khlax3

I considered taking that approach however the injuries last year were so significant that a lot of guys went out for large chunks of the season. It’s actually pretty amazing how many wins we actually got with the injuries All of these player missed at least 3 out of 16 regular season games last year White Elam Benford Poyer Hyde Edmunds Groot Miller Phillips Oliver Kumerow crowder Morse Doyle Boettger

I get the finish to last year was disappointing and we had a terrible showing against the bengals however we have beaten the chiefs 2 out of the last 3 and if it wasn’t for 13 seconds in would be 3 straight. Also looking at KC free agent moves it appears they have actually regressed. The have significant downgrades at OT and WR at this point and no positions where they have made a clear upgrade. The bengals have had a significant downgrade at safety and depth however they did get a significant upgrade on the oline. The bengals are going to be extremely tough again this year but the dynamics will change quickly once they have to pay Higgins chase and burrow this year

In my initial assessment I tried to be reserved in my outlooks but I agree corner could be significantly better this year. I also said “Same” for running back but it is a position that could be significantly better as well.

I just want to say up front sorry for the long post. We are 1 week out from the draft and I thought it would be a good idea to take a look position by position to see where the bills were from a roster standpoint compared to the majority of last year compared to the current roster. Saftey- Much Better For the majority of 2022 the roster was an injured poyer, Hamlin getting is first starting experience, Johnson who was a major disappointment, and Lewis/marlowe. In 2023 we are looking at a healthy Poyer and Hyde as well as Rapp (who is starting caliber) and Hamlin who now has experimence playing meaningful minutes Corner- Same/Slightly Better I went back and forth between same and better for this position. The players are for the most part the same but I expect this group to be better this year. White will be 1 1/2 removed from injury and have an offseason to get back into the grove and playing shape, Elam and benford are going into year 2 and showed promise in year 1, and we also have Jackson and Johnson back. Linebacker- Significant downgrade 2022 we had Edmunds and Milano along with Dodson, Bernard, Spector and matekovich. This year we return everyone but Edmunds and have Klien prior to the season but even if one or 2 of them exceed expectations it like will still be a significant downgrade from Edmunds DT- Same This is the same group as 202. Oliver, Phillips, Jones, Settle. All 4 guys dealt with injuries last season and you hope they came be better if healthy but at this point you can’t say they got better or worse than last year DE- Same Just like DT we are returning the same group. Miller, Groot, Epenesa, Basham, Lawson. I went with same here as well even though Miller missed several games last season there is no gurantee he is healthy to start the season. Epenesa has his best year last year but I think he has hit his ceiling QB- Same Hopefully Allen is healthy and we swapped kyle Allen for Kenuem. Kenuem may be better than Kyle Allen but ultimately if Josh is hurt the season is over anyway RB- Same 2022 we had Singletary, cook, Moss, Jones, Gilliam. In 2023 we lose Jones who offered nothing at the position and singletary who is a significant loss but we get cook in year 2 who showed progress throughout the year, Hines will have an offseason to be incorporated into the offense, and Harris who I think is an equal player to singletary but is a better fit as he offers something the team was missing TE- Same As of right now this position looks the same as last year but I expect to add someone in the draft WR- Slightly Better For the majority of 2022 we played with Diggs, Davis, McKenzie, Shakir and guys we were grabbing off the street. 2023 we have diggs who is great and Davis who is who he is. Shakir is going into year 2 and looked good when he got opportunities. I think Sheffield and Harty ar Euphrates to McKenzie and we have much more depth than last year OT- Same Dawkins, Brown, Doyle, Quessenberry. 2023 players look similair to 2022. Although I’m not willing to say this position group is better there is potential. Brown missed all last offseason with a back injury and should be able to participate this year. Doyle was injured all year and Quesenberry also battled multiple injuries. It’s also year 2 in Kromers system IOL- Better 2022 was primarily saffold, Morse, bates with Van Rotten as the primary backup. Saffold was terrible replacing him with McGovern is a big upgrade. Bates will also be going into year 2 of starting and we are going into year 2 with Kromer. Edwards and Boettger as back up IOL is much better depth than last year. Overall besides linebacker this team has already either stayed the same or improved across the board. We will add several players on the draft and FA that will continue to improve each position. There has been a lot of doom and gloom on this board since the season ended but the future looks good!

