NFL Draft Rumors

[Warcodered]

3 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

 Chris simms also insisted the niners were taking Mac Jones last year 

Watching the actual clip I'm not sure how good a sign it is that in the middle of his pitch he's seemingly having to talk himself into it at the same time.

[Mat68]

3 hours ago, HappyDays said:

I swear we had this thread last year, to track all of the general rumors leading up to the draft.

 

Here's a few this week from Charlie Campbell who has been on point with the info he's put out before:

 

https://walterfootball.com/nflhotpress/article/2022-NFL-Draft-Week-Rumors-Monday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The note about Daxton Hill is the most intriguing to me. I thought he would be a strong candidate to be our pick at 25. But if he has concerns about his mental makeup he won't have a 1st round grade from Beane.

Hill was intriguing but that doesnt sound like a Buffalo type.  Could also be stuff ment to force him to fall to someone.  

[GunnerBill]

8 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

Two years in a row we've been connected to a speedy RB at the end of the 1st round. It almost feels intentional. The Jameson Williams love I could believe more. Beane will not be shy about trading up for him if he thinks he's a superstar.

 

If we really want Breece Hall I hope we plan to trade down with Seattle first. I can't get excited about him as our 1st rounder.

 

Hmm. But I actually think they did have Etienne very high last year. He himself said after the draft he thought he was going to Buffalo and then just last week Beane said "we have had running backs graded there [in the first round] in the past it just hasn't worked out." 

 

I am not saying they definitely would have picked him. I do think they loved Greg too. But I think it was possible this time last year to zero in on those two guys for the Bills. Let's say Jacksonville take Rousseau and the rest of the board falls the same.... I am convinced the Bills would have picked Etienne. 

[Alphadawg7]

27 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Hmm. But I actually think they did have Etienne very high last year. He himself said after the draft he thought he was going to Buffalo and then just last week Beane said "we have had running backs graded there [in the first round] in the past it just hasn't worked out." 

 

I am not saying they definitely would have picked him. I do think they loved Greg too. But I think it was possible this time last year to zero in on those two guys for the Bills. Let's say Jacksonville take Rousseau and the rest of the board falls the same.... I am convinced the Bills would have picked Etienne. 

I don’t think that’s the case, I remember watching Embedded and both the pre draft and draft day war room footage seemed clear Greg was their guy even before Etienne was drafted.  
 

I am sure there was real interest in Etienne as they believed Rousseau could go as high as 20 they said.  There’s even a clip early in the draft talking about looking at a trade up into that range.  
 

But, I think Etienne was behind Greg on their board and still would have been the pick even if both were available.  Beane is seen telling McD earlier in the draft that Rousseau is who they are looking at to bring some size and pass rush ability to the edge.  

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, Alphadawg7 said:

I don’t think that’s the case, I remember watching Embedded and both the pre draft and draft day war room footage seemed clear Greg was their guy even before Etienne was drafted.  
 

I am sure there was real interest in Etienne as they believed Rousseau could go as high as 20 they said.  There’s even a clip early in the draft talking about looking at a trade up into that range.  
 

But, I think Etienne was behind Greg on their board and still would have been the pick even if both were available.  Beane is seen telling McD earlier in the draft that Rousseau is who they are looking at to bring some size and pass rush ability to the edge.  

 

Nothing you said there disagrees with what I said. 

 

I think Greg probably was the guy in event of a tie because of positional value. What I said was keep everything else the same and swap the Jags pick from Etienne to Rousseau and I am convinced in that scenario the Bills take Etienne. 

 

As for what they show in Embedded.... I mean you have to remember that is state sponsored propoganda. They no doubt have lots of conversations about different guys in the draft room. They aren't going to show the ones who end up somewhere else. They are gonna pump up the guys they pick. 

[CNYfan]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Nothing you said there disagrees with what I said. 

 

I think Greg probably was the guy in event of a tie because of positional value. What I said was keep everything else the same and swap the Jags pick from Etienne to Rousseau and I am convinced in that scenario the Bills take Etienne. 

 

As for what they show in Embedded.... I mean you have to remember that is state sponsored propoganda. They no doubt have lots of conversations about different guys in the draft room. They aren't going to show the ones who end up somewhere else. They are gonna pump up the guys they pick. 

