BillsVet

This could be an outstanding WR draft class, but doing a quick cost benefit analysis, trading those picks and taking on Diggs' contract (and likely extension should he perform) is far better than using the 22nd pick on a guy like Higgins or even moving up with another pick to take one of Lamb, Jeudy, or Ruggs. Those guys may be stars but it'll take them a little time to acclimate. And it means they can perform a true assessment of Allen at the 2020 season's conclusion. It was hard to stomach the 2017-18 seasons when Buffalo unloaded so much cap space and featured lesser talented teams, particularly on offense. But having cap space makes a deal like this possible and for that I give McBeane credit. Good on them not following conventional wisdom and taking what was left at 22 or even trading up.

TT's limitations could only be hidden for so long and defenses finally saw he would not challenge them across the entire field. HIs YPA, YPG, and sacks taken all declined from 2015 to 2017 and his progression just never happened from that first year with Rex. Credit to Beane for getting a 3rd from Cleveland for him. I'd be shocked (shocked!) if the LAC do not maneuver their way toward selecting a QB.

The 2020 Buffalo Bills will go as far as their QB and his surrounding offense will take them. Let's hope Josh takes a big step, Daboll gets his stuff together and they use these weapons aggressively.

I'm not going to bash McD or Beane at this point. They just traded their 1st for a proven NFL WR who instantly should make the QB and the entire offense better. People talk about McD's process and I have no doubt he had a plan or else ownership would not have hired him. But the idea it was down to the letter over 3 years is hard to believe. There are too many variables and I suspect the HC and GM needed to deviate every so often. Besides, nothing ever goes according to plan, especially 1-2 seasons into the future.

A far cry from a certain GM 10 years ago who would have been in bed by 8pm.

I've been banging the drum that McD has prioritized the defense his first 2 seasons at the expense of the offense. The byproduct was their offense during the first half of 2018 and last year they were mostly below average. You could have made this point a year ago, but not anymore. Trading for Diggs combined with their focus on offensive skill types last year in UFA and the 2 third rounders is a major shift. This is a team that has been questioned about their offensive talent and they responded. So long as McD and Daboll use these guys appropriately, they've changed their direction.

I would not count out Belichick just yet. Not even post-Brady. That said, NE is a lot weaker now and were trending that way during 2019.

Brady being allowed to leave NE tells me all I need to know about where Belichick is on him. His level of play is declining rapidly. And Belichick knows he can get solid play from someone else that is now better than the guy he won 6 SB's with. Now let's go win the division in 2020!

Buffalo said they needed to score points. Well, they're going for it now. Steep price to pay, but under team control for a reasonable price these next few seasons and not demanding a new deal like Hopkins reportedly is. This is a force-multiplier of a move. I thought they needed to go big this off-season or go home. They're going big with this acquisition.

That hasn't been cancelled either?

Al Davis won 3 Super Bowls in 8 years though. O'Brien strikes me as the guy who got a lot of power and thinks he knows what he's doing. But he doesn't and that team will end up hurting in the long term until someone wakes up and decides they need a different HC.

San Fran ranked second in yards allowed, first in passing yards allowed, and eighth in points allowed in the NFL. And this happened in the highly competitive NFC West. That said, it did not work out well come the 4th quarter against Mahomes. They still needed to score points (particularly in a 48-46 win over the Saints) to win against good teams. McBeane chose to build the defense first and perhaps they'll get around to finish the offense in year 4 of the rebuild. That will, more than defense, define how they will fare in 2020.

Gotta wonder where Ford plugs in provided Feliciano and Spain are the guards in 2020. He either wins the RT job or finds himself a primary backup because neither of those 2 should, barring injury, be pushed to depth roles. Buffalo needs an OL that can pass block because Josh has shown a tendency to hold on to the ball longer than his contemporaries. At the same time, if they use this draft to find better receiving talent and add a complementary back to Singletary that should help him be more comfortable in the pocket. It'll be interesting to see if the Bills take an OT or sign one in UFA. Doing so would indicate where they are on Ford's ability to play RT.

I have a hard time giving Beane a pass on the Benjamin deal because that was an organization he came from and had familiarity with the player. But that was 2+ years ago and no one had high expectations for that Bills team or the 2018 one. It's a sunk cost they've already paid. But now their offensive personnel decisions, overall team strategy, and in-game offensive decisions will be more highly scrutinized. Perhaps McBeane get it right, Allen improves, and Daboll schemes up presumably better talent on offense next season. Bottom line is this off-season is all about taking the next step and being a strong offense.

