Latest / Disguised Coverage / Buffalo Bills Roster Reset: Biggest Questions, Needs, & More | DC

Transcript

Buffalo Bills Roster Reset: Biggest Questions, Needs, & More | DC · Disguised Coverage

0:00
And thirty eight. All Bills can win it here, Mike puts it down,
0:03
the kick is on the way out and he's got on the bill.
0:06
Good one one one they won Party one thirty eighth incredible, what a combat
0:18
by my Bill Jackson Bills perfect record on the line right here, keeping eide
0:31
touchdown, Kyle Williams touchdown. Amazing, unbelievable. They put in william who's
0:54
hats to full back and he scores a touchdown. It's wealthier to face tackle.
1:08
What's good folks, Family, Friends, loved Ones, Enemies, Friendemies,
1:11
Wizards, which is Muggles, mud Bloods, people of Middle Earth.
1:15
To another episode of Disguise Coverage, the only podcast in existence that gives you
1:18
an equal amount of blueberries in each muffin. I'm your host, Anthony pro
1:22
Haska. Find me on Twitter at Pro Underscore Underscore Ant. That's Pro two
1:26
Underscores, A and T. The show, of course, is sponsored by
1:30
One Pie Pizza, the best pizza in Buffalo, New York, hands down
1:34
official stamp of approval, Delicious Sweet Saucepie. They do a bunch of good
1:38
for the community with all their different initiatives and drives. I'll talk about them
1:42
later in the show when I plug the sponsor. Further, aside from this
1:45
opening plug into night's episode, we're gonna dive into the Buffalo Bill's roster.
1:52
Good timing here from Calgary Mafia just slightly off. He said, if I
1:55
drop a leg when you start right now, you're very close. You're oh
1:57
see and I see this mark. You're very close. What's up? John?
2:00
Thank you for Roland, Thank you for joining me tonight on this episode,
2:02
John, and in this episode of Disguise coverage tonight, as it is
2:06
titled Buffalo Bill's Roster Reset, Biggest Questions, Needs and more. We are
2:10
nine days away from the NFL Draft next Thursday, the twenty seventh of April.
2:17
This channel Cover one the channel we'll be live with Night one of the
2:21
draft, and then we'll have coverage on Night two, coverage on Day three,
2:23
all of these things because the NFL Draft will be live next week starting
2:28
Thursday, April twenty seventh, and we've been very draft focused here on this
2:31
show, going back to well really once the Bills got eliminated and we kind
2:37
of wrapped up the season in terms of what the Bills versus Bengals was,
2:39
what the season was for the Bills this past year and what a mean going
2:45
forward after we kind of did some housekeeping with the current roster. At that
2:47
point, everything was really forward focused free agency targets, fits, schematics,
2:53
coaching announcements, draft strategy, draft prospects, all of these pieces. And
3:00
now that we're a week away, I wanted to kind of reset the table
3:02
a little bit by resetting the discussion in regards to the Buffalo Bills roster.
3:07
So in tonight's episode, we are going to go position group by position group.
3:09
Some will require a deeper dive than others, but we're going to go
3:13
position group by position group for this Buffalo Bills team and really take a look
3:19
at everything in terms of proper scope, position by position to really see what
3:23
the Bills look like not only for twenty twenty three, but for twenty twenty
3:28
four in terms of looking at what each of these positions offer from a quality
3:32
standpoint, from a depth standpoint, from a contract standpoint, in order to
3:37
kind of put some focus into again what this team needs to focus on as
3:40
the offseason continues, but also how that might potentially impact twenty twenty four.
3:46
Again, the draft nine days away, there will be new additions to this
3:49
Buffalo Bills team in a variety of ways, but I thought it would be
3:52
important kind of reset things, take a step back, take a breath,
3:55
look at the roster for what it is, and dive into players, position
4:00
groups, needs, questions, and every single position group in terms of you
4:05
know, what are some underlying questions, what are some minor questions, what
4:09
are the biggest and more important, most important questions. There's legitimate, legitimately
4:13
a lot to answer for this team, as we've talked about all offseason.
4:15
This offseason I thought was a pivotal one for the Bills. I thought this
4:21
draft was a pivotal one for the Bills. And it wasn't just because of
4:25
what twenty twenty three offers or what twenty twenty three has in terms of needs
4:30
for this team, but a lot of it ties into what twenty twenty four
4:32
holds and beyond. So that's the focus of tonight's episode. As you folks
4:36
know what we like to do here on the show. Any questions, thoughts,
4:41
comments, concerns, philosophies, ideologies, maxims, whatever have you,
4:46
please drop them into the chat as we go, position group by position group,
4:48
I see some questions already coming in. I will answer them before we
4:51
dive into the meat and crux of this episode. But any thoughts that are
4:55
going through your head, I'm gonna mention it now, and I'll mention it
4:57
once we really dive into each topic as well. What are your thoughts for
5:00
each position group? Which position group is you know of the biggest concern to
5:04
you? What do you think the biggest question is for this roster as a
5:08
whole? What do you think the biggest question is at each position group?
5:11
Is? I bring up the headers and change the topic. Feel free to
5:14
flood the chat. Let me know you know where's your head at. What
5:16
are you focused on both within this team and potentially into the draft next week?
5:20
Thoughts, comments, question, concerns, all of those pieces and all
5:25
of those things. Describe this question first from Anthony terrific, name, absolutely
5:30
fantastic, name Love it. Anthony says, do you think the AJ Clein
5:34
signing will mean we draft a linebacker later than Day two? I hope not.
5:39
I don't think so. I don't think, and I don't mean this
5:43
to be disrespectful to a J Clin. I don't think the AJ Klein move
5:47
necessarily tips the scales tremendously in one direction or the other. I think this
5:55
was a depth move, This was a leadership move. This is a guy
5:57
who adds some salt in, some sandpaper too, or line up some tenacity,
6:00
some violence. Got plenty of experience with Sean McDermott. He's a veteran
6:03
in this league, and I think you need another veteran presence and somebody who's
6:08
seen real snaps in the NFL aside from Matt Milano. I don't know if
6:13
Milano's the most vocal guy or not, but I think adding another quality mind
6:16
to the linebacker room is a big piece for this one. And you know,
6:19
with somebody with client, you know who can step in and a pinch
6:23
and provide you some snaps. But I don't necessarily think now this is a
6:28
part of a bigger conversation that we've had on this show a bunch. There
6:30
could be schematic changes for the Buffalo Bills defensively in terms of coverage as they
6:35
play, in terms of what they ask from the linebacker role, in terms
6:39
of the fronts that they use, and the overall mindset and philosophy they use,
6:43
depending on how much they lean into what Sean McDermott was as a defensive
6:47
coordinator with the Carolina Panthers, So potentially, I guess there is a world
6:51
where AJ Klein is your first and second down linebacker and then you know you're
6:56
bringing in Taylor rap to be your dime linebackerrou on third downs or try to
7:00
get creative. I don't necessarily love that because I think if you have a
7:03
siloed role like that, such as you know, a first and second down
7:08
linebacker only kind of you know, shoehorns you into certain areas and can allow
7:12
you to be dictated to by an opponent. So I don't love that too
7:15
much. But I guess it's on the table. But in my heart of
7:18
hearts right now, no, I don't think the client signing means too much
7:21
towards the draft. I think if the Bills thought that I'm just making this
7:26
up, if the Bills thought that Jack Campbell was the top priority in round
7:29
one, you know, last week, I still think they think that right
7:31
now. With aj climb, maybe it swings the tables a little bit and
7:34
they think, you know, if the value is really tremendously great at that
7:39
spot for another person who fell, maybe they feel quite more comfortable leaning into
7:43
that because they do have the safety net somewhat of aj Clin, But I
7:47
think that would be present regardless of aj Clin was there or not, and
7:51
I don't think it sways anything too much. Ooh, thank you very much.
7:57
NFL Draft Fanatics, constant viewer appear here on the show, always in
8:01
the chat. Thank you very much for being here. Thank you very much
8:03
for the super chat. I necessarily appreciate it. That's awesome. Thank you.
8:07
Statement is tell us the fifth and sixth round position groups which can make
8:11
the roster. I would look there, then work backwards to round one for
8:15
the player position targets. Oh. Very interesting. So if we're looking at
8:20
this from a draft perspective in terms of fifth and sixth round position groups,
8:24
oh, I think those ones. I think you're you're kind of I don't
8:30
want to say bottom of the barrel, but I think you're looking for more
8:33
positions that are in flux and don't necessarily have firmly entrenched roles. So fifth
8:37
and sixth round position groups that I think could make the roster running back potentially,
8:43
you know, maybe if they really like somebody in the draft who falls
8:46
to the fifth or sixth round. I think that's there's got there's some potential
8:48
there. Tight end, potentially, just because your third tight end on the
8:52
roster is Zach David sid in no disrespect, I don't think he has a
8:56
spot sewn up. I think defensive tackle even potential your fifth and six defensive
9:01
tackles on the roster or Ilianku and Brandon Bryant. I don't think it's out
9:05
of the realm of possibility that a fifth or a sixth round defensive tackle could
9:09
come in and you surp one of them and move up into that fifth spot
9:13
or potentially climb up into the fourth spot, depending on the health or status
9:16
of Jordan Phillips. I also think you know there's an outside shot a wide
9:22
receiver as well. You know Kalil Shakir was a fifth rounder in last year's
9:26
draft. I think there's always receiver value at some point in the draft,
9:30
depending on what you're looking for. And I think the meat of this of
9:33
the strength of this receiver classes in the second and third and into the fourth
9:37
rounds, and I think some dudes will fall to the fifth, So I
9:41
think you could find fifth and sixth round talent at those positions I mentioned.
9:45
I also think you can find safety talent too, not that I think the
9:46
Bills necessarily need it now, especially with Hamlin announcing that he is potentially coming
9:52
back. But those are the positions I would look to outside shot at edge,
10:00
but I don't think there's going to be a decent amount of edges that
10:05
would last into the fifth and sixth that are necessarily going to crack the roster.
10:11
That's where I'm at right now. That was a good question, though
10:13
that I was not prepared for that at all, so I'm kind of just
10:16
thinking off the top of my head. So it's a very fair question.
10:18
And you say that you're laughing because you think similarly. Well, you know,
10:20
great minds, as they say, good question got me thinking a little
10:22
bit. Let's go to some other questions. Roy says, what position is
10:28
most needed according to the tree? The tree is looking as beautiful as ever,
10:33
still dressed in its easter pastels. We'll be switching up the garland for
10:37
next week because it is, you know, draft miss and that is a
10:39
special special time and occasion which the tree recognizes. The tree and I think
10:43
very similarly in terms of what position is needed most and I think right now,
10:50
depending on what you're looking at. I think the tree is leaning towards
10:52
the trenches, both both in terms of the offense and defense offensive tackle and
11:01
defensive tackle on edge. I think that's where the tree is looking. I
11:03
gotta stop because we've got another super chat. Thank you very much, Justin
11:07
for being here, and thank you very much for the monstery donation and a
11:09
super chat. Sincerely appreciate it. That's awesome, Justin says wide receiver,
11:13
tight end to defensive tackle, middle linebacker, edge, right tackle. I
11:20
am team trade down? What say you? I would love the opportunity to
11:22
trade down if I were the Buffalo Bills. I just I don't like to
11:26
predict it or necessarily forecast it because there are so many variables you need.
11:33
You need a team and a partner to dance with. You also need enough
11:37
players that you like to potentially be there. You know, if you have
11:41
a handful of guys, you're comfortable trading back because you're like, you know
11:43
what, we'll take any of these guys right now, So as long as
11:46
one of them falls cool, we'll trade back. But then what happens if
11:50
the board falls a certain way, and that reduces the opportunity for you to
11:54
trade with a partner. I mean we saw it from the opposite perspective when
11:58
the Bills traded for Josh Allen. They had that trade lined up with the
12:01
Broncos, and Elway told being like, hey, yeah, we'll do that
12:05
trade, but if we have a guy who's gonna if he drops, we're
12:09
gonna make that pick and use it on that guy. Lo and behold,
12:11
that guy was Bradley Chubb. Chubb Fell, Broncos made that pick, trade
12:16
Fell apart. Still worked out for the Bills, but a lot of variables
12:18
when it comes to the trade down piece. But I would love that.
12:22
Ideally, I would like the Bills if they could trade down into the mid
12:24
thirties or the late thirties, get yourself an extra Day two pick. In
12:30
an ideal world, I would love to amass as much draft capital on Day
12:33
two this year, Day two as rounds two and three. I think that's
12:37
where the best value for this draft class is. I think picks twenty five
12:43
ish through fifty five ish sixty ish is where the most value is going to
12:48
be. So I would love to amass as many picks as possible, even
12:50
early Day three picks like a Round four I would like to amass that capital,
12:54
depending again on how the board falls, but with the way I think
12:58
the board is going to fall one of those positions, well, those positions
13:01
you mentioned, I di legently think from wide receiver, defensive tackle, linebacker,
13:07
edge, and right tackle, someone legitimate is going to fall to twenty
13:11
seven. With how many quarterbacks I think go before pick twenty seven, With
13:16
how many tight ends I think go before pick twenty seven some of the other
13:20
given edge rushers and defensive tackle prospects, I think someone legitimate is going to
13:26
fall to twenty seven, which will obviously influence my trade Doown philosophy and strategy
13:33
going into this draft, But just off of the general value, the way
13:35
the strength of this draft class is and where the weaknesses are, I would
13:39
favor a trade Doown. I think that's a very fair question. Well done,
13:43
well done, well done. Bum bump, bump, bum What do
13:48
we got here? John says, Mazzi Smith is really starting to grow on
13:54
me as our pick at twenty seven. I really love Mozzie Smith. I
13:56
like what he adds from a defensive tackle standpoint. You know, his ability
14:01
to play low. He's physical and powerful versus the run. He can tork
14:05
offensive lineman almost like he's an offensive lineman. You know, he can operate
14:09
in a center shade, a one tack, even some three tack four eye,
14:13
straight up on the nose as a zero, or straight up on the
14:16
center as a zero. He's not going to give you a bunch in terms
14:18
of pass rush, but he's got that high motor. He wins with power
14:22
and extension. And I think, you know, as a team that is
14:24
probably going to continue to use light boxes and nickel personnel on defense. I
14:31
want to beef up that interior. I want to be stronger in the spine
14:33
of my defense and that spine your you know, your defensive tackles, your
14:37
linebackers up to your safeties, and especially with where we're going to talk about
14:43
as this episode goes on. But we've mentioned here on the show before the
14:45
Bills don't have any defensive tackles signed for next season. There are some void
14:48
years in terms of tap hits, but there is physically no player that is
14:52
signed at defensive tackle for twenty twenty four as of right now. Everybody who's
14:56
on the roster for twenty twenty three is no longer on the roster come twenty
15:01
twenty four as of right now, so not against the idea of Mazzi Smith.
15:05
I really really, really really like him a lot, a lot of
15:07
thoughts coming through for protect our quarterback, Protect our quarterback, protect our quarterback.
15:15
Tim says random thought. McDermott takes a Jedi defense and gets sith nasty
15:18
in twenty twenty three. I'm here for it, yes or alert, that
15:22
was very good. That was very good. Elvis says. The aj Klein
15:26
signing makes me feel much better. Richard says this wide receiver class is below
15:31
average. Better get Hopkins or the Bills may end up being third in the
15:33
AFC East. I do think I don't love this wide receiver class. As
15:39
I stated last week on the show. I think the value is more for
15:41
second and third round for the wide receiver class than I do first round.
