How can we not be all in on Metcalf now?

[NewEraBills]

4 minutes ago, BuffAlone said:

Run first. Play action. Speed can be found anywhere. It doesn't have to come in the form of DK at 9. To me, speed and strength is his top qualities. If he's gonna be just used as a deep threat, that's attainable at a lower cost. What we need that we don't have, is a big bodied, smoothie route running possession reciever

 

I'm not reducing Metcalf to a speed guy.  He can run comeback routes; Digs; screens, Posts.  His tape shows that.  Jones needs to play the slot in that possession role along with the TE.  Metcalf can actually catch.  Beating the press at the line is another of his top qualities.  It's more than speed and strength.

Edited March 4, 2019 by NewEraBills

[BuffAlone]

1 minute ago, NewEraBills said:

 

I'm not reducing Metcalf to a speed guy.  He can run comeback routes; Digs; screens, Posts.  His tape shows that.  Jones needs to play the slot in that possession role along with the TE.  Metcalf can actually catch.  Beating the press at the line is another of his top qualities.  It's more than speed and strength.

I hear ya bud, I just think he's a luxury pick that we don't have the luxury of drafting at 9 when our lines need just as much attention. A better O line helps Allen just as much, if not more, than DK does IMO

[colin]

assuming our FO doesn't go gaga over a DL who is still available at 9, and they aren't sold on the OL (seems everyone likes about 12 guys on the OL and we grab one in the 2nd), i'm good with Metcalf.

 

normally i'd be concerned with the super athlete who hasn't put it together yet profile, but a big thing to me is his NFL bloodline.  That means he was born with talent, seems to have a top notch work ethic, and he has experienced role models who have given him an idea of what the NFL will bring.

 

with our new CFL wideout underneath making veteran reads and moves, and w our bama crimsonflash on the outside, throwing in DK (and a TE, not sure where we get him but it's a need) makes our WR corps a disgusting size and speed match up.  we might even bring back WR screens and get some 3rd and short yardage situations, which we seem to avoid like ebola.

[NewEraBills]

2 minutes ago, BuffAlone said:

I hear ya bud, I just think he's a luxury pick that we don't have the luxury of drafting at 9 when our lines need just as much attention. A better O line helps Allen just as much, if not more, than DK does IMO

 

Which is why I've always advocated

Rd. 1 Metcalf if there.

Rd. 2 Chris Lindstrom or Dalton Risner. -Fix the interior first.  Build from the inside out.

[akm0404]

Can he score touchdowns? I like touchdowns.

[NewEraBills]

To me you draft him and ask him to do the following:

 

1)  Screens

2)  9/Go routes

3) Deep Post routes

4)  Slants

5)  Deep Crossers

 

You don't ask him to run double move routes that's all.  I'd say he's a Demaryius Thomas archetype with more speed and explosiveness.  To me he fits in great with Josh Allen's abilities.  Now that I think about it I would probably actually try to also get a guy like Andy Isabella if he's still there in the 3rd and have him man the slot.  He can run all of the quicks and double moves.  That would me bye to Zay unless he can show he has the agility and speed to get open on the short routes.

[ctk232]

23 hours ago, K-9 said:

He’s only an athletic freak in terms of feats involving moving in a straight line, either straight up (vertical jump) or straight ahead (long jump and 40).

 

He is the exact opposite of athletic freak in the change of direction tests. 

 

He will make some team very happy if that team only requires a receiver to move in a straight line. 

Right? Forgive me, but when did you not need to be able to change direction and not need elite agility to be coined an "athletic freak?" Did I miss the memo where athletes will no longer be evaluated in their ability to change direction? A key component to any sport? I get he's exceptional in the power tests and single-vector tests, but a more complete and "athletic freak" to me is someone who can change direction at that size.

 

I don't think it's where the conversation starts and stops with Metcalf as it's pretty silly to arm-chair judge the guy on this one characteristic - but it would be equally short-sighted to overlook this key component to his game, especially at the position of WR.

 

23 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Metcalf did exactly what I said and expected he would do at the combine.  He is a freak and a crazy exciting prospect.  That being said, he also did terrible in agility drills which does leave questions on how complete a WR he can be if he will struggle changing directions.

 

HOWEVER:  The WR that I think took over the top WR spot in the draft is NOT Metcalf, although I do believe Metcalf will still be drafted first based on a "Josh Allen" type ceiling with those freakish numbers.  

 

The guy who to me cemented the best overall WR prospect was my 2nd favorite WR heading into the combine, and that is N'Keal Harry.  The ONLY concern on Harry was his speed, and going into the combine he was expected to run high 4.6's to low 4.7's and most said that would be fine given his immense talent and still be a first or early 2nd round pick.

