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Bills FA Strategy - Bargain Hunting


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51 minutes ago, NewEra said:

If we go into the season with Diggs, Davis, Beasley and Hodgins as our top 4, I’ll be ready for heaven.  WR is a need.  That’s not to say we need a #2 wr or pay one big bucks....but we need another good wr on this team. I have no doubt that we will make that happen.  We’re a pass heavy offense and that isn’t likely to change very much.  One WR gets hurt and we’re in trouble.  We had Diggs, Cole, Brown and Davis vs the chiefs.....and no one could get open.  


To be fair against KC, Brown was banged up all year, Beasley was hurt, Davis was hurt (he got hurt against the Ravens), and Diggs got dinged up early in the game. Hard to judge the WR corps on that game. I do agree the team needs to add a pass catcher but I wouldn’t consider the KC game without some context.

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Just now, BillsVet said:

 

How many 50M DT's and 44M centers are not supposed to be "difference makers/core types" are there?  Those guys weren't exactly acquired to be spare parts. 

 

Lot of verbal gymnastics to differentiate between a safety who signed for 32M over 5 years in 2017 versus Star's deal in 2018 and Morse a year later.   

Fair enough about the verbal gymnastics.  Maybe I'm only reporting how the deals struck me, at the time or with hindsight.  

 

I was thrilled when the Bills signed Hyde.  I thought he was a star.  The Bills presumably paid top dollar for him, whatever the price, because those were the days when free agents weren't anxious to come to Buffalo.  In hindsight, it's pretty obvious that Hyde was an important piece, maybe the most important piece, to anchor the defense. 

 

Morse has underperformed, but I think the Bills knew there was a good chance he'd be no more than he's been.  He never was junkyard-dog-type interior lineman.  So, I don't think the Bills thought he was going to be a star - just a solid all-round type in the middle.   I won't be surprised if the Bills bring someone to camp to challenge him, and I wouldn't be surprised if Beane told you that he knew it was a real possibility two years ago. 

 

Star was a known commodity.   He wasn't going to be some super-stud difference maker in the middle.   He was going to be solid and a good presence in the locker room.  The Bills paid for that, but they didn't pay like they paid for Diggs.  

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3 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:


To be fair against KC, Brown was banged up all year, Beasley was hurt, Davis was hurt (he got hurt against the Ravens), and Diggs got dinged up early in the game. Hard to judge the WR corps on that game. I do agree the team needs to add a pass catcher but I wouldn’t consider the KC game without some context.

It's easy to forget how hobbled the Bills were against KC.   At receiver, and at running back. 

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1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

Beane has been clear repeatedly:  Free agency is for filling holes. He is always bargain hunting.  He isn't looking for difference makers. Happy to find one, but the draft is where he looks for difference makers. 

 

well, his work on the DL has been awful.  Total non-impact players everywhere.  Not exactly "bargains" either.  

10 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

It's easy to forget how hobbled the Bills were against KC.   At receiver, and at running back. 

 

and at LB, DL, and OL.    

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

That’s kind of my point.....

 

if we’re counting on our top 3 WRs to stay healthy all season and in the playoffs, we’re not covering all of our bases.  We need better depth at WR.  Counting on Hodgins to be our 4th wr is like counting on Dane Jackson to be a starting corner imo.  Not a smart move.  We have no idea how good Hodgins will be.  

 

I'd like to see more McKenzie.  I think we are okay at WR.  McKenzie would be my top FA target, IMO given the cost and value there.  Draft another one in later rounds (Iowa kid looks great).  

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11 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

 

well, his work on the DL has been awful.  Total non-impact players everywhere.  Not exactly "bargains" either.  

 

and at LB, DL, and OL.    

 

I'd like to see more McKenzie.  I think we are okay at WR.  McKenzie would be my top FA target, IMO given the cost and value there.  Draft another one in later rounds (Iowa kid looks great).  