15:45
The only receiver that I have a true first round grade on in this draft
15:48
is Jackson Smith and Jigba. But I would be comfortable taking Jack's or is
15:50
A Flowers or Jordan Addison in the first round. Some other guys I'm a
15:56
little more wishy washy on, but I think there was way more value in
15:58
rounds two, Ring and four and again, as I stated last week and
16:02
I've said on Twitter Jackson Smith and Jig, but like even if he's your
16:04
number one receiver, whoever your number one receiver is in this year's class for
16:07
me, at best, their wide receiver six in last year's class, which
16:11
was a very good class. Not that that makes them any worse, but
16:15
you have to think of it from the perspective of somebody who might be good
16:18
in their individual class. Once they get drafted, they're getting put into the
16:22
big pool of the NFL and depending on where they fall. Again, value
16:26
value value value value. Roy says, after watching all the different bill shows
16:33
and listening to multiple opinions from experts, I still have no idea who being
16:37
will take in round one, two or three. And that's how he wants
16:38
it. He wants smokescreen season. He wants you to not know what he's
16:41
doing. He doesn't want to tip his hand for himself or the organization.
16:45
I think it's very smart. I think it's very smart. Oh Spin says
16:48
our needs right tackle, middle linebacker, defensive end, defensive tackle, and
16:52
center to learn behind Morrison replace in the future, wide receiver for the boundary
16:56
and tight end for blocking we're going to get into a bunch of those pieces
17:00
spin. I'm like, where your head's at. Oh cr says loves your
17:03
Christmas trees in the background. Yes there is two. There's this easter one
17:08
and then there's this little Easter beauty. I'm so horrible appointing and stuff on
17:11
camera. Well done, Cr, I appreciate your appreciation for the tree.
17:15
Also, my wife does the background, so she will appreciate that as well.
17:21
Oh Josh says Siaki Ega, defensive tackle from Baylor, feels like he's
17:23
going to be a bill. His power seems different than most of the defensive
17:26
tackles in this group. Justin again, super chat, Thank you so much
17:30
man. Justin says, I think being loves the fifth year option, so
17:33
I think he will stay at twenty seven, but he might trade down on
17:37
day two. So that's a fair point, right if you get if you
17:40
get taken in the first round. For those who don't know, you have
17:44
the four year contract, but then the team has the option to pick up
17:47
your fifth year. That does not exist if you're taken after the first round.
17:51
So if you take somebody in the first round, you have that option
17:53
to potentially have them under pretty good cost control four five years, and that's
17:57
a very fair point. So that's very fair. That's very fair. Bill
18:03
says, any thought on next year's wide receiver class where would JSNB? I'll
18:07
be honest with you, Bill, I haven't even started to go down that
18:10
rabbit hole yet. That'll be that's like a July August task as I kind
18:15
of put together pieces for the upcoming college football season and kind of do preseason
18:22
rankings from myself to kind of formulate my structure for everything. But that's a
18:26
good question. But I got no ideas at this point, but I appreciate
18:29
it. David says, as aunt doing the show by himself this week,
18:32
and I the answer from Spin. Spin says, he usually does the show
18:34
by himself every week. That's right. Sometimes I work in guests, sometimes
18:38
I do him solo. This is mainly just you know, my solo show,
18:41
but I work in different people, depends on what's going on. Who
18:45
oh, well, look at it. I like all the kind words.
18:48
Tim says, sometimes he does the show solo, plays the drums and files
18:51
our taxes. He is a treasurer. Thank you, Tim. I appreciate
18:53
it. I don't even I can't even I can't even make a joke.
18:57
That was very good. That was very good. Oh appreciate, appreciate,
19:02
Dame. I just got what Bill met. I'm taking that comment down.
19:03
I appreciate you all right. I appreciate all the kind words coming through.
19:07
I don't like to pull up too many, I say through the outrole all
19:11
the time. I feel corny pulling up a lot of kind things for myself.
19:14
But I like where your folks, where your heads are at. Except
19:17
for you, Bill with that last comment. But well played, you got
19:18
me. So let's dive into the buffalo Bill's roster reset, biggest questions,
19:25
needs and more. When I dive into things just from a depth chart order
19:30
perspective as I normally have it in my head whenever I go through depth charts,
19:36
and as I mentioned before, as we go through each position group,
19:38
questions, thoughts, comments, concerns, put them into the chat. Biggest
19:41
question or concern for that position group, put it into the chat. General
19:45
thoughts, whatever you got thrown up into the chat. I will pull up
19:49
as many comments as physically possible as I read off my notes and go through
19:52
here as I stayed all the time and have done already on the show.
19:56
Super chats are a guaranteed pull up comment, you know, whether it's a
20:00
comment question or anything. He got automatic pull up because one, I respect
20:04
the monetary donation. Two I see the color and it attracts my eyes and
20:07
it pulls me away from my notes. So as we dive into this CRU's
20:15
main portion, main event of the episode, we're gonna start with the quarterback
20:21
group, which I don't think we're gonna spend a ton of time here,
20:23
but we're looking at this group. It's Josh Allen, Kyle Allen, and
20:26
Matt Barkley as of now. For some reason, my notes say Matt Markley
20:30
and I don't know why, but those are the three right now. From
20:33
a high level perspective, this group goes as Josh Allen goes. We saw
20:37
the elbow injury that he had last year. I don't even want to put
20:41
this out into the ether, but I don't know what it would even take
20:45
to get Josh Allen out of the lineup. Like that elbow injury. He
20:48
probably should have sat for at least one or two weeks and kind of rested
20:52
a little bit. We saw him affected really for the first two or three
20:57
weeks. I thought from a mechanical perspect in terms of how it altered his
21:00
release and his success, especially going to his left and especially in the intermediate
21:04
part of the field, you know, physically and mechanically. I thought it
21:07
also impacted some of his decision making. And you had a capable backup in
21:11
case keenom but the Bills didn't go to Kingdom men. I really don't know
21:17
what it would take for Josh Allen to be out of the lineup. I
21:18
think you would have to be missing a limb. And so if you're looking
21:22
at this group as it stands right now, again, this group goes as
21:25
Josh Allen goes. The Bills brought in Kyle Allen to be the main backup
21:30
for Josh Allen this year. Kyle Allen is a friend of Josh Allen,
21:33
as is Matt Barkley. So next year, when Kyle Allen is an unrestricted
21:37
free agent, we will see if we continue the string of one year backup
21:42
quarterbacks and or friends of Josh Allen, or maybe the Bills bring a quarterback
21:51
in late in the draft, which I kind of doubt, or potentially an
21:55
undrafted free agent. My biggest question here for this position group is as it
22:00
is going to kind of be every year. What do you want in a
22:03
backup to Josh Allen? Do you want more of the case keenum Mold,
22:07
the savvy vet who is good in the QB room and and or on the
22:14
sideline and is kind of like an extension of the coaching staff and can help
22:17
Josh Allen mentally and can be that guy who you know, can help game
22:22
manage if he has to go into the game, the guy who will just
22:23
keep you on track, won't lose the game for you, but isn't going
22:26
to go and win. And again, his real value is in the film
22:30
room, you know, in the QB room during the week, in terms
22:33
of identifying coverages and putting game plans together, helping you on the Microsoft surface
22:37
tablet on the sideline and kind of breaking things down that extension of the coaching
22:40
staff piece or again, if he's thrust into game action, can manage things,
22:45
keep you on track, kind of like with Chad Henny has been to
22:48
Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs. So do the Bills stay in that
22:52
direction kind of year after year or do they opt to go with someone who's
22:57
a more designed fit to Josh Allen. Do you go the route of having
23:02
a backup who is more similar in skill set to your starting quarterback. I'll
23:06
out what the Baltimore Ravens have done or did with Tyler Huntley to Lamar Jackson.
23:10
That is the biggest question for me when it comes to the quarterback grouping.
23:14
I don't think there's too much mystery. I don't think there's anything that
23:18
really has to kind of kick this position group into the forefront. In terms
23:23
of conversation, it's Josh Allen and then everything else. If anything happens to
23:27
Josh Allen, this team is in dire strengths status of this group as a
23:33
whole. But I do think it's interesting to wonder what this back with the
23:37
backup looks like going forward. Is it every year just a new guy.
23:41
One year guy Mitch Drubisky, case Keenum, this year it's Kyle Allen.
23:45
Do they keep cycling through? Are they looking I'm not even making a joke
23:48
like, is Josh Allen just literally asking them to bring in his boys for
23:52
whatever reason and that's what they're opting with. Are they looking for a certain
23:55
mindset or they're looking for a certain skill set, or do they want to
23:57
lean into. Hey, do we want to get more of a mobile guy
24:00
to try and build off of what Alan does or we just want to keep
24:03
it with a vet. I think that's the biggest question for the quarterback grouping
24:07
right now as we look at the roster as it's constructed again, Josh Allen,
24:11
Kyle Allen, Matt Barkley. Kyle Allen is an understricted free agent next
24:15
year. Barkley is what he is, so at this point next year we
24:18
may be having this exact same conversation in terms of who is the backup and
24:22
what that looks like. Oh question here from Spin Spin says, would you
24:26
be opposed to drafting Darnel Right or Dewan Jones in the first round? Second
24:30
round? O Cyrus Torrance Round three Whippler. I know it's not realistic.
24:34
Maybe they can trade up in the second. If your question is what I
24:37
want to do all of those in the first three rounds, I don't think
24:41
I'd go that heavy old line. But if I'm looking at them individually in
24:45
a vacuum, I would not be opposed to drafting Darnel Right in the first
24:48
round. He is still my dream fall at twenty seven. I think he
24:52
comes in and beats out Spencer Brown for right tackle. He's an athletic grizzly
24:56
bear who still got technique and again got a good seal. He represents a
25:00
high floor, powerful in the run game, but athletic and still technical enough
25:04
in the past game. And I think he will get better the more snaps
25:07
that he gets at right tackle. So I would love for Darnaut right to
25:11
fall down Jones, I like, I don't know if i'd want to take
25:15
him in the first I do have some questions about Dewan Jones from a Again,
25:22
the dude is what let me go to my notes here, six foot
25:27
six foot, six foot eight, three hundred and fifty pounds. He's strong,
25:33
he's powerful, his hand placement his fine. Once he gets his paws
25:37
on you, it's really tough to kind of go anywhere. I do wonder
25:40
the NFL level if he's going to be vulnerable and susceptible to inside moves,
25:45
and if he can consistently anchor, and if he has the feet in the
25:47
balance for that, and a lot of that is just tied to he's huge.
25:52
He's six ft eight, three hundred fifty pounds, which sounds awesome because
25:55
he's a mountain of a man, and when he washes down, he caves
25:57
in the entire rights out of the line and it's impressive as hell. Right,
26:00
and when he does a snatch and trap and he chops you on the
26:03
risk, guy's face plant fall in the dirt. But I do wonder will
26:07
mobility being an issue just because of his size? You know he is,
26:11
he being six foot eight, three hundred fifty pounds, and it doesn't really
26:14
lend itself to you being an extremely mobile or athletic guy. So will mobility
26:18
be an issue if you put him on an island in wide alignments? How
26:22
will he hold up consistently in the NFL? So I do like Dwan Jones,
26:25
I would target him more in the second round. Ideally, I don't
26:27
think he makes it to the bills at fifty nine. I think somebody bets
26:30
on the traits and the size and the positives of him and kind of leans
26:33
into those. I think he goes somewhere in the early to mid second round.
26:37
I do like Oh Sirens Torrents from Florida. I don't know how much
26:41
he fits the scheme though I like that he's a physical people mover a road
26:45
greater or kind of guard. But he's more gap scheme than he is zone,
26:48
and I think the Bills lean into more zone scheme this year. So
26:51
we'll see Luke Whippler. You're round three option there center from Ohio State.
26:55
I really like Luke Whippler broken down a bunch of tape on him. I
27:00
think that would be awesome to the guy get to get a guy like him
27:02
who can be waiting in the wings to take over for Mitch Morse when or
27:07
if that day comes. I don't know if it's the best value given what
27:11
else you could potentially get in the third round, but as a prospect,
27:12
what you have in Luke Whippler, I think it is kind of like a
27:18
mini Mitch Morse. Good movement in space, good mobility, he can pin
27:21
and pull. He is more zone based, So that works if the Bills
27:25
are going to lean into his own run scheme with James Cook, real technical.
27:30
So I do like those options for the Bills. What else do we
27:37
got anything? Anything? Anything? Anything? All right, let's move on
27:44
to our next position group here, the running backs. So not to kind
27:47
of gloss over QB, but I think that was kind of straightforward and easy.
27:49
In terms of what we're looking at running backs for the Buffalo Bills.
27:56
You've got James Cook, Nahem Hines, and Day and Harris. Nahim Hines
28:02
is a unrestricted free agent in twenty twenty five. He's got a minimal dead
28:06
cap hit. If he gets cut next year pre or post June first,
28:11
it's only a five hundred thousand dollars dead cap hit. You'd save about five
28:14
million, that's per the website. Over the cap, they're tremendous. Damien
28:18
Harris a UFA in twenty twenty four. If released this offseason post June first,
28:22
it's a one million dollar dead cap hit in a savings of seven hundred
28:26
and seventy thousand, so almost an even split. And then of course you've
28:30
got James Cook entering year two locked up for that four year contract starting from
28:34
last year, so he's got this year plus another two. That's where her
28:37
running back group looks like as of right now. I don't think it's out
28:41
of the question that Damion Harris doesn't make this roster, even though he's brought
28:45
in and spoke with the press conference and he is a nice complimentary piece.
28:48
I don't think it's out of the question that he somehow gets cutter doesn't make
28:52
this roster, it makes his team. But the biggest question for this group,
28:56
I think it really comes down to what the time sho and by extension,
29:00
what the run game overall looks like. In twenty twenty one, as
29:06
the season went on, we saw a gap scheme start to really take over
29:10
for this Bill's offense. More pin and pull, more powers, more counter,
29:12
more Reggie Gilliam and twelve personnel or twenty one personnel, depending on however
29:18
you view Reggie Gilliam. That's how they closed out the twenty twenty one season.
29:22
We saw more physicality. We saw more of an attack minded run game
29:25
where they were running at opponents and kind of people moving. Devin Singletary saw
29:30
the heavy heavy line share of the snap rate and workload down the stretch.
29:34
What we saw last year was more zone running mixed into this run game.
29:41
As James Cook went in, we saw more zone. We saw him a
29:44
mid zone, outside zone. That's not that he can't be a good gap
29:48
scheme runner, but he is built for that zone work. He has built
29:52
for that zone life. The way he can kind of press the line of
29:53
scrimmage and flow like water through whatever hole comes available, similar to his brother
29:57
Dalvin Cook. I hate making that because I feel like it's low hanging fruit
30:00
in kind of a week. But he's a very good zone runner. The
30:03
Bills leaned into that with him as the season went on last year. So
30:08
is James Cook the number one? How much does Naheim Hines get worked in?
30:12
How much of a factor is Damien Harris? Is the timeshare split?
