BillsFanForever19

Not a futures deal, but definitely at league minimum.

Did you read the last line of the tweet? It says he will most likely be brought back for Training Camp. He was "released". But that's just to rip the current contract he has to shreds and bring him back on veteran minimum. Which is the best of both worlds. Frees up the max amount of money we can and still have him like he said we would.

I'm sure every player in the Draft, unless they have a medical or conduct red flag, is on their board. But when it comes to players they're specifically targeting in Round 1, they ALWAYS have the formal job interview, if you will, at the Combine. They do evaluation leading up to the Combine. They examine their tape and hypothesize who's a fit for them for what they're looking for in the position they're in and the scheme of the team. Then they set up interviews with those players. The interview process then helps them hone in on those from that list that really blow them away and those that don't. They raise the ones that did impress them (especially if they bring a notebook, whoo boy!) and drop the ones that didn't. They then bring the guys that passed both phases for them and see how they act in their building. They'll check to see how they've been operating since they last talked, maybe follow up on some things they didn't ask at the Combine, or things they hadn't thought about until after they met at the Combine. They'll check in on everyone from the Driver who picked them up at the airport to the lunch lady who fed them to see how they carried themselves when they weren't around. This is the process. Again, we've never taken a guy in Round 1 where we've skipped the Combine interview. This is probably the most important part of this regimes evaluation. It's always there and it's the interview and the visit, not one or the other. When it comes to McConkey, he wasn't a great fit for what we're looking for to begin with. Combine that with no interview and the fact that we're almost assuredly going to have a chance at someone who is ranked higher than he is (that we DID interview) and right now I just don't see a scenario where he's in play in Round 1.

What has you thinking McConkey "exudes" the culture more so than others? Regardless of that opinion, they didn't give him the opportunity to make McDermott "barred up" at the Combine.

Super exciting to me as I see an outside chance that we'd be able to move up to grab WR4, a likely chance we'd be able to land WR5, and an almost definitive chance that we can get WR6 - and every WR I have ranked as WR4-WR7 is on that list 😀

I'll worry about how a player may or may not work with the Chiefs after the Chiefs get him. But the non-stop "oh no what if the Chiefs get him" or "the Chiefs are going to get him and we're screwed if they do" with literally EVERY FA or Draft eligible WR available is a little much for me.

That's true. But that doesn't change the fact that we've never bypassed the formal job interview at the Combine and then Drafted the guy in Round 1. That's just a fact. The Combine interview is extremely important. And it's telling that we interviewed so many WR's and he's not one of them. Especially since I already believed he wasn't the fit for us that everyone wants him to be.

There's a major difference between meeting a non-QB at the Senior Bowl and meeting with them at the Combine. Meeting a player at the Senior Bowl is very informal and you can't really get much done. They don't want them to be too distracted from Practices and the Game and make sure they get enough rest. As interviews are done at the Combine. https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/news/senior-bowl-interview-process-changes-nfl-draft-teams-players So Ladd McConkey is so special that we're specifically not getting a feel for him with coaches and GM, breaking him down with film, bypassing the formal job interview, and "tipping our hand" with literally every other prospect who's a fit for us?

The Chiefs fatalistic obsession is out of hand. "The Chiefs are going to trade up for Worthy" "We can't let the Chiefs draft Ladd McConkey" "Gabe Davis is going to sign with the Chiefs and be consistently good for them" "The Chiefs are definitely going to sign Mike Evans" They live rent free in so many posters minds these days.

My point is if you go through the list of Bills 1sts under this regime - we've always met with them at the Combine. Even if we met them at the Senior Bowl, like Josh - we still had a Combine interview. There's always shots of the Combine interview for that Post-Draft Bills pick video.

Interesting! I knew that he wasn't going anywhere, but I figured it would be a restructure. This sounds like they decided he's vet minimum and that the only way to do that was to rip up his contract completely and re-sign him to a new deal. Good move. Though i'd update the title to "Hines Released - Most Likely to Return". People celebrating his being gone and skipping over that he'll most likely be back.

I can't recall the last time we Drafted someone in the 1st and didn't meet with them at the Combine. Notice Ladd McConkey is not on the list?

The Chiefs won't get a whiff of him at 32.

I've learned to chill on the "zero chance" on things because there's always someone that says "nothing is totally impossible". But it's about as close as it gets to zero for me on McConkey going before Worthy.

Ladd McConkey: Height - 5'11" Weight - 185 lbs. Arm - 30.25 Hand - 8.62 Wingspan - 72 Xavier Worthy: Height - 5'11" Weight - 165 lbs. Arm - 31.12 Hand - 8.75 Wingspan - 74.24 So... 20 lbs? Everything else is either the same or better in Worthy's Case. Much more complete player? Based on what? It's not on production: Ladd McConkey: 2023 stats - 30 catches, 478 yds, 2 TDs Career stats - 119 catches, 1687 yards, 14 TDs Xavier Worthy: 2023 states - 75 catches, 1014 yards, 5 TDS Career stats - 197 catches, 2755 yards, 26 TDs Should I go on? I think I will: Ladd McConkey: 40 Time: 4.39 10 Split: 1.52 Vertical: 36 Broad: 10'1" Xavier Worthy: 40 Time: 4.21 10 Split: 1.49 Vertical: 41 Broad: 10'11" Whatever your personal rankings are, the fact remains that McConkey will not be picked before Worthy. I see almost no chance that McConkey is above Thomas, Worthy, or Mitchell. And we'll have an opportunity to draft either WR5 or WR6.

