2024 WR Draft Class

[SoonerBillsFan]

1 minute ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

There's a major difference between meeting a non-QB at the Senior Bowl and meeting with them at the Combine. Meeting a player at the Senior Bowl is very informal and you can't really get much done.

 

Anyone who isn't a QB can't be sat down for an in depth interview. Special Teams players can have a 30 minute zoom call with Special Teams coaches.

 

But that's it. They don't want them to be too distracted from Practices and the Game and make sure they get enough rest. As interviews are done at the Combine.

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/news/senior-bowl-interview-process-changes-nfl-draft-teams-players

 

 

So Ladd McConkey is so special that we're specifically not getting a feel for him with coaches and GM, breaking him down with film, bypassing the formal job interview, and "tipping our hand" with literally every other prospect who's a fit for us?

There are still the 1 on 1's available where he can be brought in.  

1 minute ago, mrags said:

Thank god 

Based on what? 

[DCOrange]

5 hours ago, DCOrange said:

In light of the NFL Combine performances and some prospects that I've revisited, I've updated my film, metrics, and combined WR rankings. I've also thrown in my personal rankings, which isn't necessarily married entirely to the film or the metrics but sort of a bit of A and a bit of B. For example, I think the metrics are too harsh on Mitchell, but I think the metrics is keeping McConkey above Pearsall for now. As mentioned before, some guys like Jermaine Burton and Javon Baker for example are excluded; I haven't found any All 22 film of Baker and I haven't had a chance to look at Burton.

 

I decided to apply the metrics system that I created this year to the 2023 draft class, mainly just to expand the sample size a bit to see if the results looked out of whack or not. The top ranked guys based on the metrics that I'm looking at:

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (had to flip the formula to prioritize 2021 instead of 2022 for him since he played so little in 2022)
2. Puka Nacua
3. Josh Downs
4. Tank Dell
5. Demario Douglas
6. Quentin Johnston
7. Xavier Gipson
8. Jordan Addison
9. Rashee Rice
10. Jalin Hyatt

Notable guys outside the top 10:

• Zay Flowers was #24 out of 43
• Jayden Reed was #30
• Michael Wilson was #28
• Jonathan Mingo was #32
• Dontayvion Wicks was #35
• Justin Shorter was #41

Edited March 3 by DCOrange

[mrags]

7 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

There are still the 1 on 1's available where he can be brought in.  

Based on what? 

Apparently you didn’t get the joke. I’m out 

[BillsFanForever19]

5 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

There are still the 1 on 1's available where he can be brought in.  

Based on what? 

 

That's true.

 

But that doesn't change the fact that we've never bypassed the formal job interview at the Combine and then Drafted the guy in Round 1. That's just a fact. 

 

The Combine interview is extremely important. And it's telling that we interviewed so many WR's and he's not one of them. Especially since I already believed he wasn't the fit for us that everyone wants him to be.

[GunnerBill]

36 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Beane said a couple of times this offseason they have learned from their mistakes. Maybe, and I am just guessing here, they will not do as many interviews on players they like to throw teams off. Fans are even saying, they don't draft anyone they don't meet at the combine.  I would personally like for this to be the first of many times they break that trend.

 

Nah I doubt they change that. They are big on character and culture. They are going to draft guys they meet. Take that to the bank.

[Dr. Who]

32 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

I guess.  Or maybe he had a big game early in the season and was redshirted??  Early success and production added with elite testing imo translates.  

Reagor was a reach draft night.  Everyone thought they were going Jefferson.  I remember Bleacher Report trashing it.  

I'm not disputing that even the best GMs make mistakes, nor am I claiming Reagor was not a reach.

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

21 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Nah I doubt they change that. They are big on character and culture. They are going to draft guys they meet. Take that to the bank.

Who is bigger on character and culture than a player who comes from Kirby Smarts system ?

 

Mitchell is included in that culture 

[Aussie Joe]

40 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Nah I doubt they change that. They are big on character and culture. They are going to draft guys they meet. Take that to the bank.

I really think McConkey has the attitude and exudes the “culture” that would get McDermott barred up in a New York minute ..

[BillsFanForever19]

5 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:

I really think McConkey has the attitude and exudes the “culture” that would get McDermott barred up in a New York minute ..

 

What has you thinking McConkey "exudes" the culture more so than others?

 

Regardless of that opinion, they didn't give him the opportunity to make McDermott "barred up" at the Combine.

[Aussie Joe]

1 minute ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

 

 

Regardless of that opinion, they didn't give him the opportunity to make McDermott "barred up" at the Combine.

So that means he is off their board?

[BillsFanForever19]

44 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:

So that means he is off their board?

 

I'm sure every player in the Draft, unless they have a medical or conduct red flag, is on their board.

 

But when it comes to players they're specifically targeting in Round 1, they ALWAYS have the formal job interview, if you will, at the Combine.

 

They do evaluation leading up to the Combine. They examine their tape and hypothesize who's a fit for them for what they're looking for in the position they're in and the scheme of the team. Then they set up interviews with those players.

