Way too early look at the 2026 draft

[gonzo1105]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Cybo is off to his best start as a pro. He was good vs the Jets and very good vs Miami. I do wonder whether that plays him off the Bills if it continues. I think if you are paying both tackles you need to circumspect with the interior. I'd pay my center before I'd pay my guards. 

I think he’s going to command too big of money for the Bills to retain. An ascending guard in a more demand position than supply. He’ll also be in his prime when he hits the market. Guard salaries have exploded in recent years and I don’t see Beane paying that type of money to keep him 

[Nephilim17]

4 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Cybo is off to his best start as a pro. He was good vs the Jets and very good vs Miami. I do wonder whether that plays him off the Bills if it continues. I think if you are paying both tackles you need to circumspect with the interior. I'd pay my center before I'd pay my guards. 

Torrence is on contract through the 2026 season. Have the Bills ever declined to negotiate a new contract at all (meaning not even a low ball) with a high draft pick who was playing well? The politics of that seems counter to their "resign your own" philosophy. Could they actually tell a player, "we like you a lot but we'd rather spend the money elsewhere?" I know it makes sense, but is it a bad look to the player and the team?

What I mean is, even paying him under market value could still be too much so could they just say, we can't afford you at all, as opposed to offering 80% of market value, which would still be too much?

[GunnerBill]

Just now, Nephilim17 said:

Torrence is on contract through the 2026 season. Have the Bills ever declined to negotiate a new contract at all (meaning not even a low ball) with a high draft pick who was playing well? The politics of that seems counter to their "resign your own" philosophy. Could they actually tell a player, "we like you a lot but we'd rather spend the money elsewhere?" I know it makes sense, but is it a bad look to the player and the team?

What I mean is, even paying him under market value could still be too much so could they just say, we can't afford you at all, as opposed to offering 80% of market value, which would still be too much?

 

They would have a discussion with him, I'm sure. But I don't think they ever offered Tremaine an actual deal. They talked, but they were far enough apart that there was never a deal on the table. 

[gonzo1105]

22 minutes ago, Nephilim17 said:

Torrence is on contract through the 2026 season. Have the Bills ever declined to negotiate a new contract at all (meaning not even a low ball) with a high draft pick who was playing well? The politics of that seems counter to their "resign your own" philosophy. Could they actually tell a player, "we like you a lot but we'd rather spend the money elsewhere?" I know it makes sense, but is it a bad look to the player and the team?

What I mean is, even paying him under market value could still be too much so could they just say, we can't afford you at all, as opposed to offering 80% of market value, which would still be too much?

The problem is with that is he’s going to price himself out of the Bills range. He will be 26 years old, he was a 2nd round pick, which means he’s in his prime and is going to be looking for a large contract to set him and his family up for life. 
 

On the other side, The Bills have committed big dollars to both Dawkins and Brown. They are likely to sign either McGovern to a large deal this offseason or re-sign David Edwards to an above average deal or both. Honestly the best way to set aside money for Torrence is to let McGovern walk this offseason. I don’t see it happening as historically the Panthers and Bills have invested in the Center position well before Guard. Examples of this are Ryan Khalil, Mitch Morse, and McGovern. On the contrary they haven’t invested in Guard at all high level. 
 

Then we take into the fact that there is a dearth of good offensive lineman in the league, guard salaries have exploded and due to Torrence’s age, play level, and lack of even good offensive lineman and I’d bet Torrence tucks into the top 10 paid guards in the NFL which at this moment is 17.5 million dollars a year. Far too much for the Bills to pay 

Edited September 24 by gonzo1105

[Solomon Grundy]

20 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

They would have a discussion with him, I'm sure. But I don't think they ever offered Tremaine an actual deal. They talked, but they were far enough apart that there was never a deal on the table. 

Thank God 🙏 🙏 🙏!!

[JP51]

I get the allure especially from the draftniks which I am not... but I just went through too many years of draft day being the biggest day of the year as a fan... and that is not the case anymore... so, wake me in March... lol 

[Nephilim17]

21 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

The problem is with that is he’s going to price himself out of the Bills range. He will be 26 years old, he was a 2nd round pick, which means he’s in his prime and is going to be looking for a large contract to set him and his family up for life. 
 

