Michael Silver spent the draft in the Bills' war room. Here is his excellent article.

[MrEpsYtown]

This article is really amazing. I love the bit about Schoen being all gross and sweaty, literally sweating it out in 2018. 

[Old Man]

Contemporary country out of a Bose speaker? Lost all respect for Beane

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 hours ago, Logic said:

Michael Silver, who has spent time with Sports Illustrated, NFL Network, Yahoo Sports, and helped write several books, spent the NFL draft with the Bills. He wrote this piece about Brandon Beane. I think it's excellent and worth your time. It has tidbits of info not only from this draft, but going back to the Josh Allen draft as well. Also some interesting stuff about Zack Moss. Great stuff. 

Brandon Beane's Lasting Formula to build a champion in Buffalo

 

2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

https://www.ballysports.com/national/news/brandon-beane-s-lasting-formula-to-build-a-champion-in-buffalo
 

really good read.

 

Lots of good stuff in there. 

Bean hanging up on Licht during the #7 pick because Licht was asking for both #1s.  Schoen freaking out. Beane waits 90 s then calls back

This is with the guy they want as the Franchise QB in question.  Yeah, Schoen is right, Beane is friendly but he's got that "killer" gene

[Don Otreply]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

Silver is a long time veteran journalist. Well respected. A pro’s pro. He somehow got Beane to open the vault!

This, and there was/is some contractual agreements on what is and is not to be said, that and the Bills likely got to read the article before publication, jmo…

[No_Matter_What]

22 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

Ok so with the Breece Hall tidbit, if Elam was gone and we took Breece, in the second the corners available when we picked were Cam Taylor-Britt and Martin Emerson. So would you rather have:

 

Elam and Cook 

or 

Hall and Taylor-Britt/Emerson

 

I would take Elam and Cook all day every day. JMO. 

You need to include that 4th rounder we gave up for Elam in the equation. That might change things a little.

[Dr. Who]

4 minutes ago, No_Matter_What said:

You need to include that 4th rounder we gave up for Elam in the equation. That might change things a little.

OTOH, Beane claims he would have taken Shakir in the 4th. If true, and you're free to be a skeptic, it's virtually a sixth. (And either way, it would not change it for me.)

[Patrick Duffy]

2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

https://www.ballysports.com/national/news/brandon-beane-s-lasting-formula-to-build-a-champion-in-buffalo
 

really good read.

 

 

Thought this was interesting ⬆️
 

also, they had Allen at #1 and Mayfield at #2

 

Lots of interesting little tidbits from Schoen

 

Well as for the part about if Beane moves up in draft it's because he really loves that player. Something about Elam made Beane feel some kind of way

[Shake_My_Head]

2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

they had Allen at #1 and Mayfield at #2

The BIG question then:  If Allen had gone before pick #7, would Beane have gone with Mayfield?

 

I shudder to think how things subsequently would have unfolded had THAT scenario gone down.

[WhoTom]

1 minute ago, Shake_My_Head said:

The BIG question then:  If Allen had gone before pick #7, would Beane have gone with Mayfield?

 

I shudder to think how things subsequently would have unfolded had THAT scenario gone down.

 

I think the Bills would have done a better job of developing Mayfield than the Browns did. He's not as good as Josh, but he's not bad either. I'm sure Josh is glad that the Browns took Mayfield.

 

 

[davefan66]

47 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Actually the opposite - the two teams typically never discuss the player being targeted

I see what the Broncos did, which we’ve heard before about the Chubb pick.

 

Kinda surprised they don’t tell each other.  I guess the moral of the story is, unless your targeting multiple people, don’t trade the pick.

 

 

9 minutes ago, Shake_My_Head said:

The BIG question then:  If Allen had gone before pick #7, would Beane have gone with Mayfield?

 

I shudder to think how things subsequently would have unfolded had THAT scenario gone down.

Am I missing something?  Baker went first overall and want available.  He would have had whoever wasn’t drafted, Rosen and Lamar.

