Rd 3, Pick 89 (25): LB Terrell Bernard, Baylor

[NewEra]

1 minute ago, Magox said:

16.5 career sacks, including 7.5 this past season.   That’s a really high number for an off-the-ball LB.   
 

So he is very athletic, good in coverage, tackling machine, downhill defender who is an extremely effective blitzer that happens to be a team leader.

 

Yeah, I’m thinking he will see some playing time.

I don’t know about this season, but I could him becoming an off ball LB similar to Milano.  

 

Eager to listen to his Pc.  And Cooks 🤣 

 

 

[GolfandBills]

1 hour ago, sirebors said:

 

You have no idea who this player is, absolutely no knowledge of him, and you hated the pick? Curious... 

but his big board he he got from a website said it was a round too early 

12 minutes ago, Magox said:

16.5 career sacks, including 7.5 this past season.   That’s a really high number for an off-the-ball LB.   
 

So he is very athletic, good in coverage, tackling machine, downhill defender who is an extremely effective blitzer that happens to be a team leader.

 

Yeah, I’m thinking he will see some playing time.

I think he’ll play a lot of third down.  They’ll blitz him a good bit I’m sure and he can cover.  Nice piece to have 

[Buffarukus]

head scratcher simply because i think they really like his effort and locker room leadership but i dont think you pick a guy that has no shot to compete for a start this early. hes slated to be in a role you just extended a very good starter? so a STmer that may replace milano way down the road or maybe milano at mlb if Edmunds leaves?

 

we have had issues with titans, ne, Indianapolis, 

 

big physical run teams, just as much as a fast twitch kc team.

 

a cb that has tackling issues and a undersized lb has me worried we may be leaning to far in the speed direction. glad the dl looks to be much better so maybe thats the reason. or maybe they have a exotic nickel type package or two so the kid has at least a chance to get on the field.

 

[purple haze]

4 hours ago, Ross Murdock said:

Even Kiper couldn't really find anything good to say. Likes his height. I guess this another "Trust Beans" pick? I guess he can always work contraction on the new stadium. This guy wasn't even listed in ANY of the "Best remaining" LB's on the ESPN website. His name isn't mentioned anywhere.    

His name was mentioned in the draft war room at OBD.  Nobody else matters.

[Motor26]

42 minutes ago, Buffarukus said:

head scratcher simply because i think they really like his effort and locker room leadership but i dont think you pick a guy that has no shot to compete for a start this early. hes slated to be in a role you just extended a very good starter? so a STmer that may replace milano way down the road or maybe milano at mlb if Edmunds leaves?

 

we have had issues with titans, ne, Indianapolis, 

 

big physical run teams, just as much as a fast twitch kc team.

 

a cb that has tackling issues and a undersized lb has me worried we may be leaning to far in the speed direction. glad the dl looks to be much better so maybe thats the reason. or maybe they have a exotic nickel type package or two so the kid has at least a chance to get on the field.

 

He should assume the Klein role, with better coverage skills for when they go 4-3. I know they prefer base nickel but it will be a nice option to have if his coverage skills translate to the NFL.

[John from Riverside]

I will find it hilarious if three years from now this ends up being the best pic that we took so many people complaining about it

[machine gun kelly]

He’s not big enough to takeover Edmunds role so must be a depth pick.  Kind of surprised as there were still WR’s there in the third.

[newcam2012]

4 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

So according to you, bringing in Saffold equals "no infusion of talent"? 

 

And you feel you now have enough information at the end of the 3rd to know they're not going to infuse any talent to the OL in the draft or FA?

 

Yeah, those are both wrong.

 

There's certainly room for frustration here - I'd rather have had Parham myself - but that take is just wrong.

Parham was a by far better pick. The Raiders ran to the podium with the very next pick and selected him. They should at least give Beane a little present for that gift. Instead, the may have a solid 3rd round special teamer. Does it really matter when they kick the ball in the end zone? 

5 hours ago, Warcodered said:

It is kind of hilarious, there have been so many people on here begging for the Bills to get a LB, Bean Drafts one and suddenly it's "Not that one!"

