EricScott Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 One name I don't see being mentioned as a possibility at #9 is Washington State OT Andre Dillard. Let me just make a case for him as a topic for discussion. Firstly, the initial reaction I would imagine is that 9 is too early for him. Yet there are a couple of mocks where I have seen him going 10 to Denver and 11 to Cincy and my sense is that he is climbing up the draft boards, so I would argue that picking him at 9 would not be the massive overreach that some might think. I see Jawaan Taylor mentioned as a strong possibility at 9, but A) he plays RT, AND B) he may very well be gone by our pick anyway. Dillard plays LT, and is the consensus best pass-blocking LT in the draft (he has the tape and an outstanding Senior Bowl against top competition to back it up). Teams spend years trying to find a quality left tackle to protect their QB's blind side; we get Dillard and Josh is protected for years. You then move Dawkins to guard (real good chance that he's a better guard than a left tackle, where he struggled last year), and voila, it's an upgrade at two positions. I know that Dillard is a work in progress in the run game, but I believe that he is athletic enough to be coached up. Washington State is a pass- happy offense that didn't run the ball much, so Dillard didn't get a lot of reps. Plus, I believe protecting Allen and giving him the time and confidence that his backside is safe is just about the best thing we can do to help him and the offense in general. And yes, a trade-down and then picking up Dillard would be the best- case scenario, but I'm willing to consider him at 9. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay_Fixit Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 He was literally mentioned in a mock draft posted here two days ago. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroutDog Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 I’d prefer the T from Bama or Florida if that’s where we’re going with the pick. Both are more polished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formerlyofCtown Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 3 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said: He was literally mentioned in a mock draft posted here two days ago. Welcome to TSW.? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Who Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 I'd rather grab Oliver at nine and trade up from 40 into the back end of the first to get Dillard. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay_Fixit Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 8 minutes ago, formerlyofCtown said: Welcome to TSW.? Bruh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 14 minutes ago, TroutDog said: I’d prefer the T from Bama or Florida if that’s where we’re going with the pick. Both are more polished. The T from Bama is actually an OG. I’m with ya on Taylor though. Beastly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangarang Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 First tell me who the first 8 picks were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezertbill Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 If BB isn't blown away by what's available at 9, he's trading down. Bank it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricScott Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 My argument is that a player who has demonstrated in every conceivable way that he is the best pass protector at a position that is generally regarded as one of the two or three most important positions in football would be more valuable than getting a right tackle that might be only marginally better (and is fairly likely to be gone anyway). We have a young QB who needs protecting, and I'm not all that confident that Dawkins will somehow rebound and become the player we need him to be at LT moving forward. I have more confidence that he can become an above-average guard than an above-average LT. And right tackle is a position more easily filled. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Dillard had a helluva combine and if his tape backs up his athleticism and his interviews go well, I think he could be the first OT off the board. Taylor had a great combine as well and he wasn’t even at 100%. If McNeane and Co. are satisfied with either, I’d be ok with either as well. OT anchors for the bulk of Josh’s career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VADC Bills Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Dr. Who said: I'd rather grab Oliver at nine and trade up from 40 into the back end of the first to get Dillard. Totally agree. With all of the emphasis on offense we had in had free agency and rightly so, people tend to forget how mediocre our defense was even though we had good stats. We were picked apart by Tannehill and Darnold. With Kyle gone we need to firm up the line and need more on the edge. We can't totally ignore these areas. I could be very happy with Dillard if it means getting Oliver as well. Edited March 21, 2019 by VADC Bills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 43 minutes ago, Dr. Who said: I'd rather grab Oliver at nine and trade up from 40 into the back end of the first to get Dillard. Dillard will be long gone by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Joshin' Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 5 minutes ago, K-9 said: Dillard had a helluva combine and if his tape backs up his athleticism and his interviews go well, I think he could be the first OT off the board. Taylor had a great combine as well and he wasn’t even at 100%. If McNeane and Co. are satisfied with either, I’d be ok with either as well. OT anchors for the bulk of Josh’s career. Nice he had a good combine. I worry when a player moves up after the combine vs the combine confirming the tape. Does the tape show him worthy of 9? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Just now, Just Joshin' said: Nice he had a good combine. I worry when a player moves up after the combine vs the combine confirming the tape. Does the tape show him worthy of 9? Yes. Many had him as the top OT in the draft before the Combine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricScott Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 6 minutes ago, K-9 said: Dillard had a helluva combine and if his tape backs up his athleticism and his interviews go well, I think he could be the first OT off the board. Taylor had a great combine as well and he wasn’t even at 100%. If McNeane and Co. are satisfied with either, I’d be ok with either as well. OT anchors for the bulk of Josh’s career. He didn't just have a helluva combine, he had a helluva Senior Bowl week against top competition as well. Hey, I'd love to be able to trade back and still get Dillard, but I think he is going to go much higher than people think because he is a good player at a premium position that is hugely coveted in the NFL. If he turns out to be a reliable protector of Josh's blind side for the next ten years, wouldn't that prove to be a good use of this pick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Joshin' Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 22 minutes ago, dezertbill said: If BB isn't blown away by what's available at 9, he's trading down. Bank it What team is going to trade and why? Also saw a report that the Browns see only 15 first round talents thus they were OK with trading 17. My guess is they are doing a CYA to make the trade look better. The point is are getting a top talent at 9 and what talent are you getting when moving back. Would rather have JJ Watt or 2 lesser talents? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 2 minutes ago, Just Joshin' said: Nice he had a good combine. I worry when a player moves up after the combine vs the combine confirming the tape. Does the tape show him worthy of 9? The tape is paramount and I haven’t seen enough to know one way or the other. That’s why I said “if” as I assume McBeane are doing their due diligence. I agree entirely about combine performances. They are only good for a snapshot of the athleticism, explosion, and strength required. Means little without the game tape and interviews to fill out the entire picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Jay_Fixit said: He was literally mentioned in a mock draft posted here two days ago. Yeah but besides that... nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricScott Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Just Joshin' said: Nice he had a good combine. I worry when a player moves up after the combine vs the combine confirming the tape. Does the tape show him worthy of 9? A draft analyst that they interviewed on WGR yesterday (I forget his name) said that he had Dillard rated as his number one tackle, ahead of both Taylor and Williams, who he sees as a guard in the NFL. And he's not just a workout warrior; the combine only reinforced the excellent tape that is there from both his college career and the Senior Bowl. Edited March 21, 2019 by EricScott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 1 minute ago, EricScott said: He didn't just have a helluva combine, he had a helluva Senior Bowl week against top competition as well. Hey, I'd love to be able to trade back and still get Dillard, but I think he is going to go much higher than people think because he is a good player at a premium position that is hugely coveted in the NFL. If he turns out to be a reliable protector of Josh's blind side for the next ten years, wouldn't that prove to be a good use of this pick? Yeah, his entire post season draft process has looked good, I didn’t mean to exclude his Senior Bowl, where he dominated superior competition all week. And like I said, if McBeane and Co. are ok with him at 9, I’m ok with it, too. They’re gonna take the BPA and I wouldn’t be surprise if they consider him to be that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Dillard to me is one of those guys that you get after trading down and ends up being a gem.......... Would LOVE to trade down into the teens and pick up a 2nd......take Dillard....then go TE and DT in the 2nd round Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003Contenders Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Dillard has been a late riser on draft boards. Many scouts say that he may be the best pure LT in the draft -- whereas Taylor projects more to RT in the NFL and Williams to OG (or possibly RT). I would not be surprised to see Dillard go in the top 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffaloboyinATL Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Bucky Brooks latest mock has him to us at 9. I don't know enough about him yet, but I am 100% ok with OL (or DL) at this pick, if they are future pro bowl potential. I personally prefer Jawaan Taylor, but Brooks has him going at 7 in his mock. