Rd 6 pick 185 (6): CB Christian Benford, Villanova

[Jauronimo]

On 8/2/2022 at 8:25 PM, John from Riverside said:

This is how you biuld long term sustained success

Drafting guys late and grooming them

 

Dane Jackson

Benford

Hamlin

 

The Buffalo Bills are a professional organization and not some sleazy Subway sandwich shop.  

 

They are developing players NOT grooming them.  

[Fan in Chicago]

17 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

The Buffalo Bills are a professional organization and not some sleazy Subway sandwich shop.  

 

They are developing players NOT grooming them.  

They aren't a photography shop either 😎

[John from Riverside]

1 hour ago, Jauronimo said:

The Buffalo Bills are a professional organization and not some sleazy Subway sandwich shop.  

 

They are developing players NOT grooming them.  

Tomato tomato

[Jauronimo]

28 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

Tomato tomato

I guess I am just uncomfortable with you using the word grooming after the incident.

[That's No Moon]

1 hour ago, Jauronimo said:

I guess I am just uncomfortable with you using the word grooming after the incident.

I'm re-evaluating my dog's trip to the groomer.

[Bill from NYC]

On 8/2/2022 at 8:32 PM, SWATeam said:

You can never have too many corners!

Ever since Marv made that statement, many Bills Fans use that cliche as an excuse to justify poor drafting. 

 

Yes, cornerback is a vital position to fill in this passing league. That said, the most important player on the Bills is Josh Allen. He obviously needs to be protected while he is passing, and holes need to be opened for running backs so Josh isn't forced to run the ball himself. 

 

For decades, the Bills have made the secondary their #1 priority, usually at the cost of blocking. The 2006 draft was the best example of this. In 2008, the Bills passed on Ryan Clady and Brandon Albert to draft Leotis McKelvin.  This year, we actually traded up for a first round corner (Elam) to play in a zone.  Is Elam "good?" Yes, he is very good. I watched him play against Alabama. He is a stud but again, protecting Josh is (or at least should be) the top priority of this team.

 

If this 6th round pick turns out to be a good corner, no poster on this board will be happier than me.  

Edited August 4, 2022 by Bill from NYC

[Ralonzo]

I thought it was KC that traded up to get their corner in front of the Bills, because they thought the Bills wanted their corner (McDuffie).

[Dablitzkrieg]

41 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Ever since Marv made that statement, many Bills Fans use that cliche as an excuse to justify poor drafting. 

 

Yes, cornerback is a vital position to fill in this passing league. That said, the most important player on the Bills is Josh Allen. He obviously needs to be protected while he is passing, and holes need to be opened for running backs so Josh isn't forced to run the ball himself. 

 

For decades, the Bills have made the secondary their #1 priority, usually at the cost of blocking. The 2006 draft was the best example of this. In 2008, the Bills passed on Ryan Clady and Brandon Albert to draft Leotis McKelvin.  This year, we actually traded up for a first round corner (Elam) to play in a zone.  Is Elam "good?" Yes, he is very good. I watched him play against Alabama. He is a stud but again, protecting Josh is (or at least should be) their top priority of this team.

 

If this 6th round pick turns out to be a good corner, no poster on this board will be happier than me.  

McD said that as well

[Simon Says]

Could end up at Safety

[Doc]

Just now, Georgie said:

Could end up at Safety

 

Maybe years down the line.  If he's good at CB, that's where he'll play right now.

[Rochesterfan]

On 8/2/2022 at 8:22 PM, Charles Romes said:

If I were an opposing GM I would be raiding our stash of cornerback practice squad players year after year. 

I hear you, but the guys they draft and look good in this system do not pan out with other teams.  The Bills find guys that fit their system and get lots of help being allowed to be aggressive.

[Not at the table Karlos]

2 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

Ever since Marv made that statement, many Bills Fans use that cliche as an excuse to justify poor drafting. 

 

Yes, cornerback is a vital position to fill in this passing league. That said, the most important player on the Bills is Josh Allen. He obviously needs to be protected while he is passing, and holes need to be opened for running backs so Josh isn't forced to run the ball himself. 