Really? If the Bills selected Rosen instead of Allen would your theme still correct? Flawed thinking Warcodered...

[Inigo Montoya]

Sorry if already posted, here's Rotoworld's blurb on Terrell Bernard;

 

"Bernard (6’1/218) was a three-year starter at Baylor who garnered all-Big 12 honors in 2021. An undersized whirling dervish on the field, Bernard runs like a safety and hits like a linebacker. He blazed a 4.59 forty during the pre-draft process with 79th-percentile or better showings in the vertical and broad jumps, three cone, and short shuttle. On the field, he’s a fabulous sideline-to-sideline run defender who isn’t intimidated by oncoming blockers, but while Bernard has the athleticism for coverage, to this point in his career he’s lacked the instincts for the work. He has similar measurables and a similar game to Deion Jones, albeit with heightened durability concerns."

 

https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/football/nfl/player/67816/terrel-bernard

[newcam2012]

3 hours ago, Magox said:

16.5 career sacks, including 7.5 this past season.   That’s a really high number for an off-the-ball LB.   
 

So he is very athletic, good in coverage, tackling machine, downhill defender who is an extremely effective blitzer that happens to be a team leader.

 

Yeah, I’m thinking he will see some playing time.

He is a tweener. The NFL is a whole different animal then the Big 12. Literally, this guy was not on anyone's radar. Beane is on his own island here. 

[Ayjent]

Seems like a very specific fit that they want in certain passing down packages.  I don't hate this pick, even though I don't know much about him.  I still don't know why the Bills aren't trying to get more physical on both sides of the ball.  The picks are all fine, but seems like they probably had a WR that they were hoping to get and then there was a run on them right before they picked.  I'm still scratching my head about letting Jermaine Johnson go - I thought for sure that was why they moved up.  Miller, Rousseau, Johnson, Hughes - that would have been an impressive rotation of DEs.

[newcam2012]

3 hours ago, Buffarukus said:

head scratcher simply because i think they really like his effort and locker room leadership but i dont think you pick a guy that has no shot to compete for a start this early. hes slated to be in a role you just extended a very good starter? so a STmer that may replace milano way down the road or maybe milano at mlb if Edmunds leaves?

 

we have had issues with titans, ne, Indianapolis, 

 

big physical run teams, just as much as a fast twitch kc team.

 

a cb that has tackling issues and a undersized lb has me worried we may be leaning to far in the speed direction. glad the dl looks to be much better so maybe thats the reason. or maybe they have a exotic nickel type package or two so the kid has at least a chance to get on the field.

 

Nice post and the concerns you state are legitimate. 

3 hours ago, purple haze said:

His name was mentioned in the draft war room at OBD.  Nobody else matters.

Oh ok that makes everything fine and dandy then. Thanks!

2 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I will find it hilarious if three years from now this ends up being the best pic that we took so many people complaining about it

Not likely. 

[GolfandBills]

16 minutes ago, newcam2012 said:

Parham was a by far better pick. The Raiders ran to the podium with the very next pick and selected him. They should at least give Beane a little present for that gift. Instead, the may have a solid 3rd round special teamer. Does it really matter when they kick the ball in the end zone? 

Really? 

How do you know Parham will be a better pick?  Can you see into the future?  Please enlighten us

[atlbillsfan1975]

2 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I will find it hilarious if three years from now this ends up being the best pic that we took so many people complaining about it

That is usually what happens

[YoloinOhio]

Love his scouting reports. seems like a great chess piece for McDermott 
https://www.profootballnetwork.com/terrel-bernard-baylor-lb-nfl-draft-scouting-report-2022/

 

https://thedraftnetwork.com/player/terrel-bernard/1QB6Cpy1tF

[HOUSE]

 

 

