Draft Thread

[longislandcuse]

Adam Schefter‏@AdamSchefter2 mins
Filed to ESPN: 49ers trading a conditoonal 2015 4th-round pick to Buffalo for WR Stevie Johnson, per sources. Pick can become a 3rd.

Good. I like SJ13 but its time to move on from him.

 

[longislandcuse]

Bills would have killed for that crappy record. They are the Houston Astros right now. Its tough. I dont blame you for deflecting the truth with pointless comebacks.

Ahh to be a Jills fan. No worries, they will be in Toronto or London or China soon and all your misery will be over.

The Bills arent moving, you clearly dont pay attention to any of the new ownership news thats been coming out or you're just trolling, not sure which.

Buffalo, Miami, and NYJ are all on equal footing in terms of being teams that can go on 6-10 or 10-6. I'll take my chances with Buffalo, the Bills have playoff level talent everywhere aside from an unproven QB. QB is a big deal, except the Jets and Fins dont exactly have that piece of the puzzle figured out either.

Buffalo had a rookie QB and 2 backups play under center last year and drafted 9. Yet somehow after adding Spikes, Watkins, Williams, Graham, and only losing Byrd and un-clutch SJ13 we're going to be drafting in the Top 5? Sureee...

 

[MSOrange]

Certainly they could have taken another shot at a QB maybe rolled the dice on a Rothelisberger or the kid in Seattle but they were trying to address other needs. I am not the biggest Manuel fan but he needs at least another season or two and then try for another QB in 2016.

I'm with you on Manual. I'd at least like to see how he does if he can stay healthy for a full year this year. Just not ready to give up on him yet. That being said, part of me wouldn't mind grabbing Aaron Murray in the 3rd round if he is available. But I think we really need to address TE and offensive tackle before that.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The Bills arent moving, you clearly dont pay attention to any of the new ownership news thats been coming out or you're just trolling, not sure which.

Buffalo, Miami, and NYJ are all on equal footing in terms of being teams that can go on 6-10 or 10-6. I'll take my chances with Buffalo, the Bills have playoff level talent everywhere aside from an unproven QB. QB is a big deal, except the Jets and Fins dont exactly have that piece of the puzzle figured out either.

Buffalo had a rookie QB and 2 backups play under center last year and drafted 9. Yet somehow after adding Spikes, Watkins, Williams, Graham, and only losing Byrd and un-clutch SJ13 we're going to be drafting in the Top 5? Sureee...

I don't know, man. I've got some questions about the HC.

 

[bnoro]

The Bills arent moving, you clearly dont pay attention to any of the new ownership news thats been coming out or you're just trolling, not sure which.

Buffalo, Miami, and NYJ are all on equal footing in terms of being teams that can go on 6-10 or 10-6. I'll take my chances with Buffalo, the Bills have playoff level talent everywhere aside from an unproven QB. QB is a big deal, except the Jets and Fins dont exactly have that piece of the puzzle figured out either.

Buffalo had a rookie QB and 2 backups play under center last year and drafted 9. Yet somehow after adding Spikes, Watkins, Williams, Graham, and only losing Byrd and un-clutch SJ13 we're going to be drafting in the Top 5? Sureee...

Love that Bills fans keep using Spikes as a big addition. You realize he can't stay healthy, is a traffic cone in coverage, and will inevitably do something stupid now that he's out of New England, right? He's a great run stopper but that's about all he can do. Enjoy.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Good. I like SJ13 but its time to move on from him.

Agreed about Stevie, love him as player but it was time for both sides to move on. Still think he can play and I suspect he will have a monster year for San Fran. Just didnt see the room for him with all the WR's on the roster and his late game missteps have hurt. Love that we got a 4th that could be a third, I am assuming there for 2015, will allow us to replace that 4th rounder for Watkins.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Love that Bills fans keep using Spikes as a big addition. You realize he can't stay healthy, is a traffic cone in coverage, and will inevitably do something stupid now that he's out of New England, right? He's a great run stopper but that's about all he can do. Enjoy.