30:17
Is it a one two like we've seen in the past several years, Like
30:19
last year it was you know, Singletary and Cook? This year is it
30:22
Cook and Harris? Is it Cook and Hines? Is it Cook Harris and
30:26
Hines? Is it mainly James Cook? And the number two is whoever the
30:32
hell they want? The timeshare piece is very interesting, and oh, I
30:37
gotta stop because we've got a super chat. Thank you very much for being
30:41
here in more than mine. I appreciate it, and thank you very much
30:42
of a super chat. That's awesome to see. Thank you. The question
30:45
is what's your view on getting d Hop. I'd love to see him as
30:48
a Bill and then onto the Super Bowl God Bills. Ooh, I would
30:52
be pretty happy if the Bill's got DeAndre Hopkins. I still think he has
30:59
the potential to be an umber one wide receiver in the NFL at the worst,
31:02
worst worst. He's a high end wide receiver too. You put him
31:06
with Stefan Diggs. Both of those guys have gravity, Both of those guys
31:10
can beat man coverage. Both of those guys and they also win in different
31:14
ways. Hopkins plays real big at the catch point. He's good contested catches,
31:18
He's good at finding space, he's better with his yards after the catch.
31:21
Even though he's not a burner or the most elusive guy. I would
31:25
gladly add him to the Buffalo Bills. I think it ticks a need for
31:29
this team with wide receiver. It ticks that box, it checks that box,
31:33
and I think, all of a sudden, you have one of the
31:36
best wide receiver combinations in terms of a one two wide receiver tandem in Stefon
31:41
Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins. I would gladly take him if again, if the
31:45
value was right in terms of why you have to trade and money and contract
31:48
and how that all works out. But I think he would swing the pendulum
31:52
heavily into the Bill's favor if they were to get DeAndre Hopkins, it would
31:56
be it would be a big move, So I would I would second that
31:59
no one DF comes in and says Aunt, great to see you, Bro,
32:04
appreciate your DF forever, and DF says smack that like button like a
32:07
woodpecker and heat. I think that's fantastic. Similarly there, and I think
32:10
it's a good message if you would, folks be so kind. If you
32:14
folks would be so kind, please drop Alke on this video. It goes
32:16
a long way to its helping myself, the entire team to track and trend
32:20
in front of more eyes and ears. It significantly affects the algorithm. So
32:22
if you'd be so kind, please, please, please, and thank you.
32:24
If you're just coming in or you've been in here, please drop Alke
32:28
on this video. Even if you're watching later and you're not here live,
32:30
that's cool. Please drop a likeke. It would be greatly, greatly,
32:34
greatly appreciated. So oh, now here's the comment or question here from Aiden.
32:39
So this ties into the next point right, The timeshare question I think
32:43
is the biggest question for this running back group. Is it mainly going to
32:46
be cook? Is a cook in someone else? I think either way you
32:50
slice it, Cook is going to get significant touches in this offense. It's
32:54
just a matter of how much is it fifty fifty, is it's sixty forties,
32:58
it's seventy thirty, is it seven, fifteen, fifteen? I think
33:01
he gets the lion's share or gets worked in to some degree for a significant
33:07
level. It's just a matter of is he the true one? Is it
33:09
a one two? If it's a one two, is the two Hines or
33:14
Harris? Or is it a one two three? Or is it matchup dependent
33:17
and matchup specific. Now this ties into my next point. I don't think
33:22
you can rule the Bills out drafting or running back in this draft, whether
33:25
it's Round one with b Jean Robinson or elsewhere. That then complicates this conversation
33:30
even further because if you draft or running back, they're restructured to him Hines.
33:36
Hines isn't going to go anywhere. If they drafted or running back,
33:38
that to me would signal that Damien Harris is likely going to be a cap
33:44
casualty or cut. Again, like I mentioned, if released this offseason post
33:49
June first, it's a one million dollars dead cap hit and the savings of
33:52
seven hundred and seventy thousand, so you're losing about two hundred and thirty thousand,
33:57
But it's not some number where it's like, well, we can't cut
34:00
him, Like the dead cap is just astronomical. So Harris could be a
34:02
guy who's cut. To answer this specific question, if for Aiden, Aiden
34:07
says, who is our number one? If Bijean falls and we take him,
34:10
I really like James Cook. I liked him coming out of Georgia before
34:15
the Bills got him. Myself and Eric Turner and Kendall Murski broke him down
34:19
in the Cover one film Room. I like his skill set a lot.
34:22
If Bijean falls and the Bills take him, Bijean Robinson is the one and
34:29
he gets the lion's share. If Beijean Robinson goes to the Buffalo Bills,
34:34
he is the number one. I honestly think if Bijean Robinson goes to like
34:37
any of the teams that are rumored to be interested in him, he's the
34:39
number one. Bijean is an elite. He is one of This is a
34:45
draft that isn't full of top tier, blue chip level prospect. There's only
34:47
a handful, like depending on how you view it really only like four to
34:51
seven depending on what you're looking at. Bijean is easily one of the blue
34:54
chip prospects in this draft. Positional value is a whole another conversation. If
34:58
you don't think running backs are worth a first round pick, if you don't
35:01
want to waste a fifth year option on a running back, that's a whole
35:07
other conversation. I understand that piece, but we're just looking at it from
35:10
a talent standpoint. From a player's standpoint, Bijean Robinson is one of the
35:15
best players in this draft. If Bijean Robinson gets drafted by the Buffalo Bills,
35:20
he is the number one Noah answer, Butts, that's it, like
35:22
case close. Usually I don't deal in absolutes like that, even though I
35:25
am a fan of the sith Bijean And again I say this is a person
35:30
who likes James Cook. I really like his skill set. I was happy
35:32
with the pick last year. I'm excited to see what he can do with
35:36
more workload and snapshare this year. But if it's between him and Bijean,
35:39
I think that's a cool pairing. You get a little bit of a different
35:44
dynamic there in terms of what they can both offer. But Bijean can do
35:47
everything like he Oh and as DF says here, he's a generational running back.
35:52
He legitimately is. Like the conversation that is continuing to be had about
35:57
Bijean Robinson, is he like one of you're trying to find drafts where he
36:02
wouldn't have been the best running back in the draft. Like the conversation is
36:06
really like, oh, who would have been the better prospect coming out?
36:07
Was it Bijean Robinson or was it Sequon Barkley, Like Bijean is a stud.
36:12
He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He can run routes
36:14
down field or underneath. He's got power, he's got contact, balance,
36:17
he's got vision, he's got agility. He can make make him miss in
36:20
a phone booth. He still runs in the four fours, towards the higher
36:23
end of the four force, but he can still pull away and bust off
36:25
of seventy five yard touchdown run. He creates his own holes in his alley.
36:30
He doesn't need on runway or an offensive line to open things up for
36:32
him. Bijean is absolutely tremendous. So if Bijean comes to the Buffalo Bills,
36:39
then at your point here, if Bijean falls and the Bills take him,
36:45
Bijean is the hands down number one. Now, I don't think the
36:47
conversation necessarily just has to be geared towards Bijean Robinson. If we're talking about
36:52
running backs and the draft for the Bills, there's a ton of really really
36:57
good backs in this draft class or for any team who is looking for one,
37:02
whether you're looking for one early, whether you're looking for one late.
37:06
There's just a multitude of guys who I think take a lot of boxes in
37:10
terms of possibility and skill set. You know, you've got Bijean Robinson,
37:15
but Jamir Gibbs from Alabama, who is the RB two in this draft,
37:19
would be the RB one, hands down if not for Bijean Robinson, at
37:22
least in my eyes. And then you've got Zach Charbone, You've got Taija
37:25
Spears, You've got Devin a Chain from Texas A and M. You even
37:29
got guys like Tank Bigsby from Auburn who I like. I like Hendry Miller
37:31
from TCUM, some people like Eric Gray, some people like Kenny Mackintosh.
37:37
Like there's there's a lot of value someone who I like late is Mohammed Ibraheim
37:42
or Abraham depending on how you want to pronounce the name from Minnesota, had
37:45
some injuries and some tread on the tires. He's not going to pull away,
37:47
but he's a hammer and he's a thumper. Like there's a lot of
37:51
value at running back throughout this entire draft, So I wouldn't rule out the
37:55
Bills taking a running back at any point in this draft if the value is
37:59
there, because again, and there's a bunch of good running backs in this
38:01
draft, and like I mentioned earlier, Harris's contract doesn't necessarily handcuff you to
38:07
the point where you have to keep Damian Harris. So I wouldn't rule out
38:10
the Bills drafting and running back in this draft, whether it's Bijean Robinson in
38:14
the first or a running back at any point going forward. But just on
38:19
the conversation of Bijeon, I don't think he's there at twenty seven, Like
38:22
I really think he goes before that. He's one of the best dudes in
38:25
this draft. Again, positional value is a whole other conversation. If you
38:30
don't think running back is worthy of a first round pick, no matter who
38:34
the prospect it's completely fine. But if you're talking about guys who are like
38:37
the best football players in this draft, Bijean is up there with almost everyone.
38:42
So I don't think he lasted twenty seven. But we'll see. We'll
38:45
see. Oh NFL Draft NX puts this up here. I think it might
38:49
have changed since then, I hope. But he says, seventy watching.
38:51
There's more watching now, but only twenty nine lights. Let's drive that like
38:53
that light count up there. Please and thank you, folks, if you
38:55
would be so kind. Spin asked what would you what would be the most
39:05
you would be willing to give up to get Hopkins. I'd give a second
39:09
round pick for Hopkins. I would love to give a third or you know,
39:16
a combination to day three picks. And honestly, it's gonna depend on
39:20
how much contract you're eating and what the contract looks like and how you're able
39:22
to lay that out. But I would give up a second because ideally I
39:28
would like I wouldn't love, but I would like the Bills to add a
39:31
receiver on day not day one, but on day two. So round two
39:36
or round three, and you're drafting one of those guys hoping that they could
39:39
be something consistent for you. So I have no problem giving a Day two
39:44
pick to get somebody who I know is an established product and who is one
39:47
of the best players at his position in the league. So I would give
39:50
a second round pick for DeAndre Hopkins. But the money is going to depend
39:52
on it a little bit, a little bit. Oh Backbone five says,
40:00
is Beijean is there twenty seven, they have to take him. He probably
40:02
won't be there, though, especially with Dallas picking at twenty six. Dallas
40:06
would take Beijean, especially because he's a Texas dude and Jerry Jones loves running
40:08
back, so very fair, very fair. M Johnny Blaze says people seem
40:15
to stop saying generational, and he says, generational doesn't mean every three to
40:20
five years. But I don't think. I don't think that's what it means
40:22
with Beijean. I think he's generational because he's like one of the best running
40:24
back prospects to like come out like he's up there, he's up there with
40:30
like top dudes. And Johnny comes in and says, there's a generational running
40:34
back that comes out of the draft every three to five years. I don't
40:36
think that necessarily a case. I think the last one was sa Quon because
40:38
Sequan was a stud, as is Bijean. I don't think there's necessarily a
40:43
generational running back that comes out every three to five years. But you have
40:45
any thoughts, feel free to throw them in there. Throw him in there.
40:50
Fair point here from half akc Ohich's fan in the building. What up?
40:52
Half A says Bijean played in the Big twelve, so if he on
40:55
him, that's fair. They don't play defense in the Big twelve, which
40:59
is a very fair point. But I think when you look at the way
41:04
he won, it projects very well to the NFL. It is very sustainable
41:07
in terms of seeing the contact balance, the agility, the elusiveness, the
41:14
power, the speed, the vision, the hands, and the receiving game.
41:16
Like he's winning in ways that aren't just due to poor competition. He's
41:23
winning in ways that are sustainable in the NFL. And then you add it
41:27
in with the size and him being five eleven and two hundred and fifteen pounds,
41:30
and he's got the frame, he's got the body like he's good between
41:35
the ears from a football perspective, like he ticks almost every box. The
41:37
only thing that would make Bijon better is if instead of running a four four
41:40
six forty he ran like a four or four two like that would push him
41:45
into another stratosphere in terms of prospectability. But I think it's a fair point.
41:50
You know, again, they don't play defense in the Big twelve.
41:52
But the way he wins, I'm not too worried. But that's fair.
41:57
That's fair, that's fair. M what else? What else? Questions Darrel
42:06
says, there's no defensive tackle on the roster past one year contract? What
42:08
do you think? What around do you think they draft one? We're gonna
42:12
talk about that, Darrel when we get to the defensive tackle part of this
42:15
episode of like where your head's at? Very fair? Very fair. Oh,
42:17
I don't think Johnny, says McCaffrey before that, I don't think McCaffrey
42:23
was a generational McCaffrey wasn't talked about generational, generationally from a running back propectible.
42:29
I didn't view him as a generational running back. Um. I don't
42:31
think he was talking in the same breath as say Quon and as Bijean.
42:38
Um. I may I may be wrong on that piece, but I don't
42:40
think McCaffrey was talking. McCaffrey was talking about as a good running back and
42:45
a good piece. But I don't think he was talked about in the same
42:46
manner as say Quan and U and Bijean or if he was, at least
42:52
in my eyes, he was not. Like I don't view McCaffrey as I
42:54
mean, it's a little different to say now considering where he's risen to in
42:59
the NFL out, But I don't think for me, if I'm evaluating,
43:02
I didn't view McCaffrey as generational in the same way that I viewed what Sequan
43:07
was and what b Jean Robinson was. But teach their own what else?
43:15
What else? All right? So again, the running back spot timeshare is
43:20
gonna be the biggest question for this Buffalo Bills team. Is it James Cook's
43:24
backfield? If they draft someone else where do they draft them, what happens
43:28
and if we're just looking at it in a vacuum in terms of what they
43:30
have now, it is pretty interesting. Like even just from nahem Heinz perspective,
43:35
he's got some juice and a skill set aspect to his game that not
43:38
a lot of other backs on this team have. And when I say not
43:42
all the other It's kind of like tongue in cheek because there's only two other
43:44
running backs really, so he represents a different piece, although he does have
43:47
some similar skill set aspects to his game like James Cook does. But we'll
43:52
see what this timeshare looks like. I think that's the biggest question. Then.
43:57
Based on what the timeshare looks like, I think that also ties into
44:00
what kind of scheme the Bills lean into. If it is a James Cook
44:02
backfield, I think you see more zone scheme. If it is a Damien
44:06
Harris backfield, or well, if he factors in more, I think that's
44:10
where you're seeing more of those gap scheme pieces or more duo or more inside
44:15
zone get him running downhill. He's also very good running out of the eye
44:19
formation, running out of the backfield, those under center runs as a whole,
44:22
So maybe you see more Reggie gilliam in that way with him, and
44:25
then maybe that leads into more play actions. So depending on what the timeshare
44:30
it looks like, I think that's a very interesting question to have. That's
44:32
the biggest question I have for this running back group. What does the timeshare
44:36
look like? Who gets the Lion's share, who's the two, who's the
44:39
three? Is it consistent every week? Does a change based on matchup or
44:44
opponent? And then we go back and forth, and then there is the
44:46
wildcard question of if Bejan's there at twenty seven, what do you do?
44:51
Very interesting question. Now move on to the next position grouping here, wide
44:55
receiver, which is a bit of a contentious one or Bills fans. Gabe
45:00
Davis has been thrown through the ringer. We've had some questions already in the
45:04
show about DeAndre Hopkins. If we're looking at this wide receiver grouping right now,
45:08
the Buffalo Bills have a grouping of Stefan Diggs, Gabe Davis, Deontay
45:12
Hardy, Khalil Shakir, Trent Sharefield, Desmond Patman, Keyshawn Johnson, not
45:17
that Keyshn Johnson, a different one with a different spelling, and Isaiah Coulter.
