A quick stab at a mock offseason

[BillsWin]

Free Agency:

Top Priority in my opinion is Marcus McNeil. Its time the Bills spent good money on arguably the most important position in the NFL. Nix knows McNeil from San Diego, and knows that the line is the biggest need for us. A veteran left tackle helps out a lot.

Casey Hampton- I think the Bills are moving toward a switch to the 3-4 so signing Hampton could help in that regard. Good player. Tremendous against the run. Eats up space. He is 32 however, so I address NT in the draft.

Johnny Jolly- If I were the Bills, I would throw some good money at Jolly to play DE in the 3-4 here.

NOTE: I was also going to put Jason Avant, but chose to address WR in the draft. McNeil, Hampton and Jolly are three guys who can come in and contribute right away.

Release Edwards (If we can't get a trade for him)
Release Parrish
Do not resign Owens
ATTEMPT to resign Josh Reed
Resign Incognito (Good depth, if not a starter if Wood's injury is really that bad.)

I haven't looked at the rest of our free agents yet.


I don't see Gailey retaining Lynch, so I traded him to the Eagles for a third rounder :whistling (NOTE: I doubt we could get a third rounder, but let's just pretend we get lucky.)

Draft:
(I'm only doing rounds 1-4 because I haven't studied some of the lower round prospects yet.)

1. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma. I was going to pick Brian Baluga here, but the way I laid out my top 10, (and already having picked up McNeil) Bradford falls to nine. I don't think the Bills would pass on Bradford if he were to slip to them. So the Bills get "their guy" here.

2. Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame. I don't think there would be much argument here. What with the left tackle position addressed in free agency, a franchise QB taken in round one and the switch to the 3-4 well underway with the additions of Hampton and Jolly. Tate is an amazing player that just might drop to this pick. Another player I could see Gailey wanting here would be Oghobaase or Jonathan Dwyer. Both would be slight reaches at this pick, but could still end up being great pickups.

3. Torell Troup, NT, UCF. Hampton is 32 and has no backup behind him with the size and skillset to play nose tackle in the 3-4. So Troup could be a nice pick up here.

3. (Pick #87 from Eagles) Micah Johnson, ILB, Kentucky. I like his size and strength. He isn't the fastest ILB available, but I see him as a good pick in the low third round.

4. Ryan Matthews, RB, Fresno State. Small guy. Fun to watch. Runs about a 4.44-4.46 40 yard dash. With Lynch gone via trade, I was looking for someone to compliment Jackson. I think I found him in Matthews.

Rounds 5-7, I would look for, maybe another LB, and definitely some O-line depth, maybe another DE with Schobel possibly retiring.

What do you guys think? It is rough, I know. But I will keep fine tuning it.

[BillsWin]

So if Wood is out to start the season my offense looks something like this.

Offensive line: McNeil, Levitre, Hangnarter, Incognito, Butler (or Bell)

Quarterback: Bradford, Fitzpatrick, Brohm

Runningback: Jackson, Matthews

Wide Receiver: Evans, Tate, Hardy, Reed, Johnson

Tightend: Nelson, Schouman, Fine

I think that is a nice looking offense.

Defensively you can kind of figure out how that is going to look.

............................Stroud.....Hampton......Jolly.....................
................Maybin......Mitchell......Johnson......Posluszny.............
McKelvin......................................................................McGee

..........................Whitner...................Byrd.............................

[JCBills]

I don't see us going 3-4, though I still have us taking Troup as a one tech in the 4-3, though he can probably play either, dude is a monster. I don't think WR is a 2nd round need even if we land a stud LT in free agency, which is also unlikely.

Also, re-signing Josh Reed + Tate in the 2nd = all 3 starting WRs under 6'0''. Yeesh.

[BillsWin]

I don't see us going 3-4, though I still have us taking Troup as a one tech in the 4-3, though he can probably play either, dude is a monster. I don't think WR is a 2nd round need even if we land a stud LT in free agency, which is also unlikely.

Also, re-signing Josh Reed + Tate in the 2nd = all 3 starting WRs under 6'0''. Yeesh.


Thanks for the input. Troup really is a beast.

As for the Reed comment, we still have the giant Hardy and Johnson who is over 6 foot tall.

There is height there, but Tate is just an absolute stud. I think him next to Evans = money.

[Luisito23]

Wow, I would love that off-season, and I agree with Tate, he's gonna be straight money.

[JCBills]

Thanks for the input. Troup really is a beast.

As for the Reed comment, we still have the giant Hardy and Johnson who is over 6 foot tall.

There is height there, but Tate is just an absolute stud. I think him next to Evans = money.

I'm a Notre Dame fan so drafting Tate would be a dream come true, I think he could do well in the slot, hence why we should just let Reed walk. I think Stevie takes a step forward, and Hardy will see an increase in PT. I bet they learned a lot from T.O., and will get a chance to show it in a competent offense. Lee - Steve - Golden is a good mix of size and speed in the Ace set. Nelson - Hardy - Johnson is a scary red zone set.

I also don't think RB is a 4th round need, we really need to build the front 7 on D.

