Name a player that left the Bills as a FA in the McBeane era that made an impact on their next team

[Sharky7337]

Glad to see mrs Edmunds is still fishing for some respect 

[RoscoeParrish]

2 hours ago, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

 

Could be scheme. 

 

I think my definition of "home run" is a guy who can singularly take control of a game.

 

And on this roster, the only person who fits that definition is Josh Allen.

 

None of their DL meet the definition, for example. None of the skill players, neither.

 

If that’s your criteria, the list of GMs is very small.

 

The Chiefs GM has, for example, drafted one.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

11 minutes ago, RoscoeParrish said:

If that’s your criteria, the list of GMs is very small.

 

The Chiefs GM has, for example, drafted one.

 

I can name two, easy. Mahomes, Jones. He also drafted Hill and maybe Kelce, yes?

 

[Royale with Cheese]

On 8/7/2025 at 5:10 PM, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

 

I can name two, easy. Mahomes, Jones. He also drafted Hill and maybe Kelce, yes?

 

 

It's so easy that John Dorsey DIDN'T select Mahomes, Hill, Kelce and Jones.

 

Edited August 11 by Royale with Cheese

[RoscoeParrish]

25 minutes ago, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

 

I can name two, easy. Mahomes, Jones. He also drafted Hill and maybe Kelce, yes?

 

He didn’t draft any of those, except Mahomes.

 

the previous GM, John Dorsey, was fired after the Mahomes draft, as a result of a power struggle where the now current GM, Brett Veach, and Reid both wanted Mahomes.

 

to me, that’s enough to give Veach credit for Mahomes. But that’s it.
 

So no, it’s just one.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Just now, RoscoeParrish said:

He didn’t draft any of those, except Mahomes.

 

the previous GM, John Dorsey, was fired after the Mahomes draft, as a result of a power struggle where the now current GM, Brett Veach, and Reid both wanted Mahomes.

 

to me, that’s enough to give Veach credit for Mahomes. But that’s it.
 

So no, it’s just one.

Fair. 

[Shaw66]

Sorry - I've read only the first page of this thread, so I don't if others have talked about what I say here. 

 

We've had an ongoing discussion, years, about how the Bills need a a true playmaker or two, someone in addition to Josh, most likely on defense.  They need a Chris Jones or a great edge, or a really special DB or linebacker, a guy who is the highest paid guy at his position, like the Cowboys linebacker wants to be. And we're frustrated, because the Bills rarely go after those guys. 

 

I've been saying that McDermott's view of the team is that he wants great all-round athletes, buys who are superb competitors and who have really good physical skills. Good speed, good strength, a good collection of skills - all purpose guys. Spencer Brown can pass protect and run block and get downfield and use power.  He's not the best in the league at any of those things, but he's really good at all of them. 

 

So, when the time comes to talk contract, two interesting things happen. First, if the guy is what I described - really talented and is a great contributor to how the team wants to play, the Bills extend him. That's what we saw this off-season.

 

Second, if he is good but less likely to be a core player for the future, the guy goes to the free agent market. Those guys are rarely big successes on their next teams, because they aren't big-success kinds of guys. Spencer Brown is great for how the Bills play, but if he went to another team, it's not likely he'd ever become a true All-Pro kind of star because, well, the Bills aren't looking for All-pro kinds of guys (other than QB, and they got one of those). (And for those of who want to argue that Spencer Brown may in fact turn out to be a true All-Pro, I won't argue. But if a guy they like has that potential, that's just another reason why the Bills extended him.)  

 

And that is why free agents who leave Buffalo don't become stars someplace else. 

 

The process, yes, the process the Bills have in place to manage football personnel is very, very good. The roster keeps getting better and better.  There's plenty of discussion to be had about how the Bills draft, but I don't have any complaints at all about how they manage free agents, coming in or going out. 

[DCOrange]

7 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

https://billswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bills/2025/05/26/espn-bills-christian-benford-the-most-underrated-cb-in-the-nfl/83840299007/
 

“In 2023, Benford ranked 18th in my coverage DVOA metric among qualified corners. Last season, he climbed up to fourth overall. He was targeted on 10.1% of passes when he was on the field, one of the lowest figures in the league, and he allowed just 6.1 yards per target.“

Yeah I was listening to a podcast with him and he said he actually had Benford on his DPOY ballot last season (I think 5th place, but still).

 

I think any reasonable person would consider Benford and Shakir to be home run picks given where we took them.

[Royale with Cheese]

11 minutes ago, DCOrange said:

Yeah I was listening to a podcast with him and he said he actually had Benford on his DPOY ballot last season (I think 5th place, but still).

 

I think any reasonable person would consider Benford and Shakir to be home run picks given where we took them.

Taron Johnson has been an All Pro.

Spencer Brown is heading in that direction .

