Early Questions About the Buffalo Bills' 2025-26 Roster! | Under Review - Under Review

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:13):
Previous play, we'll go under review. What's going on? Everybody?

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode
of Under Review. My name is Joe DeRosa and you
can find me on Twitter slash x at show Underscore DeRosa.
And with the draft behind us, there are some lingering
questions about the Buffalo Bill's roster that need to be asked,
and it comes to really what's going on with the
defensive line room, what's going on with the secondary, what's

(01:05):
going on with the wide receiver room. Some things that
have popped up over the past week and a half
that I felt like would be fun to address on
the show tonight as we get further into off season
and as we are ahead of rookie mini camp, which
will be this weekend. I appreciate each and every one
of you joining us for this discussion. And when I
say us, when I say we, I never mean just me.

(01:26):
I got a guest every week at Tonight's is my
buddy from Bill's Chat, mister Luca and himself. Luca, thank
you so much for coming back onto the show. We
were both just exchanging about the strife of our recent
moves and hence new backgrounds which is always a plus.
How you doing tonight, man, how's everything been?

Speaker 3 (01:43):
I'm doing great. No, when he reached out, I'm always
happy to join. And yeah, it's right in that time
now where I feel like we got our off season
super Bowl done. So now it's just transition time. See
where everything's going to go from here, because we finally
can break down rosters a little bit more.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yes, sir, And it's a good time because I love
the kind of the assurance you have now of how
you're constructing rooms when you do like your mock rosters,
or when you're putting things together. I put together right
after draft time every season kind of a list of
who we got, what I think the order is going
to be for them as far as death chart, and
then also the players that either got like futures signed

(02:18):
or players that might be training camp bodies. I put
them all together and it's fun to just get those
names down with certainty and not hey, maybe they'll draft
this guy, maybe they'll draft this guy. And with that
kind of being compiled, that information get coming together, it
just leads you to kind of wonder about certain facets
with this team, and really some of the stories that
have come out over the past couple months. You know,

(02:40):
when you talk about, well, how does this wide receiver
room shakeout post draft, or how does the d line
function when you have two suspensions, two very key pieces
that you anticipate getting a very large amount of the
snap share. I mean, what do you think about the secondary?
Are their bodies that you think are going to go?
It's a lot to ask, you know this early, as
we're just post draft, but even though it is early,

(03:03):
these are questions that are probably going to swirl around
all the way till training camp. And I figured ask
him now and let's see what happened. So, Luca, before
we get into the weeds of this discussion, I just
want to turn it back to you. I mean, you know,
you and Josh doing your thing over on Bill's Chat.
What were your thoughts on the draft and what are
your thoughts on this roster right now as far as strengths,
weaknesses and maybe questions you have right now?

Speaker 3 (03:25):
I think we came. And I say we because I
think Josh and I are aligned in a lot of
this and we seem to have a singular mind with
all of this. So if I, if I squeak a
wee out that's just to understand, that's where that's coming from.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
You are one.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
But realistically we came away from it just feeling a
little bit perplexed in the moment on the strategy of
the entire draft overall. But when you peel back the emotions,
you kind of let the dust settle and really just
kind of evaluate what they had done, what kind of
value they got, and whatever positions they got it from. Overall,

(04:01):
it was satisfied, I guess, is the way to put it.
It was okay. There's those personal desires of certain things.
I would say I myself was a little bit more
looking for a potential future down the line, blue chip
kind of in the works receiving weapon. But overall, I'm
not gonna sit here and gripe over it. I think

(04:22):
the players that they did bring up and bring in
instead are still valuable, especially your Day one Day two
guys Day one. No problem whatsoever with Harston, and we'll
obviously get into that a little bit later, But overall
I was okay with it. It's it was definitely in
the moment, though, I will say a very interesting time
during the draft, as you just saw defensive player after

(04:42):
defensive player come off in here you were just staring
at certain things where in the future you're you're having
questions on where the offensive side of the ball is going.
But overall, I'm not gonna gripe about it right now.
The nice part is there will be a draft next
year and the year after that, and it's you know,
you just kind of reload and reset and go from there.
So no serious qualms or issues with the draft, especially

(05:04):
now that you can kind of take the emotions out
of it.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Yeah, taking the emotions out of it is always the
best part of draft discourse because, as several members of
our network you guys have probably faced, and really anyone
in the Bill's content community have.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
Faced, draft time brings a lot of emotion.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
It brings a lot of responses that are nice sometimes
and sometimes not very nice. And it could be fun
and it could also suck, but that's the nature of
the game. And now that we are, you know, removed
from it, it feels good to again just have certainty
of over who they have and kind of change our
perspectives over well, this is what I wanted, but now
this is where we're at, and a lot of this
is kind of like I agree with you like, there

(05:41):
were certain reactions I had that I was like, eh, like,
I'm a little iffy on this.

