Beane: 'Draft is by drafting best player available, free agency is all about your needs'

[Seoulful Soul]

The Buffalo Bills made plenty of waves in free agency, signing nine players to help bolster the roster for the 2019 season. Although the Bills have already made plenty of moves to upgrade the roster, free agency is still young around the National Football League, and the NFL Draft is coming up in about a month in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

After the whirlwind week, Bills general manager Brandon Beane joined John Murphy and Chris Brown on One Bills Live to talk about the team's aggressive free agency plan and what is next for the team going forward.

 

https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/beane-draft-drafting-best-player-available-free-agency-all-about-your-needs

 

This I completely agree with and it explains McBeane's process and philosophy.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

[Nanker]

27 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

 BS. EVERY position was  PON last year. 

 

Edited March 17, 2019 by Nanker

[Buddo]

It's not so much BS for this year though, and hopefully for the future.

 

Last year, was definitely about need. I do think they got a bit lucky in that the Edmunds pick, gave them the value they wanted, to take him there.

[Boca BIlls]

1 hour ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

Well it is BPA acording to your draft board which is done by need.

[gonzo1105]

How people don’t see we’re taking a DE/DT is beyond me. We didn’t sign on in FA. We have a need at DE/DT, and the value at pick 9 is like 90% going to be one of those two positions unless we trade down. Pure BPA every GM says every year then you constantly see people picking for need. 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

21 minutes ago, Buddo said:

It's not so much BS for this year though, and hopefully for the future.

 

Last year, was definitely about need. I do think they got a bit lucky in that the Edmunds pick, gave them the value they wanted, to take him there.

 

....we never really know what OBD's Phil Ivey will do versus what he says....cool customer IMO........

[fansince88]

2 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

Last year he couldnt work the FA. He was cap strapped. Pay attention. 

[thebandit27]

2 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

 

Actually it's more about value than need.

 

QB is always the pick in round 1 if you don't have one. After that, is it so hard to believe that they went by their board?

 

Were they drafting purely for need, they could've stayed put and taken LVE or Leonard.

[machine gun kelly]

Every GM and Head Coach says BPA, but amazingly they always somehow find BPA that coincidentally are of need at least in the first three rounds.

[thebandit27]

6 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Every GM and Head Coach says BPA, but amazingly they always somehow find BPA that coincidentally are of need at least in the first three rounds.

 

Nah.

 

This can be picked apart pretty easily by looking at the top 10 picks in any recent draft.

 

The best prospects always end up going first...plus QBs, because need at QB will always trump everything else.

 

Just look at last year: was RB the Giants' biggest need? No way. Did Denver really need to add an EDGE rusher to the group of Miller, Barrett, and Ray? Of course not. Cleveland had already added multiple cornerbacks in FA; was Denzel Ward a need pick? Hardly.

 

I agree that some GMs draft for need, but it's definitely not all, and doesn't really look like a majority either.

Edited March 17, 2019 by thebandit27

[BuffAlone]

4 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

Except those players were BPA at the time of those picks on McBeane's big board. So there's that too....

[Mr. WEO]

Pretty much every GM says draft BPA.  

 

Not always the smartest play.  See NYG and Denver above...

[JohnnyK]

The fact he had to trade up in he 1st round twice shows he thought they were the BPA and that he could not stay where he was to get them!

[MrEpsYtown]

I think it's okay to draft for need late in the draft if the grades on guys are close. But never do it in the first three rounds. Especially not in the top ten. 

[Nick the Greek]

4 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

 

4 hours ago, Nanker said:

 BS. EVERY position was  PON last year. 

 

Glad we took our QB last season though because there was so much talent to choose from. This year, not so much. Allen was the best QB available in the last couple draft classes. 

 

 

[CaptnCoke11]

By the looks of it if Allen keeps progressing like he did to finish last season we probably did get BPA at the time. 

Edited March 17, 2019 by CaptnCoke11

[Codyny13]

3 hours ago, Boca BIlls said:

Well it is BPA acording to your draft board which is done by need.

Your draft board isn’t done by need. It’s done by grade, but if the value and grade match up with a position of need you take it.

[PromoTheRobot]

5 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

 

Maybe that's because $50MM in dead cap stops you from doing much in free agency?

Edited March 17, 2019 by PromoTheRobot

[JerseyBills]

3 hours ago, fansince88 said:

Last year he couldnt work the FA. He was cap strapped. Pay attention. 

Exactly lol. All by design. Had a ton of flexibility in FA and will have a ton of flexibility in the draft. The Bills will arrive in 2019.  I been saying this. I think ppl are starting to Billieve and understand the vision

[Jay_Fixit]

2 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

Every GM and Head Coach says BPA, but amazingly they always somehow find BPA that coincidentally are of need at least in the first three rounds.

This isn’t true.

