All right, welcome back to the Buffalo Brett podcast and happy Good Friday to you.
We are going to do a full seven round mock draft on the PFF draft simulator.
I can talk about my preferences for the PFF draft simulator if you'd like, but certainly
before that, how are you, my good friend?
I am good, sir.
I am doing well.
I am very excited for this moment we're about to embark on.
Mock draft is always a spectacular time for us because one, we get to it is like apex
mountain for us for our madden GM feels and vibes.
So now that we actually get to get into it and do a draft like we do on the team is always
a lot of fun.
And second, these things are almost never right, which is amazing for the cottage industry
of mock drafts, how few of them are actually correct.
Like no one had Houston last year trading back up into the top three to take Will Anderson
after they'd already taken CJ Stroud.
No one had the Patriots taking Cole Strange a couple years back.
These are always the types of things that that happened at the end of the day.
Teams evaluate this talent on a completely different level than a lot of these mock
draft algorithm guys.
So it would be interesting JJ to talk about it in that context too.
It's probably less likely anyone could ever prepare a seven round mock draft with every
team, every pick correct, then even the Warren Buffett, you know, one million per year for
the rest of your life bracket challenge that he does with his company Berkshire Hathaway.
It's I don't want to do the probability right now, but I can tell you it's somewhere worse
than the 147 quintillion odds of getting an exact bracket right.
Absolutely.
And yet we punish ourselves by going through this exercise year after year, convincing
ourselves that we will be right.
But again, for me, it adds a fun element to the draft to compare my board to what the
bills and other teams actually do.
So JJ, I'm ready to hop into it.
So why don't we set the stage here for what we're about to do.
So we have PFF's mock draft simulator up.
We have all of the settings save for randomness, which we have skewed way down set to about
the middle of each of the intensity bars here.
So public versus PFF board care for positional value, drafting for needs, all set to about
the middle of their individual spectrums here.
We'll be drafting with your Buffalo bills and our beloved Buffalo bills here as we
go through this exercise.
And what we're going to do is when we get to the bills pick, we are going to let the
listeners at home know who is on the board at key positions of need for the bills.
JJ is going to make a pick.
I'm going to make a pick.
And then together, we're going to try to figure out what bean is going to do if the board
falls in the way that it falls in this particular mock draft.
After that, we'll run through our picks one more time just to solidify where we landed,
talk a little bit about some of our favorites, some of our not so favorites, and see what
it would mean if the bills draft actually played out in the way that it does on this
pod.
So I'm good, JJ.
Absolutely.
And I would say just to kind of keep us moving along for the purposes of this draft, you
are the seeded GM.
I will have a pick that I'd suggest, but ultimately the decision comes to you.
We can do another one down the line where I'm the decider, but today you're the decider,
Dan.
You have the bean hat on.
I have the beanie.
I've got the beanie.
Yeah, you got the beanie.
The bean beanie.
You're the ultimate decider.
I've got the bean beanie.
I will don Don said headwear with pride, sir.
All right, let's hit it.
Let's get going.
All right, and we're going pretty slow so we can watch the first round go.
So again, Dan, if you want me to stop the draft and offer a trade to get up somewhere,
you let me know.
I will, but I'm going to tell you right now, unless Brian Thomas, Jr. falls into the 20s,
I don't know that bean is trading up in this draft if it sacrifices his ability to add
a third round pick.
I actually think the bills, depending on how the board falls, may trade back at either
28, or I think it's very, very likely they end up trading back at 60 for sure.
Yeah, sure.
And the way that this has run, Marvin Harrison, Jr. went second, Roma Denzi went fourth in
terms of the wide receivers, Malik neighbors seven, and then no other wide receivers until
pick 20 where the Steelers took Brian Thomas, Jr., who is now off the board.
Yep.
And that we've been saying that on the pod friend, like that is the spot.
Once we get into the 20s, the Buccaneers are in play the dolphins because they really don't
seem to care about protecting to a tongue of a low hook with any kind of offensive line
help there in play at that point.
And I think the Steelers after the Deontay Johnson, I think they're in play after that
trade too.
I also wouldn't rule out the Cowboys.
The Cowboys have a lot of needs, but they really do need it to establish a number two
next to CD Lamb.
CD Lamb, he plays in the slot for about 80% to 85% of his snap share.
So they really do need a legitimate outside threat there.
So those four teams that draft before the bills, JJ, could all be on the board for a
wide receiver.
And in that world, I just don't see how Brian Thomas, Jr. legitimately falls to the bills
of 28.
So then we're starting at what I believe would be the next tier of wide receivers after
that.
That starts with a D Mitchell.
And I got to tell you, JJ, I don't know that a D Mitchell is getting a first round grade
from the bills based on what Bean said at the NFL meetings in Orlando this past week.
Phil, Phil, the listeners in on that bit.
So Bean made a very, very open and I thought funny joke on the Pat McAfee show where he
basically said after backfielder, so he had taken a 28 and Bean goes, well, we're taking
six wide receivers on the draft this year.
We're going to draft a wide receiver in every single round.
And after everybody had a really good chuckle, he did his thing that Bean is so good at,
which it seems like he's being not evasive, but it seems like he's taken the long way
to get to an answer.
But that is also Bean it is most transparent.
And he is basically like we are BPA, we are going to be best player available at each
of our picks, and they really want to get a third round pick back.
So to me, trading up only happens, depending on how much they covet getting Brian Thomas
Jr. should he fall into the 20s, and then sacrificing the possibility of not getting
a third round pick.
