Dr. Who

I notice that I don't really like either one of them.

I love Lindy. I want that jacket. I hope they entice Peca to come back as an assistant.

McConkey and Legette is my favored combo pick. I was pushing for Kincaid last year, so if it happens, I'm going to maybe dance in the street. (I live on a rural farm, so only the cows, barn cats, and miniature horses will likely wonder what the damn fool is up to.) They are both late first/early second candidates. Your plan for taking McConkey at 28 and Legette in a trade up is also mine. Some folks appear to think wanting two WRs this early makes one a "knucklehead." I don't think they have properly assessed where our WR room is right now. If they don't grab 2 early, I suspect a trade for a veteran may happen.

Makes too much sense. If you are counting on Jones to save your jobs, might as well put your houses on the market now.

We normally agree a great deal, and that is the case here as well. All you can do is hope about Elam. He is sunk cost. The problem there, it has seemed to me, is scheme fit. Then there were injuries, and I think he lost his confidence. He seemed to have trouble often even where his strengths lie. Anyway, I'm not giving up on the fella. I still believe he has traits that could lead to a successful career -- I just hope it is with us if it happens. I have been pushing for 2 WRs in the top 40, because all the players I like are probably gone by the mid-second round. That would entail at least the cost of one of our 2025 seconds. For the right fellas, it's worth it. Maybe this is the last time I will indicate my reasoning, as it will be tedious to keep hearing me say it, but I think McConkey can take many of Diggs' snaps. He's much more an outside receiver than folks credit, though not a big X type, obviously. He's the best route runner in the class, and faster and more athletic than a lot of folks think. I think he's a volume receiver year one. Then I'd like to pair him with that big boundary receiver. If you could do it, you'd trade up for Thomas, but then you're probably not getting McConkey. I think Mitchell and Legette are possible early second, and Legette in particular is someone I would target in a trade up. However it plays out, I concur that Beane needs to add two WRs with potential to be difference makers in the WR room. Legette will take more time, but I think he has a reasonably high ceiling, and brings a versatile skill set. He could be DK Metcalf intimidating to tackle. I'm not sanguine about the edge players in the draft. If you draft one early, you are most likely reaching. Verse and Turner aren't falling, and Latu is a medical risk I would not choose above WR. I think it's the worst position group in the draft, and would only take day 3 fliers, unless Beane has already gotten WR help and manufactures another day 2 pick. That would be my preference, in any event. All that means internal growth and maybe a late FA pickup is where I would place most of my modest hopes on that aspect of the DL. If Von does anything, I will be surprised. I like what you have to say about Josh. I don't believe those who think his character has radically changed. I think he has always been an empathetic, good-natured fellow who is also ultra-competitive. I'm sure there were some personal relationship traumas that distracted him, because athletes are also human beings, and obviously the relationship with Diggs went sideways. There's no point in speculating all the reasons. I believe that Josh will now be a more dominant figure. He will be the veteran, elite franchise qb with younger WRs, even if they end up bringing in a veteran post-draft. It makes sense to me that he would ask a lot of questions and listen attentively to Tom Brady. That cerebral, analytic approach is something that Josh can improve upon, and I think he has the intelligence and desire to do so. I don't think he is complacently aware that Mahomes has three rings and he has none. I don't think he is just happily playing golf and hanging out with his Hollywood girlfriend with no passion for adding to his talent and winning. It's so very easy for critics to cast aspersions that cost them nothing, and hard to achieve difficult things.

Expensive trade up to grab pick #14. Just stayed and waited for the rest of the draft at remaining picks. Doubt #60 is there, but I'd love to start the draft out this way. 14. Rome OdunzeWR Washington 60. Xavier LegetteWR South Carolina 133. Tykee SmithS Georgia 144. Jordan JeffersonDT LSU 160. Layden RobinsonOG Texas A&M 163. Isaac GuerendoRB Louisville 200. Brennan JacksonEDGE Washington State 204. Tip ReimanTE Illinois 248. Carter BradleyQB South Alabama

I don't know how you managed both #5 and #31. Assuming one could actually do that, I'd prefer McConkey if he was on the board at 31, especially since you ended up with Wilson at 133. (I know you couldn't know that ahead of time.) We went from not enough big WRs to three plus Shorter. I think McConkey brings a dimension we could use, and balances well with MHJ or Mitchell. Wilson is worth a shot at that point in the draft, though lack of S help or DT is not so great. You probably should have went for a S at 133 if a decent one was available.

