Welcome back to the Buffalo Bread Podcast. We
have our post -draft analysis episode as we do
every year. The Buffalo Bills did something that
I think you and I, Dan, would agree they haven't
done in a number of years, which was basically
follow the exact script of what most talking
heads, media members, people who care about ranking
positional need put out there as the menu of
things that they needed to get done. They basically
checked every box in the exact order that most
people had it, which doesn't happen. I mean,
it doesn't happen as far as I can recall back
to ever since Brandon Bean took the job. I think
that many people in Bill's Mafia and Bill's media
were frustrated often with the best player available
mentality or my board rankings said this when
the Bills would repeatedly pass on something
that everybody agreed they needed. Where are
you at with the overall draft feeling, sir? Thought
this was his best draft and I'm not even saying
that because I'm afraid he's gonna want to come
on this pod and yell at us Whatever criticism
we have. I honestly thought he did a great job
with the strap This was and I put this out on
a lot of our socials Bill's mafia. Do how did
you feel was this his best draft since 2018 and
and I got a lot of Yes, it absolutely was. And
it wasn't just because he was checking the boxes
of what all of us amateur mock drafters wanted.
I think for the first time JJ saw a vision. for
this draft plan. There was not a lot of luxury
picks or meandering picks. We are way past that
phase where we can take like a luxury second
round linebacker or draft our fourth running
back in the second round in the fourth consecutive
year. Right. We are at a point now where the
the salary cap is what it is with Joss's extension
with some of these homegrown talent extensions
they've given to guys like Rousseau and Shakir.
This was as locked in and focused a draft strategy
as I've seen for bean and unlike. how we've criticized
this this organization before where it doesn't
seem like there's a fit or there's a long term
plan or vision for a lot of players they bring
on. I can literally look at every single one
of these guys that they drafted and say, oh,
I see where they fit, not just for the 2025 season,
but in the long term developmental arc of the
organization and their role that I can see where
the bills hope they are going to end up. So overall,
I was very, very satisfied. And I don't even
care that they didn't draft a receiver. Right.
Well, I mean, and starting there on that note,
we they signed a receiver, even after Brandon
Bean's tirade on WGR about how everyone's always
bitching with this and that because you're bitching
about Josh Allen and now you're bitching about
we don't got a wide receiver. We're the highest
scoring NFL or highest scoring team in team history.
We're the best team in the league if you count
the postseason and scoring. He did he did all
that and then the same day they had Elijah Moore
formerly of the Jets and formerly of the the
Cleveland Browns in for a workout and two days
later he signed so Hey, let me ask you this over
under beans been the the GM of the team since
2018 right? Yeah, yeah, so 2018 draft was his
first draft. He started the summer 2017. Yep
Yep. Yep. So 2017 is 2025, eight years. He drafted
Josh in 2018. Okay. So over under seven years,
he's been waiting to pull out the, you guys wanted
Josh Wilson. You guys are bitching. Yeah. Oh
yeah. No, I bet. You know he's had that thing.
He pulled out the hashtag wrong Josh. Yeah. He,
he like, he. He's had that thing in his pocket.
And he's he probably watches that video clip
of the Bills fan, like with his hands on his
face like, no, like just to get him juiced up
in the morning and ready to go during draft season.
Dude, I can picture Brandon being in a mirror,
being like, you got this. You're a big baller
bean. You can do this because like puts on his
aviator sunglasses before he walks out. And then
a second pair of your sunglasses just to pull
him off in dramatic fashion. Yeah. So good. Yeah.
So, so let's start with the most recent news
is of course that signing. Elijah Moore, I think
that we both remember him from the 2021 draft
coming out when I think that was that the season
that the bills traded their first round pick
for Stefan Diggs? Feels like it. The twenty twenty
draft. Oh, twenty twenty draft. OK, so the year
after they traded for Stefan Biggs, Elijah Moore
came out from Ole Miss. He is he was a second
round pick for the Jets that year. Second pick
for the Jets, five, ten, one hundred and eighty
pounds. Considered a burner from the slot. Usually
split his snaps with Cleveland over the past
two seasons, half in the slot and half outside
receiver. He. feels a little bit like a Curtis
Samuel duplicate in terms of his skill set he's
good at crossing routes he's good he's got long
speed but he hasn't been one of those like big
play you know big play receivers that you think
of who's like always getting those 60 70 yard
touchdown bombs so he also hasn't played with
absolutely he hasn't played with anything but
absolute trash at quarterback his entire career
And so it's an interesting dynamic. I, having
seen Marques Valdez scantling, and who's the
other guy that used to be on Pittsburgh that
was here in the offseason cut? Chase Claypool.
Yeah, Chase Claypool. Having seen some of those
veteran flyers on players who haven't stuck,
I'm not super hopeful about this signing, but
I think that it essentially... As you mentioned
in text earlier, it sort of invalidates the fired
up rant that Bean went on by saying, you guys
are wrong, and then immediately doing the thing
that everyone was hoping he would do. I don't
know if it invalidates the whole thing fully.
I do think... Listen, we have been as critical
as anyone of Brandon Bean's draft strategy a
couple of years ago We dedicated an entire bod
our entire podcast to an alternate universe of
Brandon Bean picks right, where the pick that
he actually made, we found someone better that
was still available on the board at that time.