45:22
Gabe Davis is a unrestricted free agent in twenty twenty four, so is
45:27
Trent Sharefield. Deontay Hardy is an unrestricted free agent in twenty twenty five.
45:30
The only wide receivers on the roster for twenty twenty four are Stefan Diggs,
45:35
Deontay Hardy, and Khalil Shakir. The only wide receivers on the roster for
45:38
twenty twenty five are Diggs and Shakir. So again twenty twenty four, he
45:43
only got Diggs, Hardy Shakir. Twenty twenty five just Diggs and Shakir.
45:47
With this grouping, I think there's a lot of potential biggest question candidates here
45:52
when it comes to the Bills wide receiver grouping. So my answer here is
45:57
kind of a cheat answer, and it's one that potentially I tried to come
46:00
up with the one that addresses all of them to a degree, and that
46:07
question really is what does the future at the wide receiver group look like?
46:12
It starts with Gabe Davis. He's an unerstricted free agent. In twenty twenty
46:15
four, the wide receiver free agent market kind of came down to earth a
46:19
little bit after what we saw last year with Christian Kirk and Zay Jones.
46:22
This year it kind of set a little bit. You had guys like Jacobe
46:24
Myers only go for about eleven million dollars average annual value, so things kind
46:30
of came back down to earth. We saw the deal that Juju got,
46:34
which was the same deal that Myers got to go to New England. Those
46:37
are like the top guys in free agency at the wide receiver position. So
46:40
maybe the market is starting to reset itself a little bit at wide receiver,
46:44
which will impact what Gabe Davis gets in twenty twenty four. But does Gabe
46:49
Davis come back? Does he resign? Another question? Is Khalil Shakier your
46:53
slot receiver or do you want him working into the boundary or both? Is
46:58
he a multiple alignment? I talked about it last year going into the season.
47:01
I thought he was more than just a slot I thought he could work
47:05
as a boundary receiver based on what he did at Boise State. I'm still
47:07
a fan of his game. I thought the Bill's got great value for him
47:09
in the fifth round. But depending on how you view Khalil Shakir, that
47:15
dictates what kind of wide receiver you go after in the draft, especially when
47:20
tied into what may happen with Gabe Davis. If you're not confident that you
47:23
can bring Gabe Davis back, does Shakier become that boundary receiver? And do
47:29
you look more for a slot receiver this year or if Shakier is your slot
47:32
guy, are you looking more for a boundary receiver to potentially replace Gabe Davis
47:37
next year and give you some more juice this year. Then you tie in
47:39
the Deonte Hardy signing, which I like. I think it raises the floor
47:43
for that slop position. Add some juice, adds some speed, add some
47:45
legitimate electricity to the wide receiver group in a way that I don't think they've
47:50
had. I think he's different after the catch than Isaiah McKenzie. No disrespect
47:52
to Isaiah McKenzie, but big piece with him Kenny stay healthy. You haven't
47:59
seen what a full season of Deontay Hardy looks like because even you know,
48:02
back when he was with the Saints ofs Deontay Harris, who's picking up knocks,
48:06
we haven't really seen a full season and him get a full workload,
48:08
snapshare and roll in a team consistently. So can he stay healthy? What
48:13
does that look like? If so, that ties into what happens to Khalil
48:17
Shakir's role, because Deontay Hardy is going to be I don't want to see
48:21
he's a slot only, but he's best in the slot and he's got some
48:23
gadget street aspects to his game. Does less Deontay Hardy. Does that mean
48:28
more Shakiir in the slot than initially planned? If if Hardy gets banged up,
48:31
and if Hardy gets banged up, is it a Trent share Field Khalil
48:37
Shakir time share in the slot? And who does that favor and by how
48:39
much? And what do you lean into? Because again, if you wanted
48:43
Shakire to see more reps on the boundary, Hardy's going to be your slot
48:45
guy. If Hardy drops down, do you try to plug Shrefield in there?
48:49
Do you bring Shakier into the slot a little bit more? You try
48:52
to work Gabe Davis and the slot a little bit? Does Stefan did see
48:54
the slot? His slot? You should? And percentage increased significantly last year
48:59
versus what it was the year before. There's a lot of dominoes that have
49:05
serious ramifications for this position group for the Buffalo Bills, not only in twenty
49:08
twenty three, but beyond. And if you want to see what the Bills
49:15
will look for in the draft a wide receiver, I think it starts with
49:21
you know, what do you what do you do with what you currently have
49:25
on the roster? What are you doing with Gabe Davis? What are you
49:29
doing with Kalio Shakier and with Gabe Davis. I mean, you know,
49:31
we know that he's wide receiver too for this team. Whether or not you
49:35
think he's a valuable wide receiver too or not, or is an actual wide
49:37
receiver too a whole another conversation. But we know this coaching staff and organization
49:43
thinks very highly of him. Josh Allen thinks very highly of him. Allen
49:46
spoke about him today at the podium for OTAs and said similar things that he
49:52
said almost every time that he's been asked about Gabe Davis going into the offseason
49:54
last year, going into the season two years ago. He talks about Davis
49:58
being reliable, doing the dirty work, doing what's asked of him, being
50:01
reliable, and being someone that he trusts both on and off the field.
50:06
We know Davis is that guy. But for twenty twenty four, again,
50:10
like I said, all you have right now is official guys on the roster
50:14
next year. At this time, Stefan Diggs, Deontay Hardy, Kalio Shakir,
50:17
and Deontay Hardy has questions around his health. Kalio Shakir, we still
50:21
don't know what kind of pro he's going to be. I think the trajectory
50:24
is solid and I like what he projects at. But as right now,
50:28
we still don't know. Shakir could be just the guy and he's not on
50:30
the roster, or he's a solid core or receiver member of this team for
50:34
the next several years who looks to get a second contract. And then again
50:37
in twenty twenty five, it's just defon Diggs, it's just Kalio Shakir.
50:42
So there's a ton of dominoes for this position and it starts with Gabe Davis,
50:47
Kalio Shakir, and I really think Deontay Hardy like who is playing the
50:51
slot, who's working into the boundary, What alignments and usages do you have
50:54
for each person and buy how much? And then that dictates what you're looking
50:59
for or in the draft. Are you looking for somebody who's more of a
51:02
best than the slot kind of guy. Are you looking for somebody who's more
51:06
best in the boundary? Are you looking for somebody who can live in both
51:07
worlds? Because you're trying to really go with the whole versatility and positionless receiver
51:13
type aspect, you're trying to throw in different personnel groupings and looks and dictate
51:17
more to a defense than you have previously. And when you have that versatility
51:21
and variability, it allows you to lean into those avenues a little bit more.
51:24
So I think that's a very interesting conversation to have as well. But
51:28
again, the biggest question, and again I try to use the biggest question
51:31
to tie all these things together, really is what does the future look like
51:36
for wide receiver at this position group, because they could look drastically different next
51:39
year. Like we're sitting here with Khalio Shakir now at this point next year,
51:44
that arrow might be trending more up, it might be down. It
51:46
might still be you Plateau Deonte Hardy. We might be thrilled at the value
51:51
of signing that he was this year at this time next year, or could
51:54
be a waste, or we still don't know because he got hurt. Like
51:58
maybe there's a rookie that came in and performed, well, maybe there's a
52:00
rookie who was going into year two next year, and we're looking at that
52:02
trajectory. A lot of questions when it comes to that position grouping. Connor
52:08
says, I take a wide receiver in round one just for the fifth year
52:14
option. That's fair. I just don't like the receiver class a ton this
52:19
year with how much I've studied him. Again, I would be okay with
52:21
a first round pick for Jackson Smith and Jigba is a Flowers and or and
52:25
or Jordan Addison. I think a lot of how this class falls on the
52:30
board is going to be determined by need. You know, just using Jackson
52:32
Smith and Jigba as an example, like, he is suited for the slot
52:37
heavily primarily. I think he's a dude who in the NFL probably sees slot
52:42
snaps eighty to eighty five percent of the time. So his value is tied
52:46
to how much eleven personality you run. And if you do run eleven personnel,
52:51
what kind of offense do you run? What kind of slot receiver do
52:52
you need? Do you want more of a power slot do you want more
52:55
of a long speed guy. Are you a vertical offense? Are you looking
52:58
for him to just leverage space on the in the middle of the field,
53:01
like what are you looking for? You're looking for shaking yards after catch like
53:06
that might change where you value him. Or again, also, if do
53:09
you need a slot receiver, do you want your first receiver or a guy
53:14
you're going to invest first round resources in. Do you want them to have
53:17
more Z wide receiver potential or an X potential? Like, do you want
53:22
them to have more size? What kind of again? Frame size, skill
53:24
set offense. I think that muddies the waters for the first round wide receivers.
53:30
But I like where your heads at, especially if you're trying to give
53:31
Josh Allen some consistent weapons. My only issue is I just don't love the
53:36
wide receivers in this year's class. But fair piece, fair piece? Oh
53:40
cool? Call me here from Johnny Blaze. So Shakure has been working out
53:44
with Eric Moulds. I think I heard that. Maybe I'm making that up
53:45
in my head, but I don't know. DF comes in and says,
53:49
I think Shakire starts a slot fair point. I do wonder. I think
53:52
he is better in the slot, but I do think he can work on
53:55
the boundary and I like that dual alignment potential for him. White Town's King,
54:01
what up? He says? Do you think that Jalen Hyde is the
54:05
deep threat that would improve all of our over the middle issues? He said,
54:08
I think so because he can be used like Emmanuel Sanders was Here's the
54:10
thing with Jalen Hyatt. He comes from a very gimmicky Mickey Mouse offense at
54:16
Tennessee. It's the art Ryles Baylor offense that is just ridiculously spread out in
54:24
terms of how they space the field. And you don't really see a lot
54:29
of NFL type routes from receivers in this offense. Sometimes you don't even see
54:34
routes from them. If you're looking at a guy like Jalen Hyatt, there's
54:37
reps where he's away from the throw. He's not even running a route like
54:40
because he knows the balls and come in his way. Most of his routes
54:44
are just reading, leveraging what's going on. Okay, if if they're you're
54:47
in one on one coverage. If this guy's ten yards off, you do
54:51
this. If he sits, you do this. He's getting matched up against
54:53
safeties and against guys that from a skill set standpoint and ability and frame stamp
55:00
point won't be covering him in the NFL. His speed is real, his
55:04
speed is legitimate. I know his combine numbers weren't as great as they potentially
55:07
could have been. I think he is a legitimate deep threat. I think
55:12
he's different than Emmanuel Sanders because Emanuel Sanders was such a technically sound player even
55:19
early on in his career. But from a route running standpoint and a football
55:22
IQ standpoint, he was a very close to a complete receiver. Aside from
55:27
being on the smaller side, he was tremendous. I think Hyatt as a
55:30
rookie is just pure deep threat. You're using him to just clear out space
55:36
for the underneath and the intermediate, which has some value. And then if
55:38
he gets on top of a guy and gets past the guy, you chuck
55:42
it up there and you let him run under it and see what happens.
55:44
He does have good ball skills. He is good at tracking the ball.
55:46
He does have good hands, So that's a fun piece, Like you can
55:51
chuck it up there and he'll find it and go get it. But he
55:53
doesn't have a ton of shake, doesn't have a ton of wiggle after the
55:57
catch. You know he's more You try to get it to him on the
55:59
move and let him keep going. You're not going to just you know,
56:00
flip the ball to him and then he's gonna shake a couple of dudes and
56:04
make his own yards and make his own way. And get up field.
56:07
So I think he's got a bit of a different skill set, but he
56:08
is a legitimate deep threat. I think he would help. I think he
56:13
would help the intermediate underneath for anyone that he goes to, because again,
56:15
his speed has to be respected. You can use him to clear out routes,
56:19
although there is some predictability in that. I just wonder what his long
56:22
term pieces. Can he run NFL caliber routes consistently? How does he face
56:28
or face up from a physical and frame standpoint. He is slight, he
56:32
is skinny, he is small. What does he do when dudes get physical
56:37
with him in the route stem, get physical with him at the line.
56:39
He didn't see a ton of press in college or a ton of jams.
56:43
So it's not that he can't do it, it's it's one of those absence
56:45
of evidence is not evidence of absence type deals. So how does he hold
56:50
up with the physicality at the line and in the stem and at the catchpoint?
56:52
Really, I think there are some questions around that for him is a
56:55
total prospect, but he is a legitimate deep threat. Where are we going?
57:04
Oh, Tim, bringing back conversation on CMC, says, looking back
57:06
at CMC's college scouting report. One of them. It seems like a big
57:08
knock on him was his frame. That and Derrick Henry was in the same
57:12
class. Oh, it's funny. Yeah, Henry went in the second round.
57:15
People just didn't even when he went to Tennessee early. I think he
57:19
was seeing second string reps to DeMarco Murray. I remember I had Derrick Henry
57:22
his first and I think second year in fantasy football. I just kept waiting
57:27
for him to break out and for them to give him the ball because I
57:29
had faith in him, and Tennessee just kept not giving him the ball.
57:31
Again, from what I remember, and maybe I'm just tying it with my
57:35
own evaluation, McCaffrey was good. Was definitely a good running back coming out.
57:37
I don't think he was talked about as it was a generational guy like
57:42
se Quon was or Bijean Robinson. Again, sa Quan was like was a
57:45
top five prospect in his class or top three. Same thing for Beijean.
57:49
I don't think that was the case of McCaffrey, but he is very good.
57:54
Oh, Walter says, if you have a wide receiver one, I
57:57
feel like wide receiver two is a churn and burn because there's an abundant of
58:00
wide receiver two's coming into the league every year. I don't see the value
58:04
of resigning one. I'm guessing that is in reference to bringing back Abe Davis.
58:10
Oh, Darrell says, I think they're resigned Davis early in the season.
58:15
Very interesting. Oh, spicy from Billy. Billy says, trade a
58:17
first and Ed Oliver to the Giants for Dexter Lawrence. I don't think they
58:22
do that. Oh, I don't know if I would do that. That's
58:24
interesting. Dexter Lawrence had a hell of a year last year, All Pro
58:29
candidate type of year man. There was just a ton of really good interior
58:31
players, two of them being in New York, New Jersey with Dexter Lawrence
58:36
and Quinny williams, Oh, you're basically giving up a first for Dexton.
58:39
Not that Oh, I think I would do that. I don't know.
58:43
I have to think about it. That's pretty awesome. That's a spicy one.
58:45
Very interesting. Johnny says, I think the Bills are going to target
58:51
Flowers in the first. Oh, and that Molds post his workouts was secure
58:54
a lot. That's cool. Eric Mould is one of the most under I
58:57
think, at least from me, underrated Buffalo Bills of all time. I
59:00
love Eric Molts. I hate that he has that playoff record in the game
59:04
against Miami and the Bills lost that game because it makes me not want to
59:06
look back at that game and appreciate that game because the Bills lost in Miami.
59:08
But he's awesome. Elvis comes in and says, give me these two
59:14
Jonathan Mingo and Cedra Tillman. Dudes a bigger frames, bigger bodies, a
59:17
little ex potential. They stand out in this draft class that is filled with
59:22
a lot of smaller guys, slot guys, Z receiver potential guys, slender
59:27
frames, less weight. So very interesting, very interesting. Oh appreciate you?
59:32
Why a great show? Smash that like, thank you very much.
59:35
Why I appreciate you. I appreciate you. Yeah, I filiate Molto is
59:42
underrated. He deserved better. So that's the wide receiver conversation again. Biggest
59:45
question what does this group look like? Also from a floor perspective, if
59:49
we're forgetting the future, we're just looking at twenty twenty three. How much
59:52
of the floor got raised with Deontay Hardy and with the additions of trend.
