BillsFanForever19

You talk of it as if taking a guy in Round 1 means that's what we're getting. Ideally, we're able to Draft a guy who becomes that. But that's a MASSIVE ask at 28. Jefferson was drafted at 25 and was WR5. But he's very much the exception, not the rule. And Chase was drafted 5th overall. I think we should take a WR in Round 1. But invoking the names of Jefferson and Chase are some mighty lofty expectations.

Oh yay - another Diggs trade thread. Joy. If Diggs were to be or will be traded (which was/is very unlikely) - it would have happened before 3/17 and now it wouldn't happen until after 6/1. Beane's not locking in his 18.5m salary (which was guaranteed on 3/17) first before moving him or taking on a full 31m Dead Cap hit all at once (which is what it would be to do it post 3/17 and before 6/1). I'd be EXTREMELY surprised if it were to happen even after 6/1 and before next season - as, capped or not, I don't see Beane making Pegula dish out an 18.5m dollar check for a player that won't be here.

You beat me to it. I hope we Draft him just so everytime he makes a play I can say

I just mean in the sense of a converted Rugby player from the International Pathway Program that gets some headlines, but ultimately doesn't work out. Maybe he bucks the trend when it comes to a skill player. But outside of OT Jordan Mailata for the Eagles, the IPP hasn't yielded much.

That's some serious conjecture there. There's any number of reasons he couldn't get more playing time. When Deebo needed to be replaced as a Starter, he was just a Freshman. There were 3 WR's who ended up being Drafted at WR from South Carolina during his time there before last season. College teams don't hold open competitions for every position every season. It could have been as simple as the coach just personally preferred others over him until last season. That doesn't confirm he's a lesser player or any of the other things you said. Players get buried in Division 1 all the time.

Yeah, I'm not understanding the people who are like "look at the tape" when it comes to Franklin. As I've said before, I think "the tape" refers to YouTube highlight reels. When you dig deeper than that, there's a lot of uninspiring stuff in the footage. Stuff that the Combine performance seemed to confirm. Leading up to the Combine, fans on this board were way higher on him than a lot of the experts were. Now that we get further and further away from the Combine, there's a push by the people that fell in love with the highlight reel to say "forget about what you saw at the Combine, just look at the shiny highlight video". They also seem to want to go "oh, he was sick? That explains everything, pay no mind to the Combine". A couple major problems with that for me: 1.) Sickness had no bearing on him being 2" shorter than he was listed and having under 9" hands. 2.) If his sickness contributed to his slower than expected times - why didn't he re-run the 10 yard split and 40 Yard Dash at his Pro Day? There also seems to be this idea that us having a Private Workout with him means that we're heavily interested in him. In all actuality, that's not a good thing. Top Prospects aren't generally asked to re-do their workouts or agree to do that on a visit. Us asking and him agreeing to do that speaks to how badly he looked at the Combine and how they view him now. Long story short, the "tape" isn't anywhere near as strong as the few minute highlights would lead you to believe. And the Combine dispelled the things that made me think he was a 1st Round guy before I watched more than just highlight reels and seemingly confirmed the concerns I had from when I did. Troy is not one of the 8 WR's I have a 1st Round Grade on. He's my WR10 and I'd only be interested if we went with another position in Round 1 and couldn't get one of the first 9 guys I have above him.

Christian Wade 2.0

Ah, yes. The Marv Levy Draft. What an eye opener that was.

I have the same list in Round 1 plus Xavier Worthy and Xavier Legette is more than a consolation prize to me. As for the Chiefs, people just need to accept they're going to get a WR too and believe whomever we take will be as good as theirs or better, whether it's before them or after them. We both have needs there and we're going to take a guy and they're going to take a guy. It just is what it is. It's so annoying to me seeing people say "we have to trade up and make sure we get someone before the Chiefs" and "we CAN'T let the Chiefs get (x) player" - and then depending on who's saying that, it's literally every WR that should be in range. We all have our personal favorites. But there's no guarantee that who we take, whether we do it before them or after them, is going to end up the better NFL WR - and vice versa. Especially with how close in talent all of these guys are. Anytime I see this said, I know "the tape" being watched is just the highlight reel. Dig a little deeper and you'll see a lot of "lowlights". The scary thing about the Combine performance is it highlighted a lot of the stuff I saw on film. Especially the 1.61 10 Yard Split (which ranked dead LAST amongst all WR's) which explained a lot of footage of him struggling to get off the line (often against weak, non-NFL prospect CB's). His speed is a long gaining speed. Separation doesn't come until much later in the route. And of that speed, he tested slower than expected, nowhere near the guys he was expected to be at and slower than a lot of guys he was expected to smoke. I was ready to accept maybe it was just because he was sick. Then his Pro Day came and he chose to stand by those times, instead of re-running. And that's not even taking into account the less than expected physical measurements that sickness has nothing to do with. He's a 2nd Round Prospect to me and shouldn't be taken, and proabably won't be taken, before Thomas, Mitchell, Worthy, Legette, McConkey, or Coleman. If we take another position before WR in Round 1 and we take him somewhere in Round 2 with all of those guys gone - that's fine. At 28 and with any of those players available, i'd be disappointed.