So, I hope you're right. My fear, I guess, is that they have an excellent formula for winning in the regular season, but it falls short in the post-season. I know they were bedeviled with injury last year, and still came close. A number of folks have opined that they need more elite playmakers on both sides of the ball. It doesn't have to be an enormous amount, but one more on each side of the ball would help a lot. A player like Kincaid or Cook might grow into that player. When Milano is healthy, he's borderline that player. You can find that player in the draft without trading up into the top 10. Anyway, I'm putting some markers down on Thomas, McConkey, and Legette. Those are the WRs I like best outside the top 3, and I'd be happy with one or two of them. There are other positions that need addressing, and I'm sure Beane has multiple strategies based on how the draft plays out. I still expect to be a Super Bowl contender next year. I do not see it as an inevitable down year, though it is a reset of sorts with all the veteran turnover.

The silver lining of taking the big cap hit on Diggs this year is resetting the economic structure of the roster. That is predicated on replacing him with WR talent on a rookie contract.

I think you're overreacting, and you could pose the question, or situate it differently. Thomas' combination of size, speed, and athleticism are not a mirage. Right now, with a lot of room to grow in terms of developing a route tree, he brings an immediate and consistent vertical threat that is exactly the piece our WR room most needs. And then I would say because of Nabers, he wasn't asked to do more. There is every reason to think he can expand, and become a true WR1. My bottom line is he already has a pretty high floor and definitely has a higher ceiling than most. You go get him if you can, imo.

The only real negative is you can't get him on a rookie contract, and it would cost high draft picks to secure him. (Those are pretty significant, however.)

Yeah, I agree with that. For me, McConkey is a top 5 or 6 WR in this draft. I think you need someone that plays his "role," though the precise skill sets will differ. So, maybe Pearsall or Franklin as alternative. Then you still need that big deep threat (I don't think Franklin checks the box for both. Maybe some do.)

So, it seems to me that teams may be playing that one-and two-high safety defense because they could potentially be threatened by a deep threat. If that disappears enough from the arsenal of weapons and strategic tactics of OCs, the defense will adapt to whatever offense is dominant. I don't know either, precisely, where the game is evolving, but I can only repeat my prejudice that having something akin to a traditional WR1 helps the entire WR room. Yet if one draws back from that, it's still largely a matter of semantics, imo, because I still don't think trying the "new" approach means you can dismiss the advantages of having better players at the WR position. I don't think it means having solid pass catchers with more modest ability is sufficient. Let's grant provisionally that the current offenses are now going to emphasize moving pieces, those "multi-skilled" players you talk about, who are they? Does it mean getting MHJ or Nabers or Odunze is less important, or does it mean that their skills will be plugged into the new formula, and the superior talent plays out differently in terms of tactics, but recurs in terms of the better WRs still giving an edge to the team that has them? Maybe somehow this will result in the WR position being devalued somewhat akin to what has happened to RB. I am skeptical, but maybe so. Regardless, Beane may see Kincaid as emerging as a significant threat. That's possible, and it wouldn't shock me. I advocated for drafting him last year with that hope. I'll be disappointed if Beane is content to go with a late round 2 WR to be the main piece in filling the WR room. I think it would be a big mistake. I've already written numerous posts on the fellas I think he should go get. Whatever happens, I'll root for Beane to be right and for the Bills to flourish.

Is he going to draft McCarthy? That would be kinda crazy.

All this time I've been worried McD was going to insist on Cooper Dejean or Chop Robinson, and I should have been looking over my shoulder for Kneeland. That would really be dumb overdrafting for need, and then Roman Wilson is not anywhere near my top 7 or 8 WR choices. I wouldn't take him, actually.

Maybe I misinterpreted, but I think he means Legette reminds him of Metcalf, and we should trade up from 60 to get him.

I think there are other needs, but I would sacrifice some to get the WRs early. DE, DT, CB, S, OL, RB2, lots of places I would add if given sufficient resources. I do think it is a terrible year at edge and mediocre at S. WR (first two rounds, especially), OL, and CB are pretty deep. There are some decent mid-round DT depth if you have to wait on that. Right now, we have a second round pick at #60 and no third.