59:57
Shurfield right, what can you lean into schematically next as a nose wise,
1:00:00
with Shorefield and Hardy, I think you've added more to more speed. You've
1:00:05
had a significant speed element to your wide receiver room. Shurefield also gives you
1:00:08
some power slot opportunity with this frame and his blocking ability and his ability to
1:00:13
function off RPOs. So I'm interested from that perspective as well. Like if
1:00:17
the Bills don't address receiver at all in this draft, I do think they
1:00:21
will. It's just a matter of when and how the board falls. Again,
1:00:23
I think the best value for this wide receiver classes in rounds two through
1:00:27
four. My favorite value pick of the draft was Jonathan Mingo in round four.
1:00:31
I don't know if he lasts there now considering all the buzzies getting again,
1:00:38
a lot of it is due to just physical measurables in his size and
1:00:42
frame. Like you know, six foot two two and twenty plus pounds runs
1:00:45
a four four six forty dude can break tackles from linebackers and safeties. Take
1:00:52
one of the house high point the football. You know, moss guys downfield
1:00:54
on back shoulder catches or cowboy routes. So and his route round is better
1:01:00
than he was able to showcase at Old Miss. So he was a dude
1:01:04
who I loved in like round four, round three. Now I'm wondering if
1:01:06
he goes before pick ninety one for the Bills at round three. Oh A
1:01:09
lot of drama with his wide receiver groupment, but overall, I don't think
1:01:12
it's a class that I love. Whoa really Elvis says Peter Schrager has him
1:01:16
going in round one. Peter Schreger as Jonathan Mingo going in round one?
1:01:21
Is that what a statement is in regards to I feel like I can't do
1:01:24
the show until I know this answer. Man. That's wild. I will
1:01:29
bring up this comment from DF who says the problem is the best value for
1:01:30
inside linebackers rounds two through three. Round four for a wide receiver is too
1:01:35
late. Depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for somebody to
1:01:37
be a wide receiver two as a rookie, round four might be too late.
1:01:42
If you're looking for somebody to be your wide receiver three or four as
1:01:45
a rookie and develop into a wide receiver two in year two, I think
1:01:51
round four is okay. That's where you're looking for me, that's where I
1:01:53
have the Mingos of the world and the Xavier Hutchinsons and guys like that.
1:01:57
Wow, Elvia says yes Man Peter schregard Jonnathan Bingo going in the first what
1:02:00
a time. I liked him at the Senior Bowl. I've talked about him
1:02:04
so much on this show, and I was like, oh cool, third
1:02:06
fourth round guy, man man man, man man, man, How the
1:02:10
how the turntables. Let's move to the next position grouping. Let's move to
1:02:15
tight end. Dawson Knox, Quintin Morris, Zach Davidson, Poy I mentioned
1:02:19
earlier, So Dawson Knox signed that extension earlier last year, which makes him
1:02:24
a UFA in twenty twenty seven. Quintin Morris is an exclusive rights free agent
1:02:30
next offseason in twenty twenty four. That means he is a player with fewer
1:02:34
than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team, meaning
1:02:38
the Buffalo Bills, offers him a one year contract at the league minimum based
1:02:42
on his credited seasons, the player cannot negotiate with other teams. I like
1:02:45
Quintin Morris former wide receiver. I think his former receiver Chops showed well at
1:02:51
receiver in or a tight end in the preseason. This past year, I
1:02:54
thought he got better as the season went on. I like his size and
1:03:00
frame. I like how he's built. I like the speed, I like
1:03:02
the athleticism. I like the release package at the line. My biggest question
1:03:07
for this tight end grouping and this position grouping as a whole, is Quintin
1:03:13
Morris tight end two. I think there's a lot of quality in depth of
1:03:15
tight end in this draft class on really every day, on Day one,
1:03:20
on Day two, especially on Day two, but even in early Day three.
1:03:23
Zach Coon's from old dominion as someone who I really really really liked.
1:03:27
He's another freak though in terms of size and length, you know, being
1:03:30
six foot seven and how he can move. So maybe he's going to creep
1:03:34
up onto Day two into that third round. But there is good tight end
1:03:37
value in this draft. Do the Bills dip into this position in the draft?
1:03:42
I'm fine with Quintin Morris's tight end two, but I also think you
1:03:45
could upgrade. But then there's also the other side of the conversation where rookie
1:03:51
tight ends usually don't make a tremendous impact, and tight end is also a
1:03:55
position with usually a pretty significant learning curve, And there's also no guarantee,
1:04:00
you know, tied into that learning curve and that rookie impact, there's no
1:04:03
guarantee that a rookie tight end comes in and beats out Quintin Morris or gives
1:04:08
you more than Quintin Morris could give you. So I think there is some
1:04:11
risk reward there. But there's there's a lot, a lot, a lot
1:04:15
of good tight ends in this class, whether you're looking in round one with
1:04:18
the um you know the Kincaid's and the mayors. And I'm not a huge
1:04:23
guy or a fan of Luke Musgrave, but I know some people really like
1:04:27
him. He didn't really wow me at the Senior Bowl. Um, you
1:04:29
have his Dan Kinki puts in Darnat Washington with three exclamation points. You have
1:04:33
darn At Washington who is just a mountain of a man, blocks like an
1:04:39
extra offensive lineman, but has the size and frame and length just moss dudes,
1:04:43
especially down in the red zone. Um, I'm wondering what he becomes
1:04:46
as a receiver m and as a pass catcher. He doesn't. He doesn't
1:04:50
start out the fastest because of his size, and his frame and his length,
1:04:54
but once he gets moving, he's athletic and he's a bit fluid.
1:04:57
Um He's a real interesting one. It'll be interesting to see if he goes
1:05:00
to a team and functions as their tight end two or if he has tight
1:05:04
end one expectations. I think if he goes to a power run scheme team
1:05:08
and can just function off a play action with that, it would really really,
1:05:11
really really kind of allow him to flourish a bit. But that's a
1:05:16
name that we have there as well. He's probably like a day one,
1:05:23
day two guy, depending on the team, and then day further. Day
1:05:25
two guys, you know, you've got the Sam Laportas of the world,
1:05:28
and the Day three guys you've got the actually even on day two, so
1:05:31
you've still got Tucker Craft maybe a schoolmaker from Michigan crawls into round two or
1:05:36
he's on A's in round three. Like, there's just a lot of value
1:05:40
a tight ends. So the Bills want to add to this position grouping.
1:05:44
There's a lot of good candidates on day one and day two and even into
1:05:46
early day three, but it's all going to come down to for me,
1:05:49
the biggest question with this group which is is Quentin Morris tight end two.
1:05:54
I think he's fine to be tight end two, but I also think it
1:05:57
is completely fine to upgrade from Quentin Moore, which again, no disrespect to
1:06:01
Quentin Morris, you know, but we'll see what happens with Quentin Morris.
1:06:05
Now, next position, offensive tackle. Big conversation piece if you watch the
1:06:12
show regularly, I've been talking about Spencer Brown all offseason. It's going to
1:06:15
be no different. Right here, as I take a drink of water,
1:06:21
we look at the offensive tackle group for the Buffalo Bills. Deon Dawkins,
1:06:27
Spencer Brown, David quest Tommy Doyle, Ryan Vandemark, Alec Anderson, everyone
1:06:31
that I just listed, but David Questenberry is on the roster. In twenty
1:06:35
twenty five, the Bills have no offensive tackles on the roster in twenty twenty
1:06:41
five. Wait, let me go back, as I don't know if I
1:06:44
said this wrong in my head or said it out loud. So everyone that
1:06:45
I mentioned, Dawkins, Spencer Brown, Tommy Doyle, Ryan Bandermark Alec Anderson
1:06:50
are all on the roster in twenty twenty four. The Bills have no tackle
1:06:55
on the roster. In twenty twenty five, Deon Dawkins has a void year
1:06:59
cap hit that year. He also has won for twenty twenty six as well,
1:07:00
so the Bills do not have an offensive tackle on the roster for twenty
1:07:03
twenty five as of now under contract. My biggest question here, and it
1:07:09
has been the questions that I've been asking all offseason, all offseason, all
1:07:14
off season. Oh DF says, this conversation is annoying me, and this
1:07:18
team is way too happy at the right tackle position they could be. But
1:07:21
this is the question, this is what it's going to tie into. The
1:07:25
biggest question here is what does Spencer Brown look like in year three? What
1:07:30
do you have out of year three Spencer Brown? Year two Spencer Brown?
1:07:34
You know, as as we've gone over here on the show, still had
1:07:40
that mercurial play. He was tied for sixty ninth amongst eighty eight tackles in
1:07:48
pass blocking efficiency of the two hundred and six offensive linemen with at least twenty
1:07:54
percent of pass protection snaps. He was tied for one hundred and eightieth amongst
1:07:58
all offensive linemen and pass block off fency and true pass sets. He was
1:08:01
seventieth amongst the eighty eight offensive tackles in true pass sets. From a volume
1:08:05
standpoint, he was tied for the eighth most pressures allowed last year amongst all
1:08:10
offensive linemen. He was tied for the fifth most amongst all tackles. We've
1:08:15
been over and on this show, so I don't want to harp on on
1:08:16
it too much. Yes, the injuries have impacted his career trajectory to this
1:08:21
point, maybe even more than it would most offensive tackles, because again,
1:08:25
like said on the show, played eight man football in high school, then
1:08:29
he went to the university in Northern Iowa, then he sat out the COVID
1:08:31
year and came into the NFL very very raw, and he needed reps to
1:08:36
get better and literally learned to play tackle on the job in the NFL,
1:08:41
which is already hard before you introduced injuries to that process. Yes, the
1:08:46
Bills organization likes him, the coaching staff likes him, and yes, he
1:08:49
still could be a good tackle like I in this league. I don't think
1:08:54
that's out of the question. But right now, no matter the reason,
1:08:57
no matter the cause, no matter how you slice it, he's a very
1:09:00
inconsistent right tackle at this very time, and he has a very mercurial nature
1:09:04
to his game. He's got some really cool, you know, high high
1:09:06
some cool moments where he's malling dudes, or he's using that athleticism where he's
1:09:11
functioning in space, and he's got those really low loads where he's getting beat
1:09:14
in like a half a second and fallen on his face. If you're betting
1:09:17
on him taking a jump in year three two show that he can be the
1:09:21
guy for the future, that's completely fine to me. It's just a little
1:09:25
risky. Now. That doesn't mean he can't do it, that doesn't mean
1:09:28
that he won't do it. It also doesn't mean that the Bills are out
1:09:30
on him or don't believe in him. But last year, again, no
1:09:34
matter what the reason, and I think the reasons are valid, Like I've
1:09:38
stated this all offseason, like there's always that caveat, like he's had that
1:09:42
mercurial play and the poor performances on tape and with the advanced metrics, I
1:09:45
understand the reasoning behind it, but at the end of the day, the
1:09:50
on field execution is extremely inconsistent and very mercurial. He was a vulnerability in
1:09:57
past protection last year, and for me just don't think you can continue to
1:10:00
have that with Josh Allen. Now Bill is brought in Connor McGovern to start
1:10:04
at left guard. So maybe if Connor McGovern works out and you have more
1:10:08
consistency from left tackle to right guard, maybe that can cover up for Spencer
1:10:14
Brown a little bit. Maybe a full off season of practices and health and
1:10:19
reps and chemistry with Ryan Bates on that right side, maybe that helps him
1:10:26
race his floor even more, potentially scratch the surface of his ceiling even more.
1:10:30
But Spencer Brown is the biggest question at the tackle spot, both in
1:10:34
season and heading into the draft right now. Because I also think too,
1:10:36
if you're looking at it from the draft perspective, what are you looking at
1:10:41
in the draft, Because even if you're not focusing on just Spencer Brown and
1:10:45
you're looking at this tackle group as a whole again, Deon Dawkins, Spencer
1:10:48
Brown, David Questenberry, and Tommy Doyle, Ryan Vandermark, Alec Anderson,
1:10:53
Deon Dawkins is Deon Dawkins, Spencer Brown. We've already talked about David Questenberry.
1:10:57
I like his story, I like his veteran presence. I like that
1:10:59
he offers you a little bit at left and right tackle. I still see
1:11:02
him as the slow footed dude who got beat around the corner by Bryce Huff
1:11:06
against the Jets and got Josh Allen's elbow hurt. That may be unfair to
1:11:10
place on him. He also gutted out that performance against Miami and the heat
1:11:14
when he was all injured and everything. He had a lot of gutsy performances.
1:11:17
I think it was in Miami game or maybe blending with another one,
1:11:21
but he's got it through a lot. I think you could also use some
1:11:26
youth and just overall depth and athleticism at this position in general. Like,
1:11:30
we don't know what we have in Tommy Doyle, he got banged up last
1:11:32
year. You know, Ryan vander Mark, Alec Anderson, even bigger questions.
1:11:35
So you're looking at the top three of Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown,
1:11:39
David Questenberry. Like that top three is a little shaky. So I would
1:11:45
like to address offensive tackle in this draft regardless. But depending on how you
1:11:48
feel about Spencer Brown, if you're the Bills, are you looking to draft
1:11:51
a replacement for him? Are you looking to draft just competition for him?
1:11:56
And if Spencer Brown wins out, cool, then you have depth. Are
1:12:00
you cool at tackle in general, and you're not going to invest in this
1:12:02
position at all. This is a very interesting one to look at because I
1:12:09
do think, again, I like the upside or Brown or brown of oh
1:12:15
yeah, so it's a Brown. Sorry, I was thinking of Darnel right
1:12:15
and I thought, I said right out loud, I like the upside that
1:12:19
Spencer Brown presents. And I still think it's there. You see the athleticism,
1:12:23
you saw the ras score all of these pieces sc sc SCSS. I
1:12:26
understand it, all of it, and I'm fine with it. I do
1:12:30
think the reasons of why he has struggled up to this point in his career
1:12:32
and why he had such a mercurial performance last year that is very valid.
1:12:38
He needed reps in the off season, very raw from a football IQ standpoint
1:12:43
and from a technicality standpoint, coming out of Northern Iowa playing eight man football,
1:12:46
he needed as much time on task as possible to get up to NFL
1:12:50
standards in NFL level. That's very fair. Like I think it's a fair
1:12:55
cavey have to throw that in there and say, well, look at all
1:12:57
the injuries, that's why he's off course, that's line. But at the
1:13:00
end of the day, he's extremely inconsistent. He was of legitimate vulnerability at
1:13:04
right tackle. Next year, you had no idea what you were getting from
1:13:08
him from rap to rap, snap to snap and pass protection. I don't
1:13:12
like to put together a ton of negative film clips for players when I do
1:13:16
episodes or when I put things out on Twitter, but I man, there
1:13:20
were so many readily available clips of him just getting wax, and I think
1:13:25
it would be nice if he takes a jump in year three. I just
1:13:28
think if you're thinking that he's going to take a jump in year three,
1:13:30
it's very much hope based and it's very much projection based. That's where I
1:13:34
stand on the offensive tackle piece, and that's why he's the biggest question for
1:13:40
this offensive tackle grouping. What does year three Spencer Brown look like? Because
1:13:44
if he's solid, does he beat out who they draft? Do they not
1:13:47
draft anyone? And they're just thinking that he's going to take a jump and
1:13:49
he's the guy if they get. If year three Spencer Brown is anywhere close
1:13:55
to what year two Spencer Brown was, that's a problem. I've gone over
1:13:58
the advanced metrics here already in this episode. I've gone over them at several
1:14:01
other points this offseason. He's just too up and down. He's too much
1:14:04
of a roller coaster, and I think you need to get off that roller
1:14:08
coaster. And if that's because he raised the floor of his game and he
1:14:11
gives you more consistency and sustainability, cool, that's awesome. I just think
1:14:15
it's fairly risky to go into the year with Spencer Brown, Pencilvanage or right
1:14:19
tackle number one, especially with what he did last year. Again, the
1:14:23
injuries are valid, but it is just a little worrisome and bum bum bum
1:14:29
b, what do we kind of df says if we took an all,
1:14:34
if we picked offensive tackle around one, I would be very very happy.