Speaker 1 (05:46):
Like I can remember the TJ.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
Sanders pick only because I had a different idea in
mind for what I wanted at defensive tackle, and then
they kind of went in a direction that they've gone before,
and I was like, hmm, but also it does make sense,
it can be go. And like I've come around to
a lot of like the iffiness I've had where I'm
a little more positive on it, with questions remaining, but ultimately,
looking at the roster itself, it doesn't feel like there's

(06:10):
a truly overwhelmingly glaring weakness. I know people have conversations
about the wide receiver corps. Even then, I still think
it's a room that is solid at its base and
can be functional. And then I just look around and say,
I think, just from an approach standpoint for Brandon Bean,
the roster has been built up in a way that
you would hope it would be post draft, where I

(06:31):
feel like there isn't really truly like anything glaring. I
look at any room and I say, oh my god,
this is horrible. But I do have questions about the
ceilings of these rooms and if the bets are going
to pay off on a lot of them. And you
had brought up wide receiver, and I know that we
had a Veto in our chat that was bringing up
Kaden Praither, and I'll pull up his comment again, but
we'll pivot over to wide receiver to start. I know

(06:52):
I have it a little out of order in the
note sheet, but it's natural flow of conversation, even though
I told you it was going in a different way.

Speaker 1 (06:59):
That's totally on.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
But I just wanted to pull this comment up because
Veto and I do recall you know, mentioning this in
the last show and in our comments. Prather is a
good shot at beating out Coleman. Your thoughts yes, to
make good on every opportunity. Coleman is the golden boy
right now. I was not impressed at all with his
performance last year. I will say this to start, and
I'll pass it to you, Luca. I don't think Prather's
beating out Coleman. I think, however, he probably has a

(07:24):
chance to earn a final wide receiver spot if they
don't feel like Elijah Moore has it secured, or if
they want to carry more than five this year, What
do you think really about the player? And then just
where he might fit into this wide receiver room if
you think it's realistic that he does. The roster number
breakdown is is by position group is a great point
by you. Are they truly going to just stick with five,

(07:46):
which they seem to do, or maybe will they find
value in bringing in that six with it, which of
course changes the dynamics of everything. Elijah Moore to me
does feel kind of like that true hard cutoff of
where this grew is at, but that we don't know what.
We haven't pray there yet, pray there's a true unknown.
You know, you can you can like a prospect all

(08:08):
you want coming out of a draft, coming into an organization,
until they get through the offseason, until they get through
training camp and they get into you know, those preseason games.

Speaker 3 (08:19):
You don't know what you have. And maybe he does surprise,
maybe he does do things, and maybe realistically he was
a seventh round pick for a reason, and it's just
that's gonna be a guy who doesn't end up making
the roster, may come back to the practice squad. Who
knows where that goes. But looking at the receiver, group
as a core. I yeah, I don't know if the conversation,
I mean, I definitely don't think the conversation is pray.

(08:42):
They're over Coleman kind of deal. It really comes down
to is he going to be rosterble over in Elijah
Moore and or are just as a sixth man because
you see even after him, the individuals on that depth
currently there there's no one there that truly strikes you
as a hey, week one roster guy, this guy needs

(09:03):
to go pray. There is kind of that line, and
then you're going into your kJ Hammler's, your Jalen Virgils
and so on and so forth that realistically, they didn't
make the roster even previously for a reason. Why would
all of a sudden that change. So it will be
interesting to see how they do that. I don't know
if they would ever go into six receivers, just because
they've never shown a track record to do it. And

(09:23):
I've learned kind of like back in the day with
Brady with the Patriots, you never bet against Brady with
the Patriots. You don't bet against trends that the Bills
do with the roster and kind of decision making and
we'll get into that even with how they're going to
handle rookie rotations, because there's such a long track record
of success and the way they've done things that why
would they all of a sudden decide to flip it
on a ten change it for what it is, especially

(09:45):
considering you know, we're talking about a rookie receiver here
in the seventh round. They did just take premium or
more premium defensive linemen where they have a very crowded
defensive lineman room that they may want to have that
extra spot for instead. So it will be intriguing overall.
But Elijah Moore to get back to and finalize that point.
Elijah Moore seems to be that cutoff line of the

(10:05):
fifth receiver as it stands now on May sixth, So
a lot of time for that to change, but we'll see.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, definitely plenty of time for any of these takes
and anything we say in tonight's show to change. But
I do love that point, and you know, I love
that you bring up the premium picks for defensive line
and how that could affect other roster decisions because you
talk about how the Bills constructed it last year and
there were five wide receivers in the room. You know,
you had your Mac Collins. Eventually you get Amari Cooper,
but originally it was MBS Shakir, Curtis Samuel and KIANK.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
Coleman.

Speaker 2 (10:33):
Did I say KEIANK Coleman twice? Or am I correct
in that because I have the memory of a goldfish?

Speaker 1 (10:38):
Okay?