[formerlyofCtown]

6 hours ago, Seoulful Soul said:

The Buffalo Bills made plenty of waves in free agency, signing nine players to help bolster the roster for the 2019 season. Although the Bills have already made plenty of moves to upgrade the roster, free agency is still young around the National Football League, and the NFL Draft is coming up in about a month in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

After the whirlwind week, Bills general manager Brandon Beane joined John Murphy and Chris Brown on One Bills Live to talk about the team's aggressive free agency plan and what is next for the team going forward.

 

https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/beane-draft-drafting-best-player-available-free-agency-all-about-your-needs

 

This I completely agree with and it explains McBeane's process and philosophy.

There are posters on here that are not gonna like this.  They claim BPA doesnt exist.  You try to explain it to them and they get all but hurt and start acting like they were in the Bills WarRoom lol.  

9 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said:

This isn’t true.

Sometimes they move around the board to make it line up.

The trade up for Edmunds for example.

15 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

Exactly lol. All by design. Had a ton of flexibility in FA and will have a ton of flexibility in the draft. The Bills will arrive in 2019.  I been saying this. I think ppl are starting to Billieve and understand the vision

Some ppl on here would call for his job if we lost the SB next season it seems lol.

[eball]

6 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

 

I think you are looking at things in an overly simplistic way.

 

2018 was widely viewed as one of those "generational" QB drafts.  The Bills needed a QB.  They determined at what draft position they could select a QB they felt matched the value of the pick.  Beane made it happen.  They then saw another player they viewed as top 15 talent -- Edmunds -- who also happened to fill a position of need.

 

Talent and need aren't viewed in a vacuum.  It's more nuanced than that.  And the Bills going into that draft were so talent-poor at a number of positions that every pick was by definition filling a "need."

 

Let's look at this year.  Now that Beane has addressed numerous holes in the roster during FA (OL, WR) he has the freedom to look at that #9 pick and select a player without worrying whether he fills a specific "need."  Where the need analysis comes in is if there are two players available when it's time for the Bills to draft upon whom they have placed similar "talent" grades.  Then, depending upon the relative importance of the position, you pick the guy who fills a need.

[formerlyofCtown]

55 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Maybe that's because $50MM in dead cap stops you from doing much in free agency?

QB and MLB were definitely BPA at those slots.

[Jay_Fixit]

5 minutes ago, formerlyofCtown said:

 Sometimes they move around the board to make it line up.

The trade up for Edmunds for example.

Yes, sometimes.

 

Not always, like the other dude claimed.

 

Not always whatsoever in fact.

[formerlyofCtown]

3 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said:

Yes, sometimes.

 

Not always, like the other dude claimed.

 

Not always whatsoever in fact.

So tell me when McDermott and Beane have reached.

Did they draft Donte Whitner with the players that were on the board with him?

Edited March 17, 2019 by formerlyofCtown

[Punching Bag]

3 hours ago, fansince88 said:

Last year he couldnt work the FA. He was cap strapped. Pay attention. 

 

Don't confuse irrational ranters with facts.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

1 hour ago, eball said:

 

I think you are looking at things in an overly simplistic way.

 

2018 was widely viewed as one of those "generational" QB drafts.  The Bills needed a QB.  They determined at what draft position they could select a QB they felt matched the value of the pick.  Beane made it happen.  They then saw another player they viewed as top 15 talent -- Edmunds -- who also happened to fill a position of need.

 

Talent and need aren't viewed in a vacuum.  It's more nuanced than that.  And the Bills going into that draft were so talent-poor at a number of positions that every pick was by definition filling a "need."

 

Let's look at this year.  Now that Beane has addressed numerous holes in the roster during FA (OL, WR) he has the freedom to look at that #9 pick and select a player without worrying whether he fills a specific "need."  Where the need analysis comes in is if there are two players available when it's time for the Bills to draft upon whom they have placed similar "talent" grades.  Then, depending upon the relative importance of the position, you pick the guy who fills a need.

I think you are twisting things to fit Beane’s narrative. Beane didnt trade away TT and not plan to draft a QB. Same for letting Brown walk with a plan to draft their version of Kuechly.

I dont have any problem drafting for need. There is nothing wrong with that. He should just be honest about it.

And I hope Beane drafts Hockenson at #9 because this team needs a TE.

Edited March 17, 2019 by Ethan in Portland

[Spielman]

7 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

Exactly, Is he gonna draft Murray if he’s sitting there at #9 ?   No. 

Edited March 17, 2019 by Spielman

[Ethan in Cleveland]

3 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

Every GM and Head Coach says BPA, but amazingly they always somehow find BPA that coincidentally are of need at least in the first three rounds.

Yup. Just look at Indy. They needed to fix OL and they maneuvered perfectly to get Nelson.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

59 minutes ago, formerlyofCtown said:

So tell me when McDermott and Beane have reached.

Did they draft Donte Whitner with the players that were on the board with him?

McD traded up twice in his draft for Dawkins and Jones. Were they reaches? I Don’t know.  Beane traded up for Edmunds and DROY was drafted in the second round.  But Edmunds was taken a few spots lower than he was projected. Will he be the best LB from that draft? He still has a chance. He is so young and did get better as the year went on.

