1billsfan

I saw it. Evans looked mentally weak. He looked like a big baby. I think that it tells NFL CBs that you can get under his skin pretty easily. He's a player with a very high bust potential IMO. Watkins will be long gone. However, now with Tony Gonzalez gone from the Falcons I'm starting to get VERY worried that they will draft Ebron at #6 and the Bills will be left with the sad choice of choosing between Evans, Mosely, Dix or Pryor. There are only two true "game changer" receivers in this draft and they are Watkins and Ebron.

When the Bills have a top 5-10 QB. Everything else is window dressing. It will be interesting to see how the "team unity" aspect plays out with the Bills and Saints teams this year. The Bills obviously did not want to have an all-pro disgruntled player here. They could have slapped the tag on him and they chose not to. We'll see how that decision plays out. As for the Saints, I have a feeling they are going to have to contend with resentment and discord from some players remaining who feel they are underpaid or that they let too many of their buddies go to pay for Brees and the new comer Byrd. I'm sure Graham is very ticked off that they gave Byrd that huge contract and yet could not do the same for their own who has greatly helped in keeping them contenders.

You talk about value. Tell me who you see as a "value" pick who will be actually there. Any OT will be a RT for the Bills, that's not value. I think that Ebron is a top 10 talent so I see him as value. Obviously you don't. But I want to know who the value pick at #9 would be though. Manuel needs to reach liftoff this season. They need a real receiving threat more than any other position. Ebron is the perfect value fitting need IMO.

I'm surprised you'd insult Ebron that way if you're a UNC fan. James Hardy had no love of football and no drive. Two important attributes that Ebron has a ton of. Also, Hardy was never widely considered anywhere near a top 15 talent. Ebron is and in a draft that is vastly better than Hardy's draft class. As for the OL, you can find a very solid OL at #41 and get one in free agency.

It's through this kind of reasoning that NFL teams picking in the top 10 blow their high draft picks. At this level it's as much about the heart of a player as it is about combine measurables. Blocking is just about the easiest thing to coach up as long as you're strong and have the size which he does on both accounts. This guy is a baller, he's extremely confident, he's a hard worker, and he wants to be the best. Ebron will be a fine blocker in the NFL.

Really? Seriously?... 2013 Bills passing offense: 28th in the league in passing yards, 31st in the league in TDs BTW, if you think Eric Ebron is average then you have obviously not read anything about him or watched any of his videos. The guy is a beast and will be a star in the NFL. He's a top 10 player who's being underrated because he plays TE. The Bills have been hooooorible in the red zone. They must have been worst in the league or close to that. Ebron changes all of that if the Bills draft him at #9. They can draft a quality OL in the 2nd round.

Elite, where exactly? In drills at the combine?...LOL Eric Ebron is going to be a stud TE and he's going to be a way better TE than Vernon Davis ever was. Why? Because the guy is a physical freak football player unlike the purely finesse player in Davis. Even Mike Mayock says as much about the two players. I think a slight majority of Bills fans have this notion that Mike Evans is the elite receiver over what Ebron would bring. I think the opposite is true. Evans will be a solid WR, but he's simply not going to be the real threat that Ebron will be game in and game out. Ebron, Johnson, Woods, Goodwin is a much stronger receiving unit than Evans, Johnson, Woods, Chandler.

It's questionable that Lewan, Evans and Barr are better prospects than Ebron. I think Ebron is going to be a great pro and I would not pass over him over any of those players. The rankings start getting muddled after the first 6 or 7 players that everyone pretty much agrees upon. Also, I think that Evans has a higher bust potential than does Ebron. In the history of the NFL, there have been very few elite WRs with his big body type. Another thing about Evans that I'm nervous about is that he seems like a player which NFL CBs could get under his skin.

EJ Manuel had the season everyone expected he'd have. He was projected to be a project QB with a very high upside. He was expected to have a good, bad and ugly rookie season, which he did. So when he goes and has the season that everyone expected, it was seen as a failure by some here like you who are being disingenuous. Go and look at Eli Manning's rookie year, it was awful. He was much more highly regarded than Manuel. Yet Manuel gets judged by the insane fortune of the Colts getting the ready-made Luck or the Seahawks striking gold with the 3rd rounder Wilson. Those are the exceptions to the rule that it takes time for QBs to become what they are going to become. That is and was the path for Manuel. Let's not pretend that he was expected to be a franchise QB right out of the gate, because he wasn't. We should have a very good read on Manuel's progress to becoming a franchise QB after this second season coming up. If he looks lost in the last half of the 2014 games then you guys have much more solid footing to lay your criticisms on the Bills choosing Manuel.

