Bills 2021 Draft - Overall Assessment

[Aussie Joe]

2 minutes ago, billsfan1959 said:

 

The timing of when he joined this board and the content of his initial posts suggested he joined this board with the specific intent to troll this team about Allen. JMO, but I always suspected he was a Bills fan prior to the Mahomes pick and jumped on the Mahomes bandwagon.

I think there is some confusion with this that we have gone through before ... there was another Bills fan ( Jeffsmagic) who deserted the Bills for the Chiefs when they drafted his crush Mahomes...

Edited May 2, 2021 by Aussie Joe

[Mountain Man]

37 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

They were already ahead of the Bills by like 20 spots. They moved up to get ahead of someone but it sure as hell wasn't Buffalo.

 

Brandon Beane pretty much told us he wasn't interested in Najee or Williams. I think they would have been interested in Etienne but you do not trade up in round 1 for running backs.

 

Correct on both. 

 

The obvious candidate is Miami at 36 they wanted ahead of. 

 

People are misinterpreting the pre draft home run ability comment to mean RB. It could equally mean WR which made more sense as they lost Brown at WR and Roberts as returner, and they addressed it with Stevenson. Who addresses both

2 hours ago, newcam2012 said:

Why pick up Brieda then? 

Because they lost Yeldon and Breida is a proven veteran at a sensible price with a complimentary skillet. You need 3 RBs. 

[78thealltimegreat]

Solid B...no splash players that make fans go wow look who we drafted but took care of the lines...Singletary and Moss better produce this year and take the pressure off Josh cause they still could have gotten Javante Williams a few picks before the Broncos nabbed him 

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, Mountain Man said:

 

Correct on both. 

 

The obvious candidate is Miami at 36 they wanted ahead of. 

 

People are misinterpreting the pre draft home run ability comment to mean RB. It could equally mean WR which made more sense as they lost Brown at WR and Roberts as returner, and they addressed it with Stevenson. Who addresses both

 

Hmm, he did specifically say it in regards to running back in the pre-draft presser.. He said they like their guys but neither of them are "home run hitters." But I don't think it was a very good running back class and I said that before the draft. The numbers suggest that the NFL agreed. Only 4 running backs went in the first 3 rounds, compared to 11 last year. After Etienne (who I do think the Bills had an interest in, not sure they'd have taken him ahead of Rousseau but in a world where their edge guys didn't get to #30 and Etienne did I could have imagined him as the pick) there really wasn't that home run hitter who was obviously going to bring more than Matt Brieda who they added as a speed back. It is the same at tight end. It just wasn't a good tight end class. I'm sure the Bills would have loved to find a game breaking tight end in this class but you can't find a guy that doesn't exist. The one home run hitting, game breaking running back went before the Bills made a single pick and so did the one game breaking tight end. 

[billsfan1959]

1 minute ago, Aussie Joe said:

I think there is some confusion with this that we have gone through before ... there was another Bills fan ( Jeffsmagic) who deserted the Bills for the Chiefs when they drafted his crush Mahomes...

 

I remember that discussion and never made the assertion the two were the same poster. I have no idea. Based on his posts, the feeling I always had was that he was a fan who jumped ship. Again, just my opinion and not important in any way other than how it influences how much credibility I give his posts critiquing the Bills. 

[Mountain Man]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Hmm, he did specifically say it in regards to running back in the pre-draft presser.. He said they like their guys but neither of them are "home run hitters." 

But if you look at that in the context of another comment he made, at the Senior Bowl last year IIRC (its on YouTube somewhere) he also referred to Touchdown Makers on offense as opposed to specific positions on offense. 

 

I'd suggest it leaves the inference of the home run hitters open. And that it was a broader point on speed, not an absolute need of a type at a specific position

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

I voted trees because everyone they drafted is 6ft 19.... tall monsters. They clearly prioritized winning in the trenches with size and athleticism  

[UKBillFan]

28 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:

True... but if you are a fan of another team, do you join that  teams message board to pile it on ... particularly given the history the year before with the Mahomes trade?

No, I agree, not for that specific reason. Even with Josh being so good now that trade is still looking like a very silly move.

 

I’d give the trade a C. Decent enough but I don’t like that we double dipped from the off and would have preferred JOK over Rousseau at 30 and Gowan over Wildgoose at 213. Have doubts over Doyle but love Basham, Brown, Hamlin and Stevenson. Anderson is a seventh pick so not invested at this stage. Hopefully they will all come good for us though; they have the potential to.