Speaker 2 (10:38):
Either what that? I probably loved that, I don't know.
The point being that the team, you have to look
first at how this offense is constructed. Again, their their
scheme and how they want to operate and how they
want to operate is they want to dominate the line
of scrimmage. They want to run the ball with the
myriad and different run concepts and receivers. While important and
while they're going to help out the offensive, of course

(10:59):
I wouldn't call it the primary focus. Right when you
think about the Bills of a few years ago with
Ken Dorsey and Brian Dable, you know they maximize Josh
Allen downfield and they try to really spread the ball
out to different targets, but also went vertical a lot.
But it changes in league direction as far as defense
and teams just being stout and playing a lot of
too high and a lot of different coverages to be
able to take explosives away downfield. The natural pivot for

(11:22):
the Bills had always been let's get better in the trenches,
let's run the ball more efficiently, and let's get a
group of pesky receivers to really fortify, you know, long
sustainable drives, like let's make it that we have hands
on deck that we can turn to get the ball
too quickly and we're able to function. So when I
think about that philosophy, and then I think about what
you said, Luca about the defensive line room it being

(11:44):
crowded and roster spots being at a premium and you
have to kind of cut in other places, I can
stomach another year of five wide receivers where each one
has a very functional role, but we're not kind of
selling out to get a specific type of skill set
in when we feel it's more important to have a
different skill set in the defensive side of the ball,

(12:04):
which it seems like given the way this draft shook out,
that's the Bill's exact plan and how aggressive they were
a free agency at attacking, attacking, defense, and all of
these different positions. So as far as the player himself.
It's nothing against him. First off, I don't think he's
replacing Coleman. I said that earlier. I think Coleman's a lock,
and I would get used to the idea of him

(12:26):
being a lock at least for another season and if
there's any progress, then two seasons. But I think that
with Frether himself, I could see the fifth wide receiver
spot again not being a guarantee for Elijah Moore. Because
you got to remember too, Elijah Moore's contract. I believe
it's up to up to five or up to seven.

Speaker 1 (12:44):
I'm actually blinking. I should have had it in front
of me.

Speaker 2 (12:46):
But it's a cheap deal with a lot of incentives,
and for that reason, that's not a guaranteed contract. Like
that's not something I see them saying it's impossible for
us to move on from this, like we can't cut
ties with the player. I see it as we believe
in the player enough to offer him these incentives because
we think maybe it's a way for us to save money.
He'll bet on himself because his market wasn't crazy given

(13:08):
the fact that he just signed with the team.

Speaker 1 (13:10):
But it doesn't eliminate.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
Us from giving the spot if we see that our
seventh round pick actually is panning out pretty well and
kind of providing some of the same skill and providing
some speed and quickness and burst and ability to separate,
which I know rather is able to do.

Speaker 1 (13:26):
I'm not ruling him out.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
I think the likeliest outcome though, considering the fact that
they took him in the seventh round and then went
and got more, is that they want the veteran. They're
not eliminating the idea that the veteran can't make the roster,
but probably leading that way, and you know, we'll just
have to see the rookie kind of climb the uphill
along with the players you mentioned Shavers and talking about

(13:48):
like kJ Hamler and Jalen Virgil other options that I
just don't think are going to make the active roster.
But as Ralfelson Senior actually comes in with this can
always count on Samuel to the miss chunk of games.
You do have to wonder if he stays on the
field at this point, because he does have an injury history,
and if they do feel that maybe a player life right,

(14:08):
there is someone that they can supplement into that role
to be a speedster and still provide some juice for
the room. So I think it's a valid question to
wonder what his role would be if he makes the roster.
I still think it's a one for one Coleman replacement.
I think they have high hopes for Keon Coleman. I
think Keon Coleman. You could argue the rookie season was underwhelming,
but I don't think it's from just play alone. In fact,

(14:29):
I would argue his play was ramping up prior to
an unfortunate injury, and he himself said that the offense
kind of moved on without him, not because he sucks,
but rather, hey, we're we're rolling right now, like why
are we going to change our formula just to fit
me in the picture? And he was he was cool
for that. I mean, he wants to get his targets,
but he seemed pretty understanding of it. So yeah, I

(14:50):
think to answer the question and to put a bow
on this and then just to continue on, I don't
think Crap is replacing him. I think there's a chance
he could get the five, but I think it is
going to be five. And I think More has the
leg up right now over guys like oh Chanolt too,
who we briefly mentioned, Luka, any other thoughts on that topic.

Speaker 3 (15:07):
No, it feels like for this season at least, the
picture's clear. I think the thought now though, is if
you're looking future wise, there's definitely a lot more questions.
Elijah Moore with the one year Curtis Samuel will unless
we see something crazy this season, will probably be gone
after this season. I believe his cap number basically goes

(15:27):
down to nothing and then from there you're left with
just three guys and two slots completely available going into
next season. So this year feels like, as you said,
the formula is kind of sound where it is. We'll
see what happens for future years after the season, but
I don't expect anything crazy this year. Yeah, And just
to put one final point out there too, because the

(15:48):
conversation again is hyper focused on receiving room and receivers matter.

