I'm Curious to know..

[Northern Stampede]

What DraftBoy thinks of our picks so far...? I always am interested on his insight into our roster... Sorry bud, don't mean to call you out on it.. :D

[DraftBoy]

Not a problem...

I think its a very risky strategy they've employed. Not a single player they've taken is one I'd deem as "safe" even Robert Woods is a risky pick. The way I look at it is this;
QB EJ Manuel-Has everything you want in a QB but on the field he's slower than molasses and I'm not talking about his ability to move. His reads, his anticipation, his progressions they are all slow. Now FSU runs a complicated pro similar system and last year Jimbo brought it down a little to speed up EJ's reads. That concerns me a little bit but if Hackett can do what Jimbo couldn't and get EJ to suddenly click then he's a franchise QB. But that is a HUGE if.

WR Robert Woods-Technically no WR was better in this class with his routes, his hands, and his precision. The question is can Woods get separation in the NFL? He's a not a speed guy at all but he's a smooth route runner. He's very similar to Stevie Johnson which concerns me given that there is no big outside WR but in Marrone's quick strike system he should live off slants, crossing patterns, and getting the ball in space.

LB Kiko Alonso-This pick is our largest risk thus far and to me makes the least amount of sense. He's a big hitting LB who can run and cover but he's everything Tank Carder was last year. Are we admitting Gailey made a mistake last year (not surprising)? I like Alonso more than Carder but I think it was two rounds too early, he really lacks a lot of functional strength, he struggles to get off blocks and for being a big hitter he doesn't not like to be physical in traffic. He runs around blocks as opposed to through them. If he can get bigger, and more physical in traffic he could be a very good LB, again though more ifs.

WR Marquise Goodwin-I love this pick, and I'm not entirely sure why. He's all potential and I wrote yesterday when it comes to anything you want from a polished WR (Routes, Awareness, Blocking, Hands) he doesn't have it. He is a speed guy who thinks he's running a 100 yd dash on every snap. He needs to come off the line at a gear or two lower so his hips don't lock up and he can make his breaks cleaner. He should be explosive off the line of scrimmage and early on you'll want him in play-action at all times to avoid jams and to utilize the jet sweep option he offers. He has never fully dedicated himself to football so this will be interesting.

In case you haven't noticed by now I expect the Bills to be graded very poorly nationally but that's ok, grades are based on the writers own perception. I didn't like the Gilmore pick where we took him last year. The Bills are going to utilize the read option next year, EJ is going to be asked to use his legs and they are going to force defenses to get into the box and stop the run and account for Graham and Goodwin's speed on sweeps. EJ will then be asked to make quick reads and get the ball to Woods or Johnson hopefully streaking open over the middle around the 12 yard area. That's the design as I see it based on what the picks have been and what Marrone did at Cuse.

Just my $0.02 though.

[ICRockets]

WR Marquise Goodwin-I love this pick, and I'm not entirely sure why. He's all potential and I wrote yesterday when it comes to anything you want from a polished WR (Routes, Awareness, Blocking, Hands) he doesn't have it. He is a speed guy who thinks he's running a 100 yd dash on every snap. He needs to come off the line at a gear or two lower so his hips don't lock up and he can make his breaks cleaner. He should be explosive off the line of scrimmage and early on you'll want him in play-action at all times to avoid jams and to utilize the jet sweep option he offers. He has never fully dedicated himself to football so this will be interesting.


I actually disagree with how unpolished Goodwin is, especially in terms of blocking. For such a small guy he is a tenacious blocker. That's an area I would have expected him to be way behind on if he were truly a 'track and field' guy and not a 'football' guy. But the clips of him I've seen from the thread about him indicate that he likes blocking and is good at it. There were also some really nice adjustments he made to the ball in those clips, so I think his awareness is much higher than he gets credit for. This kid is going to be special. I'm insanely stoked for him.

[DraftBoy]

I actually disagree with how unpolished Goodwin is, especially in terms of blocking. For such a small guy he is a tenacious blocker. That's an area I would have expected him to be way behind on if he were truly a 'track and field' guy and not a 'football' guy. But the clips of him I've seen from the thread about him indicate that he likes blocking and is good at it. There were also some really nice adjustments he made to the ball in those clips, so I think his awareness is much higher than he gets credit for. This kid is going to be special. I'm insanely stoked for him.

Tenacity is not the question, technical ability is.

[elltrain22]

Great opinions, and as always, great insight!! I guess we'll see very quickly how good, or not so good, this new coaching staff can be. Alot of chances taken, but to me, it's better than just making safe & boring picks. Obviously, that didn't work, maybe this will.

[Northern Stampede]

Thanks so much DraftBoy, I always enjoy reading your posts and find your insight very informative! Thanks alot man! Another question though, now that we have signed some UDFA's, what do you think of this Rogers kid? You talked about us lacking a big WR to match up outside in your comments about Woods. Do you think that this could be THAT guy?

[ServoBillieves]

I'm not DB... but has anyone else realized how BIG we are at WR? I remember having Reed, Parrish, and Evans (5'10", 5'8", 5'10") and aside from Goodwin the Bills have all WR's that are over 6'1". Range and length over smaller corners.

[Mski]

i really like how the team seemed to take BIG shots in the draft this year, atleast in rnds 1-3, they got the qb they wanted, and they didnt chose the choir boys like they have in the past, all of their picks seem to have the "high celing" moniker, which leads me to believe that we did improve overall team talent this year