BillsFanForever19

With the holes we have at positions of need and what's left in Free Agency (not to mention of our cap) - that 1st Pick is going to see significant snaps, if not start. It's been that way with a Rookie dating back to the beginning with this regime, save for Epenesa (who was a late 2nd Round pick) and Elam (who got beat out by Benford). Last year it was Keon Coleman, the year before Dalton Kincaid, in 2022 it was supposed to be Kaiir Elam but ended up being Benford (finding a Benford in the 6th is the exception, not the rule), in 2021 it was Greg Rousseau, in 2019 it was Ed Oliver, in 2018 it was Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds, and in 2017 it was Tre White. A positive contribution is greater than no contribution at all. Especially when the roster is in the shape it's in after a pretty lacking Free Agency. There's a major difference between Drafting a player who gets hurt in Training Camp and the Pre-Season and misses his Rookie year like JJ McCarthy and Drafting a guy knowing he's got a long recovery and will miss his Rookie year. That argument you're making that any Rookie we Draft can get injured and miss the season furthers my point. If we're already taking on a guy who won't play with our top pick and one of our other top picks goes down in Training Camp - we're really nowhere this year. My overall point is this roster needs far more help to this point than I was expecting. Outside of upgrading Von Miller to Joey Bosa (who is a risky proposition) and Mack Hollins to Joshua Palmer (who is a 670 yard average WR) - we have nothing to speak for in terms of improvement to the team. And at spots like CB and DT we've taken a step back. Even at WR, we only have 4 and we're maybe slightly better than we were when we had to make a deal for Cooper (who's spot we haven't replaced) halfway through the season bc we didn't have enough. With what's left in Free Agency and where we're at financially - we're looking to the Draft to fill a lot of those holes. And our best shot at doing that is with the highest picks we have. To use our top asset for a guy who we know will be on ice until next season isn't really feasible IMO.

If you read the posts before that one you'd see the entire discussion hinged on Happy's question of if Jihaad Campbell were to fall to us bc of an 8-9 month recovery window for a Surgery he just had - would you take him?

I'm sorry, but in the situation of spending our 1st on a player who won't play this year - I couldn't disagree more. And we'll just have to agree to disagree there I guess. We needed to improve this team to overcome the Chiefs and especially to compete with the Eagles if we want to win a Championship. We didn't do that in Free Agency. Outside of upgrading Von Miller to Joey Bosa (who given his health history is a bit of a risk) and Mack Hollins to Joshua Palmer - we've made no moves that move the dial and in multiple places we have outright holes and guys that should have been replaced. We need to lean on this Draft a lot harder than I was expecting to. Even before the suspensions of Ogunjobi and Hoecht. It's a large reason why OP's idea can't happen, even if someone was willing to move all the way down there. We need to hit on multiple picks that can make an impact immediately after what we did (or didn't do) in FA. In my opinion, this roster is not in the position where we have the luxury to Draft a guy that won't play for us at all in 2025 with our most valuable asset.

On one hand, yes. On the other, he's spent the past 3 years away from NCAA competition in the WWE and the NFL. That's a long time checked out of the game.

Oh, I don't disagree with Gunner. It's gross. But it doesn't change the situations.

I mean, it's not so much an excuse, but an unfortunate neccessity. We need a Starting CB. We only have 3 rosterable DT's total and Jones shouldn't even be on the roster IMO. We need another Edge. Another WR. Ogunjobi and Hoecht could have made those needs lesser. But now we're going into the year with just Ed Oliver, Daquan Jones, and Dewayne Carter at DT. And Greg Rousseau, Joey Bosa, AJ Epenesa, and Javon Solomon at Edge. One injury to Edge and you're using Bosa way more than we should or starting Solomon. And we don't even have the ability to take Daquan Jones and Ed Oliver off the field at DT. And that's not even taking into account Dane Jackson or Ja'Marcus Ingram starting across Benford. Or our WR core being just Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, Keon Coleman, and Curtis Samuel. The situation is what it is. It sucks. But there's no way we can Draft a guy with our most valuable asset that also won't be able to play for us Week 1 and is probably unlikely to play for us in Year 1 at all, with how conservative McDermott is.