I have some similar players, some taken with the exact same pick (the last two). This is a different usage of the 2025 2s. I used one along with pick 133 to move up for Thomas. The other second was used to move up from 60 for McConkey. Outside of the top 3, those are my favorite receivers in the draft. 22. Brian Thomas Jr.WR LSU 40. Ladd McConkeyWR Georgia 128. Audric EstimeRB Notre Dame 144. Tykee SmithS Georgia 160. Jordan JeffersonDT LSU 163. Beaux LimmerOC Arkansas 200. Khristian BoydDT Nothern Iowa 204. Tip ReimanTE Illinois 248. Gabriel MurphyEDGE UCLA

That is a popular strategy of late. I am not as confident in the Green Bay model. I'd still rather get a WR1. If that makes me a dinosaur, so be it. Anyway, I'm not necessarily arguing you have to trade up for one of the big 3, or even for Thomas, though I'd like it if they got him. I do think they need two WRs early. Folks want to try something else, that's fine. I'm just stating my preference. I like McConkey. I think he can be the next Diggs. He's not Diggs. He won't have the exact vertical game, but he's silky smooth, snaps off routes, and is not a gritty slot. That is a misnomer. He's faster than many seem to think. And I think he's a volume receiver year one. Then I'd like Thomas, or Mitchell, or Legette for the second early receiver. Maybe that can't be done. We might not have the picks or the opportunity to make that happen, but I would pursue trying to make it so. I don't know if that is a GB WR room or not, but if you mean wait and take a shot on Rice and McCaffrey, etc., I think that is too low an investment. It might work, but I think you're still more likely to hit with early round picks. (I like Rice and McCaffrey, btw.)

That is definitely the argument from authority. I like Beane. I'm not against him, but I think you are giving him too much credit. Some Socratic irony is needed, though, of course, it's just my opinion.

Yeah, I'm counting on Beane growing past his proclivities. He may be blind to the situation based on prejudices that have some success behind them, but I find it hard to believe he can't see the problem. And Carolina ran Cam Newton into the ground. That is not a model to follow.

If Beane doesn't understand that the team needs to add superior talent at WR, there's a problem. And btw, I was not one of those who was terribly worried about LB last year. Obsession is a pejorative term. Maybe you think everyone who is worried about the talent in the WR room is overwrought and that Beane has shown himself to be shrewd, and so successful that his acumen should be automatically granted the benefit of the doubt. Justin Shorter is not likely the WR equivalent of Bernard. Shakir and Samuel are not true WR2 in my estimation, nor is the collective combination of what is on the roster, plus Knox, Kincaid, and Cook a remedy for the current state of WR talent on the roster. As it stands, it is in the bottom ten of the NFL, imo. Fortunately, I think Beane knows this. I also think he agrees with those "obsessed fans," but it doesn't behoove him to say so. If you're comfortable thinking that there is no urgency to significantly upgrade, that is your prerogative, but right now, they don't have a big WR to stretch the field, and I don't think they have someone to adequately fill Diggs' role down the line. Nor do I think you can just divvy up the targets to adequate WRs to make up the difference. Having a player of Diggs' quality (when he was playing well) opened up opportunities for other receivers that won't be there if you don't have a top WR to stress the defense. I think they need two early picks there to develop starting now. I don't think Josh would be happy with the usual take a middle round WR Carolina tradition. Beane has built a consistent winner, but he needs more playmakers. We lose in the post-season because we lack them.

128, 144, and a 2025 4th rounder to move up 5 spots? That's not a bad deal, and it doesn't involve any early 2025 picks. I am a fan of that trade. I think Thomas will develop and grow his game, but right now he immediately fills a big vacancy in our WR room for a big X that can get downfield and force the defense to cover more of the field. Yeah, I just got done saying that with less details. I'd love the trade, and if they stay at #60, Bishop is a pick I like there. I like Bishop or Bullard early, Tykee Smith later at S.

If Beane's telling the truth, he's a terrible poker player and a damn fool. He's got to have learned something since leaving Carolina. I think he's fibbing.

They really have to drop to 8 or 9 for even a plausible expensive trade up. Everything else is fantasy land or an absurd price that would be crippling.