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterpan Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Why would we trade Glenn for basically a 2nd round pick only to take a T at 9.? I ask that question to point out that....I think Bean and Co are happy with Dawkins as the LT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 I can envision a scenario where Bean thinks that he is the BPA at #9. He does check a lot of boxes for the OL. But I think the Bills also want a plug and play run blocker to setup the run game, in turn opening the passing game. I'm not sure they would take someone who is not great at run blocking. (but, as you stated, it could be a rep thing that the OL coach believes he can fix). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quincy Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 There appears to be a scarcity of LT prospects this year. Someone who should exclusively play LT in the NFL. Andre Dillard, Greg Little and Yodny Cajuste are the only three players who appear to fit the description. With perhaps Bobby Evans and Tytus Howard as well. Are there any others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricScott Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 10 minutes ago, RyanC883 said: I can envision a scenario where Bean thinks that he is the BPA at #9. He does check a lot of boxes for the OL. But I think the Bills also want a plug and play run blocker to setup the run game, in turn opening the passing game. I'm not sure they would take someone who is not great at run blocking. (but, as you stated, it could be a rep thing that the OL coach believes he can fix). I think he makes a lot of sense. I like the idea of having the pivotal LT spot taken care of for years to come. I like the talent, depth and flexibility that our OL would have. Beane & co. have staked their future on the development of Josh Allen and this gives him what I believe could be a top- ten O-line moving forward. You give Allen the confidence that his blockers literally have his back and it allows him to develop the mechanics that will enable him to become the pocket passer that we all hope he can be, instead of him running for his life because of consistent backside pressure. The entire offense would benefit greatly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemma Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 The new OL coach may be very happy to keep Dawkins at LT. Probably has a plan to de-Castillo him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJ Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Dillard is a pure tackle with the athleticism to be a left tackle. He's not a super physical guy, and could stand to get stronger. He's also not been much of a mauler in the run game. He's more of a finesse tackle if the truth be known. I think if you draft him, it's with the idea that you're going to plug him in at LT and move Dawkins to guard. Jonah Williams is an outstanding technician, but he's also not terribly physical . Unlike Dillard, he doesn't have really elite athleticism. Like Dillard he's not real strong. Taylor is a big mauler with enough athleticism for right tackle. Run blocking is his strength. I think Jonah Williams will be better at guard. Taylor can play guard or right tackle. I think there are other outstanding guards (Lindstrom, so I wouldn't use #9 to pick J Williams. Given the signing of Nsekhe and Waddle, I'm more inclined to go defense at #9, since the value might be better there anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjj Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 On 3/21/2019 at 11:50 AM, EricScott said: One name I don't see being mentioned as a possibility at #9 is Washington State OT Andre Dillard. Let me just make a case for him as a topic for discussion. Firstly, the initial reaction I would imagine is that 9 is too early for him. Yet there are a couple of mocks where I have seen him going 10 to Denver and 11 to Cincy and my sense is that he is climbing up the draft boards, so I would argue that picking him at 9 would not be the massive overreach that some might think. I see Jawaan Taylor mentioned as a strong possibility at 9, but A) he plays RT, AND B) he may very well be gone by our pick anyway. Dillard plays LT, and is the consensus best pass-blocking LT in the draft (he has the tape and an outstanding Senior Bowl against top competition to back it up). Teams spend years trying to find a quality left tackle to protect their QB's blind side; we get Dillard and Josh is protected for years. You then move Dawkins to guard (real good chance that he's a better guard than a left tackle, where he struggled last year), and voila, it's an upgrade at two positions. I know that Dillard is a work in progress in the run game, but I believe that he is athletic enough to be coached up. Washington State is a pass- happy offense that didn't run the ball much, so Dillard didn't get a lot of