So we should be dissapointed we got him? Look I get it NE is a great program under Belichick but the window is clearly closing as Brady is finally aging and Gronk simply cant stay on the field. Can some of the other AFC East teams enjoy themselves a bit now?

 

[longislandcuse]

Love that Bills fans keep using Spikes as a big addition. You realize he can't stay healthy, is a traffic cone in coverage, and will inevitably do something stupid now that he's out of New England, right? He's a great run stopper but that's about all he can do. Enjoy.

Buffalo had a Top 5 rated Pass defense last year. We were towards the bottom against the run. We brought in Brandon Spikes who specializes against the run. I'm not acting like we brought in Ray Lewis in his prime, but we brought in a guy who can be a huge help to us and allows Kiko to move to OLB. We also brought in Keith Rivers for LB depth as a run stopper. Why is so hard to understand why that seems like a good move to us and pretty much anyone who follows football? If they play a LB unit of Kiko-Spikes-Lawson, 2 of those guys are pretty good in pass coverage. They can scheme to hide Spikes weakness, and he won't be in the game on passing downs.

 

[Alsacs]

I just think next year's one for a WR who needs EJ Manuel taking a leap to get him the ball to make an impact is too steep price.

If the Bills had given up the 9th pick, this year's 2nd round pick, and next year's 2nd round pick it would have been a great deal. I have seen Watkins compared to A.J. Green. Green is a top 5 WR in the game, but in the playoffs in his 3 seasons hasn't had a major impact. The most important positions in the NFL right are 1. QB 2. CB 3. LT 4. DE 5. WR in that order. I don't think the Bills shouldn't have gone all-in I just don't see Watkins as the guy that gets the Bills to 10-6 which is what you will likely need to make the playoffs.

I don't see the 9th overall pick and say next year number 16 overall for the 4th overall pick being worth the trade. If the Bills were going to use next year's one they should have gone up to Number 1 drafted Clowney. The Bills could have offered 9th pick, 2015 1st round pick and 4th round picks, 2016 2nd round pick and likely got the deal done with the Texans.

The AFC East is still New England's to lose. In 2011 the Bill had the 3rd pick an took Marcell Darius over AJ Green or Patrick Peterson who IMO were the best players in that draft. I know Darius has been selected to the Pro Bowl, but has he been worth the 3rd overall pick?

 

[longislandcuse]

I just think next year's one for a WR who needs EJ Manuel taking a leap to get him the ball to make an impact is too steep price.

If the Bills had given up the 9th pick, this year's 2nd round pick, and next year's 2nd round pick it would have been a great deal. I have seen Watkins compared to A.J. Green. Green is a top 5 WR in the game, but in the playoffs in his 3 seasons hasn't had a major impact. The most important positions in the NFL right are 1. QB 2. CB 3. LT 4. DE 5. WR in that order. I don't think the Bills shouldn't have gone all-in I just don't see Watkins as the guy that gets the Bills to 10-6 which is what you will likely need to make the playoffs.

I don't see the 9th overall pick and say next year number 16 overall for the 4th overall pick being worth the trade. If the Bills were going to use next year's one they should have gone up to Number 1 drafted Clowney. The Bills could have offered 9th pick, 2015 1st round pick and 4th round picks, 2016 2nd round pick and likely got the deal done with the Texans.

The AFC East is still New England's to lose. In 2011 the Bill had the 3rd pick an took Marcell Darius over AJ Green or Patrick Peterson who IMO were the best players in that draft. I know Darius has been selected to the Pro Bowl, but has he been worth the 3rd overall pick?

I think the Watkins pick was for a couple reasons.

A) They traded to SJ13 to get back their 4th (possibly upgrade to a 3rd). They also shed his large contract.
B) The move for Mike Williams. You now have Watkins/Woods/Williams in a tradition 3 WR lineup. If you shade your defense towards Watkins, which teams will have to do, Woods and Williams will see single coverage all day and are good enough to really exploit it.
C) Speed. The Bills offense is stupid fast. How do you defend a 4 wide set of Watkins/Woods/Williams/Goodwin and Spiller in the backfield?