1:14:38
I like this comment from Thomas. Does it give me Darnell right or give
1:14:40
me death? Yeah, it's tough. I mean I also really like Darnel
1:14:46
Right. I like a lot of the tackles towards the top end of the
1:14:48
board. So that's a fair point in conversation as well. Let's move on
1:14:54
to the guard and center position and kind of combine them into one grouping.
1:14:59
Um, we're gonna start with so if we're looking at a guard, Ryan
1:15:01
Bates, Connor McGovern, David Edwards, Mike Budker and Kevin Jarvis. If
1:15:06
we're looking at twenty twenty four, only Ryan Bates and Connor mcgovernor on the
1:15:11
roster in twenty twenty four. I think the biggest question for this grouping,
1:15:15
and it ties into the center position as well, is how much of an
1:15:18
improvement do the Bills get a guard in Connor McGovern versus what they got from
1:15:24
Roger Staffold last year. I've spoken about Connor McGovern on the show, broken
1:15:28
down his tape in the cover one film room, just some highlights as we
1:15:30
go through now. He's better in pass protection than he is as a run
1:15:33
blocker. He's not a people mover in the run game. He's more of
1:15:38
an escorter, more of a shepherd. He's athletic, he's smart, he
1:15:41
can move. I don't think McGovern is going to set the world on fire.
1:15:44
I don't think he's going to come in and necessarily be an all pro.
1:15:47
But Roger Staffold last year, with all due respect, because he was
1:15:50
a pro bowler, Roger Staffold was a d or at his absolute best a
1:15:57
C last year. Connor McGovern I think he comes in. I think he
1:16:00
gives you a bus to a b at your left guard spot, which isn't
1:16:03
the sexiest thing in the world, but that's a significant upgrade from what you
1:16:08
had last year in terms of consistency and performance and on fieldability, not to
1:16:12
mention the athleticism. If you're going from a deed to a B minus,
1:16:15
that's a huge jump. If you're looking at it in a vacuum and you're
1:16:16
like, oh, well, dude, it's only a B minus. That's
1:16:18
a lot better than a friggin D. And then I think I'm in this
1:16:21
system and scheme with Cromer and with what Josh Allen does. I think Connor
1:16:27
mcgovernor can be a solid be maybe even a B plus. But I think
1:16:30
that's the biggest question, like how much of an improvement is Connor McGovern over
1:16:35
Roger Saffold last year. Does he give you consistency and sustainability on at least
1:16:42
one side of the line, even if Spencer Brown stays at right tackle?
1:16:45
Fine? Is your left side at least solid? From Dion Dawkins to Connor
1:16:49
McGovern to Mitch Morse, are you solid there in terms of pre snap communication
1:16:54
and identification, in terms of pass protection setting, in terms of your rules,
1:16:59
in terms of non leakage coming from that left side. Are you consistent
1:17:03
on at least one side of your line? The worst thing that can happen
1:17:08
in this Bill's offensive line is to have the roller coaster at left guard and
1:17:12
right tackle like they did last year with Roger Saffold and Spencer Brown respectively.
1:17:15
So the biggest question here at guard is how much of an improvement is Connor
1:17:19
McGovern over Roger Saffold from last year. I think a side question here as
1:17:24
well is what does the depth look like overall on the interior with David Edwards
1:17:31
and Ike Vodka, but also with how that ties into Mitch Morse with Mitch
1:17:35
Morrise's concussion history. If he goes down, does Greg Manks step in or
1:17:42
is it Ryan Bates? And are you putting Ryan Bates into center? And
1:17:45
then you're shuffle in David Edwards or right Bodker into guard after you're starting five,
1:17:50
which at this point as of right now is Dion Dawkins, Connor McGovern,
1:17:55
Mitch Morrise, Ryan Bates, and Spencer Brown. After that start five,
1:18:00
what is your next best starting five? If Morse goes down, is
1:18:04
it Manks at center? Is it Ryan Bates at center? And Edwards at
1:18:08
right guard, or Ike butt Kerr at right guard, or McGovern at right
1:18:12
guard and Edwards at left guard, like and with Bates at center, what
1:18:15
games do you play? What shuffling do you have if Mitch Morse goes down.
1:18:19
That's also the biggest question at center, if we're looking at that position
1:18:23
in a vacuum. The health of Mitch Morse in twenty twenty three m beyond
1:18:27
I hate even saying because I don't want to like speak it into existence in
1:18:30
the universe, but one more concussion for Mitch Morse could legitimately knock him out
1:18:33
for the year or his career, or cause him to just legitimately reevaluate things
1:18:39
and be fine to come back. Let's say I don't want to And as
1:18:43
of right now, it's only him and Greg Manks on this roster at center
1:18:45
in twenty twenty three. In twenty twenty four, it's just Mitch Morse.
1:18:50
And I've said it for years. I think he's gotten a little more appreciation
1:18:53
now. Mitch Morse does so much for this offense, not even just the
1:18:58
offensive line, but the offense in general. What he does in terms of
1:19:00
helping to set pass protections, what he does to help get the offensive line
1:19:04
set. His ability to function on pop sets his ability to execute false polls
1:19:10
and end up as a left or right tackle, setting the width of the
1:19:13
pocket. He's great in space, he's great on the move. He's great
1:19:15
between the ears. He's a great locker room guy. He's smart, he's
1:19:18
heady, high character, all this stuff, like he takes so many boxes
1:19:23
for any offense. Good centers are hard to come by. There's a reason
1:19:29
why you usually see a good, heady, veteran knowledgeable center paired with a
1:19:35
young QB to help that QB develop. It would be nice to have much
1:19:43
more so around for the long haul. But I think that's a significant question.
1:19:46
What does his health look like. Concussions are a tricky thing. Like
1:19:50
you see guys, once they get one concussion, they're susceptible to others.
1:19:55
It's like dislocating your shoulder. And we've seen more have multiple concussions. And
1:20:00
once you get one or especially two, but even once you just get one,
1:20:03
you don't need to really get smacked in the head like hard. It
1:20:06
can be the gentlest hit that when you see it on the replane, you're
1:20:11
like, that gave him a concussion, like really that it's a tricky injury
1:20:15
to predict or protect against. It's a tricky injury to come back from.
1:20:18
Like brain health is no joke. So that's a huge question. You know,
1:20:23
Mitch Morse's health for twenty twenty three, m beyond, and then again
1:20:27
I think you tie that into the guard position. In an ideal world,
1:20:30
again, you've got McGovern in Bates and Morse is your center if you're looking
1:20:33
at the interior offensive line. But if Morse goes down, who kicks into
1:20:38
center? Is it Manx, is it Bates? Are you testing the rest
1:20:41
of your guard depth with Edwards and Bud Kerr? I think that's potentially what
1:20:44
you're looking at with why you bring Edwards in addition to just having good depth
1:20:46
on the interior in general. But they're significant questions there if Mitch Morse goes
1:20:54
down. But if we're just looking at the surface in terms of everybody's healthy
1:20:57
and everything is sunshine and rainbows, the biggest question on the interior, and
1:21:00
especially when we're just folks in a guard is how much of an improvement is
1:21:03
Connor McGovern over Roger Saffold, How much consistency and stability does he give you
1:21:09
on the left side of the line, You give Dion Dawkins a better dance
1:21:12
partner, you give Mitch Morse a better dance partner, especially in terms of
1:21:15
athleticism. It helps them do their job a little bit better. And if
1:21:17
you get consistent play from McGovern, it adds consistency all down the road.
1:21:23
And again, I think that potentially helps the right side if Spencer Brown is
1:21:26
there, if you know, you are consistently stable on that left side of
1:21:30
the ball. So it's a fair point. That's a fair point. Al
1:21:35
Shar says, I hate to say it, but I think Darnell Right will
1:21:38
be long gone before we pick. I do as well. I think he
1:21:40
goes to Tampa Bay at nineteen. He might even go earlier than that.
1:21:45
You know, initially it was Paris Johnson and Roderick Jones were tackles one and
1:21:49
tackle two depending on how you view Peter Scronsky from Northwestern. But now there's
1:21:56
a conversation that Darnell Right is up in the in the mix for tackle one
1:22:00
under tackle two on some team's boards or some analyst boards. I think he's
1:22:03
a good fit in Tampa Bay with them potentially taking Tristan Worth from right tackle
1:22:09
and moving him to left plug Darnell Right into right tackle. You just have
1:22:14
two tremendous pillars and bookends on the offensive line. So it'll be interesting.
1:22:20
Tim says by that logic, and if the Bills learned from Staffold, won't
1:22:25
they similarly learned from Spencer Brown and draft a good tackle early potentially, But
1:22:29
that's also tied into what they feel about Spencer Brown. You know, Roger
1:22:32
Staffold was long in the tooth. He was at the end of his career.
1:22:36
His problems weren't mental hit the mental aspects like football IQ and picking up
1:22:42
things. He was just limited because of his mobility and lack of athleticism,
1:22:46
which he was never the most athletic dude, but he just had a lot
1:22:49
of mileage on the tires combined with his age, and he just couldn't physically
1:22:53
get to the areas that they needed him to. I think they might view
1:22:57
Spencer Brown differently, So I don't know if this is necessarily orange st oranges
1:23:00
or apples to apples. I think it might be a little different. You
1:23:02
know, Spencer Brown is much younger, is very raw, somebody that needs
1:23:06
development. So even just off of that, Like, I don't think you're
1:23:11
ready to jettison a guy into the sun that early. But also if they
1:23:15
view him higher, if they view him in terms of still being able to
1:23:18
achieve that ceiling. You know, it's not necessarily a similar situation, but
1:23:25
I would like them to get some pieces there on the offensive line. DF
1:23:30
says, Aunt, could we draft a center this year plug and play at
1:23:33
center guard when needed, and start him at center next year? You could,
1:23:38
but then you just have to invest in round one or two or three,
1:23:41
And then you're also banking on like Mitch Morris not coming back? Are
1:23:45
you? Is he retiring or you cutting him? Or you getting rid of
1:23:46
them? Like what's the play there? Like you just get into this muddied
1:23:51
mix of taking someone in rounds one or two or three or maybe even round
1:23:59
four, And then are you like burning that pick when you could have helped
1:24:02
you for twenty twenty three even though it could help you for twenty twenty four.
1:24:04
Kind of gets you into this, you know, high variable and high
1:24:08
variant situation. But it's possibility, It is a possibility. Oh Ralph says,
1:24:15
what about Edwards is concussions? He missed the last thirteen games with two
1:24:17
of them, concussion history for him as well. There's injury concerns you know,
1:24:24
abound for this offensive line in addition, in addition to some development questions.
1:24:29
So it's a fair point all around. We're gonna move to the defensive
1:24:31
side of the ball now here on disguised coverage before we do that. Plug
1:24:35
the sponsor, like I mentioned them earlier. One Pie Pizza, the best
1:24:39
pizza in Buffalo, New York. Delicious sweet sauce, pie cup and char
1:24:42
Pepperoni, homemade blue cheese. The initiatives that they do for the community,
1:24:46
the Alzheimer's Foundation, the SPCA twice for tots, parting with Roswell to knockout
1:24:51
cancer. They're just good people making great food. Do yourself a favor.
1:24:57
Check the online menu here in the episode Show and Knows where they're here on
1:24:59
you or any one of the podcasting apps or platforms that you listen to this
1:25:01
show on. Click on that link, go to the online menu. Treat
1:25:05
yourself to some one Pipe pizza and I'll potentially do some good for the community
1:25:08
while you're at it. Mentioned to sgui's carverage while you're there, and maybe
1:25:11
you'll get a little treat and a bonus and a benefit. Now, as
1:25:15
I mentioned, let's kick to the defensive side of the ball here. Oh
1:25:18
actually, let me get this from Alscher. It says, Anthony, what
1:25:23
do you think about drafting Carter Warren in the mid rounds. He's older and
1:25:26
isn't a good run blocker, but he's really good in past protection. I've
1:25:28
watched some of his tape, big dude, lanky, not lanky, long,
1:25:33
injured this past year, I believe, so, not a ton of
1:25:38
tape. He's somebody who initially I thought could be had in like the rounds
1:25:44
four and five ish type area, and now he's starting to creep up.
1:25:46
He's somebody who I like. I like Nick Selda very more from old dominion,
1:25:50
But I think Warren is in that tier of tackles on early day three
1:25:57
that I think would fit you. See what he can do I think he
1:26:00
should do. Who competes with Spencer Brown potentially, or just adds tackle depth
1:26:05
in general. That's a very fair point. Now we move on to the
1:26:09
edge grouping. This is about I've talked about a lot this offseason. The
1:26:13
edge grouping. Right now as it stands, Von Miller Von Miller Von Miller
1:26:16
Gregor Russo, a JP and SA Boogie, Basham Kingsley, Jonathan Kendall,
1:26:20
Vickers, and Shack Lawson. We've talked a lot on this show about the
1:26:25
lack of pop off the edge once von Miller went down. My biggest question
1:26:30
here is twofold who steps up or steps in wink wick nudge nudge potential free
1:26:34
agent or drafty as the edge number two if von Miller misses time, and
1:26:40
or who steps up or steps in his edge number three when von Miller returns.
1:26:45
I wanted to bring up some numbers here just to kind of re reiterate
1:26:49
some things and refresh some things for your folks. So defensive line pass rush
1:26:53
productivity a formula that combines sacks, hits, and hurries relative to how many
1:26:58
times they rushed the passer weeks one through eleven out of two hundred and forty
1:27:01
qualifying defensive linemen, this is weeks one through eleven. I'm just gonna do
1:27:04
weeks one through eleven and weeks twelve through eighteen. So weeks one through eleven
1:27:10
there was two hundred and forty qualifying defensive linemen. Weeks twelve through eighteen there
1:27:14
were two hundred and thirteen, and this is their past rush productivity for the
1:27:16
Bills individually. In those two different groupings one through eleven verses twelve through eighteen,
1:27:21
Greg Rousseau he was eighth in past rush productivity weeks one through eleven.
1:27:26
Weeks twelve through eighteen, he was twenty second. Aj Panessa was forty first
1:27:32
in past rush productivity in weeks one through eleven. Weeks twelve through eighteen,
1:27:36
he was twenty ninth. He stepped his game up. Jordan Phillips was twenty
1:27:41
second impass rush productivity. Weeks one through eleven, He was tied for one
1:27:45
hundred and twenty second in weeks twelve through eighteen. Shack Lawson was tied for
1:27:51
fifty second im pass rush productivity in weeks one through eleven. He was one
1:27:56
hundred and twenty second in weeks twelve through eighteen, tied with Jordan Phillips.