And so I get his frustration. I mean, let's remember
where we were when he took over this organization
with Sean McDermott, like we were in the throes
of the drought or the drought had just ended
right in 2017. And, you know, it times were times
were rough for Bill's mafia. I mean, you and
I at the time when it was still 16 game schedule,
we were just ready to get six and 10 tattoos,
because that's just where we were at every season.
Not always good enough to draft a franchise changing
blue chip talent and but just good enough to
like, keep ourselves at this very middling pace.
Then he came in and they've transformed the culture.
They've transformed the roster What they are
though is they're the victims of their their
the own expectations that they have set We are
now expecting this level of success We're we're
no longer talking about if Josh Allen is healthy
will you know? Can we make the playoffs its will
the can we is now? Can we win a Super Bowl in
this current window where Josh Allen, who is
a supreme athlete, but a very violent player
who puts his body through a lot. Are we taking
maximum advantage of the window we have with
this transcendent generational player? And I
think those are fair questions. And I think those
questions are exactly at the bar that being a
McDermott have raised for this organization and
quite frankly, for this community. So I think
they're fair asks. I think what is, I think what
is unfair is we can't lose our objectivity. Objectively
speaking, regardless of how you feel about a
couple of the trade ups, he knocked the straft
out of the park, right? And I think the Elijah
Moore signing, while not a total concession,
I think is in line with the type of G aggressive
GM style we've seen with Brandon Bean. Other
than the QB room, which we can all agree is 100
% set, he is always, always in the rumor mill
about he called check on this player. He called
a check on a trade for this guy. He's having
a conversation with this organization about someone
that might be available. And he's always, to
your point earlier about the MVS signing, the
Chase Claypool signing. He's always looking to
improve on and build the room. He never feels
like he is fully satisfied with where a room
is at and it's only resources a lot of times
or time because the season eventually has to
start and you got to put a roster on the field
that really limit him. Like he is an aggressive
wheeling and dealing GM and he's always looking
to improve. So I think the Elijah Moore thing.
Not a total concession. I think it's more part
and parcel with what we have come to expect with
Brandon Bean. He is happy with the wide receiver
room, but there was a guy out there that had,
you know, has field tilting speed in a lot of
ways, has much better acceleration than Curtis
Samuel. And he had the opportunity to add him
to his room, to the wide receiver room at a low
risk, high reward contract. This is a big baller
bean move if there ever was one. JJ, what do
you think about Moore's potential impact on the
field? I picked up on you saying he feels like
Curtis Samuel competition. And that's kind of
where I feel like a lot of Bill's fans and Bill's
media are at. But let me posit something different
to you. Are we sure Josh Palmer is coming in
and immediately one of the top three guys in
that room with Coleman and with Shakir? Because
Shakir, listen, he's got the exact same. Physical
profile as a Stefan Diggs who was our our Z receiver
our fee our field side of the receiver guy and
played on the outside I know Shakira's best when
you can get him non and get him free of coverage
without a whole lot of contact and press and
that's why he's so effective in the slot But
he's got the speed the profile the change of
direction to play on the outside Are we not sure
that the alignments gonna be Keon Coleman? Khalil
Shakir on the outside in certain packages, not
all the time. And then we see a mix of Curtis
Samuel and Elijah Moore in the slot. I mean,
we were not sure. I think that we also need to
acknowledge the fact that Keon Coleman might
actually be better from the slot because he got
pressed, especially after he came back from the
injury. Right. Like great point. There is a lot
for Joe Brady to do with this receiver core.
and it seems like there's not enough slots available
because there's not enough slots available in
the composition of their receiver room. There's
nobody who's that like absolute dog outside receiver
in the room. Everybody could use a little bit
of help not getting pressed by a strong outside
six foot two corner, right? And so with that,
I think to your point, you're probably going
to see that. You're probably going to see all
kinds of combinations, especially in training
camp and preseason. We're probably going to see
Double slot packages with Keon Coleman and Khalil
Shakir on the slots with Elijah Moore and Curtis
Samuelson on the outside Then another, you know
series it might be Josh Palmer on the outside
or Josh Palmer on the slot like The variability
I think is a superpower of this team with the
wide receivers but the actual skill set kind
of dampens that superpower because nobody I don't
I don't Think unless Keon Coleman takes a pretty
substantive step forward. I don't think any of
them can really be open even when covered or
doubled or pressed. You know, like an absolute
alpha dog, you know, outside receiver, like Jamar
Chase or something. We know there's no Jamar
Chase on this field, on this team. And they've
done that by design. And I think that they recognize
that the Eagles have, you know, a 1 and 1B wide
receiving tandem, but... for the last several
seasons, the Super Bowl championship team has,
it's not been a requirement that you absolutely
have to have an Alpha One outside receiver. And
so I think that they're going to be variable,
that everybody eats is, I mean, I think, wasn't
Josh Allen recently on like a press, whatever,
wearing everybody eats hat, like trademarked.
