TSW 1.0 Poll - Who should the Bills select at #26

[BillsFan130]

47 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

I was on this board that offseason telling everyone McConkey was WR5 in that draft behind the big 3 and BTJ.  Most people on this board argued it was Legette, Worthy, Franklin, Adonai, etc.  There was not much a "Draft McConkey" in the first crowd.  

 

And despite being one of his loudest supporters, I was also on record repeated saying he was not an option for the Bills, he did not fit what we needed, and still wouldn't have.  Even with the Chargers, they are doing things to keep him in the slot, where his natural position is and should remain rest of his career.  We had plenty of slot help, we needed outside WR in the worst way.  

 

If someone wants to relive the draft, who we take would not even be a WR.  Keon has the best stats of any outside WR drafted where we picked, the post drafts facts are, there wasn't much to choose from.  
 

 

I hear your points, but that's the issue sometimes when you draft for "need" instead of just the best player. The bills didn't need a slot guy, so they chased the need on a boundary receiver.

 

Even with Shakir on the team now, who would you rather have. Ladd, or Coleman?

 

For me it's Ladd by a country mile 

[gonzo1105]

I just don't see much of a difference in getting Concepcion in round 1 versus getting a guy later thats just me. He's a good player, do I think he's significantly better than a guy who could be there in round 3 i'm not sure the gap is that large but I get it the WR's will be there at 26 at good value. Frankly if these were my options I think i'd choose between Lomu or McNeil Warren. 

[NewEra]

25 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said:

1 Cooper

2. McNeil-Warren 

 

But if you took those 2 out, a direction that's really starting to warm up to me is OT Kadyn Proctor.

 

Dudes a bonafide LT prospect, somebody that could unseat Dion in '27 and free up a boatload of $$. Athletic profile and size are unreal. Kid needs some work, and he can get some reps and a chance to adjust playing at LG this year, a role i could see him turning in a pro bowl effort year 1.

 

Major injection of youth talent and cost control for the future! Id rather start working on a LT replacement a year too early than a year too late. This gets him in our system and familiar with playbook/coaches.

 

I dont expect this to be a popular one here, because its a very forward thinking move... still with some upside for '26.

 

I just don't see us being legitimate contenders this year. Too much change on the defense needed, Leonhard had 2 years of work to do year 1 IMO. We can't possibly figure out those holes with Leonhard not seeing any of these guys play in his system. A year from now things will be a lot more clear on what he needs, and who we can move on from.

 

This pick helps us day 1, while potentially freeing up $16M next season after accounting for $8m dead cap.... wed move on from a guy who's over the hill, and restart with a 22yr old prospect, who is twice the prospect that Dion was coming out. If hes in the same stratosphere as Dions been last few years,it's a home run pick.

I’d be fine if we went with proctor, fano or Lomu.  Haven’t watched much of the others.  It makes sense in terms of our current team building.

 

i love McNeil Warren. I just can’t help but think I he’s a little too redundant to bishop to spend a first on.  If he specialized in coverage and was solid in run support, I’d be more on board than I am now (I’m not against him).  Unless they planned on having Bishop as the 1 deep when we go that route.  I just don’t know if we’d be using him to the best of abilities.  Seems like both are better closer to the LoS.  Cole’s a bit faster so maybe he’d be the better of the two as the deep when we only have 1 deep.

[EmotionallyUnstable]

48 minutes ago, MJS said:

KC is bigger

This is not true - they are both 6 ft and 195 running in the low 4.4s

 

Khalil Shakir is absolutely explosive from a YAC standpoint. He had elite numbers in this category last year 

[NewEra]

8 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

I just don't see much of a difference in getting Concepcion in round 1 versus getting a guy later thats just me. He's a good player, do I think he's significantly better than a guy who could be there in round 3 i'm not sure the gap is that large but I get it the WR's will be there at 26 at good value. Frankly if these were my options I think i'd choose between Lomu or McNeil Warren. 

Probably the best idea if we’re looking to add a potentially elite player

[noacls]

I voted Howell but now that I'm writing this I'm not sold. Everyone on that list has concerns. IMO the biggest need on this team is OLB/ILB. My top choice would be to trade back and draft the best OLB/ILB available.  

     If it was not for Allen's meniscus issues from the seaon and not doing any athletic testing he probably would have been my pick. 

[ScottishBills]

15 minutes ago, BillsFan130 said:

I hear your points, but that's the issue sometimes when you draft for "need" instead of just the best player. The bills didn't need a slot guy, so they chased the need on a boundary receiver.

 

Even with Shakir on the team now, who would you rather have. Ladd, or Coleman?