True, heavily edited publicity piece.

[Milanos Milano]

59 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

He's talked to @IronMaidenBills and @Solomon Grundy too then?

I had to sprint to the city phone booth, and thankfully I made it out before the truck hit me. 

[YoloinOhio]

12 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

I don’t think that’s the case, I remember watching Embedded and both the pre draft and draft day war room footage seemed clear Greg was their guy even before Etienne was drafted.  
 

I am sure there was real interest in Etienne as they believed Rousseau could go as high as 20 they said.  There’s even a clip early in the draft talking about looking at a trade up into that range.  
 

But, I think Etienne was behind Greg on their board and still would have been the pick even if both were available.  Beane is seen telling McD earlier in the draft that Rousseau is who they are looking at to bring some size and pass rush ability to the edge.  

As with every team who drafts at the bottom of the 1st, they have a group of players with 1st rd grades who they think could be there at 25 and they would take at 25. They have those ranked on their board. I wouldn’t be surprised if Breece hall is in that group of 5-7 players. I would be surprised if he’s ranked toward the top of that group. Is he in the mix if their top choices aren’t there? Sound possible given all the buzz. I don’t think it’s a revelation that they would like him.  But I think he’s more in the mix for the Bills with a trade down or if he’s dropping in the 2nd. Of course if the guys they have ranked higher are all gone and they can’t trade down and feel there is a huge gap between him and the next RB they could just sit and take him 

Edited April 25, 2022 by YoloinOhio

[glazeduck]

6 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

As with every team who drafts at the bottom of the 1st, they have a group of players with 1st rd grades who they think could be there at 25 and they would take at 25. They have those ranked on their board. I wouldn’t be surprised if Breece hall is in that group of 5-7 players. I would be surprised if he’s ranked toward the top of that group. Is he in the mix if their top choices aren’t there? Sound possible given all the buzz. I don’t think it’s a revelation that they would like him.  But I think he’s more in the mix for the Bills with a trade down or if he’s dropping in the 2nd. Of course if the guys they have ranked higher are all gone and they can’t trade down and feel there is a huge gap between him and the next RB they could just sit and take him 

Agree with all of this. There's also a lot of "sub-questions" that play into this...

• who else is on that board that's still available? 
• what is their positional value?
• what's the gap in value between those players (including Hall) and the next on our board at those positions? 
• who's calling to move up and what are they offering?
• ...

[Alphadawg7]

16 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

As with every team who drafts at the bottom of the 1st, they have a group of players with 1st rd grades who they think could be there at 25 and they would take at 25. They have those ranked on their board. I wouldn’t be surprised if Breece hall is in that group of 5-7 players. I would be surprised if he’s ranked toward the top of that group. Is he in the mix if their top choices aren’t there? Sound possible given all the buzz. I don’t think it’s a revelation that they would like him.  But I think he’s more in the mix for the Bills with a trade down or if he’s dropping in the 2nd. Of course if the guys they have ranked higher are all gone and they can’t trade down and feel there is a huge gap between him and the next RB they could just sit and take him 

 

Oh don't get me wrong, I am not saying Breece isn't on their board, he surely has to be given they have met with him.  

 

I do believe Etienne was last year, just saying I think Greg was who they were targeting and was higher on their board based on the footage I saw of the pre draft stuff they showed, but also the footage they showed of the war room during the draft.  If both were on the board, I think Greg was still their guy was my point.  That isn't meant to indicate anything about this year, solely commenting on who they had higher last year in Greg or Etienne.

[BillsShredder83]

4 hours ago, glazeduck said:

That's interesting. 

 

Not gonna lie, given our success in developing Josh, I wouldn't hate taking Willis at 25 purely as a developmental asset  (not actually advocating for it, for the record...)

Very interesting! I can't see it, but if Buffalo felt confident enough to pull the trigger on it, I'd be pretty excited.

 

Huge "if" here... but IFFF Buffalo or some other team were to successfully roll this into multiple high picks in a year or two, it'd be very interesting to see it starts trend of sorts.

