A remaining FA pass rusher or the draft?

[BillsFan619]

1 minute ago, Logic said:

I’m late to this thread, but:

 

Draft.

 

The Bills already have two elder statesmen and a bunch of money tied up in the d line.

 

What they need is youth and juice.

 

the future going forward needs to be Oliver, Epenesa, 2021 early EDGE draftee. And then in 2022, when the cap normalizes, cut Addison and draft ANOTHER youngster at edge.

 

 

I don’t know anything about college players. Who would you draft as a pass rusher?

[TheBeaneBandit]

Additional thoughts on Hunter.....most sacks NFL under 25 years old, production is there. The neck injury, I'm not worried about it. He only hurt it from looking up at the giant pile of money he's about to inherit lol. Seriously it's not a worrisome injury.

[jkeerie]

4 hours ago, OldTimer1960 said:

I think best hope is continued improvement from Epenesa and more pressure from Ed Oliver with Star back to eat up some blocks.  I thought that Epenesa was improving as the season wore on.  I am not sure that the DE class this year - at least who might be available at 30 or later is very full of top pass rushers.  I think they would have to pass over better prospects at other positions like CB and OL to take a DE at 30.

I think Star's return...especially if he returns in good form...will help our D line as is.  Players will be able to play their natural positions rather than having to fill in at 1T.  Having said that, I would presume Edge will not be neglected in the draft.  Beane will add a FA if one is available and affordable.  He doesn't want any glaring holes in any area when the draft is here, so he doesn't have to reach for a position of need.  Star's return will also have an impact on our line backer play.  A key this year will be staying healthy.

[Rebel101]

I think we bring in Carlos Dunlap. And prolly draft another. I believe Beane and McDermott think with star back Hughes Addison and Epenesa get it done when it matters most. 

[Victory Formation]

Think our whole front seven needs to be reloaded. DE should definitely be the #1 priority. I like Carlos Basham. Maybe go CB RD2 and DT and LB RDs 3-5.

[buffaloboyinATL]

14 hours ago, BuffaloBillsGospel said:

 

Vernon Butler- Harrison Phillips-Star Louteleiei- Justin Zimmer- 1 sack between all of them (Star was out the year but I doubt he would have made an impact there)

 

Star’s impact is more about helping others get sacks by tying up blockers in the middle. Hard to measure that, but he is the type of player that makes others look better. 

[mjt328]

I think Beane was very smart to avoid the first wave of free agency.  Handing out $10-12 million per year to players like Bud Dupree and Carl Lawson has the potential to create recipe for long-term cap problems, with only marginal payback on the field.

 

But I also think it would be a huge mistake to walk out of free agency without ANY kind of roster upgrades.  Especially on defense.

Simply put... Our run defense was not good enough last year.  Our pass rush was not good enough last year.  The AFC title goes through the Kansas City.  And even with a pretty healthy roster in the Championship Game, our secondary had no answers for slowing them down.  We need to improve on that side of the ball.

 

Unfortunately for us, this is an extremely weak defensive draft.  It's a fantastic draft at quarterback and wide receiver (which happen to be our two strongest positions).  But there are only a handful of high-level prospects at edge rusher, tackle or cornerback.  And it's totally possible all of those guys will be gone by the time we pick at #30.

 

There are still some quality guys on the market who should be willing to sign bargain deals, who can upgrade our defense immediately.  At corner, Adoree' Jackson, Kyle Fuller, Richard Sherman or Malcolm Butler would be great #2 options across from Tre White.  I would gladly settle for Xavier Rhodes, Quinton Dunbar or Casey Heyward.  At pass rusher, I think our best bet is exploring the trade market.  But we could still get a decent veteran like Jadeveon Clowney, Melvin Ingram, Carlos Dunlap, Aldon Smith or Justin Houston.  I would even be interested in some of the interior guys left like Geno Atkins, Jurrell Casey, N'Damakong Suh or Sheldon Rankins who can contribute in a rotation.

 

One of Beane's primary rules is to NOT go into the draft with a glaring need that must be addressed.  Doing so ultimately leads to poor decisions like overdrafting (taking a prospect too early) or wasting valuable resources to trade up.  The Bills may not have a "glaring" need in some people's eyes.  But we clearly aren't good enough on defense to achieve our goal... which should be to win the Super Bowl THIS SEASON.  

 

 

[Solomon Grundy]

4 hours ago, Green Lightning said:

Not improving our edge rush and 1 tech DT is going to prove to be a major miss this season. Remember it when we can't get off the field on 3rd and 15 and give up 8 to 10 yard runs regularly. 

This is the exact reason why I’m all in for a Dunlap, Atkins acquisition. The Bills are SB ready now. Sanders helped the offensive side, these two will do the same defensively. Hopefully Beane will consider 

[Solomon Grundy]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

I’m late to this thread, but:

 

Draft.

 

The Bills already have two elder statesmen and a bunch of money tied up in the d line.

 

What they need is youth and juice.

 

the future going forward needs to be Oliver, Epenesa, 2021 early EDGE draftee. And then in 2022, when the cap normalizes, cut Addison and draft ANOTHER youngster at edge.