Watkins is a guy who can be a lynchpin for this offense and taking it to the next level. The speed and talent at the skill positions is way above average. Of course, this is contingent upon EJ improving, and if youve followed his offseason, you cant say hes not trying.

The Bills will also have money to spend next year and I think they plan on being aggressive in FA after "hopefully" gaining some momentum as a winning franchise this year. That aggressive FA period will offset the lack of a top pick, which the Bills are banking on not actually being "that high".

In an offense built on speed and the ability for every playmaker to have home run capabilities, Watkins makes sense.

 

[Alsacs]

I think the Watkins pick was for a couple reasons.

A) They traded to SJ13 to get back their 4th (possibly upgrade to a 3rd). They also shed his large contract.
B) The move for Mike Williams. You now have Watkins/Woods/Williams in a tradition 3 WR lineup. If you shade your defense towards Watkins, which teams will have to do, Woods and Williams will see single coverage all day and are good enough to really exploit it.
C) Speed. The Bills offense is stupid fast. How do you defend a 4 wide set of Watkins/Woods/Williams/Goodwin and Spiller in the backfield?

Watkins is a guy who can be a lynchpin for this offense and taking it to the next level. The speed and talent at the skill positions is way above average. Of course, this is contingent upon EJ improving, and if youve followed his offseason, you cant say hes not trying.

The Bills will also have money to spend next year and I think they plan on being aggressive in FA after "hopefully" gaining some momentum as a winning franchise this year. That aggressive FA period will offset the lack of a top pick, which the Bills are banking on not actually being "that high".

In an offense built on speed and the ability for every playmaker to have home run capabilities, Watkins makes sense.

The WR core and Spiller are all potentially elite, but how good is the OL and QB?

I don't think truthfully Manuel is better than just a mediocre QB right now. I would take him over Geno Smith-NYJ/Houston Texans QB/Matt Schuab-Oak/Brian Hoyer-Cle/Blake Bortles-Jax/Jake Locker-Tenn/Teddy Bridgewater-MIN

That is means right now IMO the Bills have the 25th best QB in a league where that position matters more than any other. I don't see the Bills defense as better than NY Jets. I can't see the Bills being more than 8-8 next year unless the QB makes rapid improvement.

The AFC East plays the AFC West(3 playoff teams), NFC North(3 solid teams and the Vikings), each other H/H that is 12 really hard games and the 2 gimmes Minnesota and Oakland will be 1 H/1A.

This move was Marrone/Whaley knowing they have to win this year because of the new ownership wanting their own people if Marrone/Whaley don't give them reason to be retained. If your going all-in I go after Clowney. Put Clowney on the Buffalo DL and that unit has a chance to be special. I agree Watkins brings speed to the Bills offense, but last year's draft brought speed to the Buffalo offense.

 

[longislandcuse]

The WR core and Spiller are all potentially elite, but how good is the OL and QB?

I don't think truthfully Manuel is better than just a mediocre QB right now. I would take him over Geno Smith-NYJ/Houston Texans QB/Matt Schuab-Oak/Brian Hoyer-Cle/Blake Bortles-Jax/Jake Locker-Tenn/Teddy Bridgewater-MIN

That is means right now IMO the Bills have the 25th best QB in a league where that position matters more than any other. I don't see the Bills defense as better than NY Jets. I can't see the Bills being more than 8-8 next year unless the QB makes rapid improvement.

The AFC East plays the AFC West(3 playoff teams), NFC North(3 solid teams and the Vikings), each other H/H that is 12 really hard games and the 2 gimmes Minnesota and Oakland will be 1 H/1A.