 

For me it's Ladd by a country mile 

You havent exactly said this, but this was the best post to quote for it

 

Few comments about using top 2 picks on WR, already invested, don't need more slots etc etc 

 

The pick would just be correcting the under investment for years. 

 

If he is great, no one is complaining

 

If he is good then we can stop pissing away giant loads of cash or assets on the likes of Palmer, Samuel, Cooper. It would be the same player for a fraction of the price. 

 

Even Lads McConkey if we had drafted him, we would have had the option to simply not play Shakir, he's hardly a superstar that we have to have - he just happens to be better than the garbage we pick up in free agency. Take the $14m you paying a slightly above average player in Shakir, and get a superstar in FA - i.e we ended up with Shakir and say Chubb at Edge - when it could have been McConkey and Hendrickson for the same money.

 

The WR position it wildly expensive and really it would be a LOT of picks before I would ever think of it as an over investment. 

 

Even slightly above average players like Romeo Doubs serve their purpose and get you a 3rd/4th comp pick back - the types of picks that get you freebies at low value positions like LB, NT and others. 

 

I also think in real life we might take an LB, will makes absolutely no sense from a roster build sense - even iff you smash it out the park you have a player at a position where you save half as much as WR or Edge, and that would fairly easily be filled in FA

Edited Sunday at 07:07 PM by ScottishBills

[OldTimer1960]

I voted for Concepcion.  I’m not loving that - I’m worried about his consistency catching the ball, but he is a dynamic athlete in terms of quickness, cutting a and has pretty good but not excellent speed.

 

Cooper Jr would be OK in my view, too.

 

i think TJ Parker makes some sense, but he is mainly a power rusher. 
 

I don’t particularly love the LB options and I’m too worried about Banks’ foot injury history to pull that trigger.  
 

I don’t want to gamble on Howell, though I would not rule out him being a decent pass rusher, but I think that will be dependent on the OT he faces week to week.

[TheBeaneBandit]

21 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

I just don't see much of a difference in getting Concepcion in round 1 versus getting a guy later thats just me. He's a good player, do I think he's significantly better than a guy who could be there in round 3 i'm not sure the gap is that large but I get it the WR's will be there at 26 at good value. Frankly if these were my options I think i'd choose between Lomu or McNeil Warren. 

The thing about this draft is it seems the drop-off from 26 to 91 is more significant that any other draft, regardless of position.  We really need to get the biggest bang for our buck with that first pick.

[OldTimer1960]

1 minute ago, TheBeaneBandit said:

The thing about this draft is it seems the drop-off from 26 to 91 is more significant that any other draft, regardless of position.  We really need to get the biggest bang for our buck with that first pick.

Yeah, don’t expect a lot from anyone taken after 26 in Bills’ draft this year.  Think competent role player at 91 and hopefully one more somewhere in the later picks.

[TheBeaneBandit]

9 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said:

Yeah, don’t expect a lot from anyone taken after 26 in Bills’ draft this year.  Think competent role player at 91 and hopefully one more somewhere in the later picks.

Agree completely. 

[Kirby Jackson]

Am I crazy that I think there’s a pretty clear gap between Cooper and Concepcion?

[BillsShredder83]

30 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

I just don't see much of a difference in getting Concepcion in round 1 versus getting a guy later thats just me. He's a good player, do I think he's significantly better than a guy who could be there in round 3 i'm not sure the gap is that large but I get it the WR's will be there at 26 at good value. Frankly if these were my options I think i'd choose between Lomu or McNeil Warren. 

Why Lomu over Proctor in your opinion? Proctor is a genetic freak/athlete. 350lbs and still beating the snot out of everyone in vertical.

 

100th percentile in weight and 92nd in vertical is an obscene trait matchup, still has a respectable 40, rough 10yd split... arm length is same as Lomu, but bigger hands/heavier punch, but with his power already in place, I think theres room to let him bring his play weight down without sacrificing any power.  We've all seen the athleticism on the freaking "Tackle Screen" LOL dude making guys way smaller miss... just as an example

[gonzo1105]

2 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Why Lomu over Proctor in your opinion? Proctor is a genetic freak/athlete. 350lbs and still beating the snot out of everyone in vertical.

 

100th percentile in weight and 92nd in vertical is an obscene trait matchup, still has a respectable 40, rough 10yd split... arm length is same as Lomu, but bigger hands/heavier punch, but with his power already in place, I think theres room to let him bring his play weight down without sacrificing any power.  We've all seen the athleticism on the freaking "Tackle Screen" LOL dude making guys way smaller miss... just as an example

A lot heavier feet and inconsistent tape. Man got ran over by Florida State and Oklahoma this past season. Not a fan of Proctor at all. Don’t think he can be an NFL LT at a high level 

[BuffaloBillyG]

I picked Parker. But this would be a nice place to find ourselves on draft night. There are 4-5 guys I'd be thrilled with here. And in as weak of a draft as this is that's just amazing to me. 