Right now, if I had to guess, it'll be a competition between a Round 1 or Round 2 Rookie, Dane Jackson, and Ja'Marcus Ingram. We were never going to address every position of need we had with a difference maker in FA with our cap situation. Jackson sets the floor and hopefully we Draft a Rookie who's ready right out of the gate. I'd like to see us bring in Chidobe Awuzie if we could get him on a decent deal so there's more than just Jackson and Ingram as the options if they want to bring the Rookie along slowly. Other options like Gilmore or Samuel Jr. seem unlikely to me as guys McDermott and Beane would be interested in. Though I wouldn't be opposed if they gave one of them a shot.

Not surprising. I'm sure Beane made inquiries on most of the difference making CB's. But it's obvious he wasn't willing to pay the exploding market money on any of them. Probably because he plans on paying Benford at some point and that there was a lot he wanted to do with the Defensive Line and also getting the WR he wanted.

Ty is great. But I don't see the comparison beyond being a RB who has exceeded expectations. Ty is a great receiving RB and a great 3rd Down back. Fred was an every down workhorse.

In another year, yes I would. This year, no. We didn't do enough in Free Agency and especially after the suspensions to Hoecht and Ogunjobi - we can't spend our 1st on another guy we won't have to start the year. And knowing how conservative McDermott is with his Rookies, i'd doubt he would see much playing time or any at all in Year 1, having no Training Camp or Pre-Season. If we had done more and/or those suspensions didn't come in - go for it. But we're in a much poorer situation than I thought we would be to this point when it comes to building the roster.

Probably a number of factors. He only played 4 games last season. Since then it's come out that he has a medical issue that he says he's had most of his life. Compounding that is his diminitive stature and play style. He's only 5'10". And he's sort of a Deion Sanders type player that is very good in coverage, but a poor tackler who some believe avoids contact (which may now be explained by the health issue). That may not be an issue for everyone, but I could see it being an issue for coaches like McDermott. On top of all of that, the CB market has exploded. And while I haven't heard he and his agent have put a large number on him, i'd bet he has because even with the concerns - he's generally a pretty solid starting CB. I'd imagine with some of the concerns around him, teams are wanting him for less than his asking price and so it's just a waiting game.

We have a 64 page James Cook thread about this already...

I think you should probably take a look at Lorenzo Alexander's wikipedia to jog your memory of the things he did before he came to Buffalo. There's no comparison to be made between Lorax and Fotu, even before Alexander came to Buffalo.

There's a lot of taking the exception as the rule on this thread for different situations. I agree. You aren't finding a Benford in Round 6 in every Draft. You'd be lucky to get a Dane Jackson. Guys like Jackson and Wallace were undoubtedly good returns on the investments. But that didn't make them great Cornerbacks. Just great for the return on a 7th Rounder or Undrafted. You want better then either of them at their absolute best on the other side of Benford. And you're very unlikely to find that on Day 3. That said, the idea of trading up to get Will Johnson is a laughable concept. But I would hope CB is one of our three picks in Round 1 and Round 2.

Are we? Fotu is nothing to get excited about. He's essentially a prove it guy. Wouldn't be guaranteed a roster spot. He played all of 2 games last season. He's had 22 starts in 58 games in his career. His stat line is nothing impressive. He's just a guy. There's guys on Day 3 of the Draft i'd be more excited about getting.

A Top 10 (or 11) is too high. You've had people break down what it will cost and it isn't manageable. Even if it is, you're incredibly unlikely to get someone to drop that low. The best Wide Receiver is Travis Hunter. He'll be gone in the Top 3 or 4. The best CB is Will Johnson. He'll be gone in the Top 10. The best Edge is Abdul Carter. He'll be gone in the Top 3 or 4. As for DT, that's a slightly different story. Because we don't need the best 3-Tech DT. That's Ed Oliver's spot. We're not replacing Ed Oliver and we wouldn't give up the farm for a guy who is going to rotate with Ed Oliver. What we need is a 1-Tech to replace Daquan Jones in the starting lineup. And the best person for that is Kenneth Grant. As @GunnerBill pointed out, his Draft position is a little more murky. He could go in a range that is out of our reach. Or he could fall to an area within our reach.

