Ben Allbright’s annual mock draft has Bills taking Etienne at 30. He’s been right about where Bills are looking several years running.

[DrDawkinstein]

25 minutes ago, gotme365 said:

Drafting a RB will definitely help with getting pressure on Mahomes and beating the improved Chiefs o-line

 

10 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Meanwhile we scored 17 and 24 against the chiefs defense.....

 

I’m not saying that drafting a RB is the key to us beating them, but to insinuate that we have to draft defense in order to beat the chiefs is a bad take yo.  A team also has to score a lot of points to beat the chiefs.  17 and 24 isn’t a lot of points. Stopping the chiefs O isn’t the key to beating them.  Scoring more points than them is.

 

Exactly, @NewEra

 

The Bills were up 9-7 in the 2nd quarter against KC, and desperately needed to sustain the drive and get some points (especially a TD).

 

Instead Singletary dropped an easy pass and killed the drive. We punt to KC who goes right down the field for a TD, takes the lead, and never looks back.

 

Sustaining drives and keeping Mahomes off the field is the best way to defend KC.

[YoloinOhio]

11 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

Skeptical.  Does anyone actually have links to his previous mock drafts?  I can only find a link to 2020, where the Bills didn't have a 1st Round Pick.

Not sure this guy is as accurate as he's touting himself.

 

In 2019, I did about 100 simulation mock drafts in the weeks leading up the draft.  (Love those things by the way...)

I took Ed Oliver almost every time, and I had zero inside information, outside of being a close fan of the team.  

 

In 2018, everyone on the planet knew the Bills were going to pick a QB.  And most had it narrowed down to Josh Rosen or Josh Allen by this point.

I'm sure he didn't call us trading up for Tremaine Edmunds later in the draft.

 

In 2017, many fans were expecting and hoping for a trade down.  I would like to see if he called it being with the Chiefs, or us picking Tre White.  Unlikely.

 

 

Last year he had our top pick going to the pats at 23

[Ray Finkel]

47 minutes ago, Special K said:

Maybe he can break the curse of the Clemson first round picks for the Bills.

 

Spiller, Watkins = bad mojo!!

 

Perry Tuttle

[SCBills]

5 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

I hate this.  Pats get Fields, and get the 3rd best RB.  Williams is still available and is a better fit than Etienne.   

 

Meh.. As long as nobody in our division walked away with Trevor Lawrence or Deshaun Watson this offseason, I would consider it a win. 

[DrDawkinstein]

5 minutes ago, gotme365 said:

I should have also stated I’d be ok with a CB in the 1st. It just seems as all of the SuperBowl winning teams have RB’s that weren’t drafted high or they found on the waiver wire. 

 

The Bucs relied heavily on Fournette through the playoffs and he want #3 overall.

 

KC has a 1st rd back on their team too.

[SCBills]

5 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

 

Exactly, @NewEra

 

The Bills were up 9-7 in the 2nd quarter against KC, and desperately needed to sustain the drive and get some points (especially a TD).

 

Instead Singletary dropped an easy pass and killed the drive. We punt to KC who goes right down the field for a TD, takes the lead, and never looks back.

 

Sustaining drives and keeping Mahomes off the field is the best way to defend KC.

 

It's hard, and probably unfair, to say that play cost us the game, but it just felt like that was the moment to put KC on their heels and that drop was so deflating.... we as fans felt it... and if we're being honest, I think the team felt it too. 

[dave mcbride]

52 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Much like the Roulette Results board in a casino, past results don't mean much for predicting the current pick.

 

It was far easier to hit on our pick when we were consistently picking in or near the Top 10.

 

I feel like even I accurately predicted our picks, going back to at least Gilmore. And I dont know anything.

 

Now, if he nails this pick, then THAT is something to brag about, and I'll give him a lot of credit going into next year's mocks.

 

Shaq did alright, considering.

Jerry Butler too. And Perry Tuttle is in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers team hall of fame.

[Ya Digg?]

14 minutes ago, gotme365 said:

I should have also stated I’d be ok with a CB in the 1st. It just seems as all of the SuperBowl winning teams have RB’s that weren’t drafted high or they found on the waiver wire. 