[Patrick Duffy]

3 minutes ago, Shake_My_Head said:

The BIG question then:  If Allen had gone before pick #7, would Beane have gone with Mayfield?

 

I shudder to think how things subsequently would have unfolded had THAT scenario gone down.

Of course he would have. Along with any other team in need of a QB. If Baker was still on the board at 7th pick any team would have picked him. Remember he was ranked the best QB that year by a lot of ppl. 

 

So no question any team picking at #7 or 8 or whatever needing a QB would have been tripping over everyone to send the pick in if Baker was still available in that scenario

[Doc]

Quote

“I started talking to people at the combine about moving up, and nobody in the top 10 was giving me anything,” said Beane, whose response was to deal tackle Cordy Glenn to the Cincinnati Bengals and swap the No. 21 pick for No. 12 as part of that trade. “Once I got from 21 to 12, now people were like, ‘We can talk.’”

 

Had this discussion some months ago.  I was saying Beane had to move a lot closer to get a chance at 7.

 

[TFBillsfan]

Thanks for posting as I really enjoyed the article. The Bills have so many positives right now and to a man they all know they have a roster to WIN a Super Bowl. The reality is now they have to go out and prove it. No more excuses at this point if they want to move past the 13 second debacle. It’s also incumbent on this coaching staff to learn how to finish!

 

Year one in their playoff under McDermott lost to Jax as they couldn’t get it done.

 

The loss against the Texans was another example. Went far too conservative on 4 & 20 to end up losing. Game should have been over on that play but they were far to conservative on D.

 

Following year went far too conservative against KC in the playoffs and the AZ Hail Mary shouldn’t of ever been in the situation. 

 

Last year the choke against Jax cost a top 2 seed and we all know what occurred in the last 13 seconds against KC.

 

While the roster is super competitive, McDermott and Frazier HAVE TO BE BETTER this year. 
 

Everything is there for them to do it this season!

[No_Matter_What]

30 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

OTOH, Beane claims he would have taken Shakir in the 4th. If true, and you're free to be a skeptic, it's virtually a sixth. (And either way, it would not change it for me.)

You're right about Beane and I am not a skeptic, I have no problem believing he would've taken Shakir in the 4th.

 

And I am completely fine with still wanting Elam+Cook. I would do the same.

 

But unless I am missing something your math is wrong. It is fifth and sixth in such case. We take Hall, Emerson and Shakir, and we still have both picks we used to trade up for Shakir (our original 5th and 6th). 

Edited May 2, 2022 by No_Matter_What

[Dr. Who]

Just now, No_Matter_What said:

You're right about Beane and I am not a skeptic, I have no problem believing he would've taken Shakir in the 4th.

 

And I am completely fine with still wanting Elam+Cook. I would do the same.

 

But unless I am missing something your math is wrong. It is fifth and sixth in such case. We take Hall, Emerson and Shakir, and we still have both picks we used to trade up for Shakir (our original 5th and 6th). 

Yes, that is correct, but then you are playing out hypothetical scenarios with players from the latter rounds which is more work than it is worth, imo.

[cba fan]

47 minutes ago, Shake_My_Head said:

The BIG question then:  If Allen had gone before pick #7, would Beane have gone with Mayfield?

 

I shudder to think how things subsequently would have unfolded had THAT scenario gone down.

No. Because Browns took Mayfield w first pick of draft and were not trading. 🙄😁

Edited May 2, 2022 by cba fan

[947]

I wonder how close the Browns were to taking Allen at #1. I think Josh was being reported as the possible #1 up until a day or 2 before the draft.

[Captain Hindsight]

1 hour ago, ControllerOfPlanetX said:

 

Well..they missed out on Tyrod....then they passed at drafting Allen...

To ultimately get current Josh Allen backup QB, Case Keenum!

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

The nugget in there for me was Josh and Baker were the two QBs on the board.

[Patrick Duffy]

3 minutes ago, 947 said:

I wonder how close the Browns were to taking Allen at #1. I think Josh was being reported as the possible #1 up until a day or 2 before the draft.