[billsfan1959]

9 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Hmm, he did specifically say it in regards to running back in the pre-draft presser.. He said they like their guys but neither of them are "home run hitters." But I don't think it was a very good running back class and I said that before the draft. The numbers suggest that the NFL agreed. Only 4 running backs went in the first 3 rounds, compared to 11 last year. After Etienne (who I do think the Bills had an interest in, not sure they'd have taken him ahead of Rousseau but in a world where their edge guys didn't get to #30 and Etienne did I could have imagined him as the pick) there really wasn't that home run hitter who was obviously going to bring more than Matt Brieda who they added as a speed back. It is the same at tight end. It just wasn't a good tight end class. I'm sure the Bills would have loved to find a game breaking tight end in this class but you can't find a guy that doesn't exist. The one home run hitting, game breaking running back went before the Bills made a single pick and so did the one game breaking tight end. 

 

Agree 100%. I liked Etienne; however, I would not have been happy if they had traded up to pick him (nor did I think they would). I don't believe there was an offensive skill player (certainly not at RB or TE) available at where the Bills were drafting that was going to be a "game changer" for the team this year. They needed to upgrade at DE and ability to pressure and I like what they did with those first two picks (and I know I think more highly of Basham than you do). 

 

I thought it was a solid draft from top to bottom. 

[Mountain Man]

They needed a John Brown / Andre Roberts replacement given Mckenzies fumble history, but they could afford to wait. Stevenson may end up having the most significant year 1 impact of this draft class, if he stays healthy he's gonna be a monster. In a year without proper combine number so everyone looks fast because of pro day numbers, he actually is. 

[Nihilarian]

Dunno about the rest of you guys but I really, really, really enjoyed watching Patrick Mahomes running for his life all game long in that super bowl!! 

 

The Bills FO must have enjoyed it also as they went after two huge pass rushers with the first two picks. It might not work right away as these new players need some growth and development. I'm very excited to see what 2021 brings. 

 

The height factor must be included in these selections as Mahomes 6'3'', Zach Wilson 6'3'', Tua Tugovailoa 6'0'' now need to pass over these here mountains! 

 

Let's face it, that this 2020 Buffalo Bills team just went 13-3 and was one miracle hail-Mary play away from a 14-2 season. That would have set a franchise record for best season ever!

Most of the current players are good enough to get them back to where they were last season. So, signing all the players from last season made sense to keep things going. 

 

Time will tell...I think this FO got it right in the draft, free agency. Plus, undrafted players and free agency are still open. Zach Ertz anyone? 

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, Mountain Man said:

They needed a John Brown / Andre Roberts replacement given Mckenzies fumble history, but they could afford to wait. Stevenson may end up having the most significant year 1 impact of this draft class, if he stays healthy he's gonna be a monster. In a year without proper combine number so everyone looks fast because of pro day numbers, he actually is. 

 

Yea his pro day was kinda the opposite way to most. He definitely ran slower than expected. I think Beane's press conference was interesting - he said late on they went away from pure BPA to address a few needs, cornerback and returner. I think that gives you a pretty clear sense what the route to this roster is for Stevenson as a rookie - if he wants to be on the 53 he likely needs to win the return job. He can do that, but that is the challenge ahead of him. 

[Mountain Man]

4 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

Zach Ertz anyone? 

No thanks. Give Knox one more year, and if it doesn't work, start again from scratch at TE next year 

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea his pro day was kinda the opposite way to most. He definitely ran slower than expected.

That was my feeling. Which was made it even worse by the fact that the other guys are being quoted off pro day times this year not combine numbers so basically any WR not running a 4.3 is slow. We'll never know how quick this years draft class is, but it's certainly slower than the numbers suggest 

[Mountain Man]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 he said late on they went away from pure BPA to address a few needs, cornerback and returner.

That's been a trend the last few years. Basically days 1 and 2 is BPA with a element of need factored in, and day 3 that need element becomes more prominent or at least viability to make the roster

[GunnerBill]

15 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

Dunno about the rest of you guys but I really, really, really enjoyed watching Patrick Mahomes running for his life all game long in that super bowl!! 

 

 

Two teams beat Mahomes last year - the Raiders and the Buccs. Both pressured him on more than 50% of this dropbacks. That is incredibly hard to do but that is the formula. Getting to him sometimes isn't enough. You have to be capable of pressuring consistently. They did it different ways, the Buccs blitzed a fair amount but the Raiders ran a lot of 3 and 4 man pressures and did it with clever rush packages. The Bills prioritised that this weekend, but the opposite side of that coin is that as we stand here now I think the Chiefs have definitely upgraded three spots on their line from the start of last season and the one where they have downgraded - right tackle - is a spot where their starter went down for the season in week 1. So they haven't stood still either but that is the challenge. The Bills have to find a way within the parameters of their scheme to get more pressure on Mahomes (and even aside from Kansas City they needed to get more pressure on Quarterbacks in any event). 

