Bills Draft 2021

[Ann]

The Buffalo Bills are drafting 30th this year (they had a stronger SOS than Green Bay). They have never picked this low before.
 

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This is the lowest spot the Bills have picked in the first round of the draft. Their previous lowest pick in the first round was 28th. Buffalo has picked at that spot three different times drafting center Eric Wood in 2009, defensive back Thomas Smith in 1993 and running back Booker Moore in 1981.
 

</snip>
 

 

The Bills have eight total selections:
 

• 1 First Round Selection
• 1 Second Round  Selection
• 1 Third Round Selection
• 0 Fourth Round  Selections (Buffalo traded its pick as part of the deal for wide receiver Stefon Diggs.)
• 2 Fifth Round Selections (Buffalo acquired the Las Vegas Raiders' pick for wide receiver Zay Jones.)
• 1 Sixth Round Selections
• 2 Seventh Round Selection (Buffalo acquired the Carolina Panthers' pick for OT Marshall Newhouse.)

 

[Ann]

This might be a helpful thread: 2021 NFL Draft Early Entrants

So, who do you want the Bills to draft?
Do you want them to move up?
Do you want them to move down?

[GG1]

Don't need QB or WR in that spot.   Ideally, trade down and get best available OL or RB in Rd 2.   If they lose Milano, get a real MLB and kick Edmunds outside.

[Koko]

Depending on how deep the draft is in linemen, I'd want to see them get the BPA OL/DL/LB on their board at 30. If the BPA is a DB, I'd be fine with that as well (while I detest a throwback of the Jauron days, it's still true that you can never have too many quality DBs.)

 

If there's no one on their board worth taking at 30, I have no issues with trading out of the first round.

[Billsandhorns]

I kinda want to see them trade back and pick up draft capital. With the current cap situation and uncertainty of where it will be next year. 

[Nanker]

We’ll be getting comp picks if Frazier goes to Houston. 

[Foxx]

I am counting on McBeane to work their magic again this year.

[Alaska Darin]

I don't know who they're going to draft but there are four pretty clear needs:

 

1.  Pass rusher (doesn't necessarily have to be a DE)

2.  1-Tech DT

3.  MLB

4.  VERY fast and agile cover corner.

[Ann]

Beane saying they have to draft well. Due to the salary cap, they may not be able to be so aggressive in free agency.  "I would not anticipate any blockbuster moves in free agency." More plugging holes in free agency.

(end of year presser)

[RochesterRob]

2 minutes ago, Ann said:

Beane saying they have to draft well. Due to the salary cap, they may not be able to be so aggressive in free agency.  "I would not anticipate any blockbuster moves in free agency." More plugging holes in free agency.

(end of year presser)

  As stated the other day I expect at the most a couple of value priced free agents.  No big splash for this FA period.  

[RochesterRob]

18 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

I don't know who they're going to draft but there are four pretty clear needs:

 

1.  Pass rusher (doesn't necessarily have to be a DE)

2.  1-Tech DT

3.  MLB

4.  VERY fast and agile cover corner.

  I agree with those needs but I don't see them within our first four picks.  I think we grab an OL who can help with our run game somewhere in the first three rounds.  

[Ann]

He was talking about Tyreek Hill being a unicorn, and finding someone to cover him.



 

[Ann]

LOL Beane called the virtual scouting/combine/pro days the "underwear Olympics."

https://twitter.com/MattParrino/status/1354464735547240451

 

[RochesterRob]

16 hours ago, Nanker said:

We’ll be getting comp picks if Frazier goes to Houston. 

  Beginning or end of the 3rd round?

 

  Looks like end of the 3rd round.  So somewhere around pick number 100 or so depending on what else takes place this offseason.

Edited January 27, 2021 by RochesterRob

[Ann]

Beane at presser:

Our scouts made a lot of games.
Instead of being on campus to talk to the strength coach or coaches, they had to use facetime or zoom.
At the end of the day, in Senior Bowl week.
The combine will slow us down on getting medical information. At the Senior Bowl they can interview 60 people, but that will put them behind.
Medical is being ironed out (regional, or teams sharing are ideas).
Hoping for the medical information by April.
 

[GG1]

32 minutes ago, Ann said:

Beane at presser:

Our scouts made a lot of game.
Instead of being on campus to talk to the strength coach or coaches, they had to use facetime or zoom.
At the end of the day, in Senior Bowl week.
The combine will slow us down on getting medical information. At the Senior Bowl they can interview 60 people, but that will put them behind.
Medical is being ironed out (regional, or teams sharing are ideas).
Hoping for the medical information by April.
 