 

(Again no way I see it, but 3 days to kill. Interesting thought)

3 hours ago, Rico said:

Sheer insanity to burn #1 overall pick on a HMLP DE. I call it the Patulski Syndrome.

Hmlp?

Edited April 25, 2022 by BillsShredder83

[Rico]

7 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Very interesting! I can't see it, but if Buffalo felt confident enough to pull the trigger on it, I'd be pretty excited.

 

Huge if here... but IFFF Buffalo or some other team were to successfully roll this into multiple high picks in a year or two, it'd be very interesting to see it starts trend of sorts.

 

(Again no way I see it, but 3 days to kill. Interesting thought)

Hmlp?

High Motor Lunch Pailer

[BillsShredder83]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

Tough to decipher if this is smoke.

We run a tight ship and not much leaks anymore. Then again last year there was tons of smoke around a very similar back in Etienne. I personally don't feel like it's the best use of resources, but, it's def a sexy pick, and if we pull the trigger I trust our FO enough to be very excited about it.

Unlike every 1st rd rb we've taken, I know it would be calculated, and they'd have a helluva plan for him.... not a rush Brandon sell some tix move. Excited to see what we do, no matter what I'll be pretty damn excited 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

4 hours ago, Warcodered said:

sounds like a medical info dump.

Sounds like false flag BS. 

 

Make a player drop a few places or rounds 

 

[John from Riverside]

This close to the draft I dont buy a lot of this

 

Hopefully bills scouts are going to go with their evaluations BEFORE the week of the draft and now allow this stuff to creep in.

 

This is not to say that its not ture....but the knock on Elam for example has always been that his tackling is sub par...that is not a new thing.

[glazeduck]

16 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Very interesting! I can't see it, but if Buffalo felt confident enough to pull the trigger on it, I'd be pretty excited.

 

Huge if here... but IFFF Buffalo or some other team were to successfully roll this into multiple high picks in a year or two, it'd be very interesting to see it starts trend of sorts.

 

(Again no way I see it, but 3 days to kill. Interesting thought)

Oh yeah... with a SB window you'd have to just HATE the way the board fell out and not have any reasonable offers to do something like that. The fun part, though, is he's such a high ceiling guy that if we really could develop him with Josh keeping us in the hunt, that could yield a massive return. But again, you'd have to be crazy to do that lol

[BillsfaninSB]

Like previous drafts, I predict nothing out of the ordinary will happen.  Including the Raiders reaching. 

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

Two years in a row we've been connected to a speedy RB at the end of the 1st round. It almost feels intentional. The Jameson Williams love I could believe more. Beane will not be shy about trading up for him if he thinks he's a superstar.

 

If we really want Breece Hall I hope we plan to trade down with Seattle first. I can't get excited about him as our 1st rounder.

 

Sometimes the best lessons you can learn are from incompetent bosses.

 

I will believe Beane learned nothing from observing Dave Gettlenutz antiquated ways and uses a 1st round chip on a runnin'bak when I see it.

[Logic]

"Sounds like a smokescreen to me" is often draft-season-speak for "I don't like the rumor I'm hearing".

Yes, sometimes this stuff IS a smokescreen. Sometimes it's not. Very often, the more arduously one dislikes a given rumor, the more vehemently they will insist it's a smokescreen.

I wonder, for instance: If the rumor was that the Bills planned to stay put and take the best corner available, or, say, that they really like Andrew Booth...would people insist THAT'S a smokescreen, too? (Cue insistent "yes!" defenses here).

Draft season is too long. By the Monday of draft week, the arguments and counter arguments have all been made. The hay is in the barn. All that's left is kookiness.

Let it be Thursday night already...

[Floydboy12]

4 hours ago, filthymcnasty08 said:

Elam can't tackle....no way Beane makes him a Bill.  

I’m in SEC country. Elam would be a mistake IMO. Has always played soft. McCreary has been a much better player in college. That dudes a bulldog. 

[OldTimer1960]

5 hours ago, gonzo1105 said:

 

 

Ross almost quit football because of injuries. Elam to me is a 2nd round prospect and more of a mid 2nd rounder than high 2nd rounder. His tape is inconsistent. If you watch him Jameson Williams tape you'd think he was the best DB in the draft but he doesn't tackle, he's inconsistent in coverage and doesn't track the ball well. 