Bills won’t draft an olineman on Day 1 or 2 of the draft and they may not draft any they will roster 9 and I think they are perfectly fine going into the season with Dawkins, McGovern, Morse, bates, brown, edwards, Doyle, Quesenberry, and Ike

I was just looking at their numbers from last year as you posted this. Their top 3 receivers (MVS, Toney, Moore) has a combined 78 catches for 1108 yards and 4 tds last year. They also lost both starting tackles and at this point I don’t believe they have brought McKinnon back who accounted for 803 yards and 11 tds. Yes they have Kelce but anyone who says their weapon are currently better than the bills has not been paying attention

I agree. I think the bills have already set their starting 5 oline for this year. I expect them to sign a vet FA with starting experience to push brown and be the swing tackle and then draft a c/g prospect in the 3-5 rounds. Everyone expecting a 1st round olineman is going to be very disappointed. Everytime Beane speaks he talks up Brown and it sure seems to me based on what the other 4 guys are getting paid they will all be starters this year

He is a core special teamer that put up about the same offensive stats as McKenzie last year. This is your WR 6 to replace kumerow and gives you a better receiving depth than he provided. They will like head to the draft and grab 1 more receiver.

I think it’s doable. wagner had a 7.5 million cap hit last year and will be 33this year I think the Jordan poyer contract could get it done and that’s less than a 4 million cap hit. If you add a void year can be under 3 million. landry had a 1 year 3 million deal last year I would expect a 1 year 2.5 to 3 million deal again. zeke I am not really sure what he will get but at this point I dont think there is a huge market for him to drive the price up. Maybe 2 year 7 million with a year 1 cap hit around 3 million. To sign all 3 probably need around 9 million plus 2.5 for draft picks. That putsyou right at the cap but can free up money pretty easily by extending Daquan jones or Hyde by another year. Also can free up 2.5 million by cutting Neal.

There are 9-11 spots available on the 53 man roster. With 6 draft picks that leaves at least 4 FA that will be brought in and will be on the team. I’m not taking Udfa or practice squad type FA that will round out the 90 Man roster

Currently the bills have between 9 and 11 open roster spots on their 53 man roster. With 6 draft picks this bills will add at least 4 more free agents who will make the 53. Here is the breakdown: QB: No more additions (Allen and Allen) RB: 1 more addition (cook, Hines Gilliam) we will add one more back and I think it will be in FA. I don’t think they would want to go into the season with just cook and Hines and a rookie. Fornette and Elliot make sense because they don’t count against comp. Damien Harris is another option TE: 1 more addition (Knox, Morris) they will add a guy here a with a deep draft at the position I expect it will be in the draft rather than a FA WR: 2 more additions (diggs, Davis, shakir, harty) I am thinking one FA and one in the draft. There are two options here go with a more expensive vet and then draft a WR late or draft receiver early and go with an older cheaper vet. My vote would be Jarvis Landry to solidify the slot with shakir and then draft a wr early on the outside) OL: 2 more addition (Dawkins, McGovern, Morse, Bates, Brown) I would expect a FA tackle (Shell has beeen rumored) and draft a C/G prospect in mid rounds DT: 1 more addition (Oliver, Settle, Jones). They could go with a guy like Bryant to fill out the roster but I think it will be a mid round draft pick DE: 1 more addition (Miller, Groot, Epenesa, Basham) if the bills think Miller will be good to go to start season maybe they go with a late round pick or bring back lawson. My preference would be to grab an older vet on cheap 1 year deal (Ingram, clowned, Houston, someone that is still producing but not going to cost a lot) LB: 1 more addition (Milano, Bernard, Dodson, matekovich, Spector) Wagner. Would solidify this group if not I expect an early draft pick Secondary: 0-2 additions (poyer, Hyde, Hamlin, mayden, white, benford, Elam, Neal, lewis, Jackson) this position may not need anything but it depends what they want to do. Does mayden make the 53. They signed him for a 2 year deal so I think so. Is Hamlin back this season? Does benford move to saftey? Do they cut Neal? If they stay as is they are set. If Hamlin mayden or Neal are not available or don’t make team they need to backfill. Based on needs I see the bills doing the following in the draft rounds 1-3: some combination of MLB, WR, TE rounds 4-6: some combination of IOL, DT, DB

