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Bills 2021 Draft - Overall Assessment


Bills 2021 Draft Grade  

404 members have voted

  1. 1. What is your initial overall grade of the Bills 2021 Draft?

    • A
      106
    • B
      210
    • C
      64
    • D
      7
    • F
      2
    • T (for trees). Just kidding. Had to go there!
      15


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Typical draft for teams picking in the back half.  To me, this draft will depend on who they took in rounds 2 - 7, which IMO is the real "meat" of any draft anyway.

 

If they can get solid contributors out at least some of these guys it will go a long way towards getting over the "hump" and into the Superbowl.  

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2 hours ago, inaugural balls said:

I was waiting for you to say DD would kick inside and have Spencer Long mature into LT in 2-3 years.

 

25 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I mean, who knows?  That may be a possibility.   

 

Except that Long hasn't played in the NFL since 2019 and played guard then, sure it's a possibility! But if that's your standard for judging possible happenings, we're likely not going to agree too much.

 

Long was a relatively rare Bills error in judgement IMO.  We kept him and traded Teller because we wanted to have more veteran choices to ensure a quality line in 2019.  Long had better "positional flexibility" in that he'd played C and the Bills wanted to ensure that position, but Teller had the better long-term potential at guard, which is now fulfilled.  There was a bit of "NIH" (not invented here, not chosen by the new coach) with Teller in that judgement I think.

 

I agree that Beane is looking into the future and trying to map a course where the Bills can extend Allen, re-up Diggs, and still stay good.  I do worry that it won't let us improve this season.

 

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6 hours ago, Mountain Man said:

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

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 

There is easily up to a .2 difference in football speed and game speed and cut speed on 40 times. A 4.5 guy with those types of speeds can be as fast or faster than a 4.3 guy in shorts. Stevenson explodes on his field tape. He’s extremely fast. 

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Since 2015, the biggest thing we needed(besides Josh) was pass rush, and we needed it badly.  It’s how TB beat KC.  And the lack of pass rush is why KC beat us.  So kudos Beane for addressing pass rush!

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22 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:


Are there gonna be June 1 cuts?

Well, I mean training camp cuts, preseason etc. Could you imagine if Buffalo lands Ertz because he is a cap casualty in Philly? Or if a quality corner shakes free as well? I think there’s a great chance of both these things happening.

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10 minutes ago, Victory Formation said:

Well, I mean training camp cuts, preseason etc. Could you imagine if Buffalo lands Ertz because he is a cap casualty in Philly? Or if a quality corner shakes free as well? I think there’s a great chance of both these things happening.

 

True, there will be some cap casualties as contracts get redone and so forth, players cut as teams may work a trade etc.

 

I was just alluding to previous seasons where there were intermediate roster cut downs.  I don't think that's the case any more - stays where we are until cuts to the final 53.

 

Which I think is a disservice to the guys scrapping for a spot, because it doesn't give them much opportunity to catch on with another team, but it Is what it Is.

 

I hope you're right, I'd like to see us upgrade at CB yet anyway.

 

I could be wrong but I no longer see Ertz as a game change worth ponying up picks, players, and major cap change to acquire.

 

13 minutes ago, Pete said:

Since 2015, the biggest thing we needed(besides Josh) was pass rush, and we needed it badly.  It’s how TB beat KC.  And the lack of pass rush is why KC beat us.  So kudos Beane for addressing pass rush!

 

This is true, but do keep in mind that KC had a different OL in the Superbowl than we played - lost their LT and moved 3 guys around the line as a consequence.

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13 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I'm not sure that's true. 

The OTs and C should be the same

I think we will have a competition at both guard spots

If Feliciano and Boettger win, then the OL will be the same, except hopefully a less-injured version of Feliciano

 

If Ford or Lamp win one of the battles then the line will be different. 

 

And of course there's the possibility that one of our draft picks wins a starting role in camp, but seems unlikely. 

 

I do feel better with the idea that we're not one Daryl Williams injury away from counting on Bobby Hart to protect Allen's right flank.

 

 

TBH, I'm not sure what we'll see.  I think Beane told us in his pre-draft presser that we might be drafting guys this year who might not start this year, but might start next season.  It wouldn't be a big shock to me if we started the year with a DL of Hughes-Oliver-Lotulelei-Addison rotating to Butler-Phillips and whoever wins the battles at DE (Epenesa and Rousseau would be my guess)

 

Being facetious, I now understand why we drafted all those tall guys (trees).  We signed a FORREST, Forrest Lamp.  Well, what's a FORREST without some TREES in it?

Thing is we can’t keep all these OL. Some will have to go. We have 17 OL on the roster now and that does not include UDFA we bring in. 
 

We will keep 9-10. Some low level guys can be PS - UDFA and Anderson, maybe Doyle would not get picked up?

 

Locks: Dawkins, Williams, Morse, Feliciano

Near Locks: Ford, Brown

Final 3-4: Bates, Lamp, Douglas, Hart, Boettger, Devey, Doyle, Anderson, Harrison, Walton

 

Lamp, Douglas, Hart, Bates, Harrison and Boettger have all started in this league.  So its not as simple as we added all these OL, some have to go so what is that difference? Maybe short term your worse actually. Who knows. But it’s not 1+1= 3. 