 

3 minutes ago, Mountain Man said:

That's been a trend the last few years. Basically days 1 and 2 is BPA with a element of need factored in, and day 3 that need element becomes more prominent or at least viability to make the roster

 

Beane has been pretty honest with us this week:

 

Round 1 was best player available who affects the Quarterback;

Rounds 2 and 3 were pure BPA;

Rounds 5 and 6 were sticking broadly to the board but attacking needs;

Round 7 was pure BPA. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by GunnerBill

[RyanC883]

12 hours ago, Process said:

C+ 

 

Don't love double dipping at DE and OT and not addressing another needs like WR CB and DT until the later rounds. 

 

At the end of the day we added to the lines, which is never a bad thing, so I don't hate it. 

 

But between FA and the draft, the Chiefs, Browns, Dolphins, Jets and Patriots all made moves that will make them significantly better in 2021. The Bills did not. 

 

This year was about trenches, next year we will really need to add some playmakers on offense and in the secondary.

 

this says it all.  not a single player from the draft projects to make the bills better in 2021.  lots of potential guys for 2022, and no rb snd 1T is a head scratcher.  

[Reed83HOF]

12 hours ago, McBean said:

We needed to add offensive playmakers. We didn’t. That’s what will beat KC.

 

The fact Dawson Knox and Singletary will start next year makes me puke.

 

Draft could end up being a home run if Greg and Boogie make an impact in their rookie years.

Not a fan of our RBs and I would like a better plan at TE, they seem to be betting on Knox taking a big step this year, they have more faith than I do. In a pass happy offense, I need players with sticky catching hands, not cement blocks. 

 

That being said I have more faith in Knox than the RBs

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, Reed83HOF said:

Not a fan of our RBs and I would like a better plan at TE, they seem to be betting on Knox taking a big step this year, they have more faith than I do. In a pass happy offense, I need players with sticky catching hands, not cement blocks. 

 

That being said I have more faith in Knox than the RBs

 

It just wasn't a good RB or TE draft. You can't take guys who aren't there.

[SoTier]

12 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

Best draft of my lifetime.  They had a clear, sane strategy that makes perfect sense in today’s NFL where (i) you’ve got a franchise QB about to take up a big chunk of the cap; (ii) you need depth at premium positions (everyone does); and (iii) you did sober self-scouting to realize you weren’t affecting the passing game enough to beat your biggest obstacle to the Lombardi.  Super impressed with a well-executed PLAN.  This draft was the product of a clear strategic plan and I’ve literally been waiting decades to say that about this team’s draft.

 

I think that the future oriented aspect of the draft is the most impressive part.  It's easy to improve a poor team through the draft with competent talent evaluation.  It's a whole lot harder to maintain, much less improve, a very successful team over the long term.    That's what separates teams that are almost always "in the hunt" like NE, KC, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Seattle, etc from most other franchises that look great for a season or two and then disintegrate.  I think that Atlanta and Philly are perhaps the best and most recent examples.

 

12 hours ago, Solomon Grundy said:

I wanna see the list of UDFAs 

 

This is why I'm not all that dismayed that the Bills didn't take any CBs.   Teams regularly find decent CBs among UDFAs than decent edge rushers or OLers.   Without the Combine, there are a lot of unknowns among the late round prospects this year, especially those who attended schools that didn't hold pro days. 

[Reed83HOF]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

It just wasn't a good RB or TE draft. You can't take guys who aren't there.

Oh I agree, just saying those are my weak points which we haven't fully addressed. And are still some of the bigger question marks heading into this season. I'm not expecting Brieda to come in and light it up. And I'm hoping for a big jump form Knox, not expecting it though.

I don't have the patience for a 3 year developmental curve on a TE our of the draft. But this is a positional, we need to focus on improving.

 

Given how the draft fell and where we selected I think we did a good job of getting bigger, faster, younger in the trenches. This is a huge plus for us. The DL prospects in this draft weren't great overall, but I do think there was good value in RD1 and 2 and they have a lot of upside.

 

Without a move up, we were shut out of the CB class. This makes sense since you can never have enough of them, every team wants them and our draft position placed us in the position to overdraft the next tier (reach) or trade to snag one, again our draft positioning made it tough.

 

This draft was a light class and as we all know with Covid, opt outs, no medicals, no combine talent was pushed up and slipped down the boards. The 2022 draft should shape up to be a great one with a lot of talent throughout.

 

Post draft, I would like to see us address CB2 and maybe Ertz frees up now and he can give us a year or 3. I'm not overpaying a FA RB, but perhaps Denver dumps Gordon(wishful thinking and doubtful) and we can add him cheap for a year.