Again I favor drafting for need. My philosophy is trade down and get more picks, draft positions you need, always draft a CB, and take a QB every other year or so.

[Coach Tuesday]

But that is why Beane moves around the draft board so much - so that need lines up with BPA.  It is ok to draft for need as long as it’s also BPA...

[PetermansRedemption]

In this draft it seems value and need Will coincidence when it comes to the Bills. Value at 9 will be at DE or DT and that just so happens to be a big position of need. 

17 minutes ago, Spielman said:

Exactly, Is he gonna draft Murray if he’s sitting there at #9 ?   No. 

I don’t think Murray would be BPA unless he fell to the 3rd round. He should have the same grade as Russel Wilson did coming out. The problem is people see what Wilson did and what Baker did and recent bias. They then think that is the norm rather than the outlier. 

[thebandit27]

20 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

I think you are twisting things to fit Beane’s narrative. Beane didnt trade away TT and not plan to draft a QB. Same for letting Brown walk with a plan to draft their version of Kuechly.

I dont have any problem drafting for need. There is nothing wrong with that. He should just be honest about it.

And I hope Beane drafts Hockenson at #9 because this team needs a TE.

 

My word.

 

Aside from drafting a QB, what makes you think that he didn't stick to his board?

 

And why would it make sense to draft a TE 9th overall when the position has largely been phased out in NFL offenses, and even the best of TEs are often their own team's 2nd or 3rd best targets?

 

That's without considering that no TE drafted in the first round in the last decade has had a good NFL career.

[Foxx]

7 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

when you have a dearth of talent in many places, yes, you draft for need. when you reach a certain level, then you can draft BPA.

[Logic]

This is a time honored dance that all GMs do.

All offseason: "We draft BPA, not for need!"

Draft: Top three team needs all get filled by round 5.

Just smile and nod and play along, would ya?!

[eball]

39 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

I think you are twisting things to fit Beane’s narrative. Beane didnt trade away TT and not plan to draft a QB. Same for letting Brown walk with a plan to draft their version of Kuechly.

I dont have any problem drafting for need. There is nothing wrong with that. He should just be honest about it.

And I hope Beane drafts Hockenson at #9 because this team needs a TE.

 

Nah, you're oversimplifying it.  Need and talent work in conjunction with one another in the draft.  What exactly has Beane been "dishonest" about?

[formerlyofCtown]

1 hour ago, Ethan in Portland said:

McD traded up twice in his draft for Dawkins and Jones. Were they reaches? I Don’t know.  Beane traded up for Edmunds and DROY was drafted in the second round.  But Edmunds was taken a few spots lower than he was projected. Will he be the best LB from that draft? He still has a chance. He is so young and did get better as the year went on.

Again I favor drafting for need. My philosophy is trade down and get more picks, draft positions you need, always draft a CB, and take a QB every other year or so.

And Tom Brady was taken in the 6th.  Your philosophy has landed you how many jobs in an NFL front office.

The answer to the question I asked is never or none.

[Alphadawg7]

8 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Except its all BS. He drafted for need last year. He drafted QB, MLB, CB, G. With four of the first five picks. All need picks.

 

Except your understanding of what BPA is Wrong.  Still can’t believe how many fans can’t understand this very simple concept.  

 

BPA does factor in NEEDS.  BPA could be a RB and 1000000% Giants will NOT draft a RB.  Same with us for QB.  

 

The BPA on a GMs board is based on the team board they built.  And that process takes into account needs, their system fit, etc etc.  

 

And that also means going up to get players you covet.  The BPA on Bills board was Josh Allen.  The BPA on their board after that as draft started continuing was Edmunds, they went up and got him.  

 

People take the BPA way to literal without applying simple logic to it that BPA also factors in needs or opportunities to upgrade.  

Edited March 17, 2019 by Alphadawg7

[transient]

32 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Except your understanding of what BPA is Wrong.  Still can’t believe how many fans can’t understand this very simple concept.  

 

BPA does factor in NEEDS.  BPA could be a RB and 1000000% Giants will NOT draft a RB.  Same with us for QB.  

 

The BPA on a GMs board is based on the team board they built.  And that process takes into account needs, their system fit, etc etc.  

 

And that also means going up to get players you covet.  The BPA on Bills board was Josh Allen.  The BPA on their board after that as draft started continuing was Edmunds, they went up and got him.  

 

People take the BPA way to literal without applying simple logic to it that BPA also factors in needs or opportunities to upgrade.  

 

I would also argue that too often posters equate “drafting for need” with drafting someone who is a “reach”. 

 

EJ was a reach to fill a need. Presumably Allen and Edmunds were BPA on the Bills board who also happened to fill a need, which is why they made the trades to get them. Unlike EJ, based on player assessment going into the draft, irrespective of how their careers turn out, you can’t argue that Allen or Edmunds were overdrafted. If Beane didn’t make the moves he did when he did he most likely wasn’t going to get either player as they would have been gone in the next few picks.

Edited March 17, 2019 by transient