Speaker 1 (15:53):
I'm not saying I hate them.

Speaker 2 (15:54):
I always have to be careful with these types of topics, Luca,
because I never wanted to get misconstrued that I'm like, Oh,
they don't need wide receivers, we don't need them. No,
it's more just like the Bills want to have all
hands on deck. You brought up the Brady Patriots, and
again it's not a one for one comparison. There are
obviously differences in how they approached it, but everybody was
a receiver in that offense. Right, You had receiving backs
that were capable of making plays out of the backfield,

(16:16):
and for quick hitters, you had your wide receiver room.
You had obviously one of the greatest, if not the
greatest tight end of all time, but tight ends in
general that were named Rob Gronkowski that were contributors, and
that Bill's offensive philosophy that kind of mimics that in
a way isn't going to change with Joe Brady at
the helm. The tight ends are going to get involved,
running backs are going to get involved, and there's only
so many targets to go around. So again, when talking

(16:36):
about just the value of the wide receiver room, when
you talk about the final few roster spots and what
you prioritize, that wide receiver has to have special teams ability,
like that is crazy, kind of like Mac Collins did,
or they're just going to be kind of a throwaway.
If you're talking about like, well, this d lineman could
play special teams quite well, or this guy, this cornerback
in return pots like Brandon Cadrey did. So Yeah, I

(16:57):
think it's it's the wide receiver conversation. Again, it went
to a lot of different places over the past week
and a half, But talking about it functionally from roster
building standpoint, I feel pretty comfortable with the prediction that
it would be five. So I don't really have anything
else on offense because every other room feels pretty solidified,
like James Cook, Ray Davis, Ty Johnson are all back, obviously,

(17:19):
You're you know, Darrnton Evans got resigned and people buy
into him getting a roster spot.

Speaker 1 (17:23):
That is great.

Speaker 2 (17:24):
Maybe maybe I don't think so, but maybe, And I
don't not even hating on the player.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
I just think the rooms crowded, you know.

Speaker 2 (17:31):
Quarterback, if we want to spend an hour talking about
the backup quarterback battle extraordinary in Trubisky and Mike White,
maybe I don't think we need to do that. And
then offensive line, I mean, there isn't much to it
when it comes to uncertainty, like you're starting five, is there?
It's just a matter of like death. And maybe if

(17:52):
they feel some of their free agents or futures are
able to kind of elevate to a larger role, Like
if do they feel Kendrick Green could give them legitimate
juice year does he even make the roster. That's kind
of a thing I wonder too, like, Luca, do you
see anything with the offense right now and say, like
you still have any questions or outside of wide receiver,
like is it pretty solidified? No?

Speaker 3 (18:10):
I think offense you saw with the draft philosophy, they
feel good about the future. That's why they didn't really
dip their toes in it too much. They really didn't
do much in there other than maybe even bring in
a couple of linemen where realistically you're just bringing them
in to see if you can develop and find gold elsewhere.
It's the only thing that'll be fascinating to be as
is Kendrick Green even going to make this roster? Outside

(18:32):
of that though, the offense is set and that's not
necessarily a bad thing because we obviously saw what the
offense was last year and it was great. It was phenomenal.
It had eight straight games of thirty plus points, Like,
there was just so many great things about it that
they're not messing with the formula. They're just going with
it as is and and people like to see new things.
I am a prisoner of the moment in that as well.

(18:54):
You want a shiny new toy to make it even better.
But you know, at the end of the day, it
feels like it's in a great spot regardless, and it
always helps when you have seventeen under center to do that.

Speaker 1 (19:04):
Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (19:04):
I mean, seventeen is going to make an ol intrinsically
better because he himself can evade even the toughest of
edge rushers, and it's truly a beautiful thing to witness.
But I like keeping him clean, keeping him comfortable, And
I'm always a fan of anyone who is able to
fortify the pocket, and I am you know, TP brings
up a point too that should be discussed more. In
my opinion, this interior offensive line is in jeopardy over

(19:27):
the next couple of seasons. You know, you got your
tackles locked down, but you got mcgoverned on an expiring deal,
or at least on the final year of his deal,
and you're hoping they can work an extension out.

Speaker 1 (19:35):
I'm praying they do.

Speaker 2 (19:36):
I know in the film room he mentioned that they're
still kind of not there yet, and they're hoping they
can get something done.

Speaker 1 (19:41):
And then you're talking about Osiris Torrance.

Speaker 2 (19:43):
Who is about to enter year three, so next year
is going to be final year of his rookie And
then you talk about Edwards, who has a chance to
likely be gone after this year, and it could be
some shake up in the room if you don't have
any extensions to give out. And what I do wonder
is if any of the death because David crude insane
amount of ol deft over the past couple of seasons
right late round of draft picks, just random guards signings

(20:04):
that they've had in the past. I mean why al
Collins was like a throwaway signing last year. That's how
you know their room is deep, because even though Collins
was longer in the tooth, like that's still a name
that could function in your offensive line if it was
bad and he didn't even make it, so it's just
like it's nice to see that. But talking about like
Alec Anderson, and then of course we mentioned Kendrick Green
who's only here on a one year deal. Like I

(20:25):
do wonder if there is any opportunity, if any because
oil health was a remarkable thing last year, it is
likely that there could be an injury, Like, is it
possible that maybe one of these guys gets almost something
of like a de facto audition to fortify their spot,
And do you feel more comfortable moving on for someone
like a Edwards, Like That's what I'm going to be
watching for. And that's a question I have about the roster.