To me, I think the bills value a quantity of premium picks, because I think they want
to splash around on the lines a little bit, offensive and defensive based on what Bean
was sharing at the NFL owners meetings.
I just don't I don't see them with a first round grade on a wide receiver beyond Brian
Thomas Jr. based on how they were talking about some of these guys.
That's fair.
So here we are bills mafia.
We are our pick 28, and we have some options on the board here.
I will go first.
So the number one rated player for Pete with PFS metrics use is Leatu Latu, UCLA edge rusher.
And honestly, especially with Brian Thomas Jr. gone, I will presume that the Buffalo
bills have done their due diligence with him at the combine in terms of his medical he
was medically retired and then came back to football, but he just like his pass rush moves
his motor, his athleticism, everything you could possibly want on like a twitchy outside
edge pass rusher is there, and his knack for finding the football all of it.
So I'm just going to presume that the bills have done their due diligence.
I'm going to wait on all other kind of needs.
And that would be my pick at 28 is Leatu Latu.
If he fell, I think the bills should run up to the podium, presuming again that they have
a fair amount of confidence that he his neck injury is not going to be a spinal fusion
surgery in the upper part of his his neck, that that's not going to be something that
like ends his career prematurely.
How about you Dan, we if you want to you can see with the board here we have a lot to a
lot, a lot to Nate Wigan, CB out of Clemson, Peyton Wilson, 80 Mitchell, Zach Frazier,
the center out of West Virginia, Ladd McConkey, wide receiver Georgia, TJ Tampa, CB Iowa State.
There's Brayden Fisk, defensive interior Florida State, who actually fits what I think, you
know, with the signings of Dequan Jones and Austin Jackson.
The Buffalo bills have that one tech have two layers deep of that one tech with what
I believe to be starting a rotational talent.
So we may be looking for Ed Oliver back up in the draft.
Yeah, and that would be that would be Fisk for sure.
You know, it's interesting, JJ, because if the board falls like this, this is a great
board for the bills to actually trade back on.
But there are guys here that I think if they were on the board, they would actually go to
take so scroll back up to the top for me.
So positions of need at wide receiver, offensive line, interior, and then I would go tackle
defensive line, interior, then edge in that order, and then secondary needs.
Yes, they need a safety.
But dude, I think they're I think they're looking at another CB to ensure.
And I've seen and I've heard this quite a bit from from from insiders.
They believe that the bills top two needs, depending on how the board falls, will be
offensive line and cornerback.
We've seen TJ Tampa actually mocked to the bills in this spot by Mel Kuiper, the CB
out of Iowa State, because he's also got positional versatility to play safety.
He may actually end up as a safety, but he can play nickel.
He can play on the outside.
He's got great athleticism.
He is a chess piece that could be great for the Buffalo Bills here.
And then JJ on this board, Nate Wiggins is on the board.
He is a tall, fast corner and would immediately be the most athletic and
fastest player that they have in that secondary.
And he's only 21 years of age as well.
So the bills would be getting him early, early on, get them into their system
and develop him.
I for me, though, a D Mitchell is sitting here on the board.
I have trumpeted a D Mitchell and trumpeted wide receiver in the first round.
Come hell or high water.
Add nauseam and I would be a coward, sir, and a fraud.
If I did not follow through on getting Josh Allen, the outside
downfield threat that he so desperately needs an AD Mitchell, while
his college production didn't always match his traits, has elite field
tilting speed.
He is great at the point of catch.
He is a mega athlete.
The only question about AD Mitchell JJ is, does he fit in the bills culture?
And, you know, for me, I think the bills have got to get to a point where
they are seven years into this bean and McDermott culture building exercise.
Your call if your culture is not strong enough to bring in a couple of
Uber talented guys that might need to grow into your expectations as
opposed to already meet your expectations.
Then I challenge how strong you think your culture is.
If your culture cannot take someone that is a raw, supremely talented
product like that and mold them and what you need them to be, then I
challenge if the culture is as effective as you purported to be.
So all that being said, JJ, I go AD Mitchell out of Texas pick for my
pick here and round one.
So my pick would be Laatu Latu.
Your pick would be AD Mitchell.
There are five different options.
Your pick would be AD Mitchell.
There are five trade possibilities.
The simulator has thrown at us, ranging and dropping down from 28 to 36,
all the way to 75 is the kind of farthest that that team is offering to drop.
I would say, you know, just as an aside with the board as it is,
we mentioned a lot to Wiggins, AD Mitchell, Lad Mckonke's on the board,
Brayden Fisk, Troy Franklin, Chris Braswell, Ennis Raikstra, CB out of
Missouri, Chop Robinson, the Penn State Edge, Darius Robinson, Edge out of Missouri.
There's probably 10 players on this board that I would consider draftable.
If Laatu Latu wasn't poking out for me, I would probably trade down.
And it's possible that Bean would too, depending on the board.
But we are picking AD Mitchell because you are the ultimate decider.
Who do you think Bean would do that?
Or is he going to take Laatu Latu and go with me?
I think if Laatu is on the board here to your point, the bills run to make that pick.
And I think the bills would take Laatu in an absolute heartbeat.
I also would not rule out Nate Wiggins in this particular spot either.
Or, and here's a name for you, Bill's Mafia, to get familiar with if you're not
already, Zack Frazier.
There is some debate about whether or not he projects out to be a center only
prospect or has some center guard versatility.
But his comp, Bill's Mafia, is Creed Humphrey, the one that got away from Bill's
Mafia and Zack Frazier.