2021 (Senior) First-Team All-Big 12 (AP & Conference) ... Dave Campbell's Texas Football Best Linebacker ... DCTFB All-Texas First Team ... Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Semifinalist ... Reese's Senior Bowl All-American ... Bednarik Award Watch List ... Butkus Award Watch list ... Nagurski Award Watch List ... Senior Bowl Watch List ... Preseason All-Big 12 selection by five publications (Athlon, Street & Smith’s, Lindy’s, Media, Phil Steele) ... Senior captain ... Started all 13 of Baylor's 14 games ... Named the Most Valuable player of the Sugar Bowl after a record-tying 20-tackle, two-sack game against Ole Miss ... Named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week following nine-tackle, two-sack game vs. OU (11/15) ... Fifth in the Big 12 in total tackles (106) ...  Led the team in tackles in nine of his 13 games played ... Tallied nine tackles, one sack and 0.5 tackles for loss in a BU win over Texas State in the season opener (9/4) ... Had seven tackles against Texas Southern (9/11) ... Recorded three solo tackles in Baylor's Big 12 opener against Kansas (9/18) ... Had two tackles before suffering an injury against Iowa State (9/25) ... Missed the Oklahoma State game with an Injury (10/2) ... Returned to action with nine tackles and a sack against West Virginia (10/9) ... Tallied five tackles and a sack against BYU (10/16) ... Recorded seven tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and a season-high two quarterback hurries against Texas (10/30) ... Made 11 tackles including a tackle for loss against TCU (11/06) ... Earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the week honors after a nine-tackle, two-sack performance against Oklahoma (11/13) ... Recorded six tackles including one for a loss against Kansas State (11/20) ... Tallied eight tackles, two for loss and a pass breakup in BU's regular season season finale against Texas Tech (11/27) ... Finished with 10 tackles and 0.5 sacks in the Big 12 Championship game (12/4) ... Tied a Sugar Bowl record with 20 tackles to go along with a pair of sacks ... Became the first defensive player to win Sugar Bowl MVP honors since 2008.

 

https://baylorbears.com/sports/football/roster/terrel-bernard/10462

[Ayjent]

At some point they have to get some guys on the OL to make sure they get better.  I know Kromer is a better coach than they've had under McD, but Morse is going to retire soon and the OL was a big issue last year.

[GolfandBills]

7 hours ago, Norcalbillsfan said:

Joe marino is not having it at all. HATES the pick lol

Joe Marino who I like and respect his opinion also said Isiah Spiller is RB1.  

[Inigo Montoya]

When it comes to this pick I believe three things;

 

1.   I'll place my trust in Beane, McDermott, and Frazier when it comes to evaluating defensive talent.  I'm sure the organization as a whole has spent 100+ hours looking at this guy and decided he was a fit for their defense.   I trust their considered judgement more than than the opinions of posters  on TBD who have spent a total of 11 minutes "researching"  Terrell Bernard on the internet prior to expounding on the pick.

 

2.  As we have all seen time and time again, making grand pronouncements about a player on draft night is absolutely useless.  Anyone who says they know how a player is going to turn out 8 hours into their NFL career is nuts.  

 

3.  Having said all that, this is a fan message board and I do enjoy reading everyone's opinion and it's fun to throw my own out there too, for what it's worth.  Let's hope he's another Matt Milano.  It looks to me like that's the type of player they were looking for with this pick.

 

🍻

[HOUSE]

I don't remember any Terrel Brandon Please threads

[nucci]

1 minute ago, Inigo Montoya said:

When it comes to this pick I believe three things;

 

1.   I'll place my trust in Beane, McDermott, and Frazier when it comes to evaluating defensive talent.  I'm sure the organization as a whole has spent 100+ hours looking at this guy and decided he was a fit for their defense.   I trust their considered judgement more than than the opinions of posters  on TBD who have spent a total of 11 minutes "researching"  Terrell Bernard on the internet prior to expounding on the pick.

 

2.  As we have all seen time and time again, making grand pronouncements about a player on draft night is absolutely useless.  Anyone who says they know how a player is going to turn out 8 hours into their NFL career is nuts.  

 

3.  Having said all that, this is a fan message board and I do enjoy reading everyone's opinion and it's fun to throw my own out there too, for what it's worth.  Let's hope he's another Matt Milano.  It looks to me like that's the type of player they were looking for with this pick.