 

 

I agree to this, but the Bills are in win Super Bowl now territory. TB did it with Brady, Suh, AB, Gronk, etc..The additions of Atkins, Dunlap will fix defensive problems. Still can draft youth to learn from vets as the play. Bashum or even Janarius Robinson later would be nice. Also, with Atkins/Dunlap Bills could probably draft CB in 1st. 

[gobills404]

 

[Logic]

38 minutes ago, Solomon Grundy said:

I agree to this, but the Bills are in win Super Bowl now territory. TB did it with Brady, Suh, AB, Gronk, etc..The additions of Atkins, Dunlap will fix defensive problems. Still can draft youth to learn from vets as the play. Bashum or even Janarius Robinson later would be nice. Also, with Atkins/Dunlap Bills could probably draft CB in 1st. 

Agreed. Just not sure bills can afford it unless those players are willing to take very cheap deals.

[jkeerie]

1 hour ago, mjt328 said:

I think Beane was very smart to avoid the first wave of free agency.  Handing out $10-12 million per year to players like Bud Dupree and Carl Lawson has the potential to create recipe for long-term cap problems, with only marginal payback on the field.

 

But I also think it would be a huge mistake to walk out of free agency without ANY kind of roster upgrades.  Especially on defense.

Simply put... Our run defense was not good enough last year.  Our pass rush was not good enough last year.  The AFC title goes through the Kansas City.  And even with a pretty healthy roster in the Championship Game, our secondary had no answers for slowing them down.  We need to improve on that side of the ball.

 

Unfortunately for us, this is an extremely weak defensive draft.  It's a fantastic draft at quarterback and wide receiver (which happen to be our two strongest positions).  But there are only a handful of high-level prospects at edge rusher, tackle or cornerback.  And it's totally possible all of those guys will be gone by the time we pick at #30.

 

There are still some quality guys on the market who should be willing to sign bargain deals, who can upgrade our defense immediately.  At corner, Adoree' Jackson, Kyle Fuller, Richard Sherman or Malcolm Butler would be great #2 options across from Tre White.  I would gladly settle for Xavier Rhodes, Quinton Dunbar or Casey Heyward.  At pass rusher, I think our best bet is exploring the trade market.  But we could still get a decent veteran like Jadeveon Clowney, Melvin Ingram, Carlos Dunlap, Aldon Smith or Justin Houston.  I would even be interested in some of the interior guys left like Geno Atkins, Jurrell Casey, N'Damakong Suh or Sheldon Rankins who can contribute in a rotation.

 

One of Beane's primary rules is to NOT go into the draft with a glaring need that must be addressed.  Doing so ultimately leads to poor decisions like overdrafting (taking a prospect too early) or wasting valuable resources to trade up.  The Bills may not have a "glaring" need in some people's eyes.  But we clearly aren't good enough on defense to achieve our goal... which should be to win the Super Bowl THIS SEASON.  

 

 

I agree largely with what you said.  If the Bills reacted the way many on this board react when it comes to free agency, we'd be the Jets.

[OldTimer1960]

1 hour ago, gobills404 said:

 

He is talented for sure, but he has already quit football once in college due to concussions only to resurface in Miami.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

No more money. Wait for the draft

[Mojo44]

Azeez Ojulari at 30. Could be a Von Miller clone. Discuss....

Edited March 20, 2021 by Mojo44

[Solomon Grundy]

8 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

No more money. Wait for the draft

They can make money. Get Geno!! 

[TheBeaneBandit]

1 hour ago, OldTimer1960 said:

He is talented for sure, but he has already quit football once in college due to concussions only to resurface in Miami.

He just had to get his head right? 😅 

[OldTimer1960]

8 minutes ago, Mojo44 said:

Azeez Ojulari at 30. Could be a Von Miller clone. Discuss....

Maybe, but he would really struggle at 4-3 DE at 6’3” and 240.  I’m not sure he is as flexible/fluid as Von Miller.  He IS very young as a RS Sophomore, so maybe there is upside, but he is pretty raw.  Does he have the length to be effective rushing the passer in the league?

[BuffaloBillsGospel]

6 hours ago, buffaloboyinATL said:

Star’s impact is more about helping others get sacks by tying up blockers in the middle. Hard to measure that, but he is the type of player that makes others look better. 

 

Yeah how's that going for us? What sacks are others getting? I've hated the Star pickup from the get go and he doesn't equate to the price tag, we still get destroyed in the run game with him in there and the sack totals since he's been on our team haven't been astonishing imo. 

18 hours ago, Boxcar said:

Epenesa was playing like 30 pounds lighter than he did in college. He basically had to completely change the way he played and improved as the season went on. Idk how anyone could realistically expect him to lose that much bulk and just come into the league as if he was used to playing that way.

 

 

Epenesa by himself isn't the reason but as a 2nd rounder even with the weight loss, 1 sack isn't acceptable. 

[BillsFan619]

2 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

No more money. Wait for the draft

I see what you’re saying.

 

That said, while I don’t feel like we should mortgage our future, I really do feel like they need to try to get a free agent pass rusher. Then, develop someone in the draft.

 

I feel that pass rusher is our missing piece right now. We have superstars at some positions, serviceable players at other positions but pass rusher is our glaring hole. You can’t expect a rookie to come in and take away that hole right away.