So yeah, that's not going away. And I think you're
onto something with the fact that Khalil Shakir,
Trying to develop his release package on the
outside is something we'll see this season. I
hope he does awesome I don't have any doubt for
his work ethic. I don't think the money is gonna
change him I think he wants to be the best and
could Really, you know cuz he is so shifty and
he is so good in contact I think that it's a
matter of like, you know, don't don't say he
can't do it could just cuz he never has Um, and
so that's, that's a thing, but I do think also
there's a possibility that Keon Coleman is, is
tried out in the slot a little bit more to give
him some opportunity to get, get open on those
quick slants or quick outs, um, when he was struggling
to do that late in the season, especially. Yeah,
absolutely so another fun another fun toy for
Joe Brady to have the wide receiver room in this
pass catcher room and Maybe if it doesn't go
the way of MVS or chase claypool another fun
weapon for Josh to throw to as well So I will
I will say this in the in the two seasons of
Elijah Moore Playing for the Jets after his rookie
and second season before he was traded Even with
Zach Wilson who was abysmal at quarterback I
remember seeing Elijah Moore on third and longs
and on some like pretty big time downs Making
a catch and converting and being frustrated.
He's just kind of being frustrated. Oh, that's
a good receiver like I have those sense like
I've I can remember those things because we see
so many we watch and rewatch so many Jets games
that I can I have a good sense of the player
from his early time in the league and from that
time into Cleveland. In Cleveland, he'd never
drop below 100 targets for a season and he never
dropped below 50, you know, 55 catches in a season.
So He's like a 600, 550 type yardage receiver
in a year. His yards per reception dropped substantially
at Cleveland because again, probably the quarterback
play. Wasn't scoring buckets all over the place,
but he was a somewhat reliably first down machine
as a second or third receiver option. Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, it doesn't hurt to have these options
heading into camp for sure. For the Tyrell shavers
hive out there. This doesn't mean shavers is
not going to make the roster like we're all still
hoping that that dude ends up on there. So yeah.
All right, man. Let's let's work it back. Let's
talk about the draft again. thought being nailed
the draft at a variety of different levels. I
know you and I are gonna gonna pick some nets
about some of the prospects that he brought in.
But overall, solid draft, great vision. You just
want to start at the top of the board and work
our way down? Absolutely. And in what was, you
know, a lot of preference busting or, or wish
casting busting, Brandon being stuck and picked.
at 30. He did not trade up. He did not trade
back. And that's rare for him in the first round.
So he stuck and picked. And I think that largely
he stuck in place and picked because the way
that the first round developed, almost everyone
would agree that the Buffalo Bills biggest need
was a starting caliber outside cornerback. And
other than Travis Hunter going second overall,
there was not a single cornerback taken until
20. Jada Baron who was largely, you know two
on the board still what a steal that was to go
Yeah to go all the way down to 20 to get Jada
Baron. The Broncos got him AFC is gonna regret.
Yeah happen and But all that led to a situation
where I think it was like eight tackle or defensive
linemen went in the first 29 picks and a couple
of safeties. So it was really a situation where
the way the board fell, the Buffalo Bills biggest
number one need was there with the third best
corner kind of unanimously on the board. Absolutely.
And last year, JJ, they passed up on taking the
fastest player on the draft board and Xavier
worthy. This year, he fell in their laps at 30
and they took the fastest player in the draft,
Mad Max Hairston. So, JJ, I mean, kind of ad
nauseam. Everyone has had the same pros and cons
about this kid. I think the perception is that
because of his speed, he's primarily a man corner.
And now I see a lot on Bill's threads. I'm not
on Bill's Twitter anymore. I see a lot on Bill's
Bill's mafia threads that, oh, yeah, finally,
we're changing our philosophy and we're going
to play more man. And while I think more man,
you and I both agree, has to be in the cards
for this bill squad. Harrison is a zone cover
corner, his fluidity in his hips, his change
of direction, his acceleration. And yes, that
burst of speed. And he's got this amazing sense,
this amazing ability to read routes. Dude is
a turno was a turnover machine at Kentucky as
a result of all of those traits. And he has a
perfect fit for the majority zone scheme that
the bills are going to play. And he's to me,
based on his size, I like to see him bulk up
a little bit more based on his size, a perfect
compliment. He's not a tweener. He has an outside
corner that can play on the other side of the
field from Christian Benford. They had a clear
need, a clear hole at that spot, and they filled
it with, again, consensus top three, top four
cornerback in this draft, and undisputedly the
fastest player in the draft. You and I talked
about some concerns about his size profile. He's
not a great tackler, though he was dealing with
a shoulder injury we found out through much of
last season and his last season at Kentucky.
