Well time to focus on the draft. The tenth pick is nice to have. I'm open to a lot of different round 1 options.
If we target and sign starting OL and/or secondary in free agency then I'd like to see Mike Williams picked at #10. WR is a huge need. Woods is probably gone and he's a WR3 at best. Goodwin is garbage. Tate, Powell, Salas etc are fringe roster players. I wouldn't mind re-signing Justin Hunter. He's big, going to be cheap and has potential. He's a nice red zone option and would be a fine WR4. If Williams is gone then I wouldn't mind trading down, picking up an extra 2nd and drafting JuJu Smith. I know I know he's a USC product but he's a far better prospect then Woods and Marqise Lee were. He is also crazy young, he played nearly his whole freshman season as a 17 year old and doesn't turn 21 until November. Him and Sammy could literally be our starting WRs and produce at high levels for a decade. Watkins is only turning 24.
I am not crazy for any QB in this draft. I don't see anything in DeShone Kizer that warrants him being protected as a top 5 pick. Trubisky either. Only one season as a starter? No thanks. It wouldn't shock me to see him go #1 though. He's a Cleveland kid (from Mentor). I know I would not use a top 5 pick let alone #1 overall on a guy with such a limited resume. I really don't know how to grade Watson. I've seen him projected in the top 10 in some mocks and the 2nd round in others. But that's how QBs are treated now a days. As we see in Wentz and Goff, teams are willing to trade up and take very good but not elite QB prospects very early. I really am hoping Kizer, Watson and Trubisky get taken top 5, along with Fournette and Dalvin Cook. We don't need RB so the more RB and QBs in the top 9 taken the better.
As for later round picks, I am praying the Bills select Amba Etta Tawo in the 4th/5th round. I watched him all year and even though he only had one year of production he had an insane season at Syracuse. He isn't a surefire lock to be a NFL starting WR but he has a lot of potential and could be a steal.
If Tyrod is willing to renegotiate his contract and make his signing bonus more feasible that would be great. Watching Manuel makes me appreciate Tyrod a lot more. He will never be a 4000 yard passer but he can definitely be a guy who can toss 20-25 tds, run for 5-8 more and limit the turnovers. He is a playoff caliber QB but not SB caliber... not that it matters since just making the playoffs again would be like winning a super bowl. After watching Cousins today, that boneheaded pick definitely makes me think twice about going after him. I mean if he hit UFA I'd definitely be interested but signing him as a franchise tendered player and giving up 2 1sts or even trading a single 1st has me uninterested. Romo is a longshot as he will likely go to Denver since they are a QB away from being SB contenders again. 9-7 with Trevor ****ing Simean as QB is real impressive. Absolutely no interest in Kaepernick. Cutler either, though if Tyrod is let go and Cutler is available at a reasonable price I wouldn't mind bringing him in as a stop gap for a few years until we draft a franchise QB. Cardale will likely not become a starter so I am not banking on him at all. I'd be content if he turned into a decent backup though.
I also hope Kyle Williams sticks around. We can not afford to have him retire. Even at 33 he is still a top end DL. If he retires that puts a huge hole in the DL. Considering we need all the picks we can get with all our free agents and thin depth, it would be huge if we can franchise Gilmore and trade him for a 2nd or a 3rd. Even if we can't trade him I think I'd be ok with the franchise tag for a year so we can hold off on another 1st round CB... it's a big need but a 1st round CB would be disappointing.
as for the rest of the roster...
RB- Absolutely set here. McCoy is still an elite top 5 RB and coming off an incredible season. Even though he is turning 29, I believe he still has at least 2 if not 3 elite level seasons left. Gillislee is a good RB2 also.
TE- Clay isn't a very good TE but it's a weak position league wide. We have big money invested in him and there is no way to get out of his deal cap wise so he is here to stay. O'Leary is Ok as a backup TE, so this is a position along with RB we can totally ignore at the draft.
LT- Glenn just signed a long term deal and is a quality LT. No need to draft a LT, though an upgrade at RT would be nice.
C- Wood is a very good C. Groy wasn't too bad either imo, so this is another position we are set at.
So our main needs are:
QB - Obvious. I think they'll find a way to keep Tyrod though. Not too many options here and starting Jones or some other journeyman type QB is just signaling 2017 as a wasteful rebuilding year.
WR- Watkins is the only quality WR. When healthy he is a star but he needs help. Woods is likely gone unless he would stay for 4 mil or so. If he wants 6-7 mil then he is gone. If we could get a Jeffrey or Pryor in free agency then we could avoid having to draft a WR early but it's doubtful they sign here. DJax would be a nice pickup but he's likely back to Philly. Kenny Britt would be a nice pickup as a solid WR2. Either way, we need to sign a starting level WR and if we can't do that then I'm positive we draft a WR in round 1 or 2.
Kicker - Carpenter is done. He can't make the big kicks and he misses way too many XPs. He cost us games. If you can't make a 45 yard FG in clutch situations or get touch backs consistently then we need to get a kicker. I expect to draft one late.
LB- Alexander and Zach Brown are both free agents. I expect Alexander back but Brown is surely gone. The way he *****ed about missing the pro bowl show me he is definitely a me first $$ mercenary type. I wouldn't give a huge money deal to him. Even with keeping Alexander, LB will be a pick in the first 3 rounds.
RT/G - Incognito is great but getting up there. Henderson is done, too many suspensions. Kouandjio has been a complete waste as a 2nd round pick. Miller is average and can be upgraded. Mills is nothing special either. Again, a T or G will likely be an early round pick for us unless we can somehow sign a RT and G in free agency to start for us.
Secondary - Huge need for us, more so at safety. It's a shame A Williams is likely retiring as he was a leader for the defense. I will forever despise Jarvis Landry. Darby regressed big time, NRC is OK as a CB3. Gilmore is key. He either accepts a fair deal and gets the top 5 CB money out of his head, we franchise him and keep him for a year to see if he returns to form or we franchise and trade him for a 2nd or 3rd and use that pick to replace him. Again, huge need.
So, pretty much this team has holes everywhere. Whaley is a complete ass clown for stating he built a great roster. He needs to be fired but Pegula is too much of a joke to do that. With Whaley here, it means we have zero chance at the top coaching candidates since they would want roster control. It's so frustrating knowing we will have Lynn as our next coach. I'm praying Denver offers him the job and he leaves.
So in summary, not counting free agency I expect the first 3 picks to be used on a WR, LB and CB/S in no particular order. We need OL too but hopefully we can address that in free agency.
Either way it sucks to be a Bills fan and we will extend it to 18 years next season. Maybe the best case scenario is completely bottoming out, earning a top 3 pick and drafting our franchise QB next year.