It comes back to how much this regime is willing to value the offensive skill positions because this coming season they absolutely need an out of the box weapon for Josh. Perhaps they'll just fall back on the depth of the class and use another 2nd or 3rd on a skill type. I don't think that's good enough if they're going to support the QB and help the offense improve from being a mid to bottom ranked unit. At this point, scoring points is more crucial to their long term success than finding another big dollar/high draft pick defensive player.

Born in Batavia, NY no less.

After the 3rd off-season of rebuilding, Buffalo's WR group was Brown, Beasley, then street FAs and UDFAs. You'd think there would be a better effort to surround your franchise QB with more talent because it would help assess where Allen is in his development. As to the former players...Zay Jones is on McD, who trusted his then WR coach's assessment of a former player. Andre Holmes and Kelvin Benjamin were bad acquisitions that McBeane made which miscalculated how NFL offenses were moving toward faster and shiftier types. Yes, Brown and Beasley have produced as veterans acquired in UFA, but it should speak volumes that they've allocated more high value resources to the DT and the secondary. Veterans acquired have been a mixed bag whereas the draft has been a combination of bad player evaluations, throwaway picks, and not really trying to upgrade the WR position.

McDermott's heard of him. So has Beane. LOL I'm sure there'll be competition for that job anyway.

Buffalo signs UFA WR Antonio Brown. They'd need to do their HW on whether he's got himself under control, but I can see them going this route and taking a WR in the 2nd round so they can improve the DL in round 1.

They have the right to sit there at 22 and see how the draft falls...but would hope that if someone is there at say 15 who can come in and help Allen they make the move. If they can trade up for a LB from 22 to 16 only 2 years ago they can for a WR. Being conservative is nice when you're early into rebuilding. You gotta be bold sometimes or else you end up like Jason Botterill who's scared of his own shadow. GM's don't keep their jobs by playing it safe all the time. I'll say this for Beane...he explored the Antonio Brown thing last year and I'm sure that wasn't McD's preference.

Buffalo hasn't been faced with re-signing a 1st Team All-Pro in a long time. And this is probably the first time that they've replaced a top CB (Gilmore) with another outstanding one. I'm interested to see how these negotiations progress given that they haven't had to re-sign one of their own yet. OBD has some big decisions coming up.

Two months since the WC game and some have forgotten what made the difference that day. Houston's not the top team in the league, but they erased a 16 point deficit rather quickly and much of it was via the passing game. Yeah, it's hard to find top WR's...it's even harder when you wait until the 2nd and 3rd round to do so. This off-season is about finishing their rebuild and rounding out the skill positions with top talent. Being average across the field with choir-boy types and loads of cap room doesn't get you far. Ask former NYJ GM John Idzik how beneficial it was to save cap room heading into a season.

I think the ability to conflate is a bad habit and it's what people do to deflect particularly when a decision is critically reviewed. And if it's absolved that the team trades up into the top half of the 2nd round for a player (non-QB) at a position that he doesn't win in camp that's concerning. Most NFL RT's need help in pass pro, so I'm not going to say he's gotta be a lock-down option on par with Orlando Pace in his prime. Still, the main issue isn't Ford, it's the personnel group who had a 1st round grade on him and moved up. Buffalo isn't in the position to take trade up for guards right now and you can find guards on the UFA market that can play. Positional value and where this team is in the rebuild mean using higher picks on more premium positions. And guard isn't one of them.

A better option at RT RN. Who is saying that most rookie tackles uneven seasons? There are plenty of guys who come in and play decent or better ball from the start, especially those picked near where Ford was. New Orleans' Ryan Ramczyk has played well out of the gate, as has Jawaan Taylor in Jacksonville and Dalton Risner in Denver last year. Those last 2 guys were picked just before and after Ford last year. I have reservations about how well this team prioritizes offense, their skill at identifying starters on that side of the ball, and then how they use their talent. It's pretty concerning they traded up for a guy who did not have the lateral movement skills in his rookie year to work on the right side. They don't get a pass because he kicks inside...that wasn't the idea behind trading up to 38.

I recognize there's a lot going on, but when people talk about HC's needing to evolve on game-day it makes no sense considering he's been in the NFL for 20 years. He's 3 for 15 on challenges. Some people think on their feet a lot better. Not saying the HC is slow or not smart, but I get the sense McD thinks he's prepared for every situation and it's not possible. Putting more people in the process may hinder and not improve the game-day management piece.