1:28:00
At Oliver did not qualify and weeks one through eleven because he missed some time,
1:28:04
But weeks twelve through eighteen, out of those two hundred and thirteen qualifying
1:28:08
defensive lineman, he was tied for one hundred and fortieth. Impastor's productivity.
1:28:12
Boogie Basham he was sixtieth out of two forty Impastor's productivity weeks one through eleven.
1:28:16
Weeks twelveth through eighteen, he was one hundred and fortieth out of two
1:28:20
hundred and thirteen. Tim Settle bad all around weeks one through eleven, two
1:28:26
hundred and tenth out of two hundred and forty qualifying defensive linemen in Pastors Productivity
1:28:30
weeks twelve through eighteen, one hundred and ninety second. For those who don't
1:28:33
know, Week eleven is when von Miller went down, so I broke it
1:28:38
up. Week went through eleven, Verse twelve through eighteen. He had a
1:28:42
huge impact on the defense as a whole, on the defensive line as a
1:28:45
whole. So you've got the individual performances there in twenty twenty three and how
1:28:50
that's affected If von Miller misses time, which I do think he does.
1:28:54
I know he was at OTA's to day working out, running around wearing a
1:28:56
brace, but I do think he misses time to start this year. I'm
1:29:00
continuing continuing to say it. I think a solid timetable for his return is
1:29:04
middle of October to middle or end of November, similar to what we saw
1:29:09
with Trey White, von is into his early slash early mid thirties. This
1:29:14
is the second time he's torn that ACL. I don't think it's necessarily just
1:29:17
a given that he'll be back to start the year. I think you want
1:29:19
to take us low. You want him for December and January more than you
1:29:24
do for September, October, November. You need the closer for the playoffs,
1:29:28
not for you know, the start of the seasons, as much as
1:29:30
I would like him, but you've got those questions for twenty twenty three,
1:29:34
if or when he misses time, and then the other questions that you have
1:29:40
is the future of this group in twenty twenty four and beyond, because the
1:29:44
only edge rushers you have under contract in twenty twenty four are Von Miller,
1:29:47
Greg Russo and Boogie Basham. So if you're looking at twenty twenty three,
1:29:51
can this group other than von Miller make an impact on the edge. I
1:29:56
think Rousseau had a better year than he gets credit for, especially considering he
1:29:59
was playing with that banged up ankle as the season went on. We know
1:30:01
what he can do from age edge setting standpoint and a run defense standpoint,
1:30:05
but I think he got a little bit better as a pass rusher this year
1:30:09
as well. Aj Epanessa, like I mentioned, had a very strong end
1:30:13
to the year weeks twelve through eighteen. Once von Miller went down two hundred
1:30:16
and thirteen qualifying defensive lineman, he was twenty ninth in pass rush productivity.
1:30:21
He was only seven spots behind group, and he jumped up from forty first
1:30:26
in weeks one through eleven to twenty ninth in weeks twelve through eighteen. That's
1:30:29
really good. I think he started to fix up some of his mistackling issues.
1:30:32
He was playing the run better. Can he clean that up? Clean
1:30:35
that up enough to be a consistent number two? To Greg Rousseau, von
1:30:39
is out or be a consistent number three? If Von is good and is
1:30:43
the number one, so can this group other than Von make an impact on
1:30:47
the edge. And if it's in twenty twenty three, who is it?
1:30:49
Is it by committee? Is it a rotation of Epanessa and Shack? And
1:30:54
do you get something out of boohe bash him finally? Or is it one
1:30:58
person holistically owning it? Does bash him take a jump? Does a Jpanessa
1:31:01
take a jump? I don't think you're going to see that from Shack Lawson.
1:31:03
I think at this point he is who he is. And then based
1:31:06
off what happens in twenty twenty three, what does that look like for twenty
1:31:10
twenty four. If Eponessa steps his game up this year, does he get
1:31:13
a deal and does he stay? Do they draft an Edge this year?
1:31:16
Do they dip into free agency and signed Leonard Floyd, which I would love.
1:31:19
I think this is a position group that, unfortunately, as I've said
1:31:23
on the show, despite the investment that they've sunk into this group and free
1:31:26
agency and the draft, I think this is a group that unfortunately has a
1:31:30
lot of question marks and still isn't necessarily being talked about as a group that
1:31:36
has a lot of question marks. Chris says, aunt you aiming for three
1:31:41
hours to night or what great showman? I appreciate the kind words. No,
1:31:44
this is regular. We usually go about an hour and thirty two hour
1:31:45
forty five here in the sky's coverage, depending on what's going on in the
1:31:48
jet. But fair point, fair point, oh Roy says, soon to
1:31:53
be pro bowler aj Epanessa. Oh, very interesting, very interesting, very
1:31:57
interesting. I don't like the idea of having to invest in Edge again.
1:32:04
But I don't rule it out of the realm of possibility of them going edge
1:32:08
in round one, two, three, four, or five six at any
1:32:12
point in this draft. I really like a lot of the edges at the
1:32:15
top part of this draft, Like we talked about him last week's episode.
1:32:17
If this edge class is really deep, I would love for them to go
1:32:19
edge on day one or day two. We'll see how the board falls.
1:32:25
I don't think it's the biggest need. I do think it is a bigger
1:32:27
need that is getting credit four and again, I think they're significant questions,
1:32:32
like what are you getting from this grouping in twenty twenty three if Von Miller
1:32:35
is out and even when moon Miller's back cool, you have Von and you
1:32:38
have group what do you have after them? You know, Shaq Lawson is
1:32:43
solid against the run. But you know, I think Bruce Nolan mentioned it
1:32:46
several weeks ago when I had him on the show, or no, was
1:32:48
Joe Marino when I had him on the show. When Bond went down,
1:32:51
Shack Lawson became edge number two. That kind of told you where they thought
1:32:57
Epanessa and Boogie Basham were. Now I've been, as I mentioned, played
1:33:00
better down the stretch. But the fact that Shack Lawson became the two kind
1:33:05
of tells you where they saw that edge grouping hierarchy at that point last year,
1:33:09
and it's a very similar group this year now as we moved to the
1:33:15
other part of the defensive line, the defensive tackle grouping. I've talked about
1:33:18
this one a lot all off season, so I don't want to, you
1:33:23
know, really drive it home too much here, but you're looking at the
1:33:25
defensive tackle grouping now Daquan Jones at Oliver, Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle,
1:33:30
Eleanku, Brandon Bryant, Cortez Browton. Your top four right now are Daklon
1:33:35
Jones, at Oliver, Jordan Phillips, and Tim Settle. Tim Settle,
1:33:39
like I mentioned earlier, had some of the worst advanced metrics on the entire
1:33:44
year, both with von and without vond Miller. I know he was banged
1:33:47
up as the season went on, but he disappeared a little bit on tape.
1:33:51
He's your defensive tackle three, your defensive tackle four, depending on how
1:33:56
you view Jordan Phillips, and then Jordan Phillips is your defensive tackle three or
1:33:59
your defense tackle four. That means two of your top four guys are Tim
1:34:02
Settle and Jordan Phillips. And Settle, like I mentioned, disappeared a bit
1:34:06
from a metric standpoint and a film standpoint. Maybe some of that or a
1:34:11
majority of that was due to the injury. We'll see Jordan Phillips is unreliable
1:34:14
as a consistent guy to plug into this lineup just because of the injury history.
1:34:17
When healthy, he's very effective, especially in this scheme, especially on
1:34:20
this team and in this system. The issue is he can't stay healthy.
1:34:25
Yeah, I'm not even necessarily talking about the shoulder injury that he suffered at
1:34:28
the end of the yearlast year. I think about the hamstring injury when he
1:34:30
pulled up laming against the Tennessee Titans. Like he keeps getting these soft muscle
1:34:32
injuries that date back it was time in Arizona, which is why he didn't
1:34:35
really work out there. So you've got a top four right now where your
1:34:41
number three and number four defensive tackle are not necessarily ideal. At Oliver is
1:34:45
your two or you're one, dependent on how you're looking at it. He
1:34:48
disappears in stretches day. Kuan Jones is fantastic, but he doesn't give you
1:34:51
a ton of pass rush pop which I don't think he should need to give
1:34:55
him what else you have. Then you add in the fact that there is
1:34:59
literally no diff tackle that is under contract in twenty twenty four. That goes
1:35:01
back to a comment made earlier here in the show and a question that I
1:35:05
said I would get to when we got to defensive tackles. You have no
1:35:09
defensive tackles under contract in twenty twenty four. You do have Deacon Jones and
1:35:12
Tim Settle with void years, but you physically do not have anyone over contract
1:35:15
or under contract. The biggest question for this grouping right now, in this
1:35:19
roster reset here is the strength of the top four in the future. Again,
1:35:24
Tim Settle awful advanced metrics disappeared as the season went on. Grantedy did
1:35:28
have the injury, Jordan Phillips went healthy fantastic. Problem is he's not really
1:35:32
healthy often and he suffers injuries that prevent him from even functioning at like seventy
1:35:40
or eighty percent or don't even allow him to get into the lineup. I
1:35:44
don't think Jordan Phillips can be counted on for a full season as a top
1:35:46
four defensive tackle, and right now he might be your defensive tackle three ahead
1:35:50
of Tim Settle, you have no one under contract or twenty twenty four.
1:35:55
Defensive line is crucial to the Buffalo Bills team building philosophy. They build from
1:36:00
the defensive line out. As stated by Brandon Bean and as co signed by
1:36:04
Sean McDermott, you need more from this position group in twenty twenty three,
1:36:08
and you legitimately have no one on the roster for twenty twenty four. This
1:36:13
is another grouping much like edge. I think this goes to the comment earlier
1:36:16
for whoever asked about Mazzi Smith. It's part of the reason I really like
1:36:18
Mazzi Smith. I think they need more reinforcements on the interior for twenty twenty
1:36:24
three and also just some kind of roster stability and semblance of who you got
1:36:28
and who you're going to plug in for twenty twenty four and beyond, because
1:36:30
you got nobody. This defensive line is important in this scheme and system and
1:36:34
philosophy in general, but even more so if you're a defense is that is
1:36:40
going to play with light boxes and play with nickel personnel like the Buffalo Bills
1:36:43
are. You need that defensive line to be stout and solid against the run,
1:36:46
to give you some pass pop, to not get blown off the line,
1:36:49
to be sound structurally and schematically within your gaps, get penetration, like
1:36:54
I talked about it earlier, you need to be strong and that spine of
1:36:56
the defense defensive tackles, linebackers safety. You need to be thorough in that
1:37:00
area. The Bills are questionable on their interior right now, which is again
1:37:05
unfortunate. Dia Forever says we need a one tech defensive tackle now. Oh.
1:37:11
I like this Roy perspective, who said Benton or Eco would be nice.
1:37:15
I really like Keanu Benton. I like him more as a fit than
1:37:18
Sick Eco from Baylor. ECA's weird like he's big and burly and thick,
1:37:26
and I hear the Vita Vea comp for him, but he does not play
1:37:29
like Vita Vea. He's lighter in the feet that he gets credit for,
1:37:31
which is cool because he's more athletic, like he pull spin moves and chase
1:37:35
guys down when he gets penetration, but it also means he doesn't sit an
1:37:40
anchor as well against double teams and isn't necessarily playing to his size and frame.
1:37:45
He's more athletic than he gets credit for which is fun. But he's
1:37:47
not as much of a physical dominant holder at the line of scrimmage and point
1:37:51
of attack that his weight or size or frame may indicate. But I would
1:37:55
welcome him. I would welcome Mozzi Smith. I think Keanu Benton is the
1:37:58
perfect size plus frame plus scheme fit potential. It's just a big dude who
1:38:03
can penetrate, who can stay strong at the point of attack, who's quick.
1:38:08
I really like the idea of Keanu Benton in the second round. That's
1:38:11
been my ideal round two pick all off season, or at least for the
1:38:15
last month or so. Keano Ben at fifty nine. I think the fit
1:38:19
is great, the need is great. I would really really really really really
1:38:23
really really really really really really really really like Keano Benton in that second round.
1:38:30
Let's tie that into another position group as we continue on this roster reset.
1:38:33
Here with three more position groupings to go. Linebacker got Matt Milano,
1:38:38
You've got to Roll Bernard, You've got Babylon Specter, You've got Tyler Metkevic,
1:38:41
You've got aj Klein who they just brought back. Milano, Specter,
1:38:45
and Bernard are all back again in twenty twenty three. I'm not gonna get
1:38:47
Q here. In diving into the linebackers, biggest question, who's replacing Tremaine
1:38:51
Evans? That's it. Are they already on the roster, Is it going
1:38:55
to be a rookie? Is it a timeshare? Is there going to be
1:38:58
more three safety looks? And the nature of the position is changing in that
1:39:01
regard, like we talked about earlier. Are you're going to go with a
1:39:04
bigger thumper. Are you going to go with a J. Klein on first
1:39:08
and second down and then sub him out on third down and run kind of
1:39:11
a sub package linebacker spot, maybe with Taylor rap as your dime linebacker.
1:39:15
Maybe it's Terrell Bernard. Are they're more schematic changes? Sean McDermott is going
1:39:20
to be implementing all as the full time defensive coordinator and play caller. And
1:39:25
then you add in how depending on who the Bills select at linebacker in the
1:39:31
draft, if they do if they pick Campbell or Simpson or Drew Sanders,
1:39:36
who they select or go with could potentially indicate what they will do, what
1:39:41
they will be doing schematically in twenty twenty three. If you go with Drew
1:39:45
Sanders or Trent and Simpson, guys who they're strong suit right now, isn't
1:39:48
stacking and shedding in the box, Guys who are more versatile and more mobile
1:39:53
and you want to keep clean. That ties into the importance of defensive tackle.
1:39:57
You need more reinforcements at the defensive tackle spot we just talked about in
1:40:00
general, but also to keep your young, fast flowing linebackers clean at the
1:40:04
second level. We saw the improvement that this Bill's defense had as a whole
1:40:10
with the addition of Daquan Jones, and the improvement in play for Matt Milano
1:40:14
who became an All Pro and Tremaine Hedmans who had a great year in cash
1:40:16
In Big Time. We saw how their play went up with the addition of
1:40:20
de Quon Jones when they had better play in front of them. If it's
1:40:24
a young guy or smaller guys, so if it is Tarrell Bernard, if
1:40:28
it is Trent and Simpson, if it is Drew Sanders, those defensive tackles
1:40:32
were even more important and the line in general in keeping them clean and not
1:40:35
allowing lineman to climb to the second level and get into their chest and get
1:40:40
into their frame and prevent them from using their speed and athleticism and fluidity.
1:40:45
So depending on what the Bills do here is interesting because if they stand pat,
1:40:51
I guess they really believe in Tarrol Bernard or a J. Kleine or
1:40:55
Specter I suppose, or I guess outside shot at Metakevich, but I don't
1:40:58
believe it. That means, okay, if you're staying with the guys that
1:41:01
you have in house, where are you sinking in resources to elsewhere? I
1:41:05
would like it to be on that defensive line, especially a defensive tackle,
1:41:09
because if Terrell Bernard is a guy cool, he's tremendously undersized. You have
1:41:12
to keep him clean. You cannot let guards and centers and tackles climb to
1:41:15
the second level to get to Terrell Bernard because you don't want him having a
1:41:19
body lineman like that. You don't want him having to bang against lineman like
1:41:24
that and stack and shed and find his way around guys consistently like that's not
1:41:28
what he's made for. That's not what he's built for. You don't want
1:41:30
Milana live in in that world either. So if it's Bernard, you need
1:41:33
reinforcements for him. If it's a young guy like Simpson or Sanders, you
1:41:38
need and want reinforcements for him. Jack Campbell you would want reinforcements as well.