And it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to get past KC and it CERTAINLY wouldn't have been enough to beat the Powerhouse Eagles. Do you know why Josh Allen won MVP? It wasn't because he was so clearly better than Lamar. It's because he did what he did with what is perceived as a lacking roster across the board and Lamar had help all around him. We are not one "ALL PRO CALIBER PLAYER" away from winning a Championship. We had no business doing what we did last season with that roster. It's a miracle it happened and the idea that we'll always be able to do that with that kind of roster is a flawed thought. You think we're bringing back the same team and are choosing to ignore that we aren't even there yet. There's glaring holes or places that needed improvement. We should have made improvements almost across the board. We haven't done that. We lost Mack Hollins, Amari Cooper, Rasul Douglas, Von Miller, Dawuane Smoot, Austin Johnson, Quintin Morris, Kaiir Elam, Sam Martin, Quinton Jefferson, and Jordan Phillips. In Free Agency to hit the field Week 1, we signed Joey Bosa, Joshua Palmer, Dane Jackson, and Jake Camarda (as a future who is just a competition piece) to replace some of those players. That's it. Guys like Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi were going to replace a couple of them - but we won't have them until about halfway through the season, so we have to have guys in place for them as well. You can yell about needing "ALL PRO CALIBER PLAYERS" all you want. You've been told time and again by multiple posters that what you want isn't feasible for many, MANY different reasons. Even if it were feasible and you got a "Blue Chip Prospect" - then teams are going to target Dane Jackson, or run up the gut on Daquan Jones and whomever we'd line up in the poor rotation we'd have there, or Josh is going to have a pass catcher fail him like last year when the game is on the line from a drop or people not getting open. One player is not going to solve all of those things. And that's not even taking account important depth that screwed us when 1 player went down. And just because a Draft prospect is considered "Blue Chip" doesn't mean they're going to be that. The history of the Draft is filled with just as many guys that didn't live up to their expectations then did. Or guys that were expected to be the best that were outclassed by guys who went after them. We've had some of them ourselves in the Top 10. Sammy Watkins, Mike Williams, even Ed Oliver, who is decent, was expected to be much more and hasn't been as good as other DT's that came after him. Some of our best players were taken in Rounds after 1. You'd be giving up a chance on a crap ton of guys who could be the next Christian Benford, Khalil Shakir, Dion Dawkins, Matt Milano, James Cook, Taron Johnson, or O'Cyrus Torrence for one player who could completely bust out. This thread has become as long as it has because you have a million posters who have pointed out a million flaws in what you're saying. And you just come back yelling the same erroneous talking points. Yell at a wall. What you want is not feasible and won't happen. We'll move around the board. We may even trade up in Round 1. But we're not going to get to where you're suggesting. And in the end, odds are we'll be a much better team all around for it.

You didn't hear? Turns out Ray Davis did a 23 and me and found out he's actually the 3rd Cook brother RB. Thanks for pointing out the typo. Fixed.

No, we're not keeping 10. And there will be trades. But there won't be a trade like what you're talking about that would require into the Top 5-10. And unfortunately, after the suspensions to Hoecht and Ogunjobi, there's actually more open roster spots than I was hoping and expecting at this point. We're actually closer to 10 than we are the 1 missing piece you're talking.... QB: Josh Allen Mitch Trubisky (maybe Mike White if they want to save money and he shows up in camp) RB: James Cook Ray Davis Ty Johnson Reggie Gilliam (FB) WR: Khalil Shakir Josh Palmer Keon Coleman Curtis Samuel TE: Dalton Kincaid Dawson Knox OL: Dion Dawkins David Edwards Connor McGovern O'Cyrus Torrence Spencer Brown Ryan Van Demark Alec Anderson Tylan Grable DE: Greg Rousseau Joey Bosa AJ Epenesa Javon Solomon DT: Ed Oliver Daquan Jones Dewayne Carter LB: Terrel Bernard Matt Milano Dorian Williams Edefuan Olofoshio Joe Andreesen CB: Christian Benford Taron Johnson (Nickel) Dane Jackson Ja'Marcus Ingram S: Taylor Rapp Cole Bishop Damar Hamlin Darrick Forrest Cam Lewis ST: Tyler Bass Jake Camarda (?) Reid Ferguson Brandon Codrington (maybe Shenault instead if they feel he offers more as a Returner) That's 46 roster spots. There's 7 open spots right now. And some of these 46 spots they may want to upgrade from. Specifically Carmada at Punter, maybe one of the LB'ers, maybe only one of Forrest and Hamlin stick, maybe only one of Jackson and Ingram stick. Multiple positions need big time help. Specifically DT, CB, Edge, and WR. Open spots we need 2-3 DT's (and one of them should start over Jones at 1T), at least 1 CB (and they should be in the mix to start), 1 DE, 1 WR (and they should be a solid one given the lacking group we have), and 1 TE. Maybe a Punter too as I doubt we go into camp relying on Camarda. Long story short - there's going to be more Draft Picks making this team than I expected would to this point.