On the other side, The Bills have committed big dollars to both Dawkins and Brown. They are likely to sign either McGovern to a large deal this offseason or re-sign David Edwards to an above average deal or both. Honestly the best way to set aside money for Torrence is to let McGovern walk this offseason. I don’t see it happening as historically the Panthers and Bills have invested in the Center position well before Guard. Examples of this are Ryan Khalil, Mitch Morse, and McGovern. On the contrary they haven’t invested in Guard at all high level. 
 

Then we take into the fact that there is a dearth of good offensive lineman in the league, guard salaries have exploded and due to Torrence’s age, play level, and lack of even good offensive lineman and I’d bet Torrence tucks into the top 10 paid guards in the NFL which at this moment is 17.5 million dollars a year. Far too much for the Bills to pay 

I agree with you. Don't pay a good but not all-around elite (with pass blocking) guard $20 million when we need to pay a center and other positions. I was just asking about navigating the team politics of it. I would be good with using an early pick on guard in the draft.

[hjnick]

When we pick at 32, might want to trade down and get more picks

 

Guard, Safety, LB, DT

DE, CB, WR

RB, OT

QB

[SoCal Deek]

5 minutes ago, hjnick said:

When we pick at 32, might want to trade down and get more picks

 

Guard, Safety, LB, DT

DE, CB, WR

RB, OT

QB

If we’re picking at 32 it means I’ll have died of a heart attack, so I’ll add our draft needs to the long list of things I’m not going to worry about. 😉

[gonzo1105]

I think our biggest needs for next year are as it stands right now: 

 

High Priority: IOL, DE, LB

 

Mid Priority: S, WR, K

 

Low Priority: DT, OT

[Rockinon]

 Stock up on defense. Josh and our Oline will do the rest.

[GASabresIUFan]

Bills trade out of the 1st and draft a safety

[djp14150]

I don’t see the value…

 

one issue is you don’t know who will opt to go pro vs staying in college another year. Another issue is free agent signings can affect how teams draft. You sign a 4 yr free agent who is 24 or 25 you don’t need to draft that position with day 1/2 picks.

[Sestak4ever]

Hard to say what our off season will look like, including free agency, not just the draft. I would lean toward trading out of the first round. I also think a few excellent wide receivers will be available in the trade market, due to underutilization on their current teams, especially if there are staff changes, such as Nabers, Harrison, etc.

[BigAl2526]

22 hours ago, hjnick said:

When we pick at 32, might want to trade down and get more picks

 

Guard, Safety, LB, DT

DE, CB, WR

RB, OT

QB

Given the Bills needs and who might be available, this is certainly a possibility.

[quincy]

I am in the minority here however I'd be okay if Buffalo offers Torrence a new contract, we drafted him and developed him like Brown and Dawkins beforehand.

 

Is there anyone currently on the roster capable of starting on the IOL next year? 

 

From my understanding only McGovern and Edwards are in their last year in 2025, so the 2026 anticipated starting OL is Dawkins - ? - ? - Torrence - Brown

 

 

[Magox]

BPA in any of the below positions:

 

DE

DT

LB

S

WR

[Ralonzo]

This would be fun

 

[gonzo1105]

30 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

This would be fun

 

I’ve seen Harbor play . Very raw player. Just because a guy is an athletic freak doesn’t mean he’s going to translate. People were fawning over Legette here for months on end and there is talk about trading him already because he’s a wreck, been injured, dropsies and everything. You could blame it on him being in the Panthers but McMillian hasn’t had any issue yet acclimating to that team. 
 

I told people for months that Legette not playing for 4 years despite being a freak athletically was a big red flag and very few listened because people get enamored with height, weight, speed profile and tend to only look at highlights of a player 

[Ralonzo]

12 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

I’ve seen Harbor play . Very raw player. Just because a guy is an athletic freak doesn’t mean he’s going to translate. People were fawning over Legette here for months on end and there is talk about trading him already because he’s a wreck, been injured, dropsies and everything. You could blame it on him being in the Panthers but McMillian hasn’t had any issue yet acclimating to that team. 
 

I told people for months that Legette not playing for 4 years despite being a freak athletically was a big red flag and very few listened because people get enamored with height, weight, speed profile and tend to only look at highlights of a player 

 

I think at 32 you can gamble a bit when there's that kind of ceiling? I remember those arguments with DK Metcalf.