He's always playing with great vision across all pass rush gaps.
He is has great lateral movement.
He wins great with hand fighting and he is able to use his frame to really pin guys.
He is strong.
He is athletic.
He is big.
He is fast.
He absolutely fits the mold of offensive line that Aaron Kroemer and Joe
Brady are looking to craft.
Do not be shocked and please do not take to the streets and protest.
If Zack Frazier ends up being a first round pick for the Buffalo Bills,
because he is a dude that projects to be a long term protector for Josh Allen.
And that, I mean, Jackson powers Johnson in this simulation is the best interior,
probably best interior offensive line in the entire draft.
And he was taken 26, two picks above the bill.
So if that's the name that comes off the board, too, I would not would not shock
me and I would be happy to pick.
You know, it's interesting.
It was interesting.
I was reading Matt Miller's notes out of out of NFL pro days and the buzz
are Jackson powers Johnson, at least according to him, is that folks feel like
the media is overrating him a little bit.
They think he's just a more raw product than a lot of draft nicks in the media
like PFF are giving are actually leading leading to.
And they've got Graham Barton, who basically has five position versatility
out of Duke way ahead of Jackson powers Johnson.
Interesting.
So listen, this could be a draft.
We've seen how much money these big honking interior guys are going to be.
And in today's NFL, while the blind side and protecting the blind side for these
QB matters, so so does pocket integrity up the middle.
When the bangles beat the bills, it wasn't because they were getting a huge
amount of edge pressure.
It's because they were dominating the interior of the pocket and shutting down
a lot of escape lanes for Josh Antlin, which allowed their edge rushers to get to him.
Guys like Kyler Murray, guys like to a tongue of a Loa, even guys like Patrick Mahomes,
they suffer when they are pressured up the middle and there's becoming an increased
premium on finding guys that can protect.
JJ, here is my bold draft take.
Both Graham Barton and Zach Frazier will be first round picks in this year's draft.
And J and JPJ will not.
Is that your correct?
Correct.
Oh, he will not.
I think he falls.
So and it's interesting because in this this simulation, the dolphins took
Graham Barton with pick 21.
And it's funny that you mentioned Graham Barton because I actually just watched
some cut ups of him versus Jared verse, the Florida State edge rusher.
Because they moved Graham Barton to the kind of most important part of the line
left tackle for his senior season.
But he has position flex, as you mentioned, for all five spots.
And he was basically erasing Jared verse on most of those snaps.
There's a few where you got beat kind of late with some pursuit stuff.
And he had not great quarterback, no, playing behind him for some of the snaps
with Drake May, but not Drake May, whoever the due quarterback was.
And so it was interesting to to see him against elite pass rush talent and
really kind of doing a nice job.
So I wouldn't be surprised by that at all.
We are back up on the board at pick 60.
And just to kind of pick off some players that went in the second round
after our pick in the first and in the second round, Lahtula to chop Robinson,
Wiggins, Ennis, Raikstra, two CBs and two edges right after we took AD Mitchell,
and then additional edge rushers and CBs.
As well as Troy Franklin, Roman Wilson out of Michigan, the wide receiver.
So a couple of riders, Severs have gone.
Ladd McConkey went in the middle of the second round.
And Xavier Leggett out of South Carolina also went to the Philadelphia Eagles
at pick 53.
March on Neal and who we've both talked about out of Western Michigan.
And that an ad dresser went Xavier worthy went to the Dallas Tech, Texas,
to Dallas from Texas.
So that might be your person that you're mentioning where they need a second
wide receiver.
And then there was a run.
So Xavier worthy Jalen Polk and German and burden all went four picks ahead of us,
followed by Braille and Trice, the edge rush out of Washington went to Houston.
So we are on the clock at 60.
We have a wide receiver.
And what are we looking for here?
Well, and seeing how that board fell, I feel good about having our wide receiver
JJ, because I actually think that could happen on draft day.
I think there's a very clear top three, top four wide receivers.
And then I think there is a drop off to the second tier, not massive, but but
enough, I think, to create some clear differentiation between the top guys
and the next tier.
I think you're very likely to see a second round run on a lot of these wide
receivers.
Xavier worthy, Troy Franklin, Ricky Piersol, who I know is still on the board
here for us, Keon Coleman, also still on the board.
These are guys that could go before the bills hit pick 60.
So the danger to me in trading back, unless they plan on getting an early
second round and dropping another third round pick in there as well, is that
you could very well be out of some of these X style wide receivers by the
time you get to pick 60.
So I feel good about having 80 Mitchell one pocket.
JJ, the next place I want to look is if you could pull up and sort this, I want
to look at offensive tackle.
Please.
Interior offensive line.
All right.
So offensive to be a Blake Fisher.
And then can you pull up last one?
Defensive line, defensive interior.
Interior.
Yep.
Do you want edges?
Yeah, throw edges up there too.
But I don't think there's anyone on the board really worth a look right now.
Like, yeah, probably got Grayson Murphy up here from UCLA, more likely, but he's
kind of under or Gabriel Murphy.
Yeah, he's probably the best.
Yeah.
And he's the best one on way undersized.
So scroll back up to the top, JJ.
Yep.
All right.
I would in this particular spot.
So to Vondre Swett is on the board.
Chris Jenkins, absolute athletic freak from Michigan, also on the board of
defensive interior.
I'm going to Vondre Swett here.
JJ, tell me about him.
We've talked a lot about.
Mount sweat.
Yes.
We have talked a lot about the planet that is is to Vondre Swett.