 

🍻

Inigo, always a voice of reason...let me splain...no there is too much , let me sum up

[OldTimer1960]

I was on-board with the Elam pick.  In the 2nd, I can understand taking Cook, but he is really a part-time “specialist” role and the 2nd seems high for that.  The Bernard pick is baffling - a special teams player and maybe sub-package coverage LB?  
 

I think they might be outsmarting themselves trying to fill very specific roles with guys who are too undersized to really be full-time players.

[atlbillsfan1975]

17 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Love his scouting reports. seems like a great chess piece for McDermott 
https://www.profootballnetwork.com/terrel-bernard-baylor-lb-nfl-draft-scouting-report-2022/

 

https://thedraftnetwork.com/player/terrel-bernard/1QB6Cpy1tF

Couple of thoughts come to mind as I read those reports and watch film. 
Can he transition to that strong safety role? Seems like what he does well would only increase from playing off the ball more. 
I listen to Joe Marino of LockedOn Bills religiously and wonder if maybe he was on to something regarding personnel and stoping the run for 2022. Seems to me Bernard is one of those guys who has a great deal of flexibility and doesn’t tip the D’s hand at what scheme they are running. 

[nucci]

8 hours ago, buffblue said:

Won't lie, this is a very disappointing draft so far. It seems the attitude is "We have Josh Allen, so who needs playmakers on offense. And while we're at it, let's draft a 5th rounder in the 3rd."

 

Are we becoming the Packers of the AFC?

we drafted a RB in 2nd round

[LabattBlue]

When the NFLN was showing a replay of the Bills war room for the reaction to Brandt, there didn’t seem to be much of a reaction or laughing except for Beane smiling.  Result of a pick that most of the room was unhappy with?

[YoloinOhio]

8 hours ago, UKBillFan said:

Thank goodness we haven't got a fourth round pick if this is the standard we're picking at three. Reports aren't great at the level we've chosen him at and that's putting it mildly. Did we panic after Tolbert was taken and just stick a pin in a list?

Nfln showed the Bills war film during the Kyle Brandt announcement and they looked pretty calm to me.

[gonzo1105]

12 minutes ago, nucci said:

So after you and your scouting staff watched him play live and spoke to his coaches and teammates along with watching film, you had him going in 6th round?

 

Yup you got it. Again, I know certain people in the scouting community, actual scouts not journalists. I know a scout for the Jets, the Texans, and Bears. I ask their opinions from time to time. Last year , I asked one of them about Melifonwu since most people on here loved him. I was told 3rd to 4th round is likely due to his inconsistency when most people were slotting him at the Bills 1st rounder. I don’t ask them a lot but they will drop me nuggets here and there and if I’m completely missing something I’ll ask. I worked directly with all 3 when I worked as a college recruiter who sat in on weekly recruiting scouting meetings on HS players.

 

What it does allow me to do is try to scout like one. Do I make a lot of mistakes of course but I have a lot more insight on things than the vast majority on here. For the last week I was touting Danny Gray from SMU, most didn’t even know who he was and I told people to watch out for him as a pick much higher and he went 3rd last night. 

 

 

[Simon Says]

8 hours ago, BillsFan130 said:

Calvin Austin still there, was hoping for him.

 

 

Would Austin be redundant after drafting Cook?

[Ayjent]

9 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said:

I was on-board with the Elam pick.  In the 2nd, I can understand taking Cook, but he is really a part-time “specialist” role and the 2nd seems high for that.  The Bernard pick is baffling - a special teams player and maybe sub-package coverage LB?  
 

I think they might be outsmarting themselves trying to fill very specific roles with guys who are too undersized to really be full-time players.

I think they see Bernard as a guy they can run as the 3rd linebacker and as a third down specialist who they can blitz, have cover, or spy.  I think he gets plenty of snaps if he picks up the scheme.  He seems like a guy that fits what the Bills' philosophy on D is. 