From a personality standpoint, the Buffalo Bills
win their first overall pick again. Keon Coleman
set NFL media on fire last season with his introductory
press conference. Mad Max didn't even wait till
the press conference to do that the videos of
him tapping up guys in the green room Every single
one that came through to take their walk up to
the stage at the draft the bills I think not
only got a supreme athlete that fits their skills,
but they got a guy who fits the culture as well
Yeah, absolutely and I think that the other big
thing about that that pick that Really kind of
matches up is again the athletic profile We've
been saying for ages that the Bills need to be
faster on defense that they get absolutely you
know taking advantage of on D when they when
they aren't able to keep up with the offenses
they're playing against and then Then we have
Maxwell Harrison come in and there's no question
anymore about that He's got recovery speed that
we haven't seen since Trey white kind of started
in the in the league and he is a able to, to
your point, play on zone much better than I think
that we've seen. Oh yeah. Yeah. And, and on top
of that, I think that also he, uh, he has a,
uh, an amazing skill set when staring into the
backfield. He had six interceptions. Three of
them returned for touchdowns. So that speed came
to play when he was at Kentucky through it through
in the SEC, which is an incredibly competitive
class. Yeah, absolutely. Now, very excited to
have this dude on the team, a profile that athletically
we have needed for a very, very long time on
the squad. Round two, JJ Buffalo Bills trade
up to get. What I think we you and I agree were
one and one be as far as positional needs went
which was to finally address the defensive line
More specifically in the interior defensive line
a defensive tackle finding TJ Sanders who listen,
I loved the pick I think He after day two was
the one that most bills fans were like, oh, but
he's not the he's not the big to gap in, run,
run stuffing, huge bodied guy we need next to
Ed Oliver. But I'll tell you, dude, I love the
pick immediately. Reason being is, yes, the Buffalo
Bills struggled in several key situations, stopping
the run and having a big bodied interior defensive
linemen to help eat, eat up blocks would have
helped with that for sure. But the Buffalo Bills
also struggled in another regard, and that was
in situations of third down and five or more
yards. They really struggled to get pressure
on opposing QBs and clear passing situations
last year. TJ Sanders next to Ed Oliver with
AJ Epinezza. And Greg Rousseau coming off the
edge fixes, or at least his skill set, fixes
and addresses a lot of those needs as well. The
Buffalo Bills have to get off the field in those
obvious passing situations. And now I feel like
they've got an interior presence with both Sanders
and Oliver. Both are guys who prefer to win with
speed as opposed to violence and physicality.
But they've got two guys that can penetrate quickly,
compress pockets, get quick pressure. get QBs
off their platform and create the disruption
the Bills didn't have last season in those situations.
I loved this pick the minute they made it. Yeah,
I did as well. And I think that, you know, it
told us something about the Bills defensive philosophy
that, you know, some people have pointed to even
last year. Teron Johnson explaining that in the
Miami game, they wanted them to run. They were.
Basically, okay with them running even though
they rolled up a bunch of yards Because they
were they were inviting them to run the ball.
The Bills don't care about running the ball it's
it's not the explosive play generator of the
passing game and This kind of proved it to me
to use their second highest resource in the draft
on what again He followed the script. It was
their second highest need was a defensive tackle,
but not the kind of defensive tackle I think
a lot of Bills mafia were out here looking for
everybody with the recency bias of watching the
Philadelphia Eagles absolutely dismantle the
Kansas City Chiefs is like, okay, we need our
giant plugging 340 350 pound defensive tackle.
Where's our Jalen Carter? Yeah, where's our Jalen
Carter? Or Jordan? Yeah, Jordan Davis, Jalen
Carter. Yeah, our our you know, Plugger from
a Georgia or an Alabama or somebody But the Bills
kind of stuck to what they believed because two
picks later Alfred Collins who's way more that
profile the run stuffing giant body Went to the
to the Niners, which I love that player, too
But they basically said TJ Sanders who has way
more of a pass rush profile way more of an upside
He has a plan. He has more active hands. He's
more athletic Is is the choice and so and I don't
hate it. I mean, I think both of us talked about
how The Bills defense flaw at times is that they
don't keep their undersized small linebackers
clean. I I don't think that they care about that
I think they're basically like we are just going
to try to have as many chaos makers Who with
up with plus athleticism on that side of the
ball? And we're confident that we're gonna make
more negative plays than you will get explosive
plays. It's all about that differential for them.
And this is a positive, you know, in that regard
of, you know, Ed Oliver, TJ Sanders both play
on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage
in the opponent's backfield. And I think that
that was their goal with the pick. They actually
traded with Chicago twice in this draft. And
for this one, it was a matter of trading up from
56 to 41. and giving up 60, what I thought was
actually impressive, they traded their 62 down
to 71 or 72. And so they ended up trading down
by 10 slots and up by 20 or so slots, which I
think is kind of an excellent value, right? To
be able to go up in the second round, down into
the third, so they have a two and a three. Prior
they had two twos and then they swapped later
round picks, day three picks. And so I think
that kind of balance and value was really good
in terms of, if you look at the actual trade
value chart, it was the bills basically earned
10 points or something on it. So as even as even
could be. absolutely and again they got their
guy and they didn't wait for the rush to start
to happen like they have been want to do for
so long they needed a wide receiver last year
the rush on wide receivers was they were in the
midst of it they decided to set it out Few years
before that, we all, of course, remember the
Kyre Elam year, where all of a sudden DBs are
flying off the board. This time around, they
were not going to wait for that big Russian interior
lineman. They got ahead of it because after that,
as you noted, Collins and a bunch of other guys
that we had on our board fell off and went to
other teams. So the Bills jumped up. They were
aggressive. They got their guy. They if nothing
else. They got equal value with Chicago for the
assets and the players that they ended up swapping
in the in these deals. And overall, again, a
move that I love to see in addition to the roster
that I love as well, especially with how Buffalo
wants to rotate through their defensive linemen.
Nobody playing more than than 50 or 60 percent
of the snaps. They now have a guy in the rotation
in key situations. They can call in to help shore
up what was a massive weakness for this team
last year. I loved it. JJ, I also love their
third round. Oh, my gosh. I know you just go
with this one. I know this is your Christmas.