 

HOWEVER:  Harry blew away those expectations (as I had been saying he would) and ran a 4.54 which is faster than Antonio Brown and many other elite WR's in the NFL.  He by far has one of the most impressive tapes in this draft, insane hands, insane catch radius, strong, highly productive with a terrible QB, and now showed he has the speed too.  There is no longer any knock on him, its all gone.  

Agreed - I'm honestly more up on Harry and Butler than I am for Metcalf as a WR prospect. Barring a trade back scenario, I'm not sure there's a WR worth taking at 9 this year over a BPA of OL/DL. I'd much rather we get our line guy (preferably offensive but we'll see where the value falls as Burns, Oliver, or others may end up as BPA there), and then get either Harry or Butler in the second if they make it that far. Given a trade back scenario, I could easily see us picking up one or the other late in the first/early second and still managing to fill out OL/DL.

Edited March 4, 2019 by ctk232

[BillsMafia13]

23 hours ago, Teddy KGB said:

Whose EMO ? 

Seriously, just went through all 11 pages and couldnt find a damn thing.  Feelin pretty dumb right about now

[billsfan_34]

58 minutes ago, NewEraBills said:

 

Near 32nd in the league in passing suggest to me that we do need to take another swing.  And to add, one of the worse rushing backfields, with the exception of the QB, to mean it says you need better OL, but you also need another threat to take the top off so defenses can't just sit on the run game.  We have a QB with an arm, we need perimeter WR's who can fly and make defenses pay.  Why do people not want this?  It will actually open up the run game too.

My philosophy is fix the lines first. We by far had the worst line in the NFL. 

[NewEraBills]

1 minute ago, billsfan_34 said:

My philosophy is fix the lines first. We by far had the worst line in the NFL. 

 

To me this is not an either or deal.  It's a both and deal.  We can address the line in FA and rounds 2-4 in the draft with really good starter level talent.

[Big Turk]

Dude reminds me of David Boston...does he want to become a bodybuilder or a football player?  Eventually he is going to lift himself into constant injuries on the footbal field and shorten his career.

[billsfan_34]

10 minutes ago, NewEraBills said:

 

To me this is not an either or deal.  It's a both and deal.  We can address the line in FA and rounds 2-4 in the draft with really good starter level talent.

Im with ya - the great news is we have alot of capital both in picks and cash! Now its which way they decide to skin the cat.

[BillsfanAZ]

The most important thing that us fans dont have access to is what was talked about in the player meetings. Is Metcalf just a workout warrior? Wonder what his football IQ is like. I think if the Bills have any options at trading back then that would be the move picking up extra picks in a deep draft for OL, WR, and TE. I think the only way the Bills use the #9 pick is if one of the top defensive studs slides down the board because of teams going after QB's. 

[Bill_with_it]

At 9 I wouldn’t mind, no Sammy Watkins trade up. He could be the guy they were trying to get out of KB (obviously minus the speed). 

[Reed83HOF]

2 hours ago, K-9 said:

Hopkins and Bryant didn’t run a 3 cone and both had the same time in the 20 yard shuttle with a 4.5

 

Woods’s 3 cone was a 7.15, a full .23 better, while his 20 yard shuttle was slightly better at 4.47. 

 

Cannot take an incomplete player like Metcalf at 9 with some really good elite talent will be there ripe for the picking on the lines, which is a helluva lot more important to us than a WR, with these holes. Even if we traded back a bit, I still wouldn't touch him in Rd#1...

 

John Miller, Groy and Mills will not be back and Bodine was awful last year. Also Kyle retired and McD loves a great DL rotation, especially with Shag and his option, Murphy is still an unknown - I just don't see a WR this high, maybe K'neal Harry, but I just don't see a WR in rd 1. An Elite DL or one of the Top OL guys is a certainty. 

[HeHateMe]

We just had an oft-injured WR in Watkins.  9 has to be a sure thing.  This is a deep class for WR and I think we can get really good talent in rounds 2-4.  

 

3 red flags right off the bat:

 

-Not a lot of production on college

-A lot of games missed due to injury

-Poor agility in tests

[NewEraBills]

I get it.  Guys are concerned about the bust rate and sure the WR bust rate in the 1st is high, but so are other positions.  When you are picking in the top 10 you are banking on UPSIDE to a degree and maximization of potential.  In rounds 2-3 it's mostly BPA and high functionality.  Upside is a plus in rounds 2-3.  