And I love the value at 60 here.
And I even think on draft day, there is a chance he goes early round three as
opposed to late round two.
I think a lot of teams are questioning more and more the value of a big one tech.
Or nose tackle that can really only play for two downs.
But in the and that's really what the bill on sweat is, is that he's he
because of his size and because of his limited pass rush moves.
Well, he's got some right.
He's got a decent swim move and stuff like that.
But pretty good swim.
Yeah.
You wouldn't expect him to have as active hands as he does.
Right.
His hands are surprisingly active and he's got great get off and all that
kind of stuff.
But until he develops more fully, he's basically a big one tech.
He's fully he's basically a rundown only guy.
But when you look at how much the bills like to play nickel in this year,
they're talking about playing more man coverage.
Of course, I'll believe it when I see if they've been talking about that for three
years now.
But when you when you look at how much the bills covet being able to stay in
their base nickel package, a guy like sweat really elevates what is not been
a great run defense JJ.
And he takes a lot of pressure off those linebackers to fill a lot of those
run gaps because he's going to take up a couple of them on his own.
You know what I mean?
And the bills have never had a guy that can swallow opposing offensive
linemen on the interior and the way that Tavondre sweat would.
Is he going to be the guy that breaks through Creed Humphrey and gets to
Patrick Mahomes?
No.
But he might be the guy that knocks over Creed Humphrey so Matt Milano can get
to Patrick Mahomes, right?
That's right.
In the bill system and at this value at 60, Tavondre sweat to me should be the
pick if he's on the board.
I like it.
Is there is there anybody here JJ who you would prefer?
Because there's again, there's guys with chops here.
Yeah, I think so.
For me, I think that I'm cool with Tavondre sweat.
If that was the pick that 60, I'd be so happy because I've liked him from the
start in terms of him just being like kind of a rare outlier of a sized
person who is also exceptionally athletic for that size.
I like it.
I would probably pick him myself, but there's one person I would consider
who's rated, I think way lower on the board with PFF than I think he deserves.
And that's DeWayne Carter out of Duke.
I think that he's going to be and mostly because he's more of a penetrating
style at Oliver tight.
And that's what I think they're looking for.
And he will not be there past pick probably 70 or 80.
So that might be somebody with the bills sitting on 60 and then the next
pick is not until 68 picks later at 128.
Might be somebody that they reach down for if there's not a, if there's not
like an opportunity to trade down.
And in this particular iteration, there is not.
I'm going to go ahead and put in the draft pick for Tavondre sweat, but that
is a consideration out.
I would make as well is DeWayne Carter out.
And I would say on the bean end of things, JJ, I think this is a spot where
they would try to trade down.
Yes.
If the board fell like this, this is total trade down territory for them.
Because it's such a, it's a soup of different players that all have that
second to third round.
Exactly.
And for them, I don't know that any of them would be a priority at 60 for
being.
So JJ, what I want to do here as we approach round three is I want to try
to get up to pick 99 at the very least.
I know it's at the very, very end of the third round here, but I think
there's some value still on the board at this particular point.
And if we could, and it's a condition, it's a conditional pick that the
that the Rams ended up getting that I think a lot of Bill's fans thought we
should got.
So in a way, JJ, we are correcting history, but also putting ourselves in
a position to add what would technically be considered a premium pick as we'd
be picking for the third time in the top 100, going for a position of need for
the bills.
And I'm going safety here.
I want to see the safeties and the DBs generally that are on the board here
at the end of round three for the bills.
I very much feel like Rick from Pawn Stars, because you asked for 99.
The best I got for you is 100.
That's all right, man.
I'll take 100.
We tricked up with the Washington commanders at a compensatory.
It was actually San Francisco's compensatory pick that was supposed to be ours.
Yep.
There you go.
So let's do, let's do CBs and let's do.
Safety's here.
Well, you're in luck, sir, because the CBs and safeties are the top three or
four rated people on the total board right now.
Yeah, that's what I like, right?
Didorian Taylor Demerson out of Texas Tech.
I know freaky athlete real, real good.
You got Tiki Smith out of Georgia.
And then you've got my guy JJ and Cole Bishop, who now safeties for for
those of you listening at home, safeties, their privilege.
Their pre draft rankings run the gamut depending on who you're reading and who
you're listening to.
Nate Tice, for example, has Malik Mustafa as his top safety in this year's draft,
but his 40th ranked player out of his top 100.
Cole Bishop is field Yates, number one ranked safety.
Tyler Newbin, who, who is on the, the minds of a lot of Bill's fans at this point,
is a top ranked safety and a lot of big draft boards, including, I think,
Mel Kipers as well.
There is so much differentiation and variance, JJ, on who folks think a good
safety is going to look like.
And oftentimes it is the hardest position in the draft to actually evaluate.
But we trade back up in the top 100.
And there's a couple of really good options here.
And JJ, I'm looking for positional versatility.
And I look at a guy like Cole Bishop, who I've lauded on this, this particular draft
before, and not only can he play safety, but he's got some versatility in the box.
He can play center field.
He can play nickel.
I think he is a great athletic fast addition to this team.
And should the board fall this way, Brandon mean would be absolutely insane to
not draft him.
But there's also a guy like Cam Hart, cornerback out of Notre Dame, who's
still on the board here as well.
Kamal Hayden, cornerback out of Tennessee, who I really like.
He had a really great year here in his red shirt senior year for the University
of Tennessee, and he put his traits together with some actual college
production here as well.
But JJ, for me, the pick at this point has to be Cole Bishop.