You go land in Jackson and like to get him in
the third round. I think it was a steal I think
he's going to he's the player in this draft and
I think we even we might even talked about him
Did we choose him on the mock with our friends
of the pod? I think we might have yeah, we might
have And we might have chosen with the first
or second pick. I think he was I think he was
a second rounder. Yeah. To get him at seventy
two in the third round edge from Arkansas was
an absolute steal. He his athletic profile has
been compared to. And I think it's a great it's
a great comparison is Max Crosby because he has
a surprising amount of dip and bend around the
edge that he shouldn't have for that size. But
he's also like six six and 270 pounds so he's
a large large and athletic player who really
kind of showed out throughout his college career
at Arkansas and I do think that he He will show
to be a steal in this draft because the way I've
described it to people who've asked me because
they know I'm a big nerd for this stuff is If
you like AJ Appaneza on the splash plays you
will love Landon Jackson because he's AJ Appaneza,
but consistent Like and you could even see that
in AJ Vanessa's tape at all at Iowa right like
that he was inconsistent in his impact in his
play and so Landon Jackson getting a second player
Opposite Greg Russo because I actually think
he's going to wrestle away that starting job
from Who do we just sign Joey Bosa Joey Bosa.
Yeah, I don't think, I think they're going to
very comfortably slide into having Landon Jackson
take early snaps and then either Having him rotate
inside for some pass rushes or bringing Joey
Bosa in for those big third downs Because I think
that Landon Jackson offers you pass rush in early
downs while also being an absolute, you know
stalwart edge setter on run downs and Saving
some snaps from Joey Bosa's body. So I'm just
I love this pick. I think he's going to build
my face gonna love him He's got this massive
work ethic. He's got a huge hot motor. He is
an athlete. He is huge He looks the part. Yeah
cat I can't wait to see this kid take the field
and what I loved about Sanders and Jackson going
back to back to the bills is They can they are
they can do their core job responsibilities,
right? they want Sanders to be able to play that
three tech or play next to add Oliver in passing
situations and and Get pressure on the opposing
QB and they want Jackson to do the same thing,
but they are both plus defenders Against the
run as well. So the bills Not forgetting that
this was a weakness for them last year as well.
Also trying to address that run defense. But
as you so eloquently put it at the beginning
of the pod, they're doing it within their scheme
and within their philosophy. I mean, dude, some
of the athletes that they have that they brought
on board in this draft are really going to change
the dynamic and the ability and the versatility
of this particular defense. Which is a great
segue for me because I loved this next pick and
you didn't like it. Fourth round pick, pick number
109. Again, another trade up for the Buffalo
Bills. Deon Walker, defensive tackle out of Kentucky.
This is a guy who we had talked about previously
on the pod. We had already departed on what our
view of this particular, this particular prospect
was. He's also a guy who I put out on a lot of
our socials after the TJ Sanders pick. I was
like, listen, double dip. very likely in the
cards for day three. Keep an eye on these three
guys. And Dan Walker was at the top of that list.
So, J .J., why don't you start with your feelings
about this particular draft, Beck? I do not like
it. You and a lot of Bill's mafia, my friend.
I do not like it. And I do not like it specifically
because he's got a lot of variability that worries
me in the position. in the fact that he was incredibly
productive to the point where even Brandon Bean
said that the ratings they had on him would make
him a likely first -rounder if he would have
come out of school last year, but then he came
back this year and played so inconsistently and
had such terrible tape that he slips to the fourth
round in the eyes of most NFL -talented evaluators,
and just me watching line play, because I love
line play, I was like, ooh, this guy has... terrible
mechanics it's come out since then that he was
dealing with a like a cracked vertebrae in his
back and I'm willing to give him the benefit
of the doubt that you can't keep your pad level
low if you're sort of have a broken back and
the example you gave before we came on and started
recording was Spencer Brown right like we both
wrote this guy off after two seasons because
we didn't think he had what it would take what
it takes and then you find out that he was playing
with a broken back or Fracturing his back for
most of his second season comes on his third
season and absolutely knocks it out of the park
So I'm I'm willing to of course, you know, he's
on the team now So I'm rooting for Deon Walker
to be an absolute steal in the fourth round But
other players like Ty Robinson out of Nebraska
and CJ West out of Indiana Going after Deon Walker.
I am I'm afraid Those two picks will come back
to to prove that they were the better choices
at that point in time and that Dion Walker's
you know mechanics weren't just sloppy because
he was Injured but rather they were sloppy because
he sort of has make sloppy mechanics and then
his Previous season in 2023 was sort of a you
know flash -in -the -pan outlier of his normal
production Yeah, his biggest comp by most draft
evaluators is Jordan Phillips And the Bills have
complained, or Bills fans have complained, and
even the Bills essentially letting him walk several
times in free agency have complained that Jordan
Phillips has a giant body but doesn't play like
it. And that was, that's the thing I see in Deion
Walker as well. He's 6 '7", 330, but he's not
dominant physically. And he can, he's more athletic
than you expect somebody that size to be. But
he still gets blown off the ball in double teams.
He gets pushed out of his gap. He gets his body
turned and he's too inconsistent with holding
at the point of attack for me to really trust
him on early downs. And listen, I went back and
I rewatched some of his twenty twenty three games
and pad level has consistently been a problem
for the kid because he's he's huge. He's his
pro physical comp is a mountain right at that
size. So yes, pad level technique, all these
things that the Bills can coach into him. I.