 

 

I’m not a qualified scout, but I watched 2 full games of him and his lack of desire to tackle was stark.  I think his coverage was good and he showed effort there.  I think that the Bills prioritize tackling for DBs almost as much as coverage ability, so I don’t see Elam as a good fit here.  If he were available at 57, they might consider him, but they might rather take a smaller school guy who needs development, but is a willing tackler.

[Floydboy12]

I read the Breece Hall rumors and it worries me to use a first round pick on a RB. But I also watch his film and think, “ this dude might be Eric Dickerson”. For a team so close to a championship he might just be the piece. 

[mannc]

2 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 Chris simms also insisted the niners were taking Mac Jones last year 

He also mocked Greg Rousseau to the Bills...

[OldTimer1960]

4 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

 

As for the draft rumours I have heard in the last week from reasonably credible people:

 

1. Kenny Pickett will be the only Quarterback taken in round 1.

2. Kyler Gordon will be the first Washington corner off the board.

3. Tyler Linderbaum will not go day 1. 

 

 

Gordon over Elam from Florida all day.  McDuffie certainly more hyped, but Gordon has the size that McDuffie doesn’t and Gordon is also a very good athlete (almost 40” vert).  In my opinion, his 4.52 forty is not a disqualification.

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Hmm. But I actually think they did have Etienne very high last year. He himself said after the draft he thought he was going to Buffalo and then just last week Beane said "we have had running backs graded there [in the first round] in the past it just hasn't worked out." 

 

I am not saying they definitely would have picked him. I do think they loved Greg too. But I think it was possible this time last year to zero in on those two guys for the Bills. Let's say Jacksonville take Rousseau and the rest of the board falls the same.... I am convinced the Bills would have picked Etienne. 

 

 

I'm sure that RB's can be tempting.........that's what low hanging fruit does.......but actually pulling the trigger when you know it's probably going to make you look stupid in a few years is another matter.    

 

Common sense has to reign.  

 

Most hilarious example of a Bills GM not being willing to pull that trigger on a RB was John Butler in 1996 when he declared he would be "dancing and wiggling'" if Texas A&M star RB Leeland McElroy surprisingly fell to the Bills pick.

 

McElroy did fall to the Bills pick.   

 

Butler instead chose the less high profile WR Eric Moulds.

 

McElroy went a few picks later and was a bust.

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Nothing you said there disagrees with what I said. 

 

I think Greg probably was the guy in event of a tie because of positional value. What I said was keep everything else the same and swap the Jags pick from Etienne to Rousseau and I am convinced in that scenario the Bills take Etienne. 

 

As for what they show in Embedded.... I mean you have to remember that is state sponsored propoganda. They no doubt have lots of conversations about different guys in the draft room. They aren't going to show the ones who end up somewhere else. They are gonna pump up the guys they pick. 

I actually completely miss read your original post thinking you said they would have taken Etienne over Greg.  That was my mistake because of reading it while I was walking my dog and sun made screen a little dark.  
 

And I work in media, so totally get the editing to show what they want to show.  But they were considering moving up for Greg and found it too costly, so I still think he was their primary target based on what they expected to happen going into the draft. 

[Milanos Milano]

If you all thought Hall was ratchet, just wait until the summer when they let him out the house. Going to be epic DAMAGE. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by IronMaidenBills

[OldTimer1960]

25 minutes ago, Floydboy12 said:

I read the Breece Hall rumors and it worries me to use a first round pick on a RB. But I also watch his film and think, “ this dude might be Eric Dickerson”. For a team so close to a championship he might just be the piece. 

Pretty exclusive company in Dickerson.  I think Breece Hall is a good 3 down RB prospect and probably not a big reach if he goes in the bottom quarter of round 1.  That being said, he doesn’t strike me as really special, just good - I could be wrong on that, but that’s what my untrained eye thinks it sees.  I’d rather have a good player at another important position than a good RB who might get 15 carries a game.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/kay-adams-leaves-nfl-network-reportedly-eyes-top-studio-job-at-amazon-220923549.html
 

A familiar face is leaving NFL Network with her eyes set on one of the top openings in NFL broadcasting.