1:41:42
But he can bang a little more in the box and kind of stack
1:41:45
and shed even though he does have smaller arms, but shorter arms, I
1:41:47
should say, but his processing and read and reaction speed and ability to come
1:41:53
forward allow him to kind of play ahead at times, which I think helps
1:41:57
him in that area. Very comment, very fair comment here from Chris saying
1:42:02
I miss Tremayne. Yeah, that's very fair. Roy says, So basically
1:42:06
the only starting caliber linebacker we have is Mulanto. Well, it depends on
1:42:13
what you do by starting caliber, but right now, of all the other
1:42:15
linebackers on the roster, everybody's a question mark. Besides Matt Milano, you
1:42:18
have Matt Milano, who's an All Pro. That's awesome. If I had
1:42:23
to start another linebacker that's on the roster right now, it's probably between Bernard
1:42:29
and Klein, and I don't I don't even know where i'd go. If
1:42:32
I go Cline, that means I have to go with a dime linebacker on
1:42:35
third downs, and I have to do a whole bunch of different options.
1:42:38
If I go with Bernard. That means I have to really reinforce the interior
1:42:42
because I don't want dudes getting to him on first and second down because he's
1:42:45
more of a will than he is a Mike. Oh. A lot of
1:42:47
options, and none of them I deal corner. Davis White, Tarn Johnson,
1:42:55
Kyer Elam, Dane Jackson, Christian Benford, cam Lewis, Kyler McMichael,
1:42:59
and Jamaica Ingram. Everyone that I mentioned, but Dane Jackson and cam
1:43:03
Lewis are under contract in twenty twenty four. The biggest question here, I
1:43:08
think there's two. The first one who is CB two? I want to
1:43:12
tie this into some cbtwo action from last year. I keep seeing the comment
1:43:16
all the time that like being doesn't or McDermott doesn't play rookies and should have
1:43:19
been playing kyrieing Lam all year, YadA yadas on and so forth. Dane
1:43:24
Jackson, I think had a better year in twenty twenty two than he gets
1:43:26
credit for. I know he had that stretch where he wasn't making plays at
1:43:30
the catch point, but that was also happening into a lot of the bills
1:43:31
dbs, not just Dane Jackson, and also some of the coverages that he
1:43:35
was getting blamed for in terms of allowing catches and receptions. It was more
1:43:40
of the scheme in the system than it was like like guys that were getting
1:43:43
open weren't necessarily his responsibility. I think that's where understanding coverages and route concepts
1:43:47
come into play. But regardless of all that, Dane Jackson in twenty twenty
1:43:51
two, there was one hundred and thirty six corners in twenty twenty two that
1:43:56
had at least twenty percent of coverage snaps in the regular season and post season.
1:44:00
Dane Jackson was tied for eleventh in pass breakups with ten. He had
1:44:04
ten pass breakups like I just said, Kyrie Elam had one. Just for
1:44:08
reference, Dane Jackson was also out of those hundred and thirty six corners,
1:44:12
he was tied for the thirty eighth lowest quarterback rating when targeted at eighty one
1:44:16
point nine. Kyrielm for reference, was at eighty three point seven. Dane
1:44:20
Jackson was also tied for the thirty seventh lowest reception percentage allowed at fifty eight
1:44:26
point two percent. Kye Elm was tied for the one hundred and sixth lowest
1:44:30
at seventy one point seven percent big gap there. I just think we need
1:44:34
to stop acting like it was such a travesty that Dane Jackson saw reps and
1:44:40
saw snaps for this team. He's reliable, he's smart, he's not the
1:44:45
most athletic. We know he's limited athletically, we know he's limited from a
1:44:48
coverage versatility standpoint, But Dan Jackson is not a bad corner. But now
1:44:54
we go into this year thinking who is going to be corner number two?
1:44:57
Also tied into that, I think is what does Strevious White look like another
1:45:00
year removed from that ACL injury? Does he get back to more of pre
1:45:04
ACL injury Trdavious White. We started to see that Trey White start to peak
1:45:10
his head out a little more each week with literally each snap, each passing
1:45:14
snap, passing drive, passing week, we saw him get closer to that
1:45:16
old tradevious White in twenty twenty two, and so does he get back to
1:45:23
his old tradevious White self to be corner one? And then you're looking at
1:45:26
corner two. It's fair to say you wanted Kyrie Lam to get more reps
1:45:30
last year to potentially being a bit better position for his development here in twenty
1:45:33
twenty three, That's fine. That's where we are now. Is he corner
1:45:38
two? Is it Dane Jackson? Is it Christian Benford who showed well last
1:45:42
year and who I liked. Is Christian Benford gonna move to safety? And
1:45:45
again, tied into all of that is what does Trdavious White look like another
1:45:48
year removed from his acl I think the biggest question for this corner grouping who
1:45:54
is corner two? I think Trdavious White gets back to his old self.
1:45:56
I think he's corner one. And again we're looking at corner two. Is
1:46:00
it a timeshare? Is it matchup specific? We've seen the Bills rotate at
1:46:04
corner two almost every year under Sean McDermott and then Levi I kind of stabilize
1:46:11
that position a little bit. Do they go back away from that rotation?
1:46:15
Does Kyrie Elam show well this offseason? Do they want to move Benford to
1:46:17
safety? Again? I really like what Benford did last year. I would
1:46:20
be okay with him getting a shot at corner two, But do they want
1:46:23
to move him to safety? Is it Elam? Is it Dane? Is
1:46:26
it Benford? They've got good depth in the corner room. A minor question
1:46:30
in the cornerback position grouping that I think is secondary to the biggest question that
1:46:34
I just asked of who is CB two? The second biggest question or I
1:46:39
guess minor question question B who's the backup slot corner. This isn't something that
1:46:45
you know we're going to dive into too much now, but I want to
1:46:47
put on the radar Terren Johnson's super important in this defense. His ability to
1:46:50
cover in man and zone and function as a linebacker, with his physicality and
1:46:56
his violence and his willingness to come forward, He's very important an integral to
1:47:00
what this Bill's defense does, especially against teams who run a majority of eleven
1:47:04
personnel, which is the majority of teams in the NFL. There's always been
1:47:09
a significant drop off for whoever comes in for him, whether it's Cam Lewis,
1:47:13
whether it's Sarron Neil Like, there's never a high floor confidence level for
1:47:17
myself, at least when it comes to someone replacing Taron Johnson. So I
1:47:21
think a fair question is you know who's the backup Nicol is a Taylor rap
1:47:27
now. He saw Nicole snaps and reps at times in his tenure with the
1:47:32
Rams, especially based on certain matchups or is he more of the dime linebacker
1:47:35
guy. I think that's a fair question to ask, and it's one that
1:47:40
worries me literally every single week because there is a huge drop off from Taron
1:47:44
Johnson to whoever else they put it slock corner. There's a big, big,
1:47:46
big, big, big, big big difference. I think that question
1:47:49
is secondary to the cornerback to question. But who is the backup slot?
1:47:55
Who's that backup nickel corner is a fair question. If I had to lean
1:48:00
into someone, I probably leaned into Taylor rap I think like that, But
1:48:05
that's not even a given right now. That's what scares me a little bit
1:48:10
about this group, and I think that's the biggest question there. Safety last
1:48:14
position grouping here, Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Taylor Rapp. Newvie signed
1:48:17
DeMar Hamlin, sirn Neil, Zane Anderson, and Jared Maiden next year.
1:48:23
In twenty twenty four, they only have Jordan Poyer, Siron Neil, DeMar
1:48:26
Hamlin, and Zane Anderson under contract. In twenty twenty four, we know
1:48:30
the drill at safety went healthy. My guide Jordan Poyer arguably, if not
1:48:34
the best safety tandem in the entire RNFL with what they can do. We
1:48:39
know what they mean to this team on the field and off the field mentally,
1:48:42
physically, execution everything. They're tremendous. Somewhat of a big question here.
1:48:47
First with Micah Hyde, what does he look like returning from his neck
1:48:50
injury? You know, I think it was encouraging that if the Bills did
1:48:54
make the AFC Championship last year, there were rumors that he would have played.
1:48:58
I think that's tremendously encouraging. What does he look like having a full
1:49:01
offseason to rest, recuperate, recover. Does that injury affect him mentally?
1:49:05
Is he a little more wary going into contact? Does he guard himself a
1:49:10
little more because it's in the back of his mind or in the forefront of
1:49:13
his mind? Or are there any physical ramifications? Can he not play the
1:49:15
same way, turn the same way, lean the same way, run the
1:49:18
same way? How does that impact him? I think that's a big question
1:49:23
to ask. What does Mike a Hide look like returning from injury? But
1:49:27
I don't want to say the bigger question, but the more schematic or interesting
1:49:30
question I think is what does the Taylor rap signing mean and do we see
1:49:34
more three safety looks. Is he the dime linebacker? Is he the backup
1:49:39
Nickeol like I mentioned a Arren Johnson. Is he just depth at safety?
1:49:43
Is he just insurance in depth for this year and maybe the twenty twenty fourth
1:49:47
starter and like a high doesn't return and then you re up Taylor Rap for
1:49:50
the year. His signing is still a very interesting one for me because I
1:49:58
thought he could have gone elsewhere to see more starter like minutes, and he
1:50:02
came here to kind of be safety three. Maybe I don't think safety four.
1:50:09
I think he would be ahead with the Mark Hamlin, even though I
1:50:12
know how people like Hamlin. What is Taylor Rap's future like? Is he
1:50:16
you know, I see what Chris Kapner from a cover one here he coined
1:50:20
this turn. Whenever you put Taylor Rap on the field, it's the Raptor
1:50:25
package, and I think that's phenomenal. That needs to be a thing.
1:50:27
So absolutely shot it with all caps on exclamation point justin, says raps a
1:50:30
chess BC. Yeah. I think he is, like I think he can
1:50:33
do a lot of things. I like what he can do around the box,
1:50:36
not that he can't cover in two high, you know, looks or
1:50:39
splits safety looks or cover deep. But I like him more in the box.
1:50:43
I like him as a dime linebacker, as that wall defender, that
1:50:47
guy who can carry carrying tight ends and who can carry slot receivers or function
1:50:51
in the hook curls and the flats. I like him as that dime linebacker
1:50:56
or as a slot backup option potentially to Taron Johnson, just because as I
1:51:00
don't have faith in Sir Ronneil or Cam Lewis at that spot, although I'm
1:51:03
probably higher on Camp Lewis at the slot corner than I am Sir run Neil.
1:51:06
But I think that's a significant question. Do you see more three safety
1:51:10
looks? Is there is rap coming in tied to some of the schematic changes
1:51:15
or philosophical changes this Bill's defense might have as they shift to Sean McDermott controlling
1:51:21
the reins completely instead of having some of that Leslie Fraser influence as well into
1:51:26
this defense. So that's that's the question there at that safety standpoint. And
1:51:31
then I'll do it for us here on this episode of Disguised Coverage, we
1:51:34
start to wind down before any of you folks leave. I know it's late
1:51:38
on a you know Duldrum week in April. Please please please and thank you
1:51:42
drop Ake on this video while you were headed out on your way out,
1:51:45
whether you're joining me here live, if you were watching later post live,
1:51:47
that's cool too. Please please please drop Aleke on this video before you close
1:51:51
or do whatever have you. As we start to wind down here on this
1:51:55
show, I want to thank everybody for joining me live here on this episode
1:51:58
of Sky's coverage. As I mentioned, you know, I know, it's
1:52:01
the week before the draft. There's no real news. Everything's kind of slow.
1:52:05
I know a lot of people are just kind of sitting and waiting for
1:52:09
the draft to roll around next week. So the anticipation and excitement for action
1:52:14
isn't really high this week. So I want to thank everybody who wrote with
1:52:15
me live here on this episode. It's always awesome to see all the engagement
1:52:20
and the live viewers come in and the questions for myself and the questions for
1:52:24
one another, and the back and forth you folks have with each other.
1:52:26
So thank you very much to everyone who wrote live with me on this episode.
1:52:29
Thank you very much to all the super chats that came in on this
1:52:31
episode. I don't remember all the names offhand, and I want to,
1:52:36
but I'm a frand I'm going to leave one out. But I remember your
1:52:40
logos and your icons and the action itself. So thank you very much to
1:52:43
everyone who donated for the super chats in this episode. If you did not
1:52:45
join me live here on this episode and you're watching this post live, that's
1:52:50
cool. I appreciate your post live view. Again, please drop the like
1:52:54
on this video. If you're listening to this episode on one of the podcasting
1:52:57
apps or platforms, that's cool. Please rate and review on Apple Podcasts and
1:53:01
or Spotify whatever you're listening to, our Google platform, whatever have you.
1:53:04
Please rate and review. Subscribe to disguise coverage on the podcasting apps or platforms.
1:53:10
The audio links got screwed up with the brand about a month or so
1:53:15
ago, so we're kind of having to redistribute things from the audio side of
1:53:18
things, So please subscribe on the audio only platforms if you be so kind.
1:53:21
And again, if you're here on YouTube live, now, post live,
1:53:25
whatever have you, please drop a like on this video. Please subscribe
1:53:28
to disguise coverage. Both of those things going long way towards helping the channel
1:53:31
to end myself on this show to track and trend in front of more eyes
1:53:35
and ears. It's been a long episode. Next week is Draft week.
1:53:42
I'm excited pumped again. Thank you everyone who wrote with me live on this
1:53:45
episode. I appreciate you folks more than you will know. Myself and Chris
1:53:48
Kepner will be doing We've been doing the Cover one Savers and Hockey watch party
1:53:55
this entire year. Saber season is done. This Saturday, We're going to
1:53:58
be doing one for the Buffalo Bandits, which is pretty cool. Also gonna
1:54:00
be talking some Buffalo bills and some draft stuff and intermissions and commercials and what
1:54:05
we watched suff It's a great time. It's just an awesome hangout watching sports
1:54:10
and talking nonsense but also breaking down real stuff. We'll send out the communication
1:54:14
on Twitter for that, and if you're in the Cover one Slack channel,
1:54:16
you'll see you in the Cover one Slack channel. Join us live Saturday at
1:54:18
eight pm for that Bandit's watch party. Join myself again live next week Tuesday,
1:54:26
nine pm Eastern for the last episode of Disguise coverage before the NFL Draft,
1:54:30
and then we'll have NFL Draft coverage next week. I'll be hosting the
1:54:34
show Tuesday, earth a Friday night for a Round two and three. I
1:54:38
will be on the panel for night one on Thursday. Very very very very
1:54:42
very busy week next week. I appreciate you folks more than you know.
1:54:45
Drop a likeke on this video. Please rate and review and subscribe. Tell
1:54:49
your family and friends and loved ones about how awesome this show is. Word
1:54:53
of mouth is always great. If you thought the show was terrible, that's
1:54:55
fine. Tell your enemies try and ruin their day with the show. Go
1:54:58
get yourself someone pie pizza. I hope you and your family and friends and
1:55:00
loved ones are all doing well and staying safe. Take care of one another,
1:55:03
be kind to one another. I will see you next week live Tuesday
1:55:08
at nine pm Eastern for another episode of disguised coverage. That's going to do
1:55:12
it for us here on this show. I appreciate you, folks. Godspeed,
1:55:16
I'll see you next week, and as always, go Bills