He'll solidify that secondary for years to come.
And I think he is a dude who can pretty immediately compete for a starting spot.
Absolutely.
No, I picked the same exact player.
I don't have any reservations at all.
And interesting about where you're talking about on the board, that pick 100
and at the end of the third round, we took, you know, the bills to Cole Bishop,
and then immediately following him, there was a CB and then two safeties.
So it's that's kind of a striking point.
If you're looking for a safety who could have starting capability and then the
just take Tiki Smith in that round two.
So in round four, three safeties have gone already.
And again, pick 115.
And I think that could that I think this is going to be a draft of runs.
And I think you're going to see runs in the second round on wide receiver.
And then third heading into fourth round, just because of the variance on
these safety rankings, you're going to start to see a run on safeties as well.
So if the bills really do want to prioritize their secondary, I could
see them trading back up into round three to take their safety of the future.
Absolutely.
And man, if it's Cole Bishop, get your popcorn ready, Bill's mafia.
He's a good one.
All right.
We're just watching the round four kind of crawl towards the bills right now.
And Audric Estime is gone.
Oh, that blows.
That would have been great if he hung out at 133.
Yep.
But here we are at pick 133.
That's the one that we have as a compensatory in the round in round four.
And on the board, we have a couple of linemen, a couple of CBs and Braylon Allen
are some of our top rated.
If it's me, it's Braylon Allen, you know, no matter what.
So, yep, I know.
A future Michael Stott.
I'll put them in right now for you.
Okay.
Thank you for me.
And I think Bean probably goes this way too.
I think this is where the bills start looking at some some offensive line
depth here in the fourth round.
He's got a lot of ammo to play with here.
Feasibly, if he does in fact get another third round pick, I think they deal
with by the third round, defensive interior wide receiver and secondary safety.
I think at this point, the bills are looking to play around with some beef.
And to me, JJ, there's some great options here, but tackle has to be a consideration,
especially when you don't know if Spencer, what Spencer Brown's final year of his
contract is going to look like.
You could have a great year, absolutely price himself out of a deal with the bills.
He could get injured.
He could not play well.
I mean, it's a it's a wide array of outcomes that there could be.
And you can never have enough dudes that can block for Josh Allen.
So there's some good ones on the board here, but JJ, I want you to.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You know, I'm going for this is my guy Christian Jones out of Texas.
I think an elite athlete has consistently gotten better through that throughout
the course of his throughout the course of his career at Texas.
Man, this would make three Texas players that the bills have picked.
They had a really good team this year, though.
But Christian Jones, give me the give me the specs on him.
He's like, what is he, six six six three 21 six.
him. He's like what is he? 6 6 321? Yes, exactly right. 6 6 321. He's a senior so he's got a lot
of snaps. He has progressed in his, if you're going to look at overall grade, PFF I know we always
give this disclaimer that it's not a perfect science but I would say it's still a science.
And their overall grade for him has increased from 56 to 70 to 75. So he's shown not only
competent starting and increasing his abilities and learning, but he has been super super durable
through his college career. And he actually played left tackle and right tackle through his
three years in college with two thirds of his snaps coming at right tackle. And so I think
absolutely a player who has both left and right tackle flexibility, but certainly could come in
and probably be a reasonable backup for on that right side initially for Spencer Brown and then
potentially replace him again if he leaves. I like the pick I'd probably take the same.
Oh, would you? Yeah, I've got you for braiding out and brailing Alan. So,
oh well, oh, that's I forgot that Brelin Allen was there because I'm looking at
tackles and guards right now. But yeah, Brelin Allen 100% screw Christian Jones. I want my
thunder to to James Cook like. Yeah, I think if the board falls this way, can you scroll down a
little bit? Yeah, just a tad just a tad. I think Javon Foster out of Missouri is the pick that
Bean would make. Yes. Yeah, I think he's I think this is their guy 65319 like kind of standard
tackle size has excellent kind of pass block and zone zone blocking grades and could be their guy
showed up against some better competition. South Carolina, Georgia had decent games against Florida,
Arkansas, Ohio State. So really could could bring it even though he was from a school that might
not have the top competition all the time. Yeah, I loved Christian Jones film against Alabama. He
had one of his best games of the season there. And they have some good ad ruptures too. Dude,
they always do. I mean, and he was playing against elite elite competition day in and day out,
repping and rep out. But that that Alabama game man, he he was he was excellent. Excellent.
And that ultimate decider Christian Jones for the draft. It's it would be Christian Jones for me.
I think Bean picks Javon Foster. Yeah, okay. I like it. All right. We have a pick coming up in
just three, two, one spots pick 144. We are on the clock, sir. All positions are on the board.
All right. So now this feels like a great double dip position for the bills. So in this spot,
I want to look at wide receiver again, if you don't mind, sir, I can tell you already,
Taj Washington is the best one on the board. But there is one Luke McCaffrey that is also on the
board at this point. I like Taj Washington. But remind me, he's like small, right? He's like 10.
Yeah, yeah, he's I don't know. There's a lot of small fast slot guys that are on the board at this
space. Taj Washington, the other Illinois, Isaiah Williams, a wide receiver, Luke McCaffrey is six
feet, I believe. Yeah, he's like an even six to six to six to so yeah, see, I like I like the bills
adding a little bit of athleticism and size on the outside. And McCaffrey can do that. He's a great
competitor overall too. Like I just like this is gonna sound so like draft talky. But his his his
comp ability to compete at the point of catch. Like he plays really strong against press man,
like he's really hard to knock off his route. I really like McCaffrey at this kind of value here,
sitting here in round five. But can you also put some DBs on the board?