 

Cook is an interesting pick and might be a better all around back than Singletary or Moss.  Definitely a better receiver.  I don't think they are going to resign Singletary or Moss to second contracts.  I liked Damien Pierce a lot better than Cook, but Cook was the feature back for the National Champions and is a little shiftier and more fluid in the passing game than Pierce.  I just liked the physicality of Pierce because I think its wise to get someone to take the tough yardage carries so Josh doesn't take a beating in those situations.

[Simon Says]

8 hours ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

Well this pick should help calm speculation of what the Bills are going to do with Edmunds.

Why? Not exactly the same type of LB. Think of him as a big nickel or OLB depth, replacement for Klein. I don't see this selection as determining Edmunds' fate, how do you figure?

[YoloinOhio]

2 minutes ago, Georgie said:

Would Austin be redundant after drafting Cook?

I don’t think there is much playing time available for another WR. Between oj Howard and James cook that sucks up targets that were available last year for WR. They will probably take one today though.

[atlbillsfan1975]

5 minutes ago, Georgie said:

Why? Not exactly the same type of LB. Think of him as a big nickel or OLB depth, replacement for Klein. I don't see this selection as determining Edmunds' fate, how do you figure?

I was kidding…

[nucci]

13 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

 

Yup you got it. Again, I know certain people in the scouting community, actual scouts not journalists. I know a scout for the Jets, the Texans, and Bears. I ask their opinions from time to time. Last year , I asked one of them about Melifonwu since most people on here loved him. I was told 3rd to 4th round is likely due to his inconsistency when most people were slotting him at the Bills 1st rounder. I don’t ask them a lot but they will drop me nuggets here and there and if I’m completely missing something I’ll ask. I worked directly with all 3 when I worked as a college recruiter who sat in on weekly recruiting scouting meetings on HS players.

 

What it does allow me to do is try to scout like one. Do I make a lot of mistakes of course but I have a lot more insight on things than the vast majority on here. For the last week I was touting Danny Gray from SMU, most didn’t even know who he was and I told people to watch out for him as a pick much higher and he went 3rd last night. 

 

 

ok, sorry for my snarky comment

[OldTimer1960]

5 minutes ago, Ayjent said:

I think they see Bernard as a guy they can run as the 3rd linebacker and as a third down specialist who they can blitz, have cover, or spy.  I think he gets plenty of snaps if he picks up the scheme.  He seems like a guy that fits what the Bills' philosophy on D is. 

 

Cook is an interesting pick and might be a better all around back than Singletary or Moss.  Definitely a better receiver.  I don't think they are going to resign Singletary or Moss to second contracts.  I liked Damien Pierce a lot better than Cook, but Cook was the feature back for the National Champions and is a little shiftier and more fluid in the passing game than Pierce.  I just liked the physicality of Pierce because I think its wise to get someone to take the tough yardage carries so Josh doesn't take a beating in those situations.

I get the Cook pick - I can see where he can be of value and he’ll get touches.  Bernard seems like someone that has no chance ever to compete for a full-time position on defense.  I know that finding starters late in the 3rd is very iffy, but this seems like he was drafted to be a special teamer and role player only.

[LabattBlue]

Were there any reports of this guy even being an early day 3 pick, let alone day 2?  

[Mopreme]

Just now, nucci said:

Why is he considered undersized but Milano is not?

Milano was from Boston College, he gets a pass and was also picked in 6th round where this guy should have been picked too. 

[stevewin]

6 hours ago, folz said:

The way I am seeing this draft is, as this regime has said in the past, "We are building a team, not collecting talent." I think all 3 of these guys fill in to what the team needs (see below).

 

Also, McBeane always looks at what went wrong last year and tries to fix that, as well as keeping up with the Jones'.

 

Well first things first, we have to look at Kansas City and the 13 seconds, and then the upsurging AFC (Bengals, Chargers, Broncos, Raiders, etc.). We are going to face a lot of great QBs over the next couple of years. And where were we weak last year? Defensive speed (particularly over the middle of the field) against fast teams (WRs/TEs), with good QBs.

 

Elam should be an upgrade to Levi and is much faster. And instead of eliminating just one weapon on Tre Island, hopefully (eventually), we can have two shutdown corners, making it tough on two pass catchers. They can play more man and not have to compensate for anyone (Levi or Dane).