 

"Good Morning Football” co-host Kay Adams has worked her last day with the show and is a candidate to host Amazon's upcoming "Thursday Night Football" pregame show, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports.
 

[BarleyNY]

The Steelers have been enamored with Malik Willis for months.  It’s as well kept a secret as their fawning over Najee Harris was.  Expect them to move up to get Willis unless he goes earlier than they can climb. 

[GunnerBill]

Just now, BarleyNY said:

The Steelers have been enamored with Malik Willis for months.  It’s as well kept a secret as their fawning over Najee Harris was.  Expect them to move up to get Willis unless he goes earlier than they can climb. 

 

I believe this too. They have been briefing to any reporter who will listen for the last two weeks that Pickett is their guy. Which tells me they want Malik 😂

 

As I said above the person who told me he believes Pickett will be the only round 1 QB is well connected and to a team that does not need a QB but still the chances of him really knowing what 31 other GMs think... that is slim.

[BarleyNY]

4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I believe this too. They have been briefing to any reporter who will listen for the last two weeks that Pickett is their guy. Which tells me they want Malik 😂

 

As I said above the person who told me he believes Pickett will be the only round 1 QB is well connected and to a team that does not need a QB but still the chances of him really knowing what 31 other GMs think... that is slim.

I don’t think a single QB in this class deserves to be a round 1 pick, but at least Willis has some possible upside.  Ridder would be the only other QB in the class with that IMO. 

[FLFan]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I'm sure that RB's can be tempting.........that's what low hanging fruit does.......but actually pulling the trigger when you know it's probably going to make you look stupid in a few years is another matter.    

 

Common sense has to reign.  

 

Most hilarious example of a Bills GM not being willing to pull that trigger on a RB was John Butler in 1996 when he declared he would be "dancing and wiggling'" if Texas A&M star RB Leeland McElroy surprisingly fell to the Bills pick.

 

McElroy did fall to the Bills pick.   

 

Butler instead chose the less high profile WR Eric Moulds.

 

McElroy went a few picks later and was a bust.

If they pick RB at 25, the next announcement may be that they have hired Marv Levy as an offensive consultant.  I am choosing to believe at this point that the Bills will not be so foolish as to pick a running back in the first round.

[CNYfan]

Have we given up on Booth?

[Milanos Milano]

1 minute ago, ScottLaw said:

Gross…. Something tells me McD wants to run the ball more. 

 

No, we want to run more effectively and more disguised. Having a runner like Hall opens up so many possibilities. 

[Milanos Milano]

1 minute ago, ScottLaw said:

Well… you have several competent sources suggesting they are interested….. I’d be somewhat surprised…. I mean the team that’s beat them twice the past two years are a PRIME example of what a meh move(much more often than not)it is to take a RB in the first round. 

It’s all about taking the RIGHT rb in the first. EH is slow, and Hall is much faster and can catch supremely well. It’s about getting a player than can tie it all together and keep defenses guessing. 

[Milanos Milano]

2 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

I’m skeptical… McD still seems to revert to some ball control offense and stingy defense when the game gets tight…

Either way, Hall is a good candidate. He can run and catch. We can disguise personnel with it, and even if we don’t, there is no way teams can play 8 in the box against a team like Allen. I honestly feel bad for other teams defense if we draft Hall and pick up a few o linemen. 

[Shake_My_Head]

Seattle is rumored to want a QB at the end of round one.  Trading picks 25 and 57 to the Seahawks for picks 40, 41 and 109 (per the Jimmy Johnson point system) is something I'd like to see Beane pull off. 

 

The Bills could then go RB (Hall or Walker), DB (Cine, Gordon or Cross), WR (Burks, Dotson, Metchie) or BPA with players that would surely help a lot this year and beyond.

 

 

[Philo]

Can this not turn into another Breece Hall thread, please?

[Putin]

15 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

If the Bills take Hall, it’s more McD than Beane IMO. 

I don’t think McD will take a RB at 25 when there’s so many good defensive players are still on the board