[BillsWin]

I'm a Notre Dame fan so drafting Tate would be a dream come true, I think he could do well in the slot, hence why we should just let Reed walk. I think Stevie takes a step forward, and Hardy will see an increase in PT. I bet they learned a lot from T.O., and will get a chance to show it in a competent offense. Lee - Steve - Golden is a good mix of size and speed in the Ace set. Nelson - Hardy - Johnson is a scary red zone set.

I also don't think RB is a 4th round need, we really need to build the front 7 on D.

While i agree the lines are the most important thing I just couldn't pass up on Matthews after watching his highlights. Fast kid. Could compliment Jackson perfectly.

[JCBills]

While i agree the lines are the most important thing I just couldn't pass up on Matthews after watching his highlights. Fast kid. Could compliment Jackson perfectly.

4th round though when you have two 1,000+ yd RBs on your roster already?

[NOT THE DUDE...]

with no cba mcniel wont be available.
poz doesnt play olb in a 34
the bills wont draft a rb unless they trade lynch
where are u getting the extra 3rd rd pick from?

[NOT THE DUDE...]

johnny jolly isnt a free agent...

[JCBills]

I can't figure out what the front 7 is.

And Poz at 3-4 OLB?

This situation also puts Kyle Williams to waste entirely.

[Buddo]

McNeil isn't going to happen I'm afraid. On two counts. First count, is that the Chargers want to re-sign him. Second count, the Chargers want to re-sign him, and have heinz variety of tags they can use on him. McNeil will now become a RFA, and the Chargers are already reported as wanting to give him the high tender in lieu of getting a new deal worked out.
I believe Hampton will be a UFA though, so there are some possibilities, if we decide to go to a 3-4. The trouble is, MCNeil is the pivotal point of the plan, and it will not happen.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

Mcniel isnt even that good really, hes average at best... id rather draft bulaga

[kernowboy]

An interesting draft but it fails because the Chargers will not let McNeill hit the market at a sensible price.

Of the players available from Green Bay, I think Aaron Kampman would be more likely as he has flunked in the 3-4. Ray Edwards of the Vikings would also be a very nice pickup. In the middle of the DL, I see us going for great depth behind Williams and Stroud.

Most importantly the defence gets better if we control the game time better. An experienced offensive minded Head Coach will automatically achieve that. I also see us retaining the core of QBs plus a lower draft pick as Galley has acheived wonders with 'limit' QBs before. The issue is protection.

One wildcard I see however is converting Nelson into a big WR. He played the slot a lot at Southern Miss, has the speed (4.55) and may find it easier to lose 10lbs than to gain 20lbs. A mid round WR will help and I think if Jermaine Gresham or Rob Gronkowski are available in R2, then we will draft a true 270lbs TE with the full tool kit.

My draft is

1 Bruce Campbell LT - an elite prospect at 6ft7 and 310lbs
2 Rob Gronkowski TE - a true TE at 6ft6 270lbs
3 Sean Lee MLB - a first rounder before injury
4 (for Lynch to Seattle) Linval Joseph DT - a monster at 6ft6 and 330lbs
4 Naaman Roosevelt WR - the best WR not reported on with loads of production
5 Corey Peters DT - excellent senior season, allow us to use a hybrid D
6 James Starks RB - brilliant production, great hands, falls because of senior season injury
6 (for Peters) Mike Kafka QB - my sleeper prospect, allows us to go wildcat on occasion
7 (for Simpson) Greg Middleton LE - big enough to let us play a hybrid D
7 Cory Jackson FB - a proper bodyguard for Fred-x

In Free Agency my big splash would be Aaron Kampman who is almost a lock to be a free agent.

I think unless Edwards regains his confidence or Brohm really steps up we will look to draft from Locker, Mallett, Gabbert or Devlin our franchise QB in 2011. In the meantime we will see much better QB play next season because of proper coaching, play calling and protection but I view this as a 2year turnaround.

[kernowboy]

4th round though when you have two 1,000+ yd RBs on your roster already?

Lynch is being traded in the scenario presented

[SquishDaFish]

I would LOVE that offseason

[Don't Panic]

One thing I really like is grabbing an LT in FA. If we do that, we have a ton of flexibility at #9... Bradford or Claussen if they're there and we like what we've seen of them... McClain... Dez Bryant. If we don't go LT in FA, we are pretty much stuck going tackle (LT or RT... depending on what Nix and Gailey think of Bell) at #9.

[Yasgur's Farm]

We gotta find room to start Kyle Williams and Marcus Stroud in the 3-4. What are we gonna do with Schobel if he doesn't retire.

----Stroud------Round 2------Williams----
Maybin------Poz------Mitchell------Round 1

I think our offseason priorities will be...

Starting OLB (with pass rush skills) - Rolando McClain round 1.
Starting NT - Terrence Cody round 2
QB - Veteran stopgap + 3rd rounder + Brohm
OT - Free agency
WR - I'd shuffle things around if Dez Bryant is there at #9
2 backup DE's - Free agency

[jamze132]

Best case scenario has McNiel as an RFA with the high tender (1st and 3rd). So if that's the case and you sign him, you can not draft Bradford. Please try again.

[YardRat]

If you're going to have McNeil coming in as a FA, then you have to account for that in the subsequent draft and lose the first and third round picks.

[elltrain22]

Love it!! I'd be on cloud 9 if we sign Marcus McNeil

[kernowboy]

The only way McNeil comes free is if he has massive injury concerns at which point he is no longer worth the risk