FA still available that would be good pickups for the bills: Saftey- Jabril Peppers LB- Bobby Wagner, Drue Tranquil DT- Poona Ford RB- foreman, Harris, hunt WR- OBJ, Chark, Landry, hardman, Theilan, golladay also interesting at a vet min contract OL- issac seumalo, risner, George fant, isiah Wynn, eleumanor TE-

Cutting McKenzie saves 2.9 million with a 3.7 million hit for harty the difference is less than a million. Seems like McKenzie is gone

I like that we finally went with a young guy and not an older vet on a 1 year deal. for those knocking it he is 25 year old 3rd round pick who has proven he can play in the league. Everyone keeps saying draft olineman but I would rather pay olineman who are proven in the league and use the draft to find impact playmakers

Thank you! It drives me nuts when year after year people say we need 5-6 million for draft picks. Here is the breakdown for the draft: Round 1- 2.2 million Round 2- 1.1 million Round 3- 955k Round 4- 894k Round 5- 844k Round 6- 749k Total- 6.7 million but each player knocks another player out of the top 53 so you need to reduce the total y a minimum of 750k for each player they replace so the actual total for signing draft picks would be 2.2 million

1. Bijon Robinson RB 2. Jack Campbell LB 3. Darnell Washington TE 4. Jaxon smith njigba WR 5. Joey Porter JR 6. Peter Skoronski OL 7. Steve Avila OL 8. Michael Meyer TE 9. Antonio Johnson S 10. John Michael Schmitz OL late rd: 1. Dante stills DT 2. Bryce Ford Wheaton WR 3. Elijah Higgins WR

I think Jarvis Landry is a real possibility in the slot. He is a good blocker and reliable slot target. He has a connection to our WR coach and there were rumors bills were interested last year. Can likely be had for 2.5 million a year and would be a good addition to go with shakir. Also need to draft a WR early

Andre Dillard- former 1st rd pick, still young, didn’t play much since eagles have good line. Would be solid swing tackle and completion for brown. Won’t cost much D’ontae Foreman- big back that can be a good duo with cook. 2-3 year deal around 3-3.5 per year Nate Davis- young, rated higher than both powers and risner, projected around 7 million per year Jarvis Landry- good slot receiver and physical blocker. Had down year due to injury and poor qb situation. WR coach from college is now Bills WR coach. Played for 1 year 3 million last year so something in the 2-3 million range. Odell Beckham JR- give gabe competition, know the players on the team want him, reunite with prior coach and potentially Landry. I think something like 2 year 15 million plus incentives would get it done Shaq Lawson- I bring him back on a cheap deal Bobby Okeroke- young, productive can likely be had for reasonable price

Bryce Ford Wheaton from WVU ran a 4.38 he is 6-4 221 lbs. I watched him play in every game at WVU and he showed a ton of promise but never put it all together (their coaching has been awful). This is a guy that could be a late round pick to eventually replace gabe next year. (Just to be clear I don’t think this is the solution I think we should also either sign a FA or draft a WR in the first 2 rounds as well.) This would be a nice wr group that is young and cheap: Diggs Davis Paris Campbell (cheap FA) shakir Jalen hyatt Bryce ford Wheaton