 

And this pick (LB Terrell Bernard Pick 89) may look bad because most draft experts will say, "eh he's a tweener" and not rate him as high, knowing that some teams will not want/pick a tweener because of their defensive system. But, as Milano has shown, that type of player fits perfectly in our system. So it might not be a great pick here for another team, but it may be for Buffalo. And as good as Milano is, he has been oft injured and the defense usually takes a big hit/drop when he is out. So, first off, Bernard is insurance for a Milano injury, that our coverage doesn't suffer if he is out.

 

But also, remember when Klein first got some starts and he looked awful? That's because best case scenario, they needed him to be able to cover. But that wasn't his skillset, so they had to adapt things. They don't have to adapt with Bernard. In certain situations against certain teams, they could go with 3 LBs and two of them (Milano and Bernard) are fast and can cover. Does the 13 seconds happen last year if you swap in Elam for Levi and Bernard for Klein? Maybe not...plus we got Von now too! I feel like they are addressing a serious weakness that they saw.

 

And finally with Cook, we now have a legit hr threat (speed-wise) in and coming out of the backfield. This was obviously an area they wanted to upgrade as seen by the attempt at signing McKissic and then adding Duke.

 

I don't know enough about these individual players (I don't watch a lot of college ball) to know if they will all reach the potential the Bills see in them. But the picks do seem to make sense to me when you match up the player's traits and our needs (where the team felt that they needed to get better). And there is nothing wrong with adding speed, speed, and more speed.

 

As for WR, I didn't see that as a big of a need as others to start with, we have a lot of pass catchers (Diggs, Davis, Crowder, McKenzie, Knox, Howard, Kumerow, Singletary) and they just added Cook to the mix who will not only be great for screens and dump offs, but the guy can also line up wide and go deep. I'm not saying they'll use him like that all the time, but maybe enough to keep defenses honest (people said we needed a speed WR to take the top off the defense...maybe between Cook and McKenzie, we have that covered). I mean, how much playing time would a rookie receiver have gotten next year anyhow with our depth chart? I'm really not concerned with Josh not having enough weapons. Look at last year's playoffs...and essentially all we did was swap Crowder for Beasley and added Howard and Cook. To me Sanders is a wash, because he was just taking reps away from Gabe.

 

Just trying to see the rationale to the picks. Go Bills!

I agree with everything here.  Especially the desperation of so many to draft a wr, I don't understand.  We've replaced Beasley with Crowder which is realistically an upgrade - and added Cook as another receiving option/weapon.  Not to mention Davis' surging as legit  (maybe elite) wr talent.  We are probably better off in the receiving game than last year - were people gnashing and screaming last year that our receiving game sucked?

 

Also, I think when you have a full quality well constructed roster the BPA stuff is BS.  That is when you can look at targeted ways to improve certain aspects of your team - even subtly, even if they weren't necessarily 'bad before. 

 

Specific to this player maybe if they had the 4th they would have waited, or maybe they knew other teams were interested (McD knowing the coach so well)  In the end they take a guy they prob have a plan for integrating into their defense to make it better, earlier than media draft boards say but they don't gaf about that

Edited April 30, 2022 by stevewin

[george c]

Potential safety. 

[Juice_32]

7 hours ago, julian said:

After Elam and Cook, there’s no other positions where a draft pick will come in and make any meaningful impact this season.

 

 This might be the deepest roster in the league and Bills are picking late every round, this kid along with the remaining picks are being obtained with traits and grooming in mind.

This is exactly right. For better or worse we were going to come out of this with a CB and an offensive playmaker. They may have wanted one at WR but the board didn’t fall that way so we took an explosive pass catching RB instead.

 

Unless they took the punter, everything after those 2 was going to be depth/grooming guys no matter what, so go with raw traits and see how it plays out.

[CSBill]

8 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

Could be safety

 

 

 

I agree, I think they see him as a hybrid player who could eventually replace Poyer or Hyde in a strong safety type of role.