The Patriots trading any QB to the Bills would represent a red flag the size of Rhode Island. The Patriots aren't stupid. So I would just erase any thought of the idea for that reason alone. I was never a fan of Mallet's personality coming out of college to put it mildly. He came across like a dopey 15 year old kid and I couldn't imagine him ever turning into a leader type at any point in his career.

Excellent analysis of Eric Ebron. Over this past week I've found myself leaning more and more towards wanting the Bills to take Ebron over Evans. I think I'm all but officially locked in. I don't care if he's considered a 5 spot or more reach by all of the draft blogs, I see him as a top 10 talent in this draft. IMO this kid is going to be a legit difference-maker and star in the NFL. I don't see that happening with Mike Evans. I do think Evans will be a solid starter, but I don't see the true game in game out threat that I think Ebron will become. Also, I think Evans can be easily thrown off his game mentally especially by NFL CBs. I didn't like that temper tantrum he threw. He looked like a cry baby. I think if Ebron got angry, he would just come back harder. There's a great story on Ebron just published recently on bleacher report. Since it's not allowed to be linked here, those interested can google Ebron's name and then hit "news". The title of the story is "Eric Ebron Hopes to Be More Than Just an Ordinary NFL Tight End". He sounds like a winner to me.

I'm pretty sure that Pittsburgh is going to really want to trade back for extra picks. They look like a team that has lost a whole lot of talent due to age and free agency in recent years and I see no way they trade up and give up a 2nd rd pick. I'd look at Rams, Browns and Niners since they have extra picks. Of course there's always the team that falls in love with a specific player and who's willing to lose a pick. Chances are the Bills will get offers for their #9 pick, but it had better be a good one if it means they lose out on Evans or Ebron. In the end, I don't think the Bills will want to risk it because it is crucial for Manuel to get a serious receiving threat and IMO it's one of those two guys. The consolation prize in a trade back would probably be Benjamin who is a boom/bust type and who actually could eventually be the best WR that comes out of this draft. I'd be ok with Benjamin and extra picks.

At least with Manuel the Bills still don't know what they have and hopefully they can surround him with a real threat like their big WR Green. The Bengals and their fans are stuck with an average QB who shrinks in the playoffs. Their fans didn't even bother to sell out their home playoff game because they knew Dalton would blow it for them.

He's a very good prospect, but the Bills really must find their 1st rd QB pick of 2013 EJ Manuel a target and both Evans and Ebron have just as impressive highlight videos as Donald. I'll admit that grades are close enough with regards to all three players, so it's not as if they'd be reaching that much for Donald. I'll also admit that there's more than one way to attack this 2014 draft. I'm still not completely sold on who they should pick or which position it should be either. I'm just leaning towards getting Manuel a target like Evans or Ebron so that this hopeful franchise QB's training wheels can come off and he can start slinging it around with comfort.

I think Evans and Ebron have graded out higher than Donald from all of the draft sights I've been looking at. Not that they're necessarily right, but the consensus of opinion is there that Donald wouldn't be BPA at #9. A big target for EJ is also a huge need as opposed to the DL. It would be nice to have the luxury of picking a very talented DL prospect, but I don't think they're going to do that.

The thing about Evans is that there have been very few past or present NFL WRs to compare him to. The only ones I hear are Vincent Jackson and David Boston. That gives me some pause that he might be a tweener (WR in TE body) in the NFL and possibly never becomes the great WR that everyone imagines him being. I know it's logical that his college game should translate to the NFL, but seeing how there have been very few WRs that've ever had his TE body type, it's a concern to me. I go back and forth on Evans and Ebron. As of this moment, I voted for Ebron because I think he's just as gifted as Evans, he seems more athletic on the field, his body type fits the position he plays, and he sounds very confident. Yup, he's a touch slower than Evans, but he's a TE so that really doesn't matter as much. There's a very good chance that the Bills will end up deciding between Evans or Ebron. IMO, that's a tough decision because I see a little bit of bust potential with Evans that I don't see with Ebron.