 

The Bills, that is US, NEED a WR so why not draft the one with the most upside and potential at 9 IF he's there.  Give him 5 years to work things out and see what happens.  His potential and upside is unmatched in this draft.  This is not to say that other areas on the team go unaddressed.  We can still address other areas via FA and the draft.  I still say if he is there at 9, which IMO he won't be, you take Metcalf.  I don't want mere functionality at WR.  That's Zay Jones.  We have that.  I want massive potential and upside.  That's DK Metcalf.

Edited March 4, 2019 by NewEraBills

[HeHateMe]

20 minutes ago, NewEraBills said:

I get it.  Guys are concerned about the bust rate and sure the WR bust rate in the 1st is high, but so are other positions.  When you are picking in the top 10 you are banking on UPSIDE to a degree and maximization of potential.  In rounds 2-3 it's mostly BPA and high functionality.  Upside is a plus in rounds 2-3.  

 

The Bills, that is US, NEED a WR so why not draft the one with the most upside and potential at 9 IF he's there.  Give him 5 years to work things out and see what happens.  His potential and upside is unmatched in this draft.  This is not to say that other areas on the team go unaddressed.  We can still address other areas via FA and the draft.  I still say if he is there at 9, which IMO he won't be, you take Metcalf.  I don't want mere functionality at WR.  That's Zay Jones.  We have that.  I want massive potential and upside.  That's DK Metcalf.

 

I don't think it's smart use of the 9th overall pick.. Reminds me of 2014 trading up for Watkins which was a huge mistake.  We could of stayed at our pick and got OBJ in the first round.  Or waited later in the draft to get wayyy better value picks in Cooks, Davante Adams, Allen Robinson, Jarvis Landry, etc.  This WR draft may look like that year.

 

[K-9]

46 minutes ago, Reed83HOF said:

 

Cannot take an incomplete player like Metcalf at 9 with some really good elite talent will be there ripe for the picking on the lines, which is a helluva lot more important to us than a WR, with these holes. Even if we traded back a bit, I still wouldn't touch him in Rd#1...

 

John Miller, Groy and Mills will not be back and Bodine was awful last year. Also Kyle retired and McD loves a great DL rotation, especially with Shag and his option, Murphy is still an unknown - I just don't see a WR this high, maybe K'neal Harry, but I just don't see a WR in rd 1. An Elite DL or one of the Top OL guys is a certainty. 

There are better prospects than Metcalf available at other critical positions. I think he’s a risk, especially that high in the draft.

[thebandit27]

32 minutes ago, NewEraBills said:

I get it.  Guys are concerned about the bust rate and sure the WR bust rate in the 1st is high, but so are other positions.  When you are picking in the top 10 you are banking on UPSIDE to a degree and maximization of potential.  In rounds 2-3 it's mostly BPA and high functionality.  Upside is a plus in rounds 2-3.  

 

The Bills, that is US, NEED a WR so why not draft the one with the most upside and potential at 9 IF he's there.  Give him 5 years to work things out and see what happens.  His potential and upside is unmatched in this draft.  This is not to say that other areas on the team go unaddressed.  We can still address other areas via FA and the draft.  I still say if he is there at 9, which IMO he won't be, you take Metcalf.  I don't want mere functionality at WR.  That's Zay Jones.  We have that.  I want massive potential and upside.  That's DK Metcalf.

 

For me, the best usage of a top-10 pick is on a franchise QB.  Obviously, that's not where Buffalo is going this year, and that's fine. The next best usage IMO is on a game-changing offensive playmaker, pass rusher, or corner. When I try to evaluate who has the best chance of being a game-changer in the NFL, I'm looking to optimize between a track-record of playing the position at a high level in college and the eye-popping measurables (and, of course, you want the intangibles as well).

 

So, when I look at the top-10 talent non-QBs in this class (listed, in no particular order, below), who checks the boxes?

Nick Bosa

Quinnen Williams

Josh Allen

DK Metcalf

Josh Jacobs

Ed Oliver

Christian Wilkins

Jawaan Taylor

Rashan Gary

Devin White

Jeffrey Simmons

TJ Hockenson

 

For me, the guys I think qualify as having both a track-record of playing the position at a high level in college and the eye-popping measurables, and can fill one of the critical roles of offensive playmaker, pass-rusher, or corner, are: Bosa, Williams, Allen, Jacobs, Oliver, Wilkins, and Simmons. I'm leery of guys that do incredibly stupid things off the field, so Simmons probably falls off my board. I'm also not huge on first-round RBs given the shelf-life, so Jacobs wouldn't be my guy either.

 

That leaves Bosa, Williams, Allen, Oliver, and Wilkins for me.  I thin there's probably an 80% chance that one of them is there at 9, so that's where I'd go at this point.