Thread lookback: 2016 draft view

[trapezeus]

Did this last year on certain scenarios. Just so we could see if we were right or not in the moment.

So put it out there and see if you were right next year

2016 draft. Your thoughts. Here are mine:

shaq seems like a safe pick. I like it. I don't see superstar in his highlights, but I see productive de. I also dont think shoulder will be a long term problem


ragland price in trade was steep but I think he was the right guy to take for the trade up. Hopefully he qbs the d for a long time.

Cardale jones is ej taken in the right round with the right circumstances. He shouldn't get on the field this year. And only if he makes huge strides in practice should he get a chance to compete if tt flames out. I think the bills still need to be thinking "draft qb" next year.

Taking an an rb made sense to me given injuries and shady's background.

Like me the gronk pick up. Felton is a waste and I think most of our rbs get to the lane quick. If we have a good fb in there as well, perhaps we have more long runs and less reliance on tt to perform well.

Rex got a perfect draft. If the defense isn't top five and he's making bad in game decisions, this should be his last year.

[Night Train]

I want to see who steps forward at RT and FS. Maybe Henderson is in better shape than we thought. Graham is a better CB than Safety but may be losing a step. Would like to see another alternative step forward for that spot.

I still like the talent we drafted.

[YardRat]

Lawson---Good pick, maybe not jump-out-of-your-seat-and-pump-your-fist great, but should be a solid contributor and have a nice, productive career (barring injury). Not the physical specimen that MW is, but he doesn't have to be.
Ragland---I'm biased, but love this pick. Wouldn't have bee upset if we took him in the first. Love defensive thumpers with attitude and IMO RR was the best ILB in the draft by a long shot.
Washington---I'll take it. We needed dline help, and even if he isn't the true NT I believe we should have targeted he has the potential to be solid and sometimes dominant depending on how he's used.

The two things I like about the first three picks are 1)They are all capable of playing in multiple fronts, and if eventually we switch back to a 43 Lawson goes to DE, Washington plays inside, and Ragland is a perfect two-down run-stuffer...and 2)They all have high ceilings and could live up to bigger billing than where they were drafted.

Jones---Meh. They needed a QB, and got one. Raw physical talent in a position to learn for a season or two so I'll give him some slack. I honestly think somebody like Prescott (who was gone) or Coker (UDFA to Arizona) will end up having a better and longer career, but it is what it is. A high-risk pick that's going to have to grow a lot or bust out of the league.
Williams---Didn't see the necessity to use a pick on a RB, and don't really see JW as ever being anymore than a back-up/breather guy.
Listenbee---I'm not a fan of speed guys, but at least he has some skills regarding ball-tracking and catches with his hands. IMO his ceiling is a Beebe-type career, a #3 or #4 whose biggest value is clearing defenders out for other guys to get open and make plays but he'll never be a solid #2 or #1. If he struggles with the physicality of the NFL level he'll never make it.
Seymour---Meh. A sixth-round DB that will be lucky if he hangs on long enough to be a special teams contributor/emergency plug-in for injuries. If he can gun and return kicks he may find his niche there. He can't be any worse than Ron Brooks, can he?

Overall a decent draft, as I said originally a B-minus, but really disappointed that we didn't take anybody to add bodies to Oline, safety or even TE. If more than 3 guys see a second contract with the Bills I'll be surprised.

[sdbillsfan2]

Pre-draft Whaley said that the Bills were in Qb purgatory. Few would argue with him . So now the draft cards are all turned in. I don't see how we are any closer to getting out of qb purgatory.I've been a fan since 1960 and have never been so UN optimistic about this teams qb situation.
If we're drafting guys for big hands and arm strength to combat the weather here ..then I'd rather have a dome and actually win games with better guys leading the way.
Jones has less than 300 pass att. And about 2500 yds in 3 years. He didn't even have Meyers full confidence at OSU .

[sahlensguy]

Lawson - aside from his cronic shoulder injury, talented guy who doesn't explode to the ball enough. Takes plays off. Supposed strength is in the run game. Big deal, in a passing league. Wasted pick. And considering the bounty Dallas was willing to give up to trade up, a costly wasted pick.

Ragland - great in the run game in a passing league. 2 down player. Gave up picks in a deep draft to aquire. Great selection if it was 15 years ago.

Washington - No.

Williams - WTF?

Listenbee - best pick of the weekend. Hope he stays healthy.

Jones - OK, but would have rather traded out of the 1st round with Dallas and taken Cook.

Horrific draft, I blame Rex.

[Ginger Vitis]

Lawson... Maybe makes 1 or 2 probowls.. A guy who will be good against the run and has close to 10 sacks a year

Ragland.. Wont be quite as good as Sam Cowart was Cowarts first 3 years in the NFL but close enough..

Washington... Wont ever make the probowl and a above average situational DT...

Jones.. WIll never be a bonafied starter in the NFL... Maybe could be a backup

[MillsapsBillsFan]

I think we got three players who can step in and contribute right away in our first three picks.

Jones has a high ceiling but a very low floor, needs to sit for at least one or two years to even have a chance IMO.

Williams could be a solid rotational running back. Good player for a 5th rounder.

No real opinion on our other picks

A couple UDFA's could stick, would like it if Gronk can replace Felton at a lower cost, also think Eric Stryker from Oklahoma was a great UDFA pickup

All in all I wish we could have picked up a couple other positions of need but I am very happy with how the board played out and the players we got.