It's a fourth round pick. I get there were, and
this was maybe the only pick where there were
other guys on the board that Bill's Mafia were
just kind of yearning for, right? That has been
a regular thing for us and, and past Straves
this year. I think it was maybe with this pick,
which is why he's so, he's so polarizing. He
is versatile. in the way that the Bills like
their defensive lineman to be versatile. He's
big bodied, but he does have, if you look at
his 2023 tape, pass rush juice that would allow
him to also play the three tech and rotate positions
with at Oliver. So he gives them a little bit
of versatility along the line, which they like
also to team captain starting in his sophomore
year as well. I know listen, we're having the
Dwayne Carter conversation all over again, where
the bills are looking for a lot of these leadership
traits. But it is important to this culture to
bring in somebody that can't it doesn't just
contribute on the field, but can contribute to
the locker room culture as well. His versatility,
his physical profile, and dude. Seven and a half
sacks to one sack. I get is a massive dip But
if you can somehow get him healthy and reclaim
even a snapshot of that 20 -23 stat line Let's
say he's even half of that player in this rookie
year I would take two and a half three sacks
from a rotational interior defensive lineman
that can also Gobble up double teams and get
pressure on the run and and hold the hold the
point of attack in the run game as well He is
a project and I would argue that of the bills
premium picks He's the biggest project by far,
but he's a size profile. They've needed he's
a piece They've been trying to find and free
agency for a really really long time and just
haven't been able to fill that gap Now they get
their hands on this kid with this physical profile.
They can mold him in their own image, and they
don't need to necessarily rush him right away
to play because of the depth that is now in this
defensive line room. Well, and I think to something
I'll say is like Marcus West getting his hands
on Dion Walker and working with him, the defensive
line coach, Jason Reber, which the assistant
defensive line coach, they're going to be able
to coach him better than Kentucky. In a lot of
ways, Kentucky is a solid program in the SEC,
but not never like a supremely competitive program.
It's burgeoning. It's on the way up. But burgeoning
programs lose good coordinators to better programs.
This is correct. The burgeoning programs are
the feeder schools for coaching talent. to the
powerhouses. We love you, Kentucky. Yes, we love
you, Kentucky. And we are so happy you have prepared
Max Hairston and Deion Walker to these middling
levels that we will turn into superstars. Jesus,
Kentucky catching strays tonight. I'm sorry.
But what I'll say is like Ryan Nielsen has been
seen as like a, you know, cornerback savant at
coaching the man press and those sorts of defensive
systems. But he also has, through his coaching
career, had some experience with bringing along
some supreme talents on the line. And so adding
him as a senior defensive assistant and these,
you know, three defensive linemen in the picks
two, three and four of this draft. I have a lot
of hope that they're going to get the best out
of all of these guys. And, you know, I think
that just having seen some of the media stuff,
having heard Max Hairston talk about Deon Walker,
I think that some of that makes me much more
hopeful than I was just watching his film. Yeah,
without a doubt. Listen, it's so it's definitely
OK to not like the pick. There are plenty of
Buffalo Bills picks we have not liked before.
I like they have drafted so few interior defensive
linemen in Brandon Bean's tenure. I love the
fact that not only are they digging into this
positional group, but like what they've done
with the wide receiver room, like what they've
done with the offensive line room, they're getting
a bunch of different profiles that are going
to allow them to hopefully I'm not, you know,
the man thing versus the zone thing. I'm not
really here for that conversation. The Bills
are going to be his own team, but at least maybe
be a little bit more multiple in their looks
upfront. This is the thing that two seasons ago,
they did so well and created so much confusion
for opposing QBs and they just could not do it
this season. Do a lot to the personnel builds
on this defensive roster and a lot of the attrition
that they had You know forced upon themselves
to get the cap right now. They're bringing that
versatility back They're bringing this variety
of athletic profiles back. I like again I like
the vision and I like what they're trying to
build so I'm okay with this All right, JJ. Let's
wrap it up here two fifth round picks for the
Buffalo Bills six round pick Two six round picks
and then of course a seventh round pick Jordan
Hancock DB out of Ohio State Jackson Hawes, I
think everybody's favorite day three pick for
the Buffalo Bills tight end out of Georgia Tech.
Dorian Strong, who people are already saying
is the Christian Benford of this particular draft
for the Bills, CB out of Virginia Tech. Chase
Lunt, tackle at UConn, likely gonna shift over
to guard due to his T -Rex sized arms, but we'll
see. And then, listen Bills Mafia, we got a wide
receiver in this draft, and his name is Kayden
Prather, wide receiver out of Maryland with pick
number 240. JJ, any one or a couple of these
guys that you wanna particularly highlight here
as we wrap up? Well, I think that I can do rapid
fire, kind of lightning round on all of them.
Jordan Hancock, I think that they said he's going
to come in as a nickel slash safety, and I think
that that's useful in a draft where they did
choose a CB. Pick the first pick and then they
chose a CB again Dorian strong who has actually
Astounded was still available in round six because
in a lot of mock drafts and you know me I was
doing like 150 of those damn things before this
draft. I was picking you I was picking Dorian
strong and like the fourth or fifth round usually
and I was surprised when he was falling to the
fifth So I think it's just one of those deals
where you get uncommon value late It was the
first pick in the in the sixth round. So that's
notable as well. It's not their 30th pick But
you get uncommon value late because of the value
of some of the other positions. The big men in
this draft I think pushed a lot of the little
men down. So all the defensive ends all the defensive
tackles that were taken really created a situation.