I know your trying to bash Beane's draft record here and there have been some misses and not enough impact player however I think your off on what your trying to prove here. If your trying to prove he is a bad drafter you need to factor in all of his picks regardless if they are still here or not. You can question their judgement on guys like McCloud, Teller, Phillips, Hodgins on if they used the player correctly or should have been resigned but they should still get credit for drafting them. Overall by my take Bean has only drafted 1 elite play (that is not enough even though they have drafted at the end of the draft and this is their biggest problem). 2019 was a poor draft and is what is really putting the bills in a tough spot. The guys in that draft should be entering their prime and making and impact on the team now. In order for the team to take the next step the coaches and Beane need to do a better job once they are drafted of evaluating the talent they have and utilizing them correctly (Hodgins, Teller, even Moss looked decent in Indy when he played). They need more of the good players they draft to be elite they get good contributions from picks but not top end talent. 1 Elite Player 8-9 good players 5 Average players 4 Solid Backup level players 10 bad players (all bad players expect Ford where late round picks) 2018 Allen - elite Edmunds- Good Phillips- Good Teller -Good Mccloud -Average T Johnson - good Proehl - Bad 2019 Oliver - average/good Ford - Bad Singletary - good Knox - good Joseph - Bad J Johnson - bad (although for the round he was picked was 4 phase special teams player) D Johnson- bad Sweeney - bad 2020 Epenesa - backup quality (I agree with this but he had a 1/2 sack less than Josh Allen and Phillips on Miami who most consider good to elite) Moss- backup quality Davis - good Fromm - bad Bass - good Hodgins- average D Jackson - average (I'm not as down on Dane as some of you) 2021 Rousseau - good Basham - backup Brown - average Doyle - backup Stevenson- bad Hamlin - backup Wildgoose- bad Anderson- bad

The bills will only need 2-2.5 million to sign their rookies. They currently have picks in the following rounds with the following cap hits below. That totals around 6.7 million however each one of those 6 picks will knock off a bottom level contract from the roster which would wipe out about 4.5 million of the 6.7 above. 1st round- $2.3 million cap hit (minus 745k min player) = $1.55 M 2nd round- $1.1 million cap hit (minus 745k min player) = $355k 3rd round- $950k cap hit (minus 745k min player) = $205k 4th round- $850k cap hit (minus 745k min player) = $105k 5th round- $745k cap hit (minus 745k min player) = $0k 5th round- $745k cap hit (minus 745k min player) = $0k

I don’t think AJE Epenesa is great but as a 3rd or 4th DE he is fine. His first 2 years he struggled but the Bills wanted him to change his weight and how he plays so not sure how much blame you can put on him. Now that he has finally got to where the bills want him he had 6.5 sacks as a backup. Guys like Jalen Phillips and Josh Allen (Jac) who many on this board say are very good both had 7 sacks as full time starters.

I think Hines will be back and his contract will be re-worked. They will add a year or 2 to the contract and give him some guaranteed money to reduce his cap hit. He provides value as a KR/PR/RB. If you let him and singletary go you need to go out and sign at least 2 running backs. I would expect to see a running back room of cook- cap hit 1.3 Hines - 3 million bigger back vet around 2 to 2.5 million cap space

100% agree with you. I think he can be had for a reasonable price and he is still young. He instantly upgrades the #2 and #3 with Davis moving to the 3 over McKenzie. I would still take a bigger size/speed WR in the 2nd or 3rd to compete with gabe and then take over for him once he hit free agency.

Here are some middle round WR take take a look at that give a nice blend of speed and size if you double dip in the draft: WR A.T Perry 6-5 210lbs (wake Forest) 4.56 40 time projected round 3 WR Cedric Tillman 6-3 215lbs (Tennessee) 4.52 40 time projected round 2 WR Andrei Iosivas 6-3 200lbs (Princeton) 4.50 40 time projected round 3-4 WR Elijah Higgins 6-3 235 (Stanford) 4.55 40 time projected round 3-5 WR Jalen Moreno-Cropper 6’ 173 (Fresno) 4.45 40 time projected round 4-6 WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton 6-3 224 (WVU) 4.48 40 time projected round 5-7