Duke should definitely be part of the WR's this year

[MJS]

I would be VERY surprised if he made the 53.

 

We already went through this last year. He was cut and put on the practice squad. Teams didn't clamor to sign him. And they won't clamor to sign him this year either.

[FLFan]

Duke will be  part of the WRs this year - the WRs cut.  Nice try by Beane, but he has had his chance and is simply not good enough.  I doubt he is even signed to the practice squad.  

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

10 hours ago, LB48 said:

He's big  but not as big as Hodgins and Davis is just a big.  He gets open despite not having break away speed.  Excellent route running skills and great hands. 

IF he's cut another team will scoop him up right away.

 

Robert Foster has had his chances.  Isaiah Hodgins was a 6th round pick with 4.61 speed in the 40 yard dash.  As the Bills get better talent all over the field a draft choice free agent who can't stick with anyone in the past four years won't necessarily make the final roster.

 

Beasley, Brown, Diggs, Roberts, McKenzie, Davis AND Duke and about 3 other guys not named Duke form a uniquely talented group of of wide-outs!   All don't have to dress each game - and - injuries happen!

 

 

 

Fixed it for you

[eball]

FWIW Joe B. and Matt Fairburn are doing a Q&A over at The Athletic right now and they don't think Duke makes the 53.  They have Hodgins there, and McKenzie might be the odd man out unless they keep 7.

[Orlando Tim]

It all depends on what they want with the 6th reciever- if they want size he will be the guy and if they want speed he is cut. But he has no chance of being top 5 guy because Roberts is on the team for special teams alone.

[Bangarang]

It wouldn’t shock me if Duke made the team and Hodgins went to the PS. I doubt the one  who makes the roster is even active on game day anyways.

[machine gun kelly]

Diggs

Brown

Beasely

Roberts
Davis

Hodgins

 

PS

McKenzie

 

Moving on.

[John from Riverside]

1 hour ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

Fixed it for you

Duke seems a bit more stout....almost like he could be a H back....but your point is still well taken.

 

Gabe Davis IS a big WR.....is killing it in camp.....was a draft pick.....is definately making the team

Hodgins looks to me like that perfect red zone WR who doesnt drop balls......something Duke (and I was def a fan) seems to do at critical moments......Big WR's that cant get separation HAVE to be able to pull in balls in traffic and make plays in order to stick.....Duke actually had TWO chances to score in that playoff game and dropped balls.

 

Go with the young guys with huge upside......we already have a set of vets for the top of the roster.

2 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Diggs

Brown

Beasely

Roberts
Davis

Hodgins

 

PS

McKenzie

 

Moving on.

I think we carry 7.....McKenzie def makes it as he is the gadget guy......and Roberts def makes it for ST's

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

11 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

Duke seems a bit more stout....almost like he could be a H back....but your point is still well taken.

 

Gabe Davis IS a big WR.....is killing it in camp.....was a draft pick.....is definately making the team

Hodgins looks to me like that perfect red zone WR who doesnt drop balls......something Duke (and I was def a fan) seems to do at critical moments......Big WR's that cant get separation HAVE to be able to pull in balls in traffic and make plays in order to stick.....Duke actually had TWO chances to score in that playoff game and dropped balls.

 

Go with the young guys with huge upside......we already have a set of vets for the top of the roster.

I think we carry 7.....McKenzie def makes it as he is the gadget guy......and Roberts def makes it for ST's

 

Agree if they add a 7th, it likely will be McKenzie.  The only other thought would be if they want pure speed, they instead pick Foster.  He again does give something unique whereas Duke brings nothing the team already doesn't have......well

 

Excluding Duke's cult following here

 

Starting to think they may cut Fromm which could open a spot either for a 7th WR or 9th DL

Edited August 31, 2020 by Ed_Formerly_of_Roch

[John from Riverside]

2 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

Agree if they add a 7th, it likely will be McKenzie.  The only other thought would be if they want pure speed, they instead pick Foster.  He again does give something unique whereas Duke brings nothing the team already doesn't have......well

 

Excluding Duke's cult following here

I just have all kind of reservations about Foster which I wish we could trade for anything we can get.