 

The interview process then helps them hone in on those from that list that really blow them away and those that don't. They raise the ones that did impress them (especially if they bring a notebook, whoo boy!) and drop the ones that didn't.

 

They then bring the guys that passed both phases for them and see how they act in their building. They'll check to see how they've been operating since they last talked, maybe follow up on some things they didn't ask at the Combine, or things they hadn't thought about until after they met at the Combine. They'll check in on everyone from the Driver who picked them up at the airport to the lunch lady who fed them to see how they carried themselves when they weren't around.

 

This is the process. Again, we've never taken a guy in Round 1 where we've skipped the Combine interview. This is probably the most important part of this regimes evaluation. It's always there and it's the interview and the visit, not one or the other.

 

When it comes to McConkey, he wasn't a great fit for what we're looking for to begin with. Combine that with no interview and the fact that we're almost assuredly going to have a chance at someone who is ranked higher than he is (that we DID interview) and right now I just don't see a scenario where he's in play in Round 1.

Edited March 3 by BillsFanForever19

[KOKBILLS]

6 hours ago, Awwufelloff said:

Speed isnt everything. Where is John Ross now?

 

 

 

Based on his NFL career... Probably in re-hab...

 

[SoonerBillsFan]

1 hour ago, mrags said:

Apparently you didn’t get the joke. I’m out 

Yep,missed it 😁

[OldTimer1960]

3 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

There's a major difference between meeting a non-QB at the Senior Bowl and meeting with them at the Combine. Meeting a player at the Senior Bowl is very informal and you can't really get much done.

 

Anyone who isn't a QB can't be sat down for an in depth interview. Special Teams players can have a 30 minute zoom call with Special Teams coaches.

 

But that's it. They don't want them to be too distracted from Practices and the Game and make sure they get enough rest. As interviews are done at the Combine.

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/news/senior-bowl-interview-process-changes-nfl-draft-teams-players

 

 

So Ladd McConkey is so special that we're specifically not getting a feel for him with coaches and GM, breaking him down with film, bypassing the formal job interview, and "tipping our hand" with literally every other prospect who's a fit for us?

They might not have liked him enough to meet again or maybe they will have him in for a visit before the draft.  

[BillsFanForever19]

3 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said:

They might not have liked him enough to meet again or maybe they will have him in for a visit before the draft.  

 

I'll direct you to my reply to another poster 3 posts above yours. We never skip the Combine interview and Draft a guy in Round 1 simply on the pre-Draft meeting. The pre-Draft meeting is more of a formality and final piece of the puzzle after a good interview.

Edited March 4 by BillsFanForever19

[BillsFanForever19]

It's sad that it's not a possibility. Flip side, i'd rather have a team in contention rather than picking at the top of the Draft all the time again.

 

 

Edited March 4 by BillsFanForever19

[GunnerBill]

4 hours ago, Aussie Joe said:

I really think McConkey has the attitude and exudes the “culture” that would get McDermott barred up in a New York minute ..

 

I wasn't saying he didn't. I was simply saying the Bills will draft a guy they have met in round 1. It is just how they operate. 

[BillsFanForever19]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I wasn't saying he didn't. I was simply saying the Bills will draft a guy they have met in round 1. It is just how they operate. 

 

And I'd still like to know what about him makes him "exude" the "culture" moreso than others....

[GunnerBill]

4 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

I'm sure every player in the Draft, unless they have a medical or conduct red flag, is on their board.

 

 

That is 100% not true I can tell you that for a fact. Most teams work on a board of around 150-160 max. The Patriots famously under Belichick had less than 100 guys on its draft board most years. 

 

The reasons a player will generally be off a board:

 

1. Medicals

2. Conduct

3. Personality (distinct from conduct as in there are no specific incidents but the vibe they get from work area scouts do is the individual just isn't a fit)

4. Scheme

5. Failure to meet physical specifications for the position (every team has them, some are more slavish about them than others)

6. They don't give them a draftable grade

 

My suspicion since Beane arrived here has always been he operates towards the smaller end board wise. I'd say somewhere in the 120 range. I have second hand confirmation from someone who was in the building that it isn't far off (though the number fluctuates a bit year to year and class to class). 

 

Remember last year when after taking Shorter in round 5 Beane started trading back multiple times? I strongly suspect his board was empty. Broeker and Austin were very likely prioritiy UDFAs for them rather than draft board guys. They'd just ran out of the latter.

[DCOrange]

3 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

I'll direct you to my reply to another poster 3 posts above yours. We never skip the Combine interview and Draft a guy in Round 1 simply on the pre-Draft meeting. The pre-Draft meeting is more of a formality and final piece of the puzzle after a good interview.

Do you have a link to a report that we met with Kincaid or Elam at the Combine? I've checked a bunch of lists of prospects we interviewed, brought in for visits, etc. and searched on Twitter around this time in those years too and didn't find any reports.