[OldTimer1960]

10 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Am I crazy that I think there’s a pretty clear gap between Cooper and Concepcion?

I watch game tape, but I don’t know everything to look for, so my opinion should not carry a lot of weight, but to me:

Concepcion has the higher upside with his quickness and cutting ability, but Cooper seems a safer bet to have a higher floor.

[HoofHearted]

2 hours ago, HappyDays said:

I voted Anthony Hill. I know he has no chance of winning this poll. I try to be predictive when I make these picks rather than selecting my own preference. I personally would take a WR, to me Cooper is a no brainer here, but I still don't fully buy that Beane will spend two high picks on a WR in the same offseason. So looking at the other names I considered McNeil-Warren but Beane takes needs in the 1st round and after signing CJGJ I don't think he is looking at safety as a need.

 

That leaves the LBs, Allen or Hill. For the longest time I've been looking at Allen as the odds-on favorite to be our pick. But in the last few days I have begun to suspect Hill is the type of LB Beane would covet in the 1st round. He's young having just turned 21 years old in February (cue up the Tremaine Edmunds jokes), he's a ridiculous athlete with a 9.81 RAS score and elite speed/explosion testing, and I think he fits Leonhard's scheme as a downhill thumper type with high end blitz traits while still having enough to work with in pass coverage. It's a similar scouting profile to CJ Allen just in the body of a better athlete and without the lingering injury concern. It's not a player that has been talked about much as a Bills 1st round target but I just have a weird feeling about him.

 

I also went Hill. The only other prospect that peaks my interest from this list is Cooper, but he's so similar to Shakir, and DJ for that matter, in skillset and what they can do (albeit a faster version) that it almost seems redundant. We need an X to allow our two YAC guys who play like RBs in the open field to work their craft. I'm not sure if either of those two edge players can line up as a true stand up outside backer to the field, which is really what he need. Banks is another version of Deone Walker - great penetration with questions about pad level if asked to play a shaded nose and McNiell-Warren is a box safety which means we would take Bishop out of that role and have him play high (I'd much rather keep Bishop closer to the box - he's going to be a big time playmaker for us).

EDIT: Allen is a thumper and that's it. He'd be too big a liability in coverage to play in this defense.

Edited Sunday at 07:57 PM by HoofHearted

[BillsShredder83]

Just now, Kirby Jackson said:

Am I crazy that I think there’s a pretty clear gap between Cooper and Concepcion?

Not at all. I think its mountainous.

 

Cooper played outside almost exclusively his first 2 seasons too and has shown he can get and keep separation in the medium/deep stuff... where KC gets it early and let's the DB close the windows quickly.

 

Theres not one part of KCs game I like better than Cooper... and he's got a much better chance at continuing success with the jump to NFL. I think KC is at his ceiling, and is going to struggle to be the player he was in college.

 

Cooper gets separation and wins at all 3 levels, gets his YAC in multiple ways: speed/shifty or running through your face. Better frame to hold up in nfl. Doesn't have the crazy drops KC does.

 

It's not even close IMO. I think people are seeing flashier splash plays in highlight reels from KC, but Cooper consistently wins.

 

Cooper became even better in clutch scenarios (that catch vs Penn St) and was clearly their #1 option every round in the playoffs, where he produced... despite having better supporting cast.

 

A&M was starving for an offensive playmaker all season and KC houddini'd in their playoff loss. KC had his best year as a freshman (in easier conference) and regressed production wise. 

 

Im not a KC guy, and im not even a Cooper fanboy... but im taking him over KC all day.

 

Id probably take any of these before him:

 

Cooper

Allen

Proctor 

Mcneil Warren

Hill

Avieon Terrell (even though i dont love Corner in 1st)

 

Maybeeee:

Lomu

 

Only dudes im taking KC before:

 

Howell

Banks 

[No_Matter_What]

Can someone explain to me why so many people pick KC over Cooper?

[GunnerBill]

22 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said:

I watch game tape, but I don’t know everything to look for, so my opinion should not carry a lot of weight, but to me:

Concepcion has the higher upside with his quickness and cutting ability, but Cooper seems a safer bet to have a higher floor.

 

That's pretty much how I see it. I have KC a tick higher but that is a lot on ceiling prognosis. On floor, Cooper is a safer bet than anyone other than Tate at WR in this class.