(20:45):
What does it look like behind them? But if it's
not this year's problem, it is also something I could
see them going heavy on next year in the draft,
where maybe interior offensive line becomes more of a priority
And you're like, all right, they were worried about it too,
They're taking care of it.

Speaker 1 (20:58):
But also in Kromer, we try guys. Remember in Cromer,
we trust.

Speaker 2 (21:02):
Pulling up this comment from John Robert one more time,
they may only carry two tight ends on the fifty three. John,
I appreciate you watching and I love your comments, but
this actually offends me because as a new Jackson Hawes truther,
I'm going to have to ask you to include him
in all of your roster builds. There will be three
tight ends on the roster, well, technically four regiegillium, but
excluding regigillium full back tight end whatever, it's gonna be

(21:23):
Dawson Knox, Dalton Kaid, and Jackson M. F.

Speaker 1 (21:26):
Hawes.

Speaker 2 (21:26):
That dude is going to hurt people and you best
be ready to watch this man destroy human beings on
the field. God I hope he does, because if he
does it, this's gonna look really bad. But hey, it's early,
so I have the right to be wrong.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
I will say, Hey, to get on the bandwagon of
Jackson Hawes, I will just real quick when you watch
everything about him, because I will be honest, he wasn't
on my radar till we picked him, and he watched
everything with his game. All I could see and I
said it on our podcast, our show, I was like,
I see those King Kid Shakir flare outs and then
him just leading all the blocks, leading that lane up

(22:02):
that sideline, and it was just beautiful to watch. He
was doing it so well in college. I almost imagine
that's exactly what the Bills front office are. They're like,
we see all of this. Yeah, we need to turn
those three yard catches to Kincaid into eight nine yard
catches and this guy can do it for us. And
if that works, I'm all for it. That's a great
way to spend your fifth round pick.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
Oh absolutely, dude, even if he doesn't catch a single pass,
I just want to watch him people like I love
players that I don't have to, like I can put
a rational amount of stock in not because I expect
him to get a thousand yards, but they're just gonna
be so fun, like we haven't.

Speaker 1 (22:35):
This is a new Lee Smith. I know.

Speaker 2 (22:37):
I saw Lee Smith mentioned in the comments from someone
like this is what it feels like, just a hammer
in your offense, and it's like, just hell yeah, man,
Like I love football where dudes beat each other up.
I want that aesthetic. I want the nasty and we
got it. And speaking of tight ends, Brandon, thank you
for watching. I'm pulling this comment up because I did
see this a little earlier, actually on my way home,
and I see the fan base has been in a

(22:58):
bit of a tizzy. See, I was busy today so
I didn't get a chance to scroll, and now I'm
kind of glad I didn't because I have seen this
conversation and it's making me really angry. And it's not
your fault, Brandon, I appreciate you watching, just getting in.
What are we thinking about the image of Kincaid earlier.
It's extremely slim and due to his knee injuries, not
at all in shape. The staff has said they want
him in danger. I think it's too early to worry. Personally,

(23:22):
I think, yes, I want Kinkaid. I've been someone who's
been like cool with the idea Kinkaid putting on size.
I have my concerns about him. I don't hate the guy.
I believed in the player when we drafted him. I
do think, however, like I wouldn't be mad if there
was more put on his frame, considering some of my
concerns with his blocking that I want to get better
in year three.

Speaker 1 (23:43):
But I don't think those.

Speaker 2 (23:44):
Concerns are exacerbated by a photo or photos of him
at a very early ramp up in the offseason. Like,
I think it's just recovery mixed with some atrophy that
can kind of improve over the next few months as
he continues to train, as he continues to stay healthy. Like,
I think we're making too big of a deal of

(24:05):
some still frames, and if he looks really lean come
training camp, I'll be more worried. But right now I
just think it's a bit overblown. But looka what do
you think about this before we move on to defense.

Speaker 3 (24:16):
Week one is four months away. There's plenty of time
to build up. And yeah, I wouldn't read too much
into an individual stature in early May, just off a
couple of pictures. Yes, it would be nice for him
to be a little bit more built up and take
off season more seriously. There's a lot of players I
think can fit under that umbrella of a statement, and realistically,

(24:40):
this is the off season still for them. This is
not the time to really get going, get into game
shape and everything as such. That time will come and
we will see how it is there. And on top
of it all, Dalton Kincaid is also, in my opinion,
just not an individual I need to be absolutely freakishly huge.
He's really just a big receiver for us. So I'm
not asking him to be built like a gronk. It's no.