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1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

And I wonder if someday Beane's head will get big enough that he'll leave for someplace where choosing the HC IS within his paygrade.  

 

Why?  Do he and McD not get along?  It's not like they didn't know each other well before joining the Bills.

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8 hours ago, eball said:

 

First of all, nice response.  My opinion stems from how different the league is now then it was when Polian ruled the roost.  I’ve heard Polian opine on many NFL radio shows over the past decade and I’m not sure he has the same sort of success in this era.  Beane and McDermott have built a top-notch organization that appears primed to be a force for years to come.  There is also a level of internal respect that draws in talented people.  I think it’s pretty well known that Polian was a “my way or the highway” kind of guy.

 

And just so we’re clear:  Polian didn’t draft Jim Kelly and he didn’t draft Bruce Smith.  He’s a HOF GM and deserves tons of credit for the Bills’ Super Bowl teams, but there’s always a bit of luck involved as well.

 

I could not possibly be more impressed with Brandon Beane.


Polian didn’t draft Jim Kelly but he did draft Bruce Smith. Polian officially became GM in 1986 (a year after Smith was drafted), but he was in charge of the 1985 draft even though he didn’t have the official GM title. 

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1 minute ago, Doc said:

 

Why?  Do he and McD not get along?  It's not like they didn't know each other well before joining the Bills.

When they came u got the sense that they aren't joined at the hip.  They're their own men, individually.  Beane is intensely competitive, personally, and I just suspect he may eventually want a bigger role for himself.  In Buffalo je is trapped between the Pegs and McD, and some other owner might offer him more power.

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1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:


Tell the truth, Bill.  You are actually a mesmerist not a LEO, and you took control of this draft

;) 

I think that Landon Dickerson would have been a perfect fit forthe Bills but if my friend (a Miami Fan) is right about Rousseau (and I have no reason to doubt him), we made the right move. 

 

When people are fans of, and focus closely on one college team, I pay close attention. For instance, do you think that there is much going on at OSU that @YoloinOhioand @Willyville Guydon't know about?

 

Edited by Bill from NYC
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36 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

I could be wrong but I no longer see Ertz as a game change worth ponying up picks, players, and major cap change to acquire.

 

FWIW I don't either.  The only way I could see Ertz in a Bills uniform is if he is cut and takes a one year "lets see if you fit with Josh" contract.

I doubt extremely he would do that.  Signing a 3 year money contract would be detrimental I believe.  His skills will be diminishing.

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17 hours ago, whorlnut said:

Another playmaker could have taken us over the top and allowed us to keep up with teams like the chiefs. 

 

Again, Stevenson is that playmaker. Just because we drafted him in the 6th round doesn't mean he can't contribute. He is like Robert Foster with slightly less speed and much better ball tracking skills. I hope we find ways to manufacture touches for him, at the very least send him deep to keep defenses honest.

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15 hours ago, Doc said:

 

Not really.  Feliciano played only 9 games, hurt.  Ford missed the last 7 games and was being tried at RT and OG until finally settling in at LG.  They all didn't play together at any point.

Some of the games Feliciano did play were at C. That line never had a chance to get into a run blocking groove all season. All of the shuffling was a problem. Hopefully, our starters can settle into their positions and get used to playing beside the same guy throughout the season.

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1 minute ago, Shaw66 said:

When they came u got the sense that they aren't joined at the hip.  They're their own men, individually.  Beane is intensely competitive, personally, and I just suspect he may eventually want a bigger role for himself.  In Buffalo je is trapped between the Pegs and McD, and some other owner might offer him more power.

 

It depends.  If they're winning and Pegs is compensating them both, there's no reason to leave. 

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1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

 

Except that Long hasn't played in the NFL since 2019 and played guard then, sure it's a possibility! But if that's your standard for judging possible happenings, we're likely not going to agree too much.

 

Long was a relatively rare Bills error in judgement IMO.  We kept him and traded Teller because we wanted to have more veteran choices to ensure a quality line in 2019.  Long had better "positional flexibility" in that he'd played C and the Bills wanted to ensure that position, but Teller had the better long-term potential at guard, which is now fulfilled.  There was a bit of "NIH" (not invented here, not chosen by the new coach) with Teller in that judgement I think.

 

I agree that Beane is looking into the future and trying to map a course where the Bills can extend Allen, re-up Diggs, and still stay good.  I do worry that it won't let us improve this season.

 

 

I actually wasn't suggesting anything. I thought maybe @Shaw66 was alluding to this.

 

Right now, I see these OL picks as future (potential) gold. 

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21 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

It depends.  If they're winning and Pegs is compensating them both, there's no reason to leave. 

If this was the case Beane wouldn’t have just signed his extension through the same year as McDernott’s. They both know they have it good, get along and are here long term. What’s higher up than a GM anyway?

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1 hour ago, Victory Formation said:

 Could you imagine if Buffalo lands Ertz because he is a cap casualty in Philly?

Yeah, an aging expensive TE with diminishing production is just what we need when are struggling for cap space as it is. 

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