I don't have Franklin or Coleman as going before McConkey after today. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Worthy, and Adonai Mitchell as 4, 5, and 6. If you think after today that McConkey will go higher than any of them - you're crazy. Ian Rappaport spoke to an exec who told him there's a chance Worthy may even jump Thomas after today as WR4. That would make Thomas and Mitchell no less than WR5 and WR6. And I predict we'll be at worst taking the 6th WR off the board, if not the 5th.

Thomas could be gone. Worthy could be gone. Thomas, Worthy, and Mitchell? I doubt it. I find it very hard to believe we'll only have a shot at the 7th WR in the Draft. Odds are probably pretty good we'll move up a few picks from 28. McConkey is 5'11", 185, and has a 36" vert (Worthy had a 41" at 6'1", for example). He doesn't have the measurements that scream True Outside WR in the NFL. His weaknesses from NFL.com also don't fit on the Outside: - Modest play strength could create issues in beating press. - Alarming number of deep ball-tracking drops in 2022. We'll have a shot at the 5th WR. We can definitely land the 6th WR. McConkey isn't a great fit for us and will be, at best, the 7th WR off the board from NFL teams. And personally, I have him no higher than my 8th guy.

Agreed. I've been against him through the process because he didn't have True Outside usage in College and is a really small build. However.... Him being not only fast, but being THE fastest recorded WR in Combine history (combined with Troy Franklin showing that he actually doesn't have close to matching speed, as I thought) - that changes things for me and makes me more open to more of a projection (just for him and that kind of speed though, not McConkey). That said, Brian Thomas Jr. would still be my first choice outside of Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze (who will be long gone).

Mock Draft Simulators are essentially useless until the rankings are updated to reflect Combine performances.

Agreed. I don't think the answer is "these guys can't do it, we need all new guys" like he makes it out to be. Josh is just as guilty of being just off with an overthrow or underthrow just as much as guys not tracking it or dropping it. So often I see him just launch the thing with full strength behind the throw, very quickly. Often because the blocking isn't quite there. Anytime that happens, I know it's not going to be caught as soon as he releases it. In the case of not doing it enough as he mentioned, that can also just be a gameplay design. New WR's aren't going to guarantee that we're going to throw it deep more or hit them more either. Everyone likes to point to the Diggs drop. Yes, it was bad and yes, it was the last thing we saw so it sticks in our mind. But he comes down with that WAY more often than he doesn't. I refuse to believe that all of a sudden, he's just toast and can't catch anymore. ... bit of a side tangent rant - but these kind of discussions inevitably turn to "the drop" and in his case, why a 1st Round WR or even a 1st and a 3rd is simply not enough.

What has you saying "he wasn't #1"? Adonai Mitchell in 2023 - 55 receptions for 845 yards and 11 TDs Xavier Worthy in 2023 - 75 receptions for 1,014 yards and 5 TDs If you want to say he wasn't a true Outside WR that just stayed on the boundary, that's fair. I do have concerns with only being used 60% of the time on the Outside, in conjunction with his diminutive build. However, considering he just proved to be the fastest timed WR EVER - I'm now more willing to take the risk. But when it comes to usage, he was the #1.

Missed the RB's earlier and am watching the replay now. Disappointed that Braelon Allen didn't run today. He's looking like a man amongst boys in that group. Would be the perfect compliment to Cook, but I doubt he'll be available at a point where we can consider a RB.

The thing that put him higher to me was that, even though he was a light frame of 195 lbs. - he was 6'3" and had elite speed. Then he came to the Combine and he's actually 6'1", weighs 176 lbs, and runs a 4.41. Then he hit the field for drills and was sloppy. Dropping balls, falling down, doing zig zags in the gauntlet. He was kind of all over the place as far as predictions of where he'll fall. With many on the board much higher on him than prognosticators. Seems to me after today, the ones that had him as a mid 2nd Round guy were more accurate than posters who had him as WR5.

Franklin's stock dropped terribly in my eyes today. He weighed in less than expected. He ran slower than expected. He measured shorter in height than expected. He looked rough in drills. Run that straight line, Troy:

One of the last 4 guys on the list will be a Buffalo Bill and it's very exciting. Here's how I have it after today: Marvin Harrison Jr. - Ohio State Malik Nabers - LSU Rome Odunze - Washington Brian Thomas Jr. - LSU Xavier Worthy - Texas Xavier Legette - South Carolina Adonai Mitchell - Texas