You know I'm with you on Legette and Bullard all the way. To the moon! But I'm not in on Center before Day 3. Personally, I see what McGovern excels at being better suited at Center. And obviously, so do they. According to Beane, the plan in bringing him was to eventually move him to Center one day. In reading The Athletic article (https://theathletic.com/5348891/2024/03/19/connor-mcgovern-bills-center-transition?source=user-shared-article) - it's what McGovern's always wanted. I don't see them telling him he's getting his wish, re-signing Edwards at a pay raise to start at LG (who was a consistent starter before last year and Kromer is a fan of), signing Clapp as depth who started most of last year for the Chargers, and then spending a premium pick on another Center.

Lot to like watching him. VERY instinctive. And he was coached by out CB coach - so he'll have the inside track on him and his fit here.

He's an intriguing 4th or 5th Round Prospect. Obviously good genes, posted good numbers at the Combine. But he's a converted QB and has only played WR last year and this year and at an AAC level School in Rice. So he's obviously very raw. I like him and am interested, if he was still on the board at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th. Genes and athletic ability make him worth a gamble there.

There was some discussion directly following the Combine that maybe that was a reality. I remember Ian Rappaport saying on the telecast that he had talked to a "respected executive" who told him that they thought he may have just made himself WR4 in the Draft. But as time has gone on, people have looked at his tape, and discussed him further with execs and people in the know - he seems to have kind of settled in to that WR6-8 area. Scuttlebutt lately that I've been hearing is that Mitchell is up there with Thomas alone in the 2nd Tier, that it's possible Mitchell may leapfrog him, and that neither Thomas or Mitchell will be available for us. All it takes is one team though. I could easily see a scenario where someone gets obsessed with his speed and overdrafts him. But I think occurrences of falling in love with elite speed and overdrafting for that in John Ross or Henry Ruggs and the results that came from them may work against him in that.

Outside of the Top 3 that will be long gone, Brian Thomas Jr., Adonai Mitchell, Xavier Worthy, Xavier Legette are the WR's I'd be happy with in Round 1. Byron Murphy II or Johnny Newton are the only DT's id be happy with in Round 1. Laiatu Latu is the only DE (outside of the others that will be long gone) that I'd be happy with in Round 1. Outside of Round 1, I really like the idea of Braelon Allen at RB. Tyler Nubin, Javon Bullard, or Dadrion Taylor-Demerson at Safety. Kris Jenkins, Braden Fiske, Michael Hall Jr., Ruke Orhorhoro, or DeWayne Carter at DT. And I like Ja'Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, Jermaine Burton, Jalen McMillan, Brendan Rice, and Luke McCaffrey in the 60-128 range at WR.

The cost to get the Cardinals or the Giants to: a.) Move from 4 or 6 to 28 (everyone likes to talk about the Julio Trade - that was 15 picks. This is 22-24.) b.) Outmaneuver teams like Minnesota trying to get to the same area for a QB. c.) Get a team that needs WR to pass on a generational talent like MHJ or Nabers.... Would be astronomical! This ain't no "just meet the chart and it's done" type of move. The Cardinals and The Giants are either taking a BIG time, impossible to say no to overpay - or they're just taking them for themselves. An absolute waste of breath to even talk about.

I mean, to be fair, he's the millionth person to point it out because there's a million posts a day (and generally 95% of them are from the same poster) calling for it when it really can't be done before 6/1.

I just see Veruca Salt all day, every day.

Your level of spamming ridiculous posts like this over the past few days has reached an all time level. It's as if you feel if you post about trading Diggs and Drafting 2 of the top 5-7 WR's back to back a million times a day, across multiple threads, every single day and you're able to get even *one* like minded person to agree with you - that it's going to happen. You should be happy if we take even 1 top 7-10 WR in this Draft and that we do it in Round 1. Although that I agree that we should, That's far from a guarantee. Hell, there's even some prognosticators who say we don't even take one at all in the first 2 Rounds.