This move was Marrone/Whaley knowing they have to win this year because of the new ownership wanting their own people if Marrone/Whaley don't give them reason to be retained. If your going all-in I go after Clowney. Put Clowney on the Buffalo DL and that unit has a chance to be special. I agree Watkins brings speed to the Bills offense, but last year's draft brought speed to the Buffalo offense.

I think the Bills defense is on par with the Jets. Both potentially Top 10 defenses as they both stand right now. I think the Bills offense has way more potential than the Jets offense though.

I think Buffalo would've taken Clowney over Watkins if given the chance but the price way way too much for a non-QB.

EJ has the tools but this will be the year we find out what he's made of. He was never projected as NFL ready coming into last year BUT he was projected as the highest upside. Given the amount of weapons he has, its reasonable to expect him to make a big jump this year.

The O-Line is average. Not great but not awful. Franchise LT in Glenn and Franchise C in Wood. Urbik is a solid RG and they brought in former first round disappointment Chris Williams to be coached up by Marrone and compete with another talented yet unproven guard in JJ Unga. RT is where they need to upgrade as Pears is average to below average and Hairston is always injured.

Outside of EJ, which is the most important piece, that he plays at least solid football, the rest of the team is very talented. Only weaknesses are Duke vs Searcy to replace Byrd. Right Tackle. Defensive End depth and Tight End. I expect Buffalo to address DE/RT/TE with BPA in the second round and third round accordingly. If they get Morgan Moses, the offensive line becomes above average. If they get Austin Sefarian Jenkins or Jace Amaro, the Tight End position becomes a strength allowing Chandler to be the #2 TE. If they draft DE like Kony Ealy, then the defensive line becomes a monster.

Lots of talent for a team that drafted 9th. Development of the QB and a winning culture is what's needed. The talent is there.

 

[MSOrange]

Hey JeremyCuse and longislandcuse - if the Bills go tackle in the 2nd round. who would you prefer? Moses or Kouandijo?

 

[longislandcuse]

Hey JeremyCuse and longislandcuse - if the Bills go tackle in the 2nd round. who would you prefer? Moses or Kouandijo?

I'm cool with either. Both are big time OT's. Moses has the motivation issue while Koundijo had the knee problem. Also wouldn't mind ASJ or Ealy at the pick. Hyde could be a dark horse.

 

[longislandcuse]

Bills just traded back. Gained a fifth round pick and got our RT!

Cyrus Koundijo!!!

 

[MSOrange]

Bills just traded back.

I stepped away for a minute. What was the trade? I see we are picking 44 now but what else did we get?

 

[longislandcuse]

I stepped away for a minute. What was the trade? I see we are picking 44 now but what else did we get?

I edited my post. We got a 5th round pick, moved back 3 spots and drafted Cyrus Kouandijo. Whaley is straight killin it!

 

[MSOrange]

I edited my post. We got a 5th round pick, moved back 3 spots and drafted Cyrus Kouandijo. Whaley is straight killin it!

I like it! Kouandijo had a rough combine but Saban usually doesn't have too many guys that can't play at Bama.

 

[Stern]

It's one pick. Consensus impact player at a position they thought was a need.

It's 2 picks. They gave up NEXT YEARS 1st round pick to get him

 

[longislandcuse]

It's 2 picks. They gave up NEXT YEARS 1st round pick to get him

You can't just keep drafting Eric Ebrons and Taylor Lewans at pick 9. Buffalo made a move to get an elite player. Buffalo will have $$$ to get a big name FA to make up for that 1st.

 

[GoSU96]

It's 2 picks. They gave up NEXT YEARS 1st round pick to get him

BFD.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

It's 2 picks. They gave up NEXT YEARS 1st round pick to get him

Realistically they only gave up a first round pick in next years draft.
The second pick they gave up was a 4th rounder which they then received in return for Stevie Johnson. That may be a 3rd rounder as its a conditional pick.

 

[longislandcuse]

What is Miami doing? Are the Fins fans here happy with their draft?

 

[longislandcuse]

Jay Bromley to the Giants!!!

 

[Stern]

BFD.

Actually it is a big deal.