(25:02):
Your job is going to be as a primary pass catcher.
So overall it's right now, not concerned too much with
anything going on for any player. It's not even just
in Kaid. Any player's physical condition right now, anybody not Yeah,
not concerned.

Speaker 2 (25:15):
Yeah, it's so early, and Roy says, I don't believe
they draft a kink because of his blocking, did they
that was the secondary part of his profile.

Speaker 1 (25:22):
He was a willing blocker.

Speaker 2 (25:23):
He wasn't consistent at Utah, and it's kind of been
more of the same. He's willing to get his hands dirty,
but he just gets kind of messed up sometimes, just
some ugly reps sometimes where he's just out physical by
somebody gets blown off. It's not all the time. There
are times where he does win and I've seen it,
but there are a lot of times where he doesn't.
And I'm not asking him to put on again, like
astronomical amounts of way. I don't even know if it's necessary.

(25:46):
Maybe it's a technique issue, maybe it's just again like
getting in the right spots. But I do feel like
you should want his blocking to improve if you hope
to see him on the field, not just as a
wide out. Because again, and this is a great point,
and I follow and if you guys haven't followed Max
Toscano on Twitter, he is probably the leader of the
tight end army.

Speaker 1 (26:07):
I'll shout him out, I'll make sure he sees the segment.

Speaker 2 (26:09):
But you know, kind of eye opening analysis on a
lot of tight ends, and the big thing is like,
if you're going to have a tight end that can't block,
you basically have a receiver. So now that guy has
to be a good enough receiver where he can take
the mantle from a different player and your roster. So
ask yourself, if Kinka just can't get the blocking down
at all, and he's just bad at it and it
doesn't improve at all, do you feel he is a
better receiver right now? Then let's say the top three,

(26:32):
So we could talk about Khalil Shakir, you could talk
about Josh Palmer, you could talk about Keon Coleman, and
I could make an argument that yes, but I would
feel a lot better about his usage, about the flexibility
of the offense and about how you can align, how
you can change personnel, how you can look different if
he can block, because it sells a lot more. It
doesn't limit him to one dimensional wide out tight end.

(26:53):
Now we can put him in line and now we
can leak him out. Now we could do things and
condensed sets with him on the field and feel comfortable
running because he and hold a block all these different
things to create more of a threat from the player individually,
which is why I would like his blocking to improve,
which is why I would like to see maybe a
frame adjustment or maybe just again better technique. But I
don't think now is the time to worry about that,
because it's May and we have plenty of time, like

(27:15):
you said, till the first game, and somehow I end
up talking about strawberry and crustables every show.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
Now.

Speaker 2 (27:21):
But let's just give him some strawberry and crustables and
we'll get him. We'll get him up, man, we'll get
some weight on. I'm telling you, dude, like two of
those things is what is it like like a thousand calories?
Just load him up with those things. Man, we'll be
good car voting baby. But thank you guys for the comments.
And let's move on to defense, okay, and let's start
with the D line, which I think is the most
polarizing when we talk about really what it's gonna look

(27:44):
like post training camp, because again, if we had Oguin Joby,
if we had Hoyt for the six games without the suspensions,
I think the Bills still would have gotten agressive in
the draft. But it makes the projection a little clearer
because you know these guys are going to be their
game one. Now you have to account for the absence
of two players for a good chunk of your season,
and you have to wonder is there going to be

(28:04):
any major pivots from that? Are you going to see
a pretty standard status quo d line room and just
maybe a fringe player at the end that you can
kind of part ways with, which, unfortunately for the Bills,
has been kind of like Ilianku's calling for them. And
I think Ilk deserves a lot more shine in the
league and he's a very good run defending interior defensive lineman.
What do you think about this, I mean edge rushers,

(28:24):
defensive tackle, we can group them together. How do you
see the room checking out? What are your questions about it?
And how do you think they get answered?

Speaker 3 (28:31):
I would like to believe at least that the suspensions
didn't play a major role. Minor role understandable, but draft
is draft. You don't draft just because of immediate six
game suspensions on your roster that you're staring down the
barrel of. But now that they have what they have
thanks to that, TJ. Sanders Land and Jackson Dale Walker,
so on and so forth, it will be fascinating to

(28:53):
see what they do. I think the suspensions to Ogunjobi
and Hoyt open up the realistic for Day one Walker,
for instance, to make the roster and kind of get
that six game tryout and be a regular player in
the rotation just because they need to have that body
and play there. Is that absolutely gonna happen I won

(29:16):
We don't know or in May, But two I don't
actually know as well. Because let's say there's a world
where dayone Walker is making this roster, that then to
me would be five defensive tackles most likely making a
game day roster, and that's a lot that is that
is a heavy interier defensive line focus on that. I
don't see then what you're doing at edge to circumvent that,

(29:39):
or I mean you're getting really thin at any other
position group if you're doing it, so it will be interesting.
I think Landon Jackson's going to be the most beneficiary
of all of this. I think Landon Jackson's going to
see a lot of play. I think Michael Hoyt and
Landon Jackson in the immediate fill the exact same role.

