I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

[X-Era]

Roster moves affecting the draft the most:

1. Keeping Tyrod- The starter for the beginning of next year at least
2. Bringing back Alexander
3. Re-signing Mills- Insurance at RT
4. Bringing in Ducasse- depth
5. Re-signing Groy- Depth and insurance for Wood
6. Signing Micah Hyde- starter at SS
7. Signing Poyer- Starter at FS
8. Letting Gilmore walk- leaves a big hole
9. Letting Wood sign elsewhere and not replacing him- leaves a big hole

So how does that shape our biggest needs at this point? What are the biggest needs?

1. WR
2. CB
3. Backup QB
4. Upgrade at RT
5. WLB

My thought on the draft:

1. Rd 1 (10)- Mike Williams, WR, Clemson- Exactly the big type of WR2 we have wanted to pair with Sammy for a while
2. Rd 2 (44)- Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech- Primary backup to Tyrod who may give us a solid option at sttarter in 18 if we choose to let Tyrod walk after this year
3. Rd 3 (75)- Adoree Jackson, CB, USC- Playmaking CB who can also be the primary returner. Not a sure fire CB1 but the hope will be that he can battle with Seymour or a late add vet to be the CB2 with Darby stepping up into the CB1 role
4. Rd 5 (139)- Julie'n Davenport, OT, Bucknell- Small school sleeper who has the size and movement to possibly surprise at RT
5. Rd 5 (152)- Jehu Chesson, WR, Michigan- Big Fast WR who does well getting the ball when covered
6. Rd 6 (169)- Nate Hairston, CB, Temple- Raw but rangy

And if it goes that way we would have played to the strengths of the draft by grabbing 2 WR's and 2 CB's from a draft that's strong in them while getting one of the top QB prospects out of the 1st round.

Now the only downside of moving toward bigger possession type WR's is that Tyrod will hold the ball when the guys have tight coverage. He's going to have to learn to throw at possession WR's when they have DB's close to them. It's a trust thing. But, he shys away from it. I hope he will take more chances and that these guys will make him glad he did.

[YardRat]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

Yeah I'm thinking we're going to get mostly skill position players out of this draft.

[Turf]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

Not a bad scenario at all. I hope Williams is still there at 10. I hope the Bills don't get tricked into trading up for someone they want. I do think they might go corner in the 2nd and reach for Kelly in the 3rd or 5th, maybe they trade up from the 5th to 4th. The marketing aspect of Kelly is too strong for them. Aside from Kelly's knee, I would like to know what they know about his mental condition.

[Night Train]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

So how does that shape our biggest needs at this point? What are the biggest needs?

1. WR
2. CB
3. Backup QB
4. Upgrade at RT
5. WLB

I think you should shift #5 to #1. They literally have nothing at OLB at present. WR has added Holmes, Brown and a couple others. No stars but Woods was no star. They will draft another WR somewhere but OLB and Secondary look far more likely with a Defensive minded coach.

[YardRat]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

Not a bad scenario at all. I hope Williams is still there at 10. I hope the Bills don't get tricked into trading up for someone they want. I do think they might go corner in the 2nd and reach for Kelly in the 3rd or 5th, maybe they trade up from the 5th to 4th. The marketing aspect of Kelly is too strong for them. Aside from Kelly's knee, I would like to know what they know about his mental condition.

I heard a rumor that Chad has been turning off some teams in the personal interviews with his cockiness. Don't know how true it is, but I'd still take him.

[Cali512]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

We need a WR, but we have signed 3 already and I wonder what our plan is there. I would love Adoree but I don't want a QB in the second at all. I feel like if Mahomes was white people would see a Bryce Petty/Klien/Manziel. Instead of a Russel or Dak

[sudzy]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

The draft is shaping up good for the Bills. They could almost go BPA. Williams, Lattimore, either Safety... Really anyone but Fournette. Get a stud 1st and if it's not a WR or CB, the draft is so deep at those spot they can find starters in the 2nd and 3rd.

[Ed]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

I would also move WLB up so it's also in the mix with WR and CB. At least at CB they have a young guy with some intriguing talent that could step up in Seymour.

I'd also add TE to their wish list since they seemed to pursue TE in FA pretty hard. It sounds like they will want to run a lot of 2-TE sets, so I would expect that to be one of the picks in the first 4 rounds.

[Turf]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

I'm no draft expert, but I see Michael Irvin in Williams.

[mdcas22]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

I look for the Bills to trade down and go defense. I don't see them going offense if Mcermott is calling the shots.

[DesertFox24]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

I could see a de or
dt as well

[TigerJ]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

I would guess their big board is close to being complete, to be altered only with minor tweaks between now and draft weekend.

[Luisito23]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

I like Williams at 10, just hate that he has neck concerns and with our luck, I hate it even more.

[psubills62]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

I heard a rumor that Chad has been turning off some teams in the personal interviews with his cockiness. Don't know how true it is, but I'd still take him.

Sounds completely unlike him.

[Buddo]

Re: I think the Bills draft wish list is shaping up

TE would seem to be a distinct possibility. On several grounds, not least of which, is the fact that it's supposedly a terrific class this year.

While I like Clay, his overall fitness concerns me, specifically the knee issues that he is already managing.

It would be wise to pick up someone who can be a long term solution at the position, and can relieve him as well, hopefully prolonging his career.

I think I'd rather see a quality TE pick, than yet another WR, tbh, as I believe it will be a better long term pick. There are always WRs you can get in any draft, whereas you aren't always going to see TE classes that are supposedly this good.

As we are supposedly going to be running a fair few 2 TE sets, then it would be nice to have 2 guys who are all around performers, so as to less likely tip our hand as to which one is the outlet on any given play.

In terms of pure 'need', I think LBer is at the top of the list, but much depends on what they want from one. I'd assume that they are going to be looking at slightly smaller, faster guys, who have coverage skills, so they may not feel the need to go after one immediately, if they see a number of options after the first round.

I'm not entirely against taking a QB, but I don't see any value in this class until much later rounds. We do need a backup, but I would rather prefer a vet, than having two guys who we are trying to develop. I'm not comfortable with the idea of Jones being the actual backup this year, but if he makes progress this year, then he should be looking at that role next year, or possibly even supplanting whatever vet we bring in, later on this season. Jones has way too much arm talent, to not be given a proper chance at developing.

There's still some time before we get to the draft, and I expect the odd extra hole to be plugged before then. While we aren't doing so bad for likely starters (both lines returning is important), we are struggling for depth.

We really need to be looking to trade back, somewhere in this draft, as only having 6 picks, may not be enough to fill in the roster later on.