A corner like specifically. Yeah, because I think the bills and again, I think the bills might
actually punt this particular need to like the sixth round. But Kamal Hayden from Tennessee is
sitting on the board. What do you think of that kid? I like Kamal Hayden quite a bit, but I like a
different cornerback that popped up on the board. A couple, couple ranks down. Kamal Hayden out of
Tennessee, I think is will be a fine rotational definitely not going to be your CB one early
in his career. But he's 61, 187 can represent in the in man and zone, better in zone, not great in
run support, not a willing tackler, which is why I don't think he's necessarily a fit for the bills.
But Dwight Mcglothern, who I've mentioned on the pod saw yeah, Arkansas CB 6 to 188.
And counter to Kamal Hayden, it has a much better run defense great for his size. And in terms of
being willing to come up and kind of be nasty and meet people on the edge and that sort of thing.
So that would be that would be my pick. But me, him I a Pritchett out of Auburn also worth mentioning
because he's got special teams ability, he has both man and zone capabilities. So there's a few
players there. But are you still picking McCaffrey? I'm picking Luke McCaffrey. But I think Mcglothern
would be the pick for being Mcglothern would be the pick for me too. Yeah. Yeah. I think because I
do think I think the bills are looking at CB, right? Yeah. And I wouldn't rule CB out around one.
But if they don't find anyone in round one, I think it's something that they use some of these
day three picks on because again, they just they feel like they can develop guys at this
particular position at will. And that has been true for the most part to some extent.
And I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't rule out a post June one trade of Kyler Elam too if
if they ended up using some capital here. All right. So where are we at now? We are in
we are have you picked 160? Yeah, I've already picked Luke McCaffrey. We're down to pick 160
Great Decider. And you have four picks remaining 160 200 204 and 248. So I'm not going to lie.
I think after after we after pick 200, we are probably trading 204 and 248 for future late
round picks next year. You think so? And I think that's what I think that's what I think that's
what Bean would do as well because we have drafted we will have drafted 1234567 guys
at this point. And I don't think 10 guys are making the roster. I don't even think nine guys
are making the roster at this point. I think Bean would likely trade for future draft capital.
But who do we who do we got on here? We got my boy Malak Mustafa. Yeah, Malak Mustafa to
wake forest is there. The player I like to pick at this point when I do the mop drafts Joe Milton
the third out of Tennessee, it's not going to happen because the bills already have three
QBs on the roster and that's all they've ever carried into the camp. And so it's so unlikely,
especially having just signed their backup for two consecutive years. And so I don't think he's
coming back but I love his traits. Yeah, Malak Mustafa is there. Zach Zinter, Michigan Guard is
on the board. He is a powerful interior offensive lineman. I don't think he's ever going to
this late in the draft available, but I don't think so either. Same with come out come all
Hayden still there. I don't know why. But yeah, because I think he's probably gone in the third
or fourth. Yeah, Javon Foster tackle out of Missouri is there. Yeah, I think I think Foster
has gone way before this point to Miles Murphy is interesting as a potential double dip defensive
interior lineman out of North Carolina. 310 6 4 standard three tech size. Yep. And we've done
we've done a fair amount on the offensive side of the ball here JJ. I'm tempted to go defense to
balance it out. We still don't have a CB or a safety. We do we got cold. We got cold Bishop,
but we don't have a C. That's yeah. And I think at this point this is where the bills might
splash a little bit. So let's pull up. Let's pull up just cornerbacks.
Yep. And just cornbacks. We still have come all Hayden and Dwight McGill other and we still
have me him I me him I a Pritchett. M. J. Devonshire. We know the bills love CBs out of Pittsburgh.
Oh, my God. But he's probably going to still be there at 200. I would agree. And I know that
you and being would have picked McLeodern with with our previous pick, given that he's here
on the board, I would absolutely take him with my pick. Taken. All right. So let's hit 200.
Do you want do you want to try to get up into the 170s or 80s with the rest of our draft?
I don't think so. Now I mean, we could but
the reality of the situation is I don't know how much value there is here to like pick swapping
up this high. But again, it depends on the day of. So there's a couple of guys here that I really
like steel chamber. Oh, you clicked on them steel chambers linebacker out of a have to every time.
I don't care. Like years ago, I don't remember who it was, but the bills picked like tank something
or other. I was like, you got to take a guy in sixth round or seventh round if he has a cool name.
Absolutely. Those tank bigs be absolutely. Devon Shire still on the board here at this particular
point. Let's see here. Scroll down just a little bit for me if you wouldn't mind.
And remember that you have another pick four picks away. Yep.
I would go here JJ Tanner Bordellini, which is such crap. He's not going to be gone in third.
He's not going to be there, right? But in this exercise, he is there and I'm going to take him.
I would too. I mean, heck, if he's there, I'd always take him.
Absolutely. And for those of you that haven't heard us rave about Bordellini,
he is the Center for the University of Wisconsin. What is he's like six, four, three,
twenty, three, ten, maybe I want to say. He is six, four, three, ten exactly.
Geez, look at this. Look at that. Redshirt Junior out of the University of Wisconsin has
interior position versatility, which we know the bills will the bills will absolutely covet.
Some Roth lettacism, a little bit of a project when it comes to his lateral hit is lateral footwork,
but ultimately could project out to be a guy if the bills can develop him correctly,
could project out to be a guy that is a long term piece of this offensive line.