 

I feel like there are motivational issues with him.......he puts up that great 2nd half of first season.....crickets since.....almost like he doesnt like competiion or something

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

1 hour ago, John from Riverside said:

I just have all kind of reservations about Foster which I wish we could trade for anything we can get.

 

I feel like there are motivational issues with him.......he puts up that great 2nd half of first season.....crickets since.....almost like he doesnt like competiion or something

 

Yes I tend to also agree about the motivational issues with Foster.  Assuming the keep an extra WR, I'd rank McKenzie as most likely they'd keep followed by Foster only because of the speed he brings and Duke last as the team now has two big WR's so Duke doesn't bring anything special to the table that the team doesn't already have. 

 

Wouldn't shock me if Beane puts all three out there as trade bait.   Assuming McKenzie is the one he'd like to keep, but if he also is the one he could get something for in return, he'd be gone.  All three have relatively cheap contacts too.

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

Duke Williams is a replacement level player. JAG

[NewEra]

I like Duke.  He’s probably my not going to make the 53. Ps for sure 

[Punching Bag]

16 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

A clod with behavioral issues who can’t run the route tree “should definitely be part of the WR’s this year”?? Why? Are Brown, Beasley, Diggs, McKenzie, Roberts & our rookies not good enough for you? 

 

Just stop the nonsense.

 

Where is the support for him being a clod?

He had issues in college, straightened up and had absolutely no issues in CFL for 2 years and for Bills last year.

 

[Punching Bag]

4 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I just have all kind of reservations about Foster which I wish we could trade for anything we can get.

 

I feel like there are motivational issues with him.......he puts up that great 2nd half of first season.....crickets since.....almost like he doesnt like competiion or something

 

He had an attitude about being from great college team Alabama and he made team the hard way,.

McCoy took him under his wing, explained that in NFL every WR had to work hard to get there and had to work harder in NFL and his attitude especially practice and workout changed so he had a very good 2nd half rookie year becoming the go to WR for long plays.

 

In his 2nd year his attitude changed and McCoy was too focused on his own issues and he slumped surviving by being ST gunner.

 

I do not see him improving without guidance and do not see it in Buffalo this year with all the other issues and rookies.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

We aren't keeping 7 WR.

[Magox]

I like Duke and he brought good energy and seemed to have a good connection with Josh.   Unfortunately he didn’t come up big when it most counted.  May be a bit unfair to judge him on that difficult play that he dropped the contested catch, but that’s just how it goes when you are an undrafted player on the bubble with stiff competition.

[LABILLBACKER]

He'll make the PS and that's fine with me.  He's an insurance policy if either rookie wr struggles. Duke is not as awful as some depict but there will be little or no targets available after Diggs, Brown, Beasley and Knox. So it really doesn't matter who we 4-7 are? Besides I see Daboll target the RB's much more this fall.

[GreggTX]

What was his catch% last year when he was targeted? I forget the number, but remember being shocked at how bad it was.

[TigerJ]

6 hours ago, eball said:

FWIW Joe B. and Matt Fairburn are doing a Q&A over at The Athletic right now and they don't think Duke makes the 53.  They have Hodgins there, and McKenzie might be the odd man out unless they keep 7.

Yeah I think the #6 spot is going to be a battle between McKenzie and Hodgins.  McKenzie brings speed and versatility.  Hodgins brings size.  He also has very good hands and wins contested balls.  Though his speed is pretty pedestrian, he has demonstrated the ability to get open on occasion.

[Dragoon]

I think the odds are against him. 

[Rocky Landing]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

We aren't keeping 7 WR.

IMO, we may not be keeping six.

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

6 minutes ago, Rocky Landing said:

IMO, we may not be keeping six.