reps. Plus, I believe protecting Allen and giving him the time and confidence that his backside is safe is just about the best thing we can do to help him and the offense in general. And yes, a trade-down and then picking up Dillard would be the best- case scenario, but I'm willing to consider him at 9. Thoughts? I posted Bucky Brooks NFL.com draft from MON. And here is second NFL analyst picking Dillard http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001023641/article/lance-zierlein-2019-nfl-mock-draft-20-giants-reload-at-wr-qb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 23 hours ago, peterpan said: Why would we trade Glenn for basically a 2nd round pick only to take a T at 9.? I ask that question to point out that....I think Bean and Co are happy with Dawkins as the LT A couple possible answers might be that he was very expensive, and rarely available to actually play. I have no idea what they truly think of Dawkins or how they will proceed, but those were important factors, I’m sure. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 (edited) There are two other tackles who have better ratings than Dillard - Jawaan Taylor of Florida, And Jonah Williams of Alabama. Edited March 22, 2019 by Nanker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjj Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 23 hours ago, peterpan said: Why would we trade Glenn for basically a 2nd round pick only to take a T at 9.? I ask that question to point out that....I think Bean and Co are happy with Dawkins as the LT So here is Cordy Glenn trade breakdown from NFL.com last year. According to ESPN reporter Josina Anderson, the Bengals are trading for Buffalo Billsoffensive tackle Cordy Glenn. According to NFL Network reporter Peter Schrager, the Bengals will swap first-round picks with Buffalo, moving from No. 12 to the No. 21 pick in Round 1. The Bengals will get the Bills’ fifth-round pick, and the Bills get the Bengals’ sixth-round pick. The Trade was made to move up 9 spots to be in a better position to grab our targeted QB - Josh Allen. Swap of later picks irrelevant. While OBD may have been confident last Spring that Dawkins could play LT, his own evaluation of his play last year and release of OLine coach doesn't point towards OBD being happy with Dawkins at LT now. I believe Nsekhe could replace Dawkins at LT this year as it is his best spot. Should be noted Bills kept 4 OTs last year with McDermott on 53 man roster. So could see a Rd 1- 3 draftee at OT to challenge at LT or RT or Swing with Waddle, Nsekhe and Dawkins on roster too. Anyone picked later than 5 may be PS developmental player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 2nd round 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBillsGospel Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 I think there will be 8 defensive players taken with the first 9 picks, 1 being a QB in the mix. I'm reading more and more articles that this could be the best DL draft in history, if that's the case I think we should definitely be in on that because we have a huge pass rushing hole on the opposite side of Jerry Hughes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 They didn’t scout any of his games unless it was uncredentialed ... I’d be surprised if he was their #1 pick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEpsYtown Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 (edited) Yeah I'm not impressed by Dillard. This is like the Jake Fisher type. Long, lean, college spread tackle that just can't handle the power and speed of the ends in the NFL. Now I don't like Jonah Williams at left tackle either, but one thing that I find to be funny is that Jonah Williams arms are too short at 33 and 5/8 but no one complains about Dillard's at 33, 1/2? He's long, tall, lean, short arms, played in an air raid system so has no run game polish, and is not super strong. That's not really a recipe for NFL success imo. Edited March 22, 2019 by MrEpsYtown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Too early for him and I'm not sure the Bills are a scheme fit anyway. I think he is a fit in a quick strike rhythm passing offense. 14 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said: Yeah I'm not impressed by Dillard. This is like the Jake Fisher type. Long, lean, college spread tackle that just can't handle the power and speed of the ends in the NFL. Now I don't like Jonah Williams at left tackle either, but one thing that I find to be funny is that Jonah Williams arms are too short at 33 and 5/8 but no one complains about Dillard's at 33, 1/2? He's long, tall, lean, short arms, played in an air raid system so has no run game polish, and is not super strong. That's not really a recipe for NFL success imo. Agree. I think he is a very specific scheme fit. He has good, quick feet out of his stance and decent hand placement but he just doesn't have the core physical strength to dominate in the run game or to hold blocks for longer developing downfield pass plays. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderingsquid Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Cougin it. FWIW I'm a big fan of the cougars, just not Washington State. ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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