I would be more on board with a CB if they feel the value is there....and I should say I'm not 100% for Etienne, but I do think Buffalo is in a great position of not needing to reach for a guy

[RyanC883]

14 minutes ago, SCBills said:

 

Meh.. As long as nobody in our division walked away with Trevor Lawrence or Deshaun Watson this offseason, I would consider it a win. 

 

good points.   I still don’t want Fields on Pats.  clearly Watson on pats would be much worse

Edited April 28, 2021 by RyanC883

[Cheektowaga Chad]

If the bills go running back in the first, I'm going to believe that the bills front office motto when it comes to the draft is speak the truth, why lie. 

 

The bills tell the truth who they like majority will think its a smoke screen anyways 

[gotme365]

16 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

The Bucs relied heavily on Fournette through the playoffs and he want #3 overall.

 

KC has a 1st rd back on their team too.

Fournette was drafted #3 overall by the Jags. The Bucs picked him up for scraps.

[CNY315]

28 minutes ago, NewEra said:

He was a bust imo.  
 

Are you hoping for Etienne?  
 

since I started scouting this draft class, my thoughts on drafting Etienne has been a roller coaster.  
 

At first, I thought he would be a great pick and wanted him regardless of my thoughts on 1st rd rbs.  I thought picking 30th was like a 2nd rd pick and his skill set is perfect for our needs.  

 

Then I fell in love with Kenneth Gainwell and would rather take him in rd 2-3 and use our 1st on a CB/DE/WR.  Drafting a Rb in rd 1 was again, a no no.

 

now, after watching more and more of his tape, I’m starting to feel like he’d be the perfect compliment to our offense and could be just what the Dr ordered.  Take it to the house.....that’s what he does.  That’s what we need.

He’s not my first choice.....but I’d be very excited if he is our pick.  As fans, that’s all we can ask for.  To be excited. Etienne is that

I, like a lot of Bills fans, have been hoping for a DE/CB so initially I wouldn't be as excited. I'd probably get more pumped the more it set in. As an SU fan I held my breath pretty much every time he touched the ball. It would be dope to have that kind of playmaker on the team

Edited April 28, 2021 by CNY315

[JimmyNoodles]

CB's may be 3 rounds deep in this draft and the difference between geting one in the 1st for us at 30 or later in the draft may not be that pronounced.  Edge is the obvious draft need but none are 1st round talents IMO.  So, you roll the dice later for that too.  I could see Etienne being the pick given this thinking.  Don't know who will fall, but if there are only 10-15 1st round grades (which I agree with), then maybe no 1st round talent falls at all, making that a non-option.   Could be RB first and then edge and then CB.  

Edited April 28, 2021 by JimmyNoodles

[stosh64]

Tomorrow ends the LAMP mock draft season.

[ProcessAccepted]

57 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Disagree.

 

He should be out in the flat catching the hot route pass and turning it up field for 15 yards.

 

If we keep him in to block at all, THEN it is a wasted pick.

Thurman was able to do both well.

[DrDawkinstein]

3 minutes ago, ProcessAccepted said:

Thurman was able to do both well.

 

Then we should draft Thurman.

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

Benjamin Allbright only posts one mock draft each year. He posts it the day before the draft.

 

**Edit: He has known which direction the Bills were leaning several years running (not last year, as they had no 1st round pick). He sometimes knows the specific player they like, but usually at least knows the position they most want to pick in round 1. From what I have experienced in the past few years, he seems to have legitimate league sources.

 

This year, he said over a month ago that they were looking running back and has stuck to his guns ever since. Lo and behold, in his mock, he has them taking Etienne even with Newsome and Barmore still on the board.

 

I’m posting this only because Allbright seems to have legit league sources, particularly one with the Bills, and he’s way more accurate/trustworthy than most. 

 

Take from it what you will.

 

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/2021-nfl-mock-draft-1-round-albright/

 

 

I don’t really trust Allbright to know much of anything going on.  He claims to have been right about the last several Bills drafts, but then had to clarify it was position because our 1st pick last year he mocked to NE about 3/4 of a round earlier.

 

He also was the guy that said the Brown trade was done before that was done and when it was still preliminary.

 

I think he has a “source” and the Bills only feed him the crap they want out.  He was on the Josh Allen pick, but so were a bunch of other guys as draft day approached because it became more widely known Mayfield was going to Cleveland, and therefore Darnold to the JETS and that left the Bills needing a QB and many “insiders” had Allen over Rosen - while fans had Rosen over Allen.