(30:00):
They They are essentially guys that are going to be
able to always keep their edge. They're not gonna let
easy runs bounce outside of them, they're gonna be able
to do their job opposite of Greg Russo, and they're
gonna do a great job of that. I think bosas
of course your pass rush specialists that they're gonna use
opposite Greg Russo. But then your more primary run defending,
lengthy defensive end edge play is probably now gonna land

(30:21):
more on the shoulders of Land and Jackson early on
with that suspension, and that's who I think the biggest
beneficiary of all of this is. But the game day
actives and actives are going to be a fascinating one
because you see Dwayne Carter. Are they truly gonna make
him that one technique like we've heard in inkling of
Dalan Walker, is he gonna maybe make the roster game

(30:42):
day roster? Ed should say I'm not sure about that
because realistically that's Ed, Oliver, de Quon Jones, T J.
Sanders feel like locks. So from there you might have
one more game day active and realistically, they like to
reward their veterans over their rookies, so that's where Dwayne
Carter comes into play, as long as he's healthy. It's
I will say this, I really do wonder if you

(31:05):
see a da On Walker, if you see a TJ.
Sanders really explode, or Dwayne Carter really takes to the
one technique, if you see that happen in that six games,
would it be just we see Ogan Jobi out or
he's just a game day in active or whatever it is,
and they just keep rolling with that. I could easily
see that world happening and becoming reality as well. I
don't think Ogin Jobi really is a lot to be

(31:29):
game day active come week seven. There could be a
serious reality that as long as someone else shows something,
they'd rather go with that individual because at least they've
been there from week one, shown what they can do,
and they're more in game ready shape to just hit
the ground running. So the game day actives inactives for

(31:49):
the defensive line group are going to be an absolutely
fascinating one. I mean, making the roster will be interesting.
But then when it comes to actually who is active inactive,
that's a whole nother chess game right there that it's
very very difficult to decipher it. And another individual like
Javon Solomon is really getting the short end of the stick,
it feels like, because it would be nice to see

(32:10):
what he can do in the past, rush game and everything,
but again, the numbers just don't back him up kind
of getting game day active, you know, calls. It's I
don't see how it works in his favor in any
sort of capacity pre or post suspensions.

Speaker 2 (32:25):
Yeah, yeah, it's it's so tricky because I look at
this room or at these rooms, you know, if you
separate DL and DT, if you're ed Rusher DT, and
I kind of sit here like, damn, I'm having a
hard time deciding who I would actually cut because I
can make a case that outside of your your typical
practice squad guys and again like maybe they develop in
Zion Loo, Branson Dean, but like going strictly with guys

(32:46):
that have played, been on the active roster, has seen
game action, It's hard for me to look at this
and say there's like a runaway option to either part
ways within the offseason or at least make it consistent
and active. And that's why camp will be imperative as
we can get closer to it, because you're going to
really see how they're shaking up the depth chart, how
you're going to see these players kind of wayer on

(33:06):
top of each other who is getting first team reps,
who's getting second team reps, And looking at the edge group,
it's hard for me to like justify moving on from
Solomon after one season again brought him last year. It
would really suck. But I like the juicy plays with
I think he's violent with his hands. I think there's
plenty of explosion off the line. He's just a little shorter,
but I also think he's got long enough arms where

(33:28):
he can mitigate that problem. And I think he is
a viable threat for a pass rush. And then it
kind of leads me to wonder, because if you have
Hoyt for the six game suspension, then your room is
pretty much like stout right, it'd be Rousseau, Boza, Jackson, Epineza, Solomon.
But like, do you think it's a possibility that maybe
they decide, hey, we might be willing to move on
from like Apineza because he's on the final year of

(33:50):
his deal, and maybe they decide to make a trade
or something like that where we want to make the
easier decision even though we have Hoyt kind of going
on the six game suspense, maybe we do actually move
on from him, find a supplemental option from the practice
squad to hold this over at the back end of
the death chart and then just one Hoyt comes back,
they go back and we're good. I don't know, but

(34:11):
that's something I've been asking myself looking at this is
really just hey, are they going to move on from
somebody like you talk about game day and actors, But
is there a possibility that it's not even going to stretch. Well,
they have to do it at some point, but it's
possible that they just part ways with the player. And
then you look at some of the guys in the
DT room to carry it over to there, and it's like,
you know, if Ogunjobi, like you said, if they play

(34:32):
out of their minds and there's no real need for
the one year deal, do the bills eat it and
move on. It's a lot of money to stomach in
the middle of the year. I don't know if they do.
But then you look at Unfortunately, I know there's been
the hop upon topic when it comes to this specific conversation,
which I hate, but Dwayne Carter, if there's no development
at one Tech, and he's really struggling, like, is it
possible they decide it's not worth it? To continue the

(34:54):
project to move on from him and cut ties on
a cheaper deal. Do they feel like maybe dey Kwon
Jones is longer in the two and they end up
moving him because they could save some money post uned
first on Daikwon Jones and they want to go with
an inexperienced room. There's a caveat to every decision. And
it's a question I asked because I have no freaking
idea what they're going to do. It is not obvious
at all. They could surprise us. They cannot surprise us.