We're getting even getting Jordan Hancock, you
know Compensatory pick in the fifth round at
34 Awesome value was an incredible value. So
those two I think I'm really excited about Jackson
Hawes already endearing to Bill's mafia. He's
going to He's gonna remind you of I'm trying
to think of the tight end that was playing with
Josh Allen early Lee Evan No, Lee. What was his
name? They're like big basically if six offensive
linemen every long -term veteran in the league.
I want to say I will say Lee Smith. It was Lee
Smith. Yeah So Lee Smith, who was like a lot
of he was like kind of the heart and the soul
of an early Josh Allen offense briefly and was
here for some of the drought years. And so I
think that Lee Smith comp to it's like a younger
because this dude can catch. He has some juice
with with catching the football, but he makes
his hay absolutely punishing people. And I think
that's going to really show. Well, having somebody
like Hawes line up next to Alec Anderson on big
sets is It's like, what is even happening on
that side of the line? It's just an absolute
massacre. I'm very excited. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
I love what they can do in red with red zone
packages now, too Listen the bills already have
so many fun red zone package weapons and their
repertoire Not the least of which is the Josh
Allen cube QB designed run But now with a guy
like Hawes, even though he doesn't have a ton
of receiving upside I mean you could see a situation
where he's the new Dawson's leak and a lot of
those situations They come out in that super
jumbo package. They do their best Baltimore Ravens
impression rollout and 13 personnel And all of
a sudden it's Jackson Hawes the guy who'd least
expect leaking out for a red zone TD from Josh
I just I love it. I love the fact that he wants
to put people on the ground every time he puts
his hands on him He's gonna be a beast in the
run blocking game And I think he's gonna fit
in well with bills mafia love this as a day three
pick for the bills Yeah, absolutely. And I think
that the other piece is like, he's an inline
titan built for the dirty stuff, but then he
also can offer, he can offer those little, you
know, like five yards and turn around, reliable
hands. offset, you know, um, safety valve for
Josh Allen. I'm excited about that too. Uh, and
then my final, you know, the final comments,
Chase Lund, Kaden Brather, anyone who's like
looking at these guys and being like, Ooh, we
have some, yeah, they're six and seventh rounders
picked at 30th and 24th in their respective rounds.
Um, they'll be lucky if they make the track practice
squad. Chase Lund, I think we're being worked
with Aaron Kroemer. If he doesn't get sniped
by another team, he played tackle at Connecticut
or Yukon, but I think that he's Probably a guard
in the league because his arms are way too short
to play tackle and then I fell so They said they're
gonna start him a tackle, but that's what they
say with every tackle They draft to just see
if they caught something uncommon and then they
slide them in the guard where they expected them
to go Anyway, yeah, I think that's exactly what
this kid's future is gonna be But again, I like
the fact that they are not afraid to draft a
project in Cromer They trust I mean they're really
becoming offensive line you which If you and
I were having this conversation five or six years
ago and to Brandon Beans tenure, there's no way
we would have believed it. But now they are absolutely
proficient at taking a guy like this and developing
him into an asset. So, yeah, man. No. Yeah, please.
Oh, I was going to finish with Prather. Kaden
Prather is like a literal possession style receiver,
6 '4", 200 pound. They're probably going to see
if he can fill some of the Matt Collins role
of blocking outside receiver and special teamer
and has a lot of special teams kind of experience.
So I think that that's probably what they're
looking at there is if he makes the roster at
all, it's because he becomes a four -phase special
teamer and can be depended on in that sort of
Matt Collins role. Yeah, absolutely. JJ closing
thoughts here. Favorite player, let's go there.
Favorite player out of the surprisingly nine
picks that the Buffalo Bills made. I didn't think
they were gonna make nearly this many picks this
season. I didn't either. It's hard. I'll tell
you what my number one, the tie of two players
is right now and I'll probably talk myself into
a real answer. Max Hairston and Landon Jackson.
I think that... Both I can't really pick one
over the other because they're both absolute
critical needs For this team. I think that they
both fill they actually fill a hole in the roster
that the bills don't have one and of course being
a speedy corner who can play in literally every
system and Hopefully work work his way into being
a shut down type of corner and then Landon Jackson
who You might say they have his his prototype
and Greg Rousseau but he has a little bit more
bend on the edge, like I mentioned before when
I compared him to Max Crosby than Greg Russo,
and he's not as long as Greg Russo. I think that
that's, it gives you a little bit more juice
on the pass rush. And so those two, and I'm gonna,
I think I'm gonna stick with Max Harrison just
because it's such a supreme talent at an incredible
value late in the round, the third best kind
of unanimous corner in this draft. Yeah, and
this is listen. This is no shade at Kyra Elam,
but like this is a palette cleanser from that.
Yeah, right. It feels like it's accomplishing
what they hoped that pick would it would do.
You know he's obviously got to take the field.
He's got to produce. He's got to develop, but
it already already feels like a better fit than
the Elam pick was. And again, this was an eyes
wide open draft for Brandon Bean. I think my
favorite player. I talked myself into TJ Sanders
early on as I was getting into social media squibbles
with everybody about their questioning the pick.