 

If the board played out the way he has it - I see no way Beane passes on Newsome - none - that is the most slam dunk pick he could have.  You want CB and speed and he has it in spades - as opposed to a fast, but not elite speed RB.  I don’t think it is close.

[Jay_Fixit]

1 hour ago, gotme365 said:

Drafting a RB will definitely help with getting pressure on Mahomes and beating the improved Chiefs o-line

If he’s BPA then it doesn’t matter. Horrible idea to reach for need.

[RobbRiddick]

I'd prefer edge or CB but if we get an explosive RB I'll definitely be excited to see how he could help give the offense a new dimension, so it will definitely add some buzz to the rest of the off season for me.

 

To be honest I don't care who they pick or what position they go for. A. I have faith in this regime to make a good move, and b. it's the 30th pick so it's not like we have the pressure of picking in the top ten 

[Logic]

3 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

I don’t really trust Allbright to know much of anything going on.  He claims to have been right about the last several Bills drafts, but then had to clarify it was position because our 1st pick last year he mocked to NE about 3/4 of a round earlier.

 

He also was the guy that said the Brown trade was done before that was done and when it was still preliminary.

 

I think he has a “source” and the Bills only feed him the crap they want out.  He was on the Josh Allen pick, but so were a bunch of other guys as draft day approached because it became more widely known Mayfield was going to Cleveland, and therefore Darnold to the JETS and that left the Bills needing a QB and many “insiders” had Allen over Rosen - while fans had Rosen over Allen.

 

 

First: I don't think he was. As I recall, Ian Rapaport was the guy who reported Brown to Bills, not Allbright. If you can show the report to which you're referring, I will stand corrected.

Second: Allbright was on Allen to the Bills WELL before "when draft day approached". Like MONTHS before. Second, please link those "bunch of other guys" that were saying that, because other than basic mock draft guesswork, I don't really remember any national reporters of note stating emphatically that Allen was the guy, and certainly not as early in the process as Allbright was. And I think your recollection of the weeks leading up to the 2018 draft may be off, because even as late as draft day, some thought Allen was going 1st overall. It was not "widely known" that Mayfield was going to Cleveland until maybe the night before the draft. 

Again, everyone has the right to believe or not believe in Allbright is a reasonable source of intel and draft rumors. And I probably overstated the specificity of his previous predictions, and have since edited the thread title and OP to reflect that. I will simply say that of all the well known national media guys out there, Allbright seems more connected -- and seems to be correct more often -- than most. That doesn't mean he's unimpeachable or that he's Jimmy the Greek. But in my opinion, his intel is usually at least noteworthy and reasonably likely to be true.

 

[Rochesterfan]

41 minutes ago, aristocrat said:

if we hang tight and get him at 30 im good but like others say if we trade up im gonna be a little pissed.  but if he comes in and puts up 1500-1800 all purpose yards and 13 tds like kamara does we will forget about it pretty quick.

 

There is just no way he does anything close to that.  McD as a coach limits significantly the rookies because the NFL season is longer and more intense.  
 

He has tended to give them very little responsibility until week 5 or 6 - so the season is closer to the college season.

 

With RBs in particular- the expectation that he can run correct routes, but more importantly pick up blitzes when needed - especially in play action scenarios is crucial and ETN is a bad, bad blocker. 
 

I would expect very limited play out of ETN even if drafted because they will not trust him in the backfield.  He will see some time spread out, but I don’t think they will use him as much as people think based upon their history.

 

[BuffaloBillsGospel]

I wouldn't hate Etienne but I would hope that means we sign Justin Houston almost immediately after selecting him.

[I'm Spartacus]

56 minutes ago, Ray Finkel said:

Perry Tuttle

Ha! Good memory!

[K-9]

1 hour ago, Special K said:

Maybe he can break the curse of the Clemson first round picks for the Bills.

 

Spiller, Watkins = bad mojo!!

 

Jerry Butler says hi. 

[Solomon Grundy]

Watched him run in the snow hoped the Bills drafted him. Had good dance moves too. Lol

[DrDawkinstein]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

He was a bust imo.  
 

Are you hoping for Etienne?  
 

since I started scouting this draft class, my thoughts on drafting Etienne has been a roller coaster.  
 