 

I think we kept 6 last year? 

I would be surprised if we don't.  Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Davis, Roberts, and one more.  It's a high injury position naturally and if covid-19 strikes we have to have someone there who understands Daboll's offense.

 

But I think Duke is third or fourth in line for that "one more".  The Isaiahs are in front of him.

[eball]

8 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I think we kept 6 last year? 

I would be surprised if we don't.  Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Davis, Roberts, and one more.  It's a high injury position naturally and if covid-19 strikes we have to have someone there who understands Daboll's offense.

 

But I think Duke is third or fourth in line for that "one more".  The Isaiahs are in front of him.

 

I’ll keep beating this drum until the Bills prove me wrong.  I think they’ll keep 7 and reduce another position group (QB?) by one.  Davis Webb isn’t going to be snatched up by anyone and is a perfect PS candidate, plus they can sweeten the pot for him to stay.  The 7 will be Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Davis, Roberts, Hodgins, and McKenzie.

[Mountain Man]

On 8/31/2020 at 8:31 AM, LB48 said:

He's big.  He gets open despite not having break away speed.  Excellent route running skills and great hands. 

 

So why, 4 whole seasons after he left college does he have 1 TD and less than 200 yards in the NFL? 

[Mountain Man]

23 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Why aren't you saying this about John Brown? Duke made several key catches in that game that no one else on the roster last year would have made, and it's like everyone forgets it because he failed to make a spectacular catch in the end zone. The criticism of Duke Williams is over the top and makes no sense.

Because John Brown has 25 times as many yards and 28 times as many TDs in the league as Duke Williams.

[GunnerBill]

9 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I think we kept 6 last year? 

I would be surprised if we don't.  Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Davis, Roberts, and one more.  It's a high injury position naturally and if covid-19 strikes we have to have someone there who understands Daboll's offense.

 

But I think Duke is third or fourth in line for that "one more".  The Isaiahs are in front of him.

 

This is where I am.

 

We will keep 6. Five are locked in.

 

McKenzie is first in line because he knows the system, can be the backup returner, backup slot (none of the other contenders for the 6th spot offer this..... Andre Roberts could do it in a pinch of the other guys on the roster) and he offers a specific skillset (I know everyone talks about Stefon Diggs running the reverses in Minnesota but they didn't bring him here to run head first into linebackers).

 

Hodgins is second in line because they spent a draft pick on him this past year.

 

Duke and Foster are on the outside looking in.

Just now, Mountain Man said:

Because John Brown has 25 times as many yards and 28 times as many TDs in the league as Duke Williams.

 

It shouldn't need saying... but yes.

[Mountain Man]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

It shouldn't need saying... but yes.

For the record, I rounded the yards in Duke Williams favour to make him look good. It's 25.8 so really I should have said 26. But I thought the Duke Williams fans would get annoyed. 

[Turk71]

21 hours ago, Rocky Landing said:

IMO, we may not be keeping six.

 

Now you're crazy talkin ?

[SCBills]

I don’t see Duke making it.  

 

I’d put McKenzie and Hodgins ahead of him based on practice write ups.  
 

Then, today, I’m all ready to give up on Foster and Bills media posts a video of him tracking a deep ball from Allen and he pulls me back in. 

[freddyjj]

On 8/31/2020 at 3:31 AM, LB48 said:

He's big.  He gets open despite not having break away speed.  Excellent route running skills and great hands. 

IF he's cut another team will scoop him up right away.

Ok, last year when OBD kept 6 on roster for opening day, he was beat out by Foster and McKenzie. What's changed this year? Take away Zay Jones and plug in Diggs.  Take away Foster and plug in Gabriel Davis. 

 

So Duke has to beat out McKenzie, who was active all last year. Davis and Hodgins are playing on STs, not sure Duke has that ability.