I wonder if there's a restructure or two that hasn't been announced yet? Because otherwise - we have absolutely NO cap space right now. According to Spotrac, which is up to date on all the extension, restructures, and pay cuts up to the Milano move - we are only $662,978 under the cap. And that doesn't include the contracts of Ty Johnson, Reggie Gilliam, Dane Jackson, and Kendrick Green because they don't have the exact numbers for those yet. There's gotta be a restructure that we don't know about and/or one (or more) coming bc we're more than right right now with what's reported. We're nowhere. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/cap/_/year/2025/sort/cap_total

We won't know who the "Best DT in the Draft" is until years after we Draft them. People didn't think Josh Allen was the best QB in the 2018 Draft. The Ravens took Lamar Jackson at 32, while the Cardinals spent the 10th pick in the Draft on Josh Rosen. In 2019 Justin Jefferson was the 5th WR taken in the 1st Round. We traded up to the 4th Pick in 2014 to take what was considered the Best WR prospect in years in Sammy Watkins. We could have taken the 2nd best in Mike Evans or the 3rd best in Odell Beckham Jr. Just because they're the top rated prospect or even considered a "Blue Chip" talent doesn't mean they're going to be that at the Pro Level.

And that's another part of it. Just because they're the top rated prospect doesn't mean that they're going to be the best NFL player. So you could give up the farm for a guy that ends up being not as good as the guy you could have got if you just stayed put. For example, imagine if the Vikings moved up to 11 in 2019 to Draft Henry Ruggs instead of just staying put to Draft Justin Jefferson at 22.

This just screamed to me of a player not having many or any offers that they liked. So put it out there that they're visiting the Patriots in hope that someone else calls. I don't think Diggs wants anything to do with that situation. But he might not have a choice but to play for someone like the Patriots or not sign anywhere in the offseason.

Julio Jones is brought up every year. That was FOURTEEN years ago. Finding a team that is willing to move from the top of the first round to the bottom is so *exceedingly* rare that the best and most recent example that you can parrot is almost a decade and a half ago. And it was probably as long before then that a Julio Jones like trade happened, maybe longer. The Julio Jones trade is VERY much the exception and not the rule. And what you're proposing is even more extreme than even that trade. That trade was from #6 to #27. If you want a Carter or a Hunter, it's going to have to be at least #4 to #30. It is almost impossible to get someone to move from the top of the Draft to the bottom as it is. Even if we were able to find someone that was willing to do it, we didn't do enough in Free Agency (especially after the Hoecht and Ogunjobi suspensions) that we can afford to spend our Draft on one player. You're living in a fantasy world.

It's possible another great talent would have won us the Chiefs game. Maybe not. But you know what would have happened if we got past the Chiefs? We would have been steamrolled against the Eagles, just like they were. Your idea that we're one great player away is folly. As is your idea that there's no glaring holes beyond CB. We have a grand total of 3 DT's for Week 1. We carried SIX last season. Daquan Jones shouldn't be starting, he was a disaster for us last season. Not only do we have him still starting right now - we don't even have a backup to him. And remove the plays from Mack Hollins in the Championship game and our receiving game was nowhere. He's not here anymore. We don't know what Palmer is going to look like with Josh. And we still need another WR. Preferably a good one as our core is still looked at as just a group of guys with no True #1. DE may have been the one upgrade we made on the team this offseason. But then Hoecht got suspended. Now we've got what we had last year to start the season (minus Miller and Smoot) and keeping our fingers crossed that Bosa stays healthy. And he's not going to take more than half of the snaps. And then yes, there's Cornerback. Currently we'd be starting either Dane Jackson or Ja'Marcus Ingram. That's another recipe for disaster. The goal isn't to beat the Chiefs. The goal is to hoist a Lombardi. We're not going to do that by filling 1 of these 4 positional needs with 1 great player and the rest with Day 3 Draft Picks. The Eagles are a complete team on both sides of the ball. For us to compete with them, we need more than just one more great player. Do that and we'll just get attacked at the spots that are currently poorly built and we're done for against teams like the Chiefs and especially the Eagles.