At first, I thought he would be a great pick and wanted him regardless of my thoughts on 1st rd rbs.  I thought picking 30th was like a 2nd rd pick and his skill set is perfect for our needs.  

 

Then I fell in love with Kenneth Gainwell and would rather take him in rd 2-3 and use our 1st on a CB/DE/WR.  Drafting a Rb in rd 1 was again, a no no.

 

now, after watching more and more of his tape, I’m starting to feel like he’d be the perfect compliment to our offense and could be just what the Dr ordered.  Take it to the house.....that’s what he does.  That’s what we need.

He’s not my first choice.....but I’d be very excited if he is our pick.  As fans, that’s all we can ask for.  To be excited. Etienne is that

 

This is exactly what my experience as well. If we had these threads not even a month ago, I'd be posting differently. Heck, even last week.

 

But after hearing the rumors, from so many different outlets, I went back and watched Etienne film with this in mind. And he really does look like a player Beane would move mountains to add to this offense.

 

I'm just as happy with a CB, WR, OL. The only reason I shy away from DE is because of the lack of talent in this draft. But if Beane went there then I trust he knows something I dont.

 

I still feel deep down that when the pick comes up, CB will give us the BPA left on the board. But this talk about ETN this week sure has been fun.

[maryland-bills-fan]

BPA.   check.      Biggest improvement to the team.  check.  Improves our offense on 33% of the plays.  check.  Speedy enough to be a wide receiver and is a good pass receiver  check

 

His 40 speed is listed as 4.46

 

On one draft board, the top 10 wide receivers have 40 times of 4.40...4.45...4.45...4.44,,,,4.51.....4.48....4.50....4.45.....4.45.....4.49.  six were faster, usually by 0.01 second and 4 were slower.  Imagine lining up on the outside and having him defended by a big safety (all are about 0.1 second slower) or a linebacker (there are 2 freaks who are faster but all others are a few tenths of a second slower). D.Singletary ran 4.66 verus a 4.46

 

 

I see no reason why people shouldn't consider him an assist to the passing game as much as just a better RB.

Edited April 28, 2021 by maryland-bills-fan

[Logic]

7 minutes ago, maryland-bills-fan said:

Imagine lining up on the outside and having him defended by a big safety (all are about 0.1 second slower) or a linebacker (there are 2 freaks who are faster but all others are a few tenths of a second slower).

This is one thing I've thought about quite a bit since the "ETN to the Bills" rumor started:

The Bills lined up in 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) empty formations A TON in 2021. Because the HB split out wide was Moss or Singletary, though, they were basically a non-factor in most pass plays that followed. Imagine being able to come out in 11 and 10 personnel empty sets, as they seem to love to do, but actually having that HB split out wide be a legitimate threat, a legitimately useful part of the play. They could essentially come out in 10 or 11 personnel on every play and then, based on the defensive personnel, either line up in more of a pro set to attack a light defense or an empty set to attack a base defense.

TL;DR: a player like Etienne could greatly increase the potency of the Bills passing game in addition to its run game. Specifically, it can increase the lethality of the Bills' much-loved empty sets.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Logic

[HappyDays]

I've gotten so excited with the idea of drafting Etienne that I'm practically going to be disappointed if he isn't the pick. He is the perfect solution to the way KC defended us. If they want to mug our receivers and drop into deep zones, Etienne will abuse their LBs. IMO he is the only player that we could take at 30 who would immediately improve our chances of beating KC.

Edited April 28, 2021 by HappyDays

[ProcessAccepted]

55 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Then we should draft Thurman.

If Beane has his DeLorean fired up I'd be good with that 😂

 

[NewEra]

Ugh.  I can’t believe I hope we draft Etienne again.....I hate you guys

[JimmyNoodles]

27 minutes ago, maryland-bills-fan said:

BPA.   check.      Biggest improvement to the team.  check.  Improves our offense on 33% of the plays.  check.  Speedy enough to be a wide receiver and is a good pass receiver  check

 

His 40 speed is listed as 4.46

 

On one draft board, the top 10 wide receivers have 40 times of 4.40...4.45...4.45...4.44,,,,4.51.....4.48....4.50....4.45.....4.45.....4.49.  six were faster, usually by 0.01 second and 4 were slower.  Imagine lining up on the outside and having him defended by a big safety (all are about 0.1 second slower) or a linebacker (there are 2 freaks who are faster but all others are a few tenths of a second slower). D.Singletary ran 4.66 verus a 4.46

 

 

I see no reason why people shouldn't consider him an assist to the passing game as much as just a better RB.