And JJ, the bills need to start investing in some of these cheap,
cost-controlled prospects as opposed to constantly going back to the veteran well
on the offensive on the offensive line side of the ball.
Yeah, absolutely. And he's a player I think is going to be gone much higher. A player that might
still be out there, pick 200 and is another consideration is Hunter Norzad out of Penn State.
He's six, three, three, 15, has much better run blocking than past blocking at this point of his
game, but is not a great athlete, probably has an RAS below five or below six at least.
But is reliable, has had snaps at a couple of different positions in college, all the interiors,
and then both tackles as well three years ago. So.
Absolutely. I like that. He's landed at the spot in some of my mocks and I've taken him,
and I've had no regrets whatsoever. All right, so pick 204 JJ and then pick 248. And at this point
for the bills, keeping these picks as opposed to trading them, you're really talking about
grabbing players that now you don't need to compete for as undrafted free agents.
So you get to control their draft rights a little bit, you get to bring them in,
and it saves you the negotiating phase over other teams at this point. I see you've clicked on
our friend Frank Gore Jr. I think he is too tiny and too light to be what we're looking for, but I
love that. I love the lineage. I love the lineage, yeah. Yeah, his pops was a good running back for
a little bit of time. Absolutely. Chase McGlellan, 5'11", 2'12", a little stockier, but not very
tall. Yeah, I think the bills are going to do something in free agency at running back the
more I think about it. Well, the longer it goes, the more likely it is. I would say this is the
part of a draft where the bills might be looking for more just throwing some darts at CBDBs. Yep.
Trey Taylor, Safety at Air Force, AJ Wood, CB at Pittsburgh, Josh Wallace, CB out of Michigan.
There's some people, Johnny Dixon, CB out of Penn State, some corners that they might,
you know, make a run at and again, MJ Devon Chirigan. The bills have a, the bills coaching
staff has a good relationship with the Pitt program and has for years, as we know from Dane
Jackson, DeMar Hamlin, who else came out of there? Maybe that's just those two.
I think it's just those two. Yeah. I mean, they have a, like you said, a well-established
relationship with that group. JJ, in real life, this could be the Bob Mean Spot, wide receiver
double dip here. Yeah. He does not appear on PFF's Top 300 for whatever unknown reason. He's not
there. I've looked for him. Searched so many times. I've searched so many times. Far and wide.
I think in real life, this could be a Bob Mean Spot, absolutely. But here, I would go, I would
go Devon Chirigan. I think they take the double dip. Yeah. I think they take the double dip at CB
and just see who they can develop here. And again, defensive line while important, we have seen
amazing defensive lines and better than anything that the bills could possibly field,
fail to get to and bring down Patrick Mahomes. But with that wide receiver core, if you can keep
them covered and blanketed for a long enough amount of time, that extends your ability to get to him.
And then here, JJ picked seven. I could honestly see the bills just taking a linebacker. It's not
a pressing huge pressing need for them because they've got Dorian Williams. They've got Dorian
Williams. They signed Nicholas Moreau. But I could see them taking a project here, pending with the
ultimate long term health outlook for a guy like Matt Milano is going to be. So I could see them
taking a project. May I may I interest you in two potential fits? Yes. We have linebacker out of
Mississippi State Nathaniel Watson, who's a Milano sized guy, doesn't have quite the athletic
profile, but definitely has that kind of smaller linebacker who's a little bit lighter, a little
bit better in coverage. Jordan McGee, who's a little bit more of a hammer, 6'3, 250 plus,
or 225 rather. So he's a little bit lighter thinner, but still plays bigger than that. So those are
two. The I know we've picked kind of what seems like a lot of DBs, but one of my favorite late
round guys is still on the board here, Keetan Oledapo out of Oregon State. I do not know that one.
Oh, Keetan Oledapo. I don't. Yeah, I don't. I have no idea who you're talking about.
Over six feet over 210. So that's the kind of size that profile that the bills look for.
And the biggest thing for him is that he is a box safety and run defenses his thing. I would not
trust him as a deep field kind of, you know, open field, get the C ball, get ball in the back,
you know, back of the defensive backfield. But he is definitely the kind of player that can play
that positionless, you know, the Poyer role we saw last year in 2023 season where he came down on
in the box and was covering covering tight ends, coming down and setting the edge on run plays.
That's Keetan Oledapo, Oregon State. I love it. You're talking me into him. You're absolutely
talking me into him. But already with so many DBs taken off the board, I think if the board
actually fell that way, I could see them going UDFA on that guy. But give me give me scroll back up
to the top if you want lines, because I like the kid out of give me the linebacker out of temple.
Okay, that is Jordan McGee. Yeah, I like that kid. Okay. Yeah, you'll take Jordan McGee. I would
probably take Keetan Oledapo just to make sure I had his rights and didn't have to compete with
anybody. Yep. That makes some sense there for sure. So that's it JJ. What a BS grade did PFF
give us? I'm sure it was terrible. Final grades of B minus, so not terrible. It celebrated the
AD Mitchell. It panned you for Tevandre Sweat. It panned you for Cole Bishop because the ratings
are so low on him. Yeah, weight to weight is an all pro PFF weight to weight is all pro PFF.
Give you an A minus on Christian Jones picks. That was good. Absolutely destroyed you on Lake
Luke McAfrey almost failed the draft with that pick apparently. Dwight McAleather was a B minus.