I just want the Buffalo Bills to be able to shut
down third and seven. Like if I've got to watch
another season of them gifting teams third and
eight, third and nine, after being so good and
so disciplined on the first two downs, I might
lose my mind. And to me, TJ Sanders, in addition
to a guy like Hairston, but TJ Sanders is a guy
who can really really rectify that weakness to
me in a lot of key situations. He just brings
juice that only really Ed Oliver does in the
pass rush from that interior. So I'm stoked about
it, absolutely. Awesome. And that's your favorite,
TJ Sanders. Yeah, I gotta go with TJ Sanders.
I love the pic. I understand people thought it
was a reach. Sorry, Mel Kuiper Jr. I'm not as
smart as you. But again, for him, maybe more
than anybody, I see the vision. I just see...
how they're gonna use them, when they're gonna
use them, the exact wrong that they're trying
to write by inserting him into the lineup. So,
love it. Love everything about it. So, good job,
Bean. Again, we don't care you didn't pick a
wide receiver. We're totally happy with the wide
receiver Rumez is. Yeah, we're good. We're good,
man. I'm fine because also, you know, let's see
if freaking Dalton Kincaid can actually be a
threat in this offense. That's the thing. And
yeah, listen, man, going back to the Shakir point.
We are waiting for Cole. Everyone is saying the
same thing. Coleman's gotta take the next step.
Kincaid's gotta take the next step. Those things
are true. I do not feel like Khalil Shakir's
ceiling in this offense has been fully realized
yet. He 54 % of the snap share last year. Matt
Collins, who we love him, except when we play
him twice here in New England, we will always
love Matt Collins. 60 % of the snap share. Oh
a six percent more than than Khalil Shakir start
implementing this dude more and in a more versatile
situation And I think he's got another gear he
can hit for this team Yeah, they've never been
they've never been punished for giving him more
snaps seriously his whole career Yeah, his whole
career every time they give him more. He provides
more. Yes Yeah, the more you put in the more
you get out of Khalil Shakir. Yeah, absolutely
uh let's i mean let's just briefly run through
our undrafted free agents these are guys who
are like we you know it's cool the bills had
a great on them they took them after the draft
they negotiate those things for anybody who's
like oh why didn't they get sean dole act it's
like dude they the players after the draft literally
get to choose where they go like stop acting
as if there's some automatic pipeline from ub
to buffalo um even because of cam lewis and others,
Buffalo Joe Andreessen. There has been because
they have familiarity, but they have familiarity
combined with other teams not wanting those players.
So in this situation, you know, the Rams were
offering him something better, which is a system
that he will thrive in more than the bill system
and maybe more money. So whatever it was, he
went to the Rams. So shut your trapper. We're
about to do our own Brandon Bean rant man. I
know, right? Sometimes I'm just like, come on,
just take five seconds and understand how the
actual thing works before you criticize. Who's
the most intriguing UDFA sighting that you've
seen so far for the both? Probably Jacob Bayer,
Arkansas State, interior lineman. He is like
a pretty epic mullet. I saw that. yeah that's
one of his greatest features but then also like
it just i don't know the watching just the very
because it's like arkansas state so all you can
see is like a couple highlight cut -ups that
somebody probably in his immediate family put
on youtube um and he just looks like he's got
like the tenacity he reminds me a lot of like
an alex anderson or um you know uh spencer brown
if he was a not a giant you know weird outsized
human being Right. So he's got that, that fire.
So he's one. And then Daryl Porter Jr, a CB out
of Miami, who's like really undersized, but played
outside. Um, and also has a really good kind
of, um, not underwhelming athleticism, but an
incredible anticipation of route concepts. Um,
and sort of a preternatural ability to know where
the ball's going to go. Um, very cerebral. Yeah.
How about you? I would actually kind of agree
with you on both of those picks. Any time I see
the Buffalo Bills sign an offensive lineman,
UDFA, draft a guy, I just assume they are going
to develop him into a pro ready player. So whenever
I see them add to the lineman room, I'm like,
yep. That guy's gonna that guy's gonna see snaps
that guy's gonna have some trade value down the
road if we decide to use them or that guy's gonna
fill in for a for an injury situation like I
just have that level of confidence that Everybody
they touch will turn into a pro ready offensive
lineman They some others of note they they got
Hayden Harris a defensive end for Montana who
had nine and a half sacks last year three force
fumbles two fumble recoveries and interception
Six five two fifty five kind of Jerry Hughes
sized dude who? Could do some things but again
most likely practice squad LSU defensive tackle
Paris shand who's another Kind of penetrating
three tech six four two seventy five It's a long
way to the roster for this guy But yeah, he is
somebody who I thought had a draftable grade
as well Yeah, no bills found value at every single
level including after the draft again master
class by being Even if even if half of these
guys don't pan out which they tend not to not
gonna crush Bean at all for For the plan the
implementation the patience in a lot of ways
that he showed Waiting for the board and many
key cases to fall to him and then as always finding
Incredible day three value with some of the guys
he brought on and with two punters on the roster
currently both drafted punters that failed at
their previous teams the Bills also invited Buffalo
punter Ethan ethane Dwayne to rookie minicamp.
So there may be three punters on the roster after
rookie minicamp. They have one spot left on the
90 man. Incredible. That's incredible. And it'd
be amazing if it was a punter battle that was
duking it out for that final spot. I just love
it. Love it. Love everything about it, JJ. And
of course, as always, I've loved potting with
you. Oh, yeah. Yeah, man. So for all of you listening
at home, thanks for joining us as always. Like,
share, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Google Apple and Spotify. And as always, go Bills.
Go Bills.