I sometimes wonder that too. I didn't believe it was close as the media kinda made it out to be. I think Browns knew all along with no doubt they were taking Baker. 

[TheBrownBear]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

 

Lots of good stuff in there. 

Bean hanging up on Licht during the #7 pick because Licht was asking for both #1s.  Schoen freaking out. Beane waits 90 s then calls back

This is with the guy they want as the Franchise QB in question.  Yeah, Schoen is right, Beane is friendly but he's got that "killer" gene

Balls of steel.  I'd hate to be sitting across from Beane at the poker table.

[Shake_My_Head]

1 hour ago, cba fan said:

No. Because Browns took Mayfield w first pick of draft and were not trading. 🙄😁

Uh.    So, if the Browns had taken Allen first overall...what then?

 

lol.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Shake_My_Head

[WhoTom]

10 minutes ago, Shake_My_Head said:

Uh.    So, if the Browns had taken Allen first overall...what then?

 

Then the Jets take Mayfield and Beane has to decide if any of the remaining QBs are worth the risk.

[Cheektowaga Chad]

So Dorsey raised his prices on the pick because he knew the bills were taking a QB and didn't want to be the guy who took the wrong QB and allowed another team to trade up and take the better QB

 

Now I wonder if the rumors that the browns liked Allen at 1 were to get the bills to show their cards in regards to the potential trade

[Ethan in Cleveland]

5 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

https://www.ballysports.com/national/news/brandon-beane-s-lasting-formula-to-build-a-champion-in-buffalo
 

really good read.

 

 

Thought this was interesting ⬆️
 

also, they had Allen at #1 and Mayfield at #2

 

Lots of interesting little tidbits from Schoen

 

I had Allen, Rosen, Mayfield, then Darnold.  I liked Lamar better than most and still do, but I still had him fifth.  There is always some luck to the draft. If Mayfield and Allen were gone to the Browns and Jets, Beane was still drafting the third guy on his list.  We will probably never know who that was.  

[Patrick Duffy]

24 minutes ago, WhoTom said:

 

Then the Jets take Mayfield and Beane has to decide if any of the remaining QBs are worth the risk.

Probably, but no way to know with the Jets. They may have had Darnold a little higher than Baker....

 

But anyway, he was asking in a scenario in which Baker ended up still on the board at 7 would Beane have picked him.

[BillsFan4]

2 hours ago, Shake_My_Head said:

The BIG question then:  If Allen had gone before pick #7, would Beane have gone with Mayfield?

If Mayfield was there at 7, then yes I definitely think the Bills take him if Allen was gone. But if he goes #1 and someone else trades up for Allen, from what I’ve read Mason Rudolph would have been the QB they drafted (but hopefully not in the 1st!).

[Doc]

I think it's hilarious that Bucs' GM Licht initially wanted the Bills 2-1st and 2-2nd rounders and Beane hung up on him.  And then 90 seconds later Beane got him to accept just the 1st-1st rounder and the 2-2nd rounders...and got the Bucs to throw in a 7th rounder. 

[downunderbill]

5 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Beane's lasting formula:

 

Draft an elite QB and then do a bunch of other things that make varying degrees of sense.

 

Presto.

 

 

Wouldn't this describe any really successful GM?

 

Only on message boards do potential GM candidates get things right 100% of the time.

Edited May 3, 2022 by downunderbill
Spelling

[Doc]

I also find it interesting that Beane told the Bears director of scouting to call him at the start of the 5th round about getting one of the Bills' 6th rounders in a trade up...and then made him wait 5 minutes.  That round moves pretty quick.

[TH3]

5 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Beane's lasting formula:

 

Draft an elite QB and then do a bunch of other things that make varying degrees of sense.

 

Presto.

 

Not to show too much behind the draft curtain but here is the 3rd round concoction he came up with per Joe Marino:

 

 

 

 

Did you skip the first half of the article 

[hondo in seattle]

That was a really good article.  For me, probably the best tidbits were...