9. Eric Ebron 41. Gabe Jackson 73. Jarvis Landry 105. Jordan Zumwalt 137. Caraun Reid 169. Michael Schofield 201. Max Bullough

At least something positive came out of that truly heartbreaking, gut-wrenching loss to the Atlanta Falcons. That game still haunts me. Their season was pretty much over at a "home" game in Toronto in a stadium filled with fans who could care less about the outcome. The Bills clearly checked out in the following game in Tampa. I guess we can thank Stevie and Scott for dropping those easy passes now?...lol

Your business decisions for your company have zero bearing in the NFL business world. In the NFL business world, I either have an all pro ball hawk safety good for at least 5 interceptions or I have at least an extra 2nd round draft pick in 2014. You have a gaping hole to fill with nothing in return in 2014.

We're going round and round on this and that's fine but I think I'm just about done talking about Byrd. I've said my peace and people know where I stand. I'm going to talk about the draft again.

I don't care if Byrd hates working for me. I repeat, I DON'T CARE. He would be in a contract year in 2014 and would play just as great as he did last year. You may think that I'm a jerk for wanting to franchise tag a disgruntled player, but I'M the one who's making the smart business decision. Why? 1. Because the Bills would be either getting something back from Byrd leaving in a trade scenario. or… 2. The Bills would be have an all pro safety for the majority of the 2014 season with a year to make plans for his replacement. You are the "nice guy" and that's fine. I'm not the "nice guy" when it comes to what's best for the Bills franchise. I think that there are two FOs at One Bills Drive. One that drives the bus and holds the purse stings and which won over the one that wanted Byrd tagged knowing that the team is worse off by not moving forward with the simple and effective football decision. The Bills got NOTHING for Byrd and just blew a GIGANTIC hole in their pass defense. THEY did that and fans are ok with it because they can feel good about not forcing a player to stay against their will. The dude would make 9 MILLION dollars, Sorry, but I think the sympathy card has worn a little thin on Byrd.

What are you talking about? A team can't just "get" Byrd if he's franchise tagged. The whole point of tagging him is to either keep him for an extra year or so that another NFL team would have to offer you a trade deal. I'm surprised so many Bills fans are buying what the Bills are selling here.

The fact that he turned down an offer making him the highest payed safety in the league is a blaring siren that he and his agent know there's a team he wants to go to who has the money to pay him. I would say that there was tampering involved which unfortunately probably can't be proven. I'm not surprised the Bills' PR "calm the backlash" campaign is working so far. Many Bills fans don't want to come to grips with the truth right now.

Byrd was coming off two subpar seasons until his great 2012 season. So the 2013 season cemented his greatness as a top safety. Also, there are teams out there that Byrd wants clearly to go to who have the cap space that the Bills would have been able to do a sign and trade deal with. So I don't buy that he wouldn't have signed a Bills contract with the intent of being traded. If all of that fell through, the Bills would still not have a gaping hole to fill in their secondary. Now not only are they bad at stopping the run, they will be bad at stopping the pass. This was an epic fail by the Bills.

This sounds like denial to me. Byrd is a great safety who is highly regarded and sought after by many teams with cap space and by fans of those teams and the Bills are letting him walk away for nothing. I won't sugar coat or downplay the significance of the Bills' epic failure here. The franchise tag is there to help teams keep their great players when contract talks fall through. Byrd was the classic case of why you need to tag a player. The Bills can say "it takes to to tango" all they want. The facts are that other NFL teams are of course going to downplay interest in a trade for Byrd when the Bills haven't even tagged him yet. This is all BS talk to soothe the PR backlash that the Bills were too scared to run the risk of not finding a trade partner and having to pay Byrd 9 million for half a season of play. 9 million is peanuts compared to very real possibility of trading Byrd for a 2nd round pick. The consolation prize is that you get a pro bowl safety for 8 games. The Bills failed their team and their fans here because they didn't go to all out to get something for Byrd. They played the nice guys who saved some money, got rid of a temporary headache and are trying to pull the wool over the fans eyes now.