I hope we bring mckenzie back too but as a WR, he’s another slot.  Like Hodgins. If Davis or Diggs go down, we don’t have a replacement on the outside 

.  That’s a problem 

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22 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

It's easy to forget how hobbled the Bills were against KC.   At receiver, and at running back. 

 

If Diggs and Davis weren't hurt that game is a lot more competitive, not saying the Bills win, but they are able to at least put up 10-14 more points when the game was competitive. I think people underestimate how much that impacted the game. 

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5 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

I mean they beat us twice rather easily last season.... Do they have to beat us 3 times for the injury excuse get thrown away? 

I don’t think anyone is arguing that the team doesn’t need some WR depth beyond the starting 3.  However, I think the only path to a good WR who could step into the lineup seamlessly in case of injury is an early draft choice (this year).  I don’t think that they can reasonably afford to bring in a vet FA that fits that description this offseason.  Maybe I am wrong, but I think any significant FA $ is likely to be needed elsewhere (CB or DE I am thinking).

 

I am not necessarily saying to draft a WR in the first two rounds, but I could understand if they need to for quality cheap depth.

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16 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Or you do the opposite. Bring in a good WR in FA(Curtis Samuel who is perfect for this offense) and go defense in the first few rounds....or simply BPA.

 

The pass rusher market is getting eaten up quickly. Not sure they are going to bring one in at this point considering the $$ needed and the questionable decision to bring old man Addison back for another year.

Agree that the pass rushers are drying up in FA.  I’m not sure that there will be a pass rusher whose value lines up with the Bills late first round pick, either.  
 

We are aligned that a vet WR, if affordable, would be valuable for depth at the position.  I’ll be pleasantly surprised if they can afford even a modest free agent signing.  Maybe they can...

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11 minutes ago, Logic said:

One of my favorite bargain options, FA WR John Ross, just signed with the Giants for $1M guaranteed. Darn it.

What has John Ross done in the NFL?  He caught 2 passes last season and has 51 total for his career.  I’m sure that as a high draft choice the Bengals gave him lots of opportunities to earn his way onto the field.

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3 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said:

What has John Ross done in the NFL?  He caught 2 passes last season and has 51 total for his career.  I’m sure that as a high draft choice the Bengals gave him lots of opportunities to earn his way onto the field.

Which is why he got a $2.5M deal with only $1M guaranteed. Worth the risk as a #3/#4 speed receiver. You can give it a year or even cut bait sooner and does not cost much. 

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3 hours ago, The Governor said:

Perhaps we should accept that we won’t have a physical top 5 defense and load up on offense from here on out.

 

Fill CB2 in free agency.

Draft offense and Star’s replacement.

Im all in on Pitts here. The next Antonio Gates. Drafting defense high rounds in this new nfl is a diminished return if you ask me. 

 

Defenses are just there to do varying levels of damage control, we need to get our points per game up, period. Our small receivers got jammed against KC, snag a guy whos open even when covered.  Hes an all over the field threat, and an absolute redzone terror. 

 

If we gotta part with some future draft capital, lets do it now while we have a chance to get over the hump.

 

Get some handshake agreements with  teams in the 5-12 slot and go after them aggressively, the way we had a handshake deal with Elway to go get Josh.

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14 minutes ago, Brennan Huff said:

I was really expecting Beane to pull something out of his ass. I mean there’s definitely still time for something big to happen but I’m starting to get a little antsy

 

I was hoping so too. But when he didn't make any other cuts or restructures (outside of the Matakevitch deal that make have saved 1.5 or so) - I kinda saw this coming. I think we're probably sitting at 8 mil total under the cap. Can't do much with that when you have to sign draft picks.

 

To be fair - he did tell everyone that we wouldn't be players in Free Agency and we'd be lucky to get our own back. He was able to pull that off, at least.

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1 hour ago, NewEra said:

I hope we bring mckenzie back too but as a WR, he’s another slot.  Like Hodgins. If Davis or Diggs go down, we don’t have a replacement on the outside 

.  That’s a problem 

 

come on, Duke Williams! I kid.  

 

I think we draft a WR for depth.  Would like an established outside guy.  

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