 

Moss's ankle was injured and that's why he had an off year.

 

Beane really is in charge of the draft.  I know some Bills fans think McDermott runs every aspect of the team.  But Schoen cleared that up:

 

“Early on, (McDermott) was heavily invested (in the personnel process). The more we earned his trust, the more hands-off he was. It’s a testament to him that he and his coaches did such a great job of clearly defining what they were looking for, and then in developing the players we brought in.”

 

[Punching Bag]

3 hours ago, chris heff said:

“Big Baller Beam”? Really 

 

Great article, I have been wondering since first game last year what was going on with Moss.

 

I thought it was Brass Balls Beane.

[ganesh]

5 hours ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

Excellent article!

 

I can't get over the fact that the Browns were willing to give up MORE than pick #65 for Tyrod Taylor, but that Beane was willing to only take the 3rd rd pick with the promise that we would have the inside track on trading for #4 overall. And then they reneged!

 

Edit

Whoops. It was the BRONCOS that were willing to give up more than #65 overall. Still can't believe there was that much of a market for TT (and I like the guy more than most on here). 

And there is still a market for players like Tyrod Taylor and Geno Smith (who BTW is in contention for being the Seahawks starting QB)

[Chandler#81]

6 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

McKittrick.  And anyone who calls him this.  This is my mission. 

Chill, Ridge. It’s just a little TBD humor, albeit damn little..

9 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

What I have always loved about BB from the beginning is how he very clearly had a master plan, built over a period of years.

 

He had a good idea how to turn a joke of an irrelevant franchise into a steady solid contender, with deliberate, well planned phases. 

 

I remember when they started getting rid of players--even with big names like Marcell Dareus--who didn't really want to be in Buffalo or just didn't get with the program.  

 

That was when I thought "this guy has a plan...let's just see where it goes."
 

 

🤫shhhh! @BADOLBILZwill hear you!

[Doc Brown]

8 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

The nugget in there for me was Josh and Baker were the two QBs on the board.

Agreed.  I heard rumors that was the case but it was never confirmed until now.  Also, the part about Dorsey screwing Beane over and the fact that he refused Arizona's initial offer in the Allen trade of their first and two seconds was also something I didn't know.  Imagine the balls it took to refuse a trade after working tirelessly over a year to finally have a chance to get your coveted QB and then turning the offer down praying they'd call back.  Just awesome stuff in this article.  

[DJB]

Damn we coulda had Breece!

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

13 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

Agreed.  I heard rumors that was the case but it was never confirmed until now.  Also, the part about Dorsey screwing Beane over and the fact that he refused Arizona's initial offer in the Allen trade of their first and two seconds was also something I didn't know.  Imagine the balls it took to refuse a trade after working tirelessly over a year to finally have a chance to get your coveted QB and then turning the offer down praying they'd call back.  Just awesome stuff in this article.  

Yep, all the while remembering that their coveted guy was considered the next Blake Bortles bust by the analytics disciples who all laughed in unison at the pick at the time. 

[Doc Brown]

Just now, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Yep, all the while remembering that their coveted guy was considered the next Blake Bortles bust by the analytics disciples who all laughed in unison at the pick at the time. 

The fascinating part of Allen was the old school evaluators were high on him.  Kiper had him as his #1 QB prospect and Mayock had him as his #2.  PFF meanwhile had him fifth behind Mason Rudolph.  LOL.

[GunnerBill]

10 hours ago, MrEpsYtown said:

Ok so with the Breece Hall tidbit, if Elam was gone and we took Breece, in the second the corners available when we picked were Cam Taylor-Britt and Martin Emerson. So would you rather have:

 

Elam and Cook 

or 

Hall and Taylor-Britt/Emerson

 

I would take Elam and Cook all day every day. JMO. 

 

Said it all the way through there were 7 corners in this draft that could be really good players as rookies. The 2nd tier was a bit non-existant - I think Taylor-Britt was a reach... it was just Emerson there for me. Then a load of 3rd and 4th round talents who can be good down the line but will need some time.