 

The CFL is off tyhis year so if he gets cut, which is likely, I hope he goes to PS

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

On 8/31/2020 at 9:07 AM, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Why aren't you saying this about John Brown? Duke made several key catches in that game that no one else on the roster last year would have made, and it's like everyone forgets it because he failed to make a spectacular catch in the end zone. The criticism of Duke Williams is over the top and makes no sense.

 

I'd argue the opposite is true, the praise for Duke is way over the top for what he's actually accomplished and makes no sense.  The only reason you're even seeing over the top criticism is because there's so much ridiculous amount of praise for him and constantly seeing new threads praising a guy who's done next to nothing in four seasons in the league.

[transplantbillsfan]

I doubt he makes the team. He might be on the expanded Practice Squad though.

 

Big Duke fan... we just have too much WR depth... for once.

[Mountain Man]

11 hours ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

I'd argue the opposite is true, the praise for Duke is way over the top for what he's actually accomplished and makes no sense.  The only reason you're even seeing over the top criticism is because there's so much ridiculous amount of praise for him and constantly seeing new threads praising a guy who's done next to nothing in four seasons in the league.

Absolutely. 

 

Williams is like Reilly before him. The fairytale story you hope comes true despite not being based on any evidence.

 

Williams is just another guy on the conveyor belt, next year it'll be someone different, and the year after that someone different again, the idol of wishful hopes and dreams. 

Edited September 2, 2020 by Mountain Man

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

On 9/1/2020 at 7:47 AM, eball said:

Davis Webb isn’t going to be snatched up by anyone and is a perfect PS candidate, plus they can sweeten the pot for him...

That sugar infused cannabis isn't working out as they had hoped. ?

[ChicagoRic]

I am a fan of Duke Williams. Check my post history, it's true!  That being said, best move is to stash him on the PS squad. If another team cherry picks him, then so be it, it's still a cool story how he worked his way onto an NFL roster.  It's a sensible and calculated approach. 

 

It was a nice story last year, and he did produce when called upon.  He deserved his shot in the NFL and has a good shot of contributing somewhere, maybe even for the Bills. The thing is, our stable of WR is now stacked with talent and/or potential. 

 

Williams is PS eligible whereas others are not.  The rookies deserve their shot.  It's a simple equation. 

 

There is still a good chance that Williams will stick with the team on the PS and contribute again if injuries happen. 

[corta765]

Duke had his chance and then it went through his hands when he blew the catch in the endzone against Houston. They literally brought in a WR because of that. If he was the dude he would've made more plays.

 

 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

5 hours ago, Mountain Man said:

Absolutely. 

 

Williams is like Reilly before him. The fairytale story you hope comes true despite not being based on any evidence.

 

Williams is just another guy on the conveyor belt, next year it'll be someone different, and the year after that someone different again, the idol of wishful hopes and dreams. 

 

Just read a very telling comment in a column about why Williams and Foster are likely toast.  Basically the point was:

 

If the Bills thought guys like Williams and Foster were in their future plans, they wouldn't have used 3 draft picks on WRs (counting trading a 1st for Diggs)

[Rocky Landing]

On 8/31/2020 at 8:00 PM, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I think we kept 6 last year? 

I would be surprised if we don't.  Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Davis, Roberts, and one more.  It's a high injury position naturally and if covid-19 strikes we have to have someone there who understands Daboll's offense.

 

But I think Duke is third or fourth in line for that "one more".  The Isaiahs are in front of him.

 

18 hours ago, Turk71 said:

Now you're crazy talkin ?

 

I'm certainly NOT saying only keeping five WRs is likely. But, I do think it's possible, considering a few different factors: (a) the new PS rules, (b) it looks like they're giving Roberts more snaps on offense, and (c) they may want to keep three QBs, four TEs, and four RBs, plus a fullback. 

 

EDIT: And, more to the point of my original post, I think keeping five WRs is more likely than keeping seven. Too many mouths to feed.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Rocky Landing

[The_Ripster]

Is this Duke's last minicamp?