Tanner Bordellini apparently we picked way too high because he was rated 212 and he picked him
at pick 200, which is nonsense. MJ Devonshire, you've got a very favorable pick for an A grade,
only other than AD Mitchell in this draft. And then Jordan McGee linebacker out of temple
at the end was a B plus. PFF is terrible. It's arbitrary. It's so just terrible.
JJ, if the draft actually ended up this way and we walk away with AD Mitchell, Tevandre Sweat, Cole
Bishop, Christian Jones, Luke McAfrey, McGleather and Bordellini, Devonshire and McGee, dude,
that is a haul. Oh my gosh. That's a haul. Absolutely. I mean, you essentially, I would say
from that draft, you get a starting outside receiver, you get a rotational defensive one tech,
and you get a probably special package safety and excellent special teams player. You get a swing
tackle possible and at least a second string around the offensive line. Luke McAfrey would be a
project or special roles wide receiver, probably also special teams, and then a potential to grow
into a starting CB in Dwight McAleather. Tanner Bordellini in two years will be the team's starting
center if he was ever picked by this team. Absolutely. And then some flyers on MJ Devonshire,
Jordan McGee, players that most likely would make it to the practice squad could get pilfered by
another team. But worth taking a shot on developmentally. And listen, I think there's some shenanigans
in the ladder rounds because we know lots of teams like to trade a six round for a six round because
at that point, what does it really matter? So I could see the bills, I could see the bills doing
that. They've done a lot of that in the past. And I could see Bean also trading back in the
ladder rounds too for future draft capital next year as well. But dude, if the draft fell this
way to the bills, I would consider this an absolute win despite what PFF says. Yeah. Yeah, no doubt.
No doubt. No, it's great. I would have taken Lahtu Latu though. I would have swung with some of the
wide receivers in the second or third because I just think he's going to be special. I agree. Had we
gone with Lahtu at that particular point, I would have absolutely traded 60 and some future draft
capital to see if we could get higher into the second round. Because I just don't think
the profile of wide receiver the bills need make it to 60. I think we see a run on those tier two
wide receivers very, very early on in that second round. And I am scared that the bills miss out.
On a guy that they absolutely need and could develop if they sit back and play it that way.
Sure. Absolutely. I could see it too. Yeah. So no, good stuff though, all the way around. I'm
sure I'm going to get roasted for not taking Lahtu because he's my edge one. I think he's going to
be great. You know, and the bills desperately need to bolster that area. That's the one area we didn't
pick any. We didn't pick any edges. No. Except you and Lahtu and round one, we didn't pick a single
edge for our beloved Buffalo bills here. But there's also some guys in free agency post draft
that I think they're going to dance with. I will say too that after the first six to eight
defensive ends in this draft, you're looking at a pretty steep drop off and a pretty big projection.
After that, yeah, maybe stretch it to 10 where you're like, okay, I can reliably trust them for
some productivity as a starting at rotational edge rusher. After 10, though, I'm like, that's,
you're really going to have to convince me that that's a good pick anywhere in the top three rounds
after the 10 edges that are kind of going to laterally the front. It's just a lot of when you
get down that deep on the board. It's a lot of undersized guys that are kind of tweeners. I mean,
they could be alive. Also aren't elite athletes. Right. That's the problem, Dan, is like,
it's people without size and without the elite athletic profile or the exceptional like hand
fighting and kind of pass rush moves. Right. So they're kind of positionless players at that
point. They could be a linebacker. They could float to edge. If we play to three, four, maybe,
but we don't do that. We play a four down lineman base nickel scheme. And at that point, you just
don't need an undersized edge on your roster. So there yeah, I, I, I don't think unless the bills
tend to it early. And again, edge could very well be the pick in round one, round one could be anything
from edge to corner to offensive linemen to wide receiver. And I wouldn't rule out interior offensive
line of Zach Frazier or Graham Barton falls to that level either. But which I don't, I don't
ultimately think will happen. But after round one JJ, I think the bills, it's business as usual
for the bills. I think the draft becomes a far more predictable after round one for them.
No, I think you're right. I think I would say after round two, because I think that they're,
they're going to try to be swinging hard in the first and second round for players that are immediate
impact starters. Allah, you know, Osiris Torrance and Dalton, I'm okay, Dalton,
concave. Yeah, so they have proven this past year that they that's sort of like that I think that's
what they consider I hit in the draft is Dalton, concave comes in and he immediately breaks all
of the rookie receiving records for the team. And Osiris Torrance comes in and is the only 100%
snap player on the offensive line that was probably the best offensive line Josh Allen has had in his
entire career. And so I think that that's what they're probably focused on. And whomever they get
at positions of need at those two spots is going to determine what I think this team thinks of this
draft. Anything else is great. I agree. I agree. I also don't think there is a world where they
draft AD Mitchell and round one. I sit firmly that after Brian Thomas, Jr. they don't ever
have a round one grade on any wide receiver. So pay attention, Bill's mafia to the first four wide
receivers off the off the board, because if Brian Thomas, Jr. is one of them, then or first five
wide receivers, then I believe the Buffalo Bills are going in a completely different direction
around one. Absolutely. But JJ, that was fun. That that's also probably as we have mentioned,
a feudal exercise, because none of this is going to be correct. Nonetheless, it was really fun.
And it gives us a chance to talk about a lot of prospects that we haven't had a chance to talk
to in any of our other draft previews before. So we're just putting more good information out
there for Bill's mafia to digest as we approach the April draft. So JJ, fun as always, for those
of you listening at home, like share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts,
Google Apple Spotify, and as always, Go Bill's. Go Bill's.