The general feeling I'm getting reading things and listening to people as we get closer is that the first 3 will be gone in the first 7-10 picks and that it's likely that both Brian Thomas Jr. and Adonai Mitchell will be off the board by 28. After that, the feeling is that there's upwards of 5-10 guys that are lumped together in that 3rd Tier that are all very similarly ranked, depending on the type of WR you're looking for. KC is going to get a guy just as we will. Just have to accept that and get over it. You can't let fear that the guy they're going to get may end up better than the guy we're going to get dictate what we do on Draft Day. There's no guarantee that us moving up to take a WR higher than the 28 is going to yield better results than the guy they could get at 32 or later. Especially when that 2nd-3rd Tier of WR is so deep and so close to each other in level of talent per prospect. At Pick 30-40 - you're still going to get a guy worth taking at 28. All of Xavier Worthy, Xavier Legette, Ladd McConkey, Keon Coleman, and Troy Franklin aren't going to all be gone in a small move down. Hell, the guy that Beane prefers there may still be available to him in a small trade down. I have my favorites, but there isn't a ton separating the guy at the top of that list and the bottom, in terms of talent and ceiling level of development. And there isn't a ton separating those guys from guys like Roman Wilson, Malachi Corley, Ja'Lynn Polk, Ricky Pearsall, Tez Walker, and Javon Baker. Long story short, I disagree with the idea of panicking over what KC might get and giving up other assets, especially 60, to take a guy slightly higher rated in prospective projection over the opportunity to add more pieces similarly ranked in rebuilding our roster. If someone like Thomas or Mitchell comes within striking range and Beane really wants him, i'd have no problem with him going to get them. But ideally, you have 3 picks between Day 1 and Day 2 and you use later picks to move around and take 3 guys you really instead of just 2. What I see when I read your millionth unlikely WR scenario post of the day

I think the smart move is to stay pat at 28 or Trade down a little bit from there to try and pick up a 3rd or another 4th that we can use to get back up into the 3rd. The only issue with that is finding a partner that wants to move to 28. Prevailing thought is that the type of guys left at 28 aren't too dissimilar to the types of guys you'd find throughout Round 2. And that the real depth of the Draft is in the 2nd and 3rd tiers that spread multiple rounds. If that's the case, it may not be as easy as the Trade Down crowd makes it out to be to find someone who will give up multiple mid rounders for 1 guy still on the board at the end of Round 1. But, anyways, I think the move up makes more sense in Round 2. Getting a difference maker that can play right away at WR (if we were to go DL in Round 1) or DL (if we were to go WR in Round 1) is a dubious proposition at 60. Probably need to get up to at least the middle of Round 2 to secure someone there. In a perfect world, it's a small trade down from 28 (unless someone has fallen) and then a trade up from 60.

Seeing a lot of posts that allude to him being nothing more than a camp body and a placeholder that isn't guaranteed to make the roster. And while no one who's not a starting core member of the team is a 100% guarantee to make the 53 - I think people are underselling the move. He's a guy who started 10 games in 2023 and 15 games in 2022. For the role of rotational 3T behind Ed Oliver, that's a pretty solid type of player for that role. Do I think we still Draft another DT and possibly high? Yes. But I could just as easily see a scenario that in Johnson and Williams, they feel good about who they have behind their starters and just take another DT as depth and developmental in Day 3. The idea that he may not even make the roster and his ceiling is competing for 5th DT seems to be a heavy discount of him. He's certainly on par or better than people we've had in that role in the past.

Motivation. He's been clapping back at anyone who says he's toast. He's pissed off about it. If you pay attention to his IG, he's been training REALLY hard. He's extremely motivated to prove the doubters wrong. You still *want* to believe he'll be traded at the Draft because you're obsessed with the new shiny toys and just 1 isn't good enough for you. You post multiple times, almost exclusively, every single day about acquiring 2-3 of the top WR's and moving Diggs to do it. Everything that you've brought up to prove he needs to go or is going to go has been disproved. Diggs has said he doesn't want to leave. Beane has said he's going to be here. As for the "cryptic tweets" - Dan Graziano from ESPN checked in with people close to him about them and found out it's not about him wanting to leave and that he doesn't want to: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10113564-nfl-trade-rumors-stefon-diggs-expected-to-remain-with-bills-despite-cryptic-tweet There's no way that Beane didn't trade him before March 17th, but is going to do it now when it will cost 31m in Dead Cap now. If he's to be moved at this point, it won't happen until after 6/1.

The point is, you can get two talented, quality WR's without picking one at 28 and one at 60. When it comes to WR in this Draft - it's LOADED. The drop off between someone you'd get at 60 and someone you'd get at 128 isn't all that much. However, the drop off between a 3-Tech DT in Round 2 and one in Round 4 is MASSIVE. Even at 60, we're probably scraping near the bottom of the barrel of players you could feel comfortable putting out there on Sunday's. And with what's left (or rather, not left) in FA at the position, we can't afford to wait until 128.

Yeah, if it were as simple as retiring to get out of a contract and become a Free Agent - there'd be a bunch of players "retiring" every offseason.