finn

Wonder if Beane is using Miller to lay down a smoke screen, maybe to provoke KC into spending draft capital to preempt the Bills; I bet their moving ahead of Buffalo to snag McDuffie still rankles. If it is a smoke screen, Beane might be planning to stay put or trade down.

Another reason to trade up for Latu. Deke everyone out so it's not too costly. Then pick up a WR in the second round and a safety in free agency after June 1. If you have a need in a position in which the draft is unusually deep, let the draft come to you.

That would be ironic, to trade Brown just when he's showing his potential, after years of him serving as a 6'8" swing gate. No, if I'm Beane, I'm looking hard at trading Milano of all people. He's very expensive, 30 years old, we have a replacement in place with upside in Williams, and he's one of the few players on the roster who could garner a first-round pick in return. Continue the younger and cheaper trend and use that pick to trade up for Nabers.

Elam is such a mystery. Prototypical physical build and talent/skills, along with an excellent work ethic (or so we heard when he was drafted), yet he can't get on the field. Is zone coverage and tackling really that hard to learn? What is going on there? Anyway, I say keep him just in case a new DB coach can help turn the light on for him.

This is a fair take. Beane didn't know Jefferson would be there, or no one knew he'd be such a good player. The trade paid off, no question. You can't fault him for extending him in 2022, either. Diggs was coming off multiple stellar years and was 29. No, I would say the big error Beane made re wide receivers was deciding Gabe Davis could be WR2. He used a fourth rounder to move up in the first to take Elam that he could have used to trade up for George Pickens in the second round. Sure, hindsight, but a lot of people had high grades on Pickens, including Greg Cosell, who thought he'd be a perfect complement for Diggs. That would have put Davis in the WR3 role, which is much better suited to his abilities. I may be wrong, but I suspect Beane may have been on tilt after KC leapfrogged him to take McDuffie. An icy-smart move, to use your phrase, would have been to step back and see the big picture. Instead of paying a lot for a CB who is talented but doesn't fit your scheme, you find your corner elsewhere and take a true WR2.

In retrospect, that run they had from mid-season on into the playoff was pretty extraordinary, given the injuries and Diggs awful play. Every last player stepped up, except one.

That's what he might be thinking, too. I mean, what else is he supposed to do? He's carrying the team on his back as it is, the only superstar they have. No, it's time for others to step up and play with as the heart and intensity he's been playing with since he arrived.

He did get a ton of targets, though. Maybe he didn't like the play designs. Or maybe he was in denial that his skills were sharply declining across the board. You have to be wise to accept that and not blame others. Diggs is anything but wise.

Or, in his case, the dropping game.

Came in as a prima donna, leaving as a prima donna. The only guy on this team who has been a distraction. All about him. Good riddance, Stefon.

Like Whaley went after Sammy Watkins? Two first rounders and fourth to move up four spots to get a player he had conviction on, as you put it, while passing on Mike Evans and Odell Beckham, who were both available in their original spot and ended up having far better careers. Not saying you never trade up. It's sometimes the right move, especially for a quarterback. Beane has moved up four times, for Allen, Edmunds, Elam and Kincaid. Given what he gave up, that's not a very good record. Allen was a slam dunk of course, and Kincaid looks great (although La Porta was available in their original slot). But Edmunds was no more than above average, and Elam, well...

I agree. If a draft is loaded in a position of need, you don't trade up. When he was Bills GM, John Butler would let the draft come to him; sometimes the best move is not to move. E.g., not panicking and giving up a fourth to trade up for Elam (given that Beane realized he wasn't a good fit despite his skills). It looks like plenty of good WRs will be available at the end of round one and even in round two. If a good edge rusher is available at 28, I'd take him and pick up a WR in the second round. The alpha WR might be coming next year, when Beane has cap room, in the form of top free agent. Patience, grass hoper!

I compliment you for spelling "complement" correctly. 🙂

His catch-rate percentage is pretty mediocre, too: 68%. Compare that rate to his teammate Shakir catching ball from the QB: 86.7%. Let's put this all together. Diggs was (and is) earning the second highest salary on the team, drawing a huge percentage of targets. Yet last year he caught a far lower percentage than any of his teammates, except long-ball Davis, he's a distraction, he disappears in the playoffs, and he's washed. Beane was right to flush him. He extended Diggs when he was a top receiver, not knowing he would bottom out so quickly, which happens. To be blunt, his production is no longer worth the money or his whining, which was going to only increase as he declines. Take the hit and move on.

I was. Should have /s

What are you referring to? I missed a few news cycles.

There goes Simmons as our safety....

What would it take? Maybe our first and second this year, as well as our first and both seconds next year. That's one impact player instead of, potentially, five. No, better to trade up to the middle of the first round to take one of the top four WRs. Even that will take three high picks.

Good point. That squares with the Athletic's take after last season, which was that with no deep threat (Gabe Davis was a cartoon figure), teams rolled up on the short and intermediate routes, leaving the Bills with no option but to wait for the deep shot once or twice a game, which (late in the season/playoffs) Allen overthrew twice and Diggs dropped once.

On reflection, maybe this is a good move. I was willing to give Diggs the benefit of the doubt after his decline over the second half of the season. But then I think of that drop in the playoff game against KC. That spoke volumes. If you choke at the most important moment of the season, you're not untradeable anymore. Wish it were a first-rounder this year, but that's just not realistic. Hopefully they trade up for a WR 1. Maybe their first and second this year and their second next year to move up for one of the Big Four.

So a lousy 2nd round pick next year and we lose our best WR AND take a huge cap hit? WTF?

Beane has plenty of options at safety/corner, including Simmons and Blackmon after June 1 with the Tre White savings. Could be a decent safety available in the second round, too. No, I think Beane will draft a pass rusher then trade up in the second to nab a WR he likes, using a fourth-round pick. Then depth picks for DB and OL.

Basically what we've been paying Von Miller...🤢

Yes, I'll always appreciate him for those deep balls, against KC in the playoffs especially, but also the long TD he caught in stride when Allen was throwing from the end zone under heavy pressure. The pessimist in me sees a player just good enough to delay Beane from investing in the WR position before now, which might have made the difference the past two years between the Super Bowl and merely the playoffs. Still, I wish him luck. He seemed like a good guy, and he worked hard.

Was Davis really a downfield threat? It's always seemed to me he was just a guy out there, with average WR speed, average hands, and little ability to get separation. His success, one could say, was entirely due to a future HOF QB throwing to him. I'm willing to learn that I've been wrong about him, though. What did you see or know that I didn't describe here?