 

The league should postpone the draft to mid May again

[Ann]

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1359577880611614724

[GG1]

20 minutes ago, ComradeKayAdams said:

It looks like the Bills will have 7 total picks in this year’s draft (Thursday, April 29 - Saturday, May 1): 30, 61, 94, 145, 158, 189, 200. They traded away their 4th rounder to Minnesota for Stefon Diggs and their 7th rounder to Cleveland in the Wyatt Teller exchange. They also picked up a 5th from Las Vegas in the Zay Jones trade and a 7th from Carolina in the Marshall Newhouse trade.

 

It’s somewhat hard to say what Buffalo’s draft strategy should be at this point in time. A lot depends on what happens in free agency this March, mainly with our own players like John Brown, Daryl Williams, Jon Feliciano, Mitch Morse, Vernon Butler, Quinton Jefferson, Mario Addison, and Matt Milano. I tend to prefer a strategy of “BPA” in every round. Free agency and trades can be used to fill the roster holes. I also prefer removing all players from the draft board who have character issues (laziness, criminality…essentially all the non-humble non-hungry Process Distrusters), regardless of talent. Nevertheless, it’s easy to say that we need more speed at RB and WR, more all-around talent at TE, better interior OL run-blocking talent, pass rushing anywhere along the DL (probably our biggest need!!!), a DT to pair with Oliver if Star won’t be ready, a MLB to pair with Edmunds if we lose Milano, safety depth since Hyde and Poyer are getting older, and a CB opposite White who can challenge Wallace and Jackson. So um, basically…we can use help everywhere!

 

Since I know next to nothing about college football but still like to feel useful, I decided to look up a random top-200 draft prospect list online in order to get a general sense of where the talent this year is concentrated and how it is distributed. The formula below is as follows: (total number of prospects) = (top 30) + (next 31) + (next 33) + (next 106).

 

K: 2 = 0 + 0 + 0 + 2

P: 2 = 0 + 0 + 0 + 2

QB: 10 = 5 + 1 + 1 + 3

RB: 16 = 1 + 1 + 5 + 9

WR: 29 = 5 + 4 + 5 + 15

TE: 11 = 1 + 1 + 1 + 8

T: 18 = 4 + 3 + 4 + 7

G: 8 = 1 + 2 + 1 + 4

😄 8 = 0 + 2 + 1 + 5

DT (1-tech and 3-tech): 14 = 2 + 3 + 2 + 7

DE (5-tech and edge): 24 = 3 + 4 + 6 + 11

LB (will and mike): 16 = 2 + 4 + 2 + 8

S (including big nickel): 15 = 2 + 2 + 3 + 8

CB (including slot): 27 = 4 + 4 + 2 + 17

 

Of course no one’s top-200 list breakdown will be quite the same as the above, but hopefully this info can serve as a tiny springboard for some of you draft gurus and Brandon Beane cosplay enthusiasts out there?!

 

EDIT: the emoticon is supposed to be the center position lol...how delightful!

 

Great context to predict the guessing game in April.   I would have thought that the OL would have higher numbers, as a bunch of draft analyses point to the depth in the position in their outlook for the Bills selections.   It could be that the OL has a high number of Day 1-2 picks?

 

The Athletic just ran their mock draft, and has Bills trading up to 21 to select a CB.  The cost is a swap of 1st plus 2nd & 3rd rounders.  I'll play the Bill in NYC role to say that it would be a stupid move, not just for the CB selection, but for a team that's in bad cap shape and needs to hold on to as many of its picks as it can.    Then you apply the second cardinal rule - the only position you ever trade up for in the 1st round is QB.

[Uncle Joe]

3 hours ago, ComradeKayAdams said:

It looks like the Bills will have 7 total picks in this year’s draft (Thursday, April 29 - Saturday, May 1): 30, 61, 94, 145, 158, 189, 200. They traded away their 4th rounder to Minnesota for Stefon Diggs and their 7th rounder to Cleveland in the Wyatt Teller exchange. They also picked up a 5th from Las Vegas in the Zay Jones trade and a 7th from Carolina in the Marshall Newhouse trade.

In Beane we trust...

[Spartacus]

4 hours ago, GG1 said:

 

Great context to predict the guessing game in April.   I would have thought that the OL would have higher numbers, as a bunch of draft analyses point to the depth in the position in their outlook for the Bills selections.   It could be that the OL has a high number of Day 1-2 picks?

 

The Athletic just ran their mock draft, and has Bills trading up to 21 to select a CB.  The cost is a swap of 1st plus 2nd & 3rd rounders.  I'll play the Bill in NYC role to say that it would be a stupid move, not just for the CB selection, but for a team that's in bad cap shape and needs to hold on to as many of its picks as it can.    Then you apply the second cardinal rule - the only position you ever trade up for in the 1st round is QB.

 

a CB is not stupid in and of itself

the Bills historically have made their CB pick stupid by wasting resources on highly skilled press cover CBs, then wasted that talent in mindless soft zones that did not fit the skillset of the player

 

If Bills plan to play zone, no need to spend high picks on press cover CBs