[NoName]

On 8/7/2025 at 10:24 AM, billsfan89 said:

 

He drafted one of the best right tackles in the league in round 3 and he drafted one of the best corners in the league in round 6. I would say both of those picks were "homeruns" and I think we could be looking at several other picks like Shakir and Torrence in that same light soon...

Based on how Pine is judging home runs (guys who were universally seen as elite around the league) I would say Beane/McD drafted 3 home runs during their time here…..

josh allen

tre White (no longer elite)

Matt Milano (no longer elite)

if Jimbo takes the next step, he could be added to this list.  I don’t think Benford will get the home run status due to his lack of interceptions.

Edited August 8 by NoName

[billsfan89]

8 minutes ago, NoName said:

Based on how Pine is judging home runs (guys who were universally seen as elite around the league) I would say Beane/McD drafted 3 home runs during their time here…..

josh allen

tre White (no longer elite)

Matt Milano (no longer elite)

if Jimbo takes the next step, he could be added to this list.  I don’t think Benford will get the home run status due to his lack of interceptions.

 

Dawkins was drafted in 2017 and he is elite. People who know offensive line and secondary play consider Brown and Benford to be among the best players at their positions. Do I think the Bills need to find/develop 2-3 more of these types of players that are above the "good" tier that many Bills players drafted by the Bills are in? Yes, I think the Bills need to develop Kincaid into an elite top 5 TE and get Torrence to being one of the best guards in the NFL, I also think the Bills need to find at least 1 big time D-line difference maker and a player in the secondary that can also move the needle (hopefully Bishop). But I am also not going to sit here and act like some of the players they have drafted aren't home run picks either. 

[NoName]

14 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Dawkins was drafted in 2017 and he is elite. People who know offensive line and secondary play consider Brown and Benford to be among the best players at their positions. Do I think the Bills need to find/develop 2-3 more of these types of players that are above the "good" tier that many Bills players drafted by the Bills are in? Yes, I think the Bills need to develop Kincaid into an elite top 5 TE and get Torrence to being one of the best guards in the NFL, I also think the Bills need to find at least 1 big time D-line difference maker and a player in the secondary that can also move the needle (hopefully Bishop). But I am also not going to sit here and act like some of the players they have drafted aren't home run picks either. 

I thought Dawkins was drafted before McD got here.  In any case Dawkins is clearly an elite player and I think very few people would dispute that.  
 

I don’t see Brown getting the elite label and Benford will need to get more picks to be seen as universally elite.  His draft position an lack of picks puts him under the radar.

[billsfan89]

5 minutes ago, NoName said:

I thought Dawkins was drafted before McD got here.  In any case Dawkins is clearly an elite player and I think very few people would dispute that.  
 

I don’t see Brown getting the elite label and Benford will need to get more picks to be seen as universally elite.  His draft position an lack of picks puts him under the radar.

INT’s aren’t really a marker of great DB play. Most often if you are really good you don’t get many INT’s because teams just don’t throw your way because guys aren’t open. Brown has been called one of the best RT’s in the league by many offensive line pundits a top 5-8 player there. And Dawkins was drafted in 2017 same year as Tre and Milano

 

 

Edited August 8 by billsfan89

[Captain Hindsight]

19 hours ago, RoscoeParrish said:

He didn’t draft any of those, except Mahomes.

 

the previous GM, John Dorsey, was fired after the Mahomes draft, as a result of a power struggle where the now current GM, Brett Veach, and Reid both wanted Mahomes.

 

to me, that’s enough to give Veach credit for Mahomes. But that’s it.
 

So no, it’s just one.

So Dorsey lost a power struggle in KC, to go on to lose one in Cleveland?

[RoscoeParrish]

30 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

So Dorsey lost a power struggle in KC, to go on to lose one in Cleveland?

Yeah I think so

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

On 8/7/2025 at 2:01 AM, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

Wyatt Teller 

Brandon Beane has made precisely ONE outstanding pick in his tenure.

 

He just doesn't hit home runs. I'm sure this will offend many, but it's the truth. 

Mostly truth... I gotta throw Tre White in there.  When you see a player so obviously good from their rookie season on, I can't fault later career injuries.  I think Tre was on-par, talent-wise, with Nnamdi Asamoah.   It was a definite hit, imho.

 

I really like a ton of our LB picks as excellent athletes, but we REALLY need some bass-ass mofo in the middle of the LB corps who makes everything think twice about going past our front 4.  It can't all be finesse and quickness.  

 

[Royale with Cheese]

3 hours ago, BringMetheHeadofLeonLett said:

Mostly truth... I gotta throw Tre White in there.  When you see a player so obviously good from their rookie season on, I can't fault later career injuries.  I think Tre was on-par, talent-wise, with Nnamdi Asamoah.   It was a definite hit, imho.

 

I really like a ton of our LB picks as excellent athletes, but we REALLY need some bass-ass mofo in the middle of the LB corps who makes everything think twice about going past our front 4.  It can't all be finesse and quickness.  

 

 

Beane didn't select White.