 

For decades, the Bills have made the secondary their #1 priority, usually at the cost of blocking. The 2006 draft was the best example of this. In 2008, the Bills passed on Ryan Clady and Brandon Albert to draft Leotis McKelvin.  This year, we actually traded up for a first round corner (Elam) to play in a zone.  Is Elam "good?" Yes, he is very good. I watched him play against Alabama. He is a stud but again, protecting Josh is (or at least should be) their top priority of this team.

 

If this 6th round pick turns out to be a good corner, no poster on this board will be happier than me.  

 We drafted him because we want to play more press man. 

Edited August 4, 2022 by Not at the table Karlos

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

2 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

Ever since Marv made that statement, many Bills Fans use that cliche as an excuse to justify poor drafting. 

 

Yes, cornerback is a vital position to fill in this passing league. That said, the most important player on the Bills is Josh Allen. He obviously needs to be protected while he is passing, and holes need to be opened for running backs so Josh isn't forced to run the ball himself. 

 

For decades, the Bills have made the secondary their #1 priority, usually at the cost of blocking. The 2006 draft was the best example of this. In 2008, the Bills passed on Ryan Clady and Brandon Albert to draft Leotis McKelvin.  This year, we actually traded up for a first round corner (Elam) to play in a zone.  Is Elam "good?" Yes, he is very good. I watched him play against Alabama. He is a stud but again, protecting Josh is (or at least should be) their top priority of this team.

 

If this 6th round pick turns out to be a good corner, no poster on this board will be happier than me.  

i know this is your pet issue, so I will tread lightly! But I have always tended to agree with the “draft a corner early” strategy. 
 

For many years, almost every single starting corner in the NFL was a first or second round pick. It is a position too where the learning curve isn’t as steep— rookies can come and start right away— and the cost to sign an elite FA corner too high. 
 

I have slightly modified my view because in the last 5 years or so, we have seen more late-round corners have success. I think that is more of a product of the types of defenses team play (lot more 2-high safety and cover 4), where you don’t need to be an elite corner to be a decent starter. 

[Robert Paulson]

1 hour ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

 We drafted him because we want to play more press man. 

beat me to it- especially late in the game against KC

[Fan in Chicago]

4 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

 

Yes, cornerback is a vital position to fill in this passing league. That said, the most important player on the Bills is Josh Allen. He obviously needs to be protected while he is passing, and holes need to be opened for running backs so Josh isn't forced to run the ball himself. 

 

 

If this 6th round pick turns out to be a good corner, no poster on this board will be happier than me.  

OL my single concern for this season, more so than having speed at WR. Allen can make average receivers look good but not if he doesn't have time to pass. I can not even imagine the damage that Allen can do if he has more time back there - he can burn just about any defensive backfield in the NFL using Diggs , Davis , Knox as the  core of pass catching group. 

I strongly feel we have more than adequate talent at every position group except OL. 

[SCBills]

He got a shout out on GMFB... going to be hard to stash him if we keep talking him up like this.

 

Looks like we're going to keep (6) White, Elam, Jackson, Johnson, Neal and Benford on the 53 once everyone is healthy.  

[Robert Paulson]

36 minutes ago, SCBills said:

He got a shout out on GMFB... going to be hard to stash him if we keep talking him up like this.

 

Looks like we're going to keep (6) White, Elam, Jackson, Johnson, Neal and Benford on the 53 once everyone is healthy.  

i like your list, hopefully Griffin and McCloud sneak on to the PS but I could see one/both getting picked up. I would rather "IR" one or both of them then expose them

[hondo in seattle]

5 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

i know this is your pet issue, so I will tread lightly! But I have always tended to agree with the “draft a corner early” strategy. 
 

For many years, almost every single starting corner in the NFL was a first or second round pick. It is a position too where the learning curve isn’t as steep— rookies can come and start right away— and the cost to sign an elite FA corner too high. 
 

I have slightly modified my view because in the last 5 years or so, we have seen more late-round corners have success. I think that is more of a product of the types of defenses team play (lot more 2-high safety and cover 4), where you don’t need to be an elite corner to be a decent starter. 

 

When the Bills line up, we typically see two interior linemen, two edge rushes, two LBs, two safeties and THREE CBs.  Beside arguably being the most important position on the defense, it's also the most numerous.  You need to get them in free agency (expensive) or the draft.  So I'm onboard with drafting CBs early and often.

 

As for Benford, I do worry about his speed - or lack of it - in man coverage.  He can be good as a CB in zone.