[Night Train]

Lawson - aside from his cronic shoulder injury, talented guy who doesn't explode to the ball enough. Takes plays off. Supposed strength is in the run game. Big deal, in a passing league. Wasted pick. And considering the bounty Dallas was willing to give up to trade up, a costly wasted pick.

Ragland - great in the run game in a passing league. 2 down player. Gave up picks in a deep draft to aquire. Great selection if it was 15 years ago.

Washington - No.

Williams - WTF?

Listenbee - best pick of the weekend. Hope he stays healthy.

Jones - OK, but would have rather traded out of the 1st round with Dallas and taken Cook.

Horrific draft, I blame Rex.

best trolling I've seen in some time. From the Pats board or Jets, I'm guessing.

[sahlensguy]

best trolling I've seen in some time. From the Pats board or Jets, I'm guessing.

Our D won't be able to get anyone off the field, but we'll look like world beaters on 1st and 2nd downs.

[cookie G]

At best, there are 2 new starters on D, replacing the 2 that were lost.

Comparing last year to this year, at best...the talent level stayed the same. Not necessarily a bad thing, considering the talent level, but weaknesses that could have been addressed, weren't...due to a bad coaching selection.

At best, its a treading water situation. 0 steps forward, 2 steps sideways.

[SpikedLemonade]

7-9

[sahlensguy]

At best, there are 2 new starters on D, replacing the 2 that were lost.

Comparing last year to this year, at best...the talent level stayed the same. Not necessarily a bad thing, considering the talent level, but weaknesses that could have been addressed, weren't...due to a bad coaching selection.

At best, its a treading water situation. 0 steps forward, 2 steps sideways.

It would be surprising if two rookies equalled Nigel's and even Mario's production. This and we did nothing for our 3rd down or passing defense. 2 steps sideways is optimistic.

[John Doe]

It would be surprising if two rookies equalled Nigel's and even Mario's production. This and we did nothing for our 3rd down or passing defense. 2 steps sideways is optimistic.

Bradham: 57 total tackles, 42 solo, 1 sack

Mario: 19 total tackles, 15 solo, 5 Sacks

Pretty impossible to beat those powerhouse stats.

[billsfanryan]

Lawson - 10+ sack guy for 5-8 years.

Ragland - Bart Scott under Rex.

Washington - probably won't be a full time starter but he will be a very solid rotational player.

Jones - boom or bust. Worth taking a flier on but probably will not be anything. EJ is substantially better.

Williams - a rb who could possibly be a starter in the NFL.

Listenbee - waste of a pick. Goodwin 2.0 but maybe faster. I don't understand this at all.

Seymour - depth.

UDA - Striker makes the team and has a very positive impact. Situational player but 6+ sacks

[IlluminatusUIUC]

I was actually pretty satisfied with this draft. My personal draft philosophy is to heavily prioritize QBs, OL, and defensive front 7 in round 1- we did. Rounds 2-3, just try to find starters - we did. Rounds 4-7 draft BPA and I felt we did. The only pick that really surprised me was the Cardale Jones pick, but I'm warming to him. He's certainly hilarious on twitter, if nothing else.

[swiper]

Bradham: 57 total tackles, 42 solo, 1 sack

Mario: 19 total tackles, 15 solo, 5 Sacks

Pretty impossible to beat those powerhouse stats.

You have to look at the year before. Rex ruined those two in 2015.

[YardRat]

I wouldn't expect Lawson to get more than 5-6 sacks, unless he really racks them up against one or two teams to skew the total.

Ragland should easily top 100 tackles.

[John Doe]

You have to look at the year before. Rex ruined those two in 2015.

Why stop there. Why not dig up the stats for Bruce Smith and Cornelius Bennet.

I'm looking at what Williams and Bradham did in Rex's scheme because that is the production that the rookies will be replacing.

[DraftBoy]

I think you have to look at this draft from two perspectives because to me their goal completely changed mid-draft.

The first two rounds were about finding immediate starters who could bring a Day 1 impact.

After that every single pick was a high upside big potential player who is he develops properly becomes a huge steal. With the amount of impact they are likely to get from Lawson and Ragland, I'm ok with the top tier potential approach they went the rest of the way. At best they added 4 potential starters down the road, at worst they got some decent depth players.

[Mace]

Well...

R1 : DE Lawson : I am delighted, was the best choice (to me). I think people are going to love him.

R2 : LB Ragland : I like Ragland, think he could well be the best LB we've had here in a long time. I wouldn't have traded up for him. At their normal spot I'd have considered Whitehair (G), Reed (DT), Ragland (if there), Cravens (S/OLB) or Vonn Bell (S).

R3 : DT Washington : Don't like it. As things developed I'd have taken Billings or Javon Hargrave instead.

R4 : QB Jones : If I had to take a QB, Jones is the one, and this is right where I'd have grabbed him if I had two 4th round picks. If they wouldn't have traded up for Ragland, earlier in the round I'd have taken OT Willie Beavers or Alex Lewis, or maybe even Joe Haeg or John Theus.

R5 : RB Williams : Don't like it. G Westermann & Drango, OT Fahn Cooper, WR Rashard Higgins, and TE Jerell Adams are still there. He can dominate preseason games, I think that's all you'll see from Williams.

R6 : WR Listenbee : I really like this pick though I wouldn't have taken him had I gotten WR Higgins or TE Adams. If I'd have taken one of them, depends on all of the above, SS Kearse, G Vadal Alexander, WR's Peake & Lawler, LB's Wright & Matakevich were still handy, depending.

R6(2) Seymour : Don't like it. SS Kearse, G Vadal Alexander, WR's Peake & Lawler, LB's Wright & Matakevich were still handy, depending.