Agree with this synopsis and adding the possibility of a punt returner too.  Never paid much attention to him in that role but saw that in highlights too.  Is he sure handed?  

[HappyDays]

2 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

Which 1st round picks other than Allen has he gotten correct? He didn’t have Oliver in 2019. Did he have the 2017 pick of Tre white?

 

 

 

In 2019 he predicted Wilkins because Oliver was already taken in his mock, but the position he had right. Last year he said the Bills were looking very closely at all the 1st round WRs, before we traded for Diggs. He does seem to know what the Bills are looking into.

Edited April 28, 2021 by HappyDays

[Logic]

5 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Ugh.  I can’t believe I hope we draft Etienne again.....I hate you guys

It's been a wild ride for me, too.

I'm usually very against the idea of drafting a running back in round 1, but I can't pretend like he wouldn't instantly make the Bills more explosive on offense. I watched every year of his highlights, and lost count of the amount of his 30+ yard TD runs/catches where I said to myself "if that were Moss or Singletary, he would've been caught and tackled at about the 12 yard mark".

Also, a run on defensive ends and cornerbacks might make him legitimately the best player left on the board. In the mock on which this thread is based, for instance, the board falls in such a way that it's hard to argue that any of the players left would definitely be better value than Etienne at 30.

At the end of the day, it's a playmaker's league. KC has a bunch of them on offense. We have one. Wouldn't hurt to add another.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Logic

[scuba guy]

1 hour ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

I'm not that big of a college football fan so I have to ask those who know.

Is Newsome the type of CB that fits into McDermott's schemes?

Is he at least a top of the 2nd round pick?

I do not know if anyone answered your ? But here goes.

 

If Newsome plays opposite t white than the bills d will be able to do many things.

 

Play man on the edges.

Play cover 2 and 3

Play more aggressive tight coverage 

Re like kc did in the afccg

Play on the line of scrimmage not 10 yards off the Wallace does.

 

Coach likes players that can play several positions 

 

My best thought are be a piece of clay and coach can mold it to what he wants

[SteveFreeman22]

2 hours ago, Special K said:

Maybe he can break the curse of the Clemson first round picks for the Bills.

 

Spiller, Watkins = bad mojo!!

 

I seem to remember Jerry Butler being pretty good.

[HappyDays]

2 hours ago, gotme365 said:

Drafting a RB will definitely help with getting pressure on Mahomes and beating the improved Chiefs o-line

 

Pass rush isn't the only reason we lost to KC. Tampa Bay obviously did have an excellent pass rush, but not enough credit is given to their LBs for keeping Kelce in check. In our game Mahomes was getting rid of the ball before any pass rush would have had a chance of getting to him, mostly because Edmunds was hopelessly lost in coverage.

 

You know the best way to beat the Chiefs? Build up a lead early and run out the clock. We can't score 24 points and expect to beat them. Adding to the offense will realistically give us a better chance against them than any possible addition on defense.

[Special K]

33 minutes ago, SteveFreeman22 said:

I seem to remember Jerry Butler being pretty good.

 

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

Jerry Butler says hi. 

 

2 hours ago, Ray Finkel said:

Perry Tuttle

 

I guess I should’ve just called it the curse of Spiller and Watkins.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

I think if the Bills do take a RB they trade Singletary. 

[Royale with Cheese]

43 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Pass rush isn't the only reason we lost to KC. Tampa Bay obviously did have an excellent pass rush, but not enough credit is given to their LBs for keeping Kelce in check. In our game Mahomes was getting rid of the ball before any pass rush would have had a chance of getting to him, mostly because Edmunds was hopelessly lost in coverage.

 

You know the best way to beat the Chiefs? Build up a lead early and run out the clock. We can't score 24 points and expect to beat them. Adding to the offense will realistically give us a better chance against them than any possible addition on defense.

 

Mahomes was getting the ball out in under 3 seconds most of the game....we need to also do a better job of disguising the coverage.