracts that you can have for the long term. Trading Draft Picks AND paying a fortune for veterans you're only going to have for 5 years tops and then filling the position with Day 3 picks and budget Free Agents is just not a smart way to handle the position.

Franklin will be here as a core Special Teamer. He'll be listed as a "Safety" - but he'll be an extra 5th just there for Teams. He's not an NFL caliber Safety. But he's a very good Teams guy. Probably a Captain. I agree with all of this - but I believe (as unpopular of a take as I'm sure it will be) that it will be Hamlin on the 53 instead of Stone. He was the first guy up when CJGJ went down and I think he's better than Stone. At worst, he's equal - but in my opinion he'd get the nod in that he's beloved in the Locker Room, does a lot for the community, and is a long time Bill. I know the thought amongst most fans is "anyone but Hamlin". But Stone is not any better. Bengals fans would tell you he's worse. For as much crap as Hamlin takes, there's definitely worse Safeties in the league at the bottom of the Depth Chart for many teams. I see 10 between CB (Benford, Hairston, Alford, IGB and Hancock) and Safety (CJGJ, Bishop, Kilgore, Hamlin, and Franklin).

*If* a 6th CB was kept, it would exclusively be for Special Teams. A 6th won't be kept to play Cornerback. We're completely set on Gameday with the 5 I said above and with Safeties that have flex. It would be like how Sam Franklin's a "Safety".

No - I don't see either staying. I see us keeping 8 Draft Picks, which is already a higher number than usual. But Pride isn't one of them. We cut way more 7th Rounders than we keep. Tommy Dorman will stick, but that's just bc he's a Punter and Punter's are generally late Round Picks. You seem to be working under the assumption that you need to have 6. You don't. We actually often carry 5. And as i've said multiple times now - I see the CB room consisting solely of Christian Benford, Maxwell Hairston, Dee Alford, Davison Igbinosun, and Jordan Hancock. There's really no need for anyone else on the Active Roster with the versatility of our DB room between guys like Dee Alford (Nickel, Boundary), Jordan Hancock (Nickel, Safety), and Jalon Kilgore (Safety, Nickel) For example: 1 Boundary CB goes down, IGB comes in. 2 Boundary CB's go down, Alford slides over and Hancock takes over at Nickel. If Hancock then went down, Kilgore would come in at Nickel. Then the following week you'd call up people from the a Practice Squad to fill in for the injuries. Anything more than that in a single game would be insane and you'd always have to get creative to finish out the game because no team is dressing enough CB's to cover for 4 of them going down in a single game anyways. Again, no need to roster more than those 5 CB's and I don't see 6 guys that are necessary to put on the 53. Guys like Walker and Pride are tailor made for our Practice Squad and that's where I see them ending up, if they're on the team at all.

Kani Walker is not making the 53 unless there's injuries. He may have earned his way on to the Practice Squad. But as a non-priority undrafted free agent - I can all but guarantee no one is signing him to their 53 man roster if we cut him. And if they did, I'd imagine the team would be happy for him. With the versatility we have in the DB room, there's no need to keep more than Benford, Hairston, Alford, IGB, and Hancock. We won't be dressing more than those 5 on Sunday's anyways. And there will be multiple players who will be on the bubble that will be a higher risk of not getting back if we cut them.

This to me just goes to show the lack of patience some fans have for Draft Picks. Most Draft Picks require time to develop. If you've lasted until Day 3 - you almost *definitely* are going to need time to develop. It the league viewed Skyler Bell as a sure fire Year 1 contributor right out of the gate, he wouldn't have lasted until Day 3. There wouldn't have been TWENTY WR's Drafted before he came off the board. Hell, if the Bills thought he was a definitive big time Year 1 contributor - they wouldn't have waited that long to take him themselves. And again, there's nothing wrong with that. His scouting report has some things to be excited about and some things that said he would take some time. It was always a likely scenario that he'd be someone who wouldn't see much playing time in Year 1 unless there were injuries. But so many fans put such ridiculous expectations on him, almost out of mental necessity bc of their mistrust in Palmer and Coleman. And the lack of patience for Draft Picks has him going so far as "if he can't contribute in Year 1 - waive him". And I find that very sad. That last tweet is harsh, but I don't see anything wrong with the one before it. That's simply stating facts. I only really included it to highlight that even against Undrafted Rookies - he's not breaking away from the pack. Which doesn't mean that he can't develop into more. Just showing the state of things at the current juncture.

This doesn't track for me. You don't just throw on your pads and "put yourself back on the field". The training staff and especially the Head Coach have to sign off on that. And even if it was as minimal a Calf Strain as there could be, putting him back out there less than a week after he went down with no contact was crazy to me.

Oh, I agree. And there's nothing wrong with him needing a little time to develop either. Ultimately, that's probably why he was available on Day 3. If he was thought of as an instant contributor, he would have went on Day 1 or Day 2. I've always felt the way some fans around here and on Social Media talked about him that they were setting unrealistic expectations on him and setting themselves up for likely disappointment. All this to say that those who are hoping for an instant impact - it's not trending that way at the moment. As Palmer and Coleman have "clearly" looked better. And the problem with him clearly being WR5 is that they're unlikely to dress more than 4 WR's that don't play Special Teams.