(35:15):
And I know that's such a vague thing to say,
but truly, this year, I look at the defensive line room.

Speaker 1 (35:19):
Like last year, it was really easy for me to.

Speaker 2 (35:21):
Plot out how it was going to go right, like
they felt like later on in free agency they get
their patchwork one tech and then they get Dwane Carter
and you have Daikwon Jones at Oliver and then I
think they had Robinson as their other DT and it
was kind of like, yeah, whatever, like easy, like that's
probably back end, probably gets caught. It was so easy
last year. This year, I'm having a really hard time
because against suspensions thrower wrinkle, these guys are going to

(35:43):
come back at the very least point, I see them
as a long term option to be a tactical d
lineman and not even just be an edge rusher, but
interior defensive lineman, off ball linebacker at times, which he
has played numerous snaps at and then you just wonder,
like how do they do it? So I don't want
to give a prediction because it's going to be so
horribly wrong. What I will say is I'm excited for
the shakeup, and I do think there's a lot of

(36:05):
pressure on guys like Carter on even guys like Dion
Walker who are like project players at this point that
have to prove their worth. I think with Walker though
a little more grace because he just got picked. And
also I think they're so believing in his upside that
he's not going anywhere, but like back end of the
detackle room is gonna be really interesting. And then Rogan Jobi,
what's the dilemma with him coming back? Like is he

(36:28):
going to play well enough to justify playing above a rookie?
And if not, then like what do you do with him?
Is he inactive? Like so many questions about the ste
line room that I'm paying really close attention to as
we get closer to training camp. But I have no
answers except probably like the top of the room, Like
I know Joey Bose is gonna play. I know Greg
Russo is gonna play like Landon Jackson. You know, if

(36:49):
they do move on from Epineza, do they feel like
Landon Jackson even though it's not the same player. You know,
Jackson is more of an athletic profile, you know, does
he fill that kind of long range setting run defender
to start with some pass rush juice to boot? And
then does this justify Solomon being like a rotational pass
rush specialist if they're on dirt along? Like, I could
go for hours about this, because this is the most

(37:10):
perplexing room I think they have to sort through and
I have no idea, Luca, I'll turn it back to you.

Speaker 1 (37:16):
Any others on this?

Speaker 3 (37:17):
Still the thought process you're going through with this, This
is exactly what you run into when you use your second,
your third, and your fourth round picks all for defensive line.
And on top of it, of course there's the suspensions
that throw the absolute monkey wrench at all of it.
But I love the point on Daikwon Jones, you bring
up because it's something that I believe myself. I brought

(37:38):
it up on a show. Josh has brought it up before.
Daikwon Jones showed a little bit of a regression already
last season, and you really start to wonder that you
know what we're going to be doing at that one
T spot and you can move on from him. So
if you see something else in there, and you need
to make the number because the math is not mathing
right now like it just is, and there's just two

(38:01):
great of numbers right now for you to be able
to roster and also get your game day lineup figured
out with how it stands, So someone has to be
moved on most likely, you know, are you gonna just
use those suspensions as an excuse to push it down
to week seven eight, depending on the buy situation. Are
you gonna do that and really just kind of see

(38:23):
where it goes and just have this extended tryout. I
foresee what your idea was being a reality where most
likely someone like an epins R Daikwon Jones is most
likely moved on from before the season even starts, because
you need to get that number in a more favorable spot.
That's going to not make it as difficult when week

(38:45):
seven eight comes around and you now have these suspended
players coming back that as you mentioned, I mentioned Ogunjobi
maybe being moved on from I didn't necessarily mean that
from the roster because you are paying them a substantial
amount of money. It's just he will no longer be
game day active because everything else is working. But you
still have to get those numbers to work, and that
is the most difficult part of all this. I'm with

(39:05):
you on it. It's an interesting problem to have. I
don't even know if I necessarily call it a great
problem to have, just because there's so much unknown with it.
All being that there's a lot of rookies involved, you
have Javon Solomon. With everything you brought up in a
plus side, there's still an unknown factor to that where
you haven't seen it in a consistent or just you
haven't seen the actual snap count to make it justified.

(39:28):
And it's it's just yes, Greg Russo, Ed Oliver and
Joey Bosa, those are your locks. Everyone else, I think
you are up for ability of being on the short
end of the stick of making the numbers work and
figuring out this roster construction.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
At least from the degree of game day and active
to just outright cut, because like you got your players
who just took but like if TJ. Sanders has a
bad camp, are they going to throw them out there
to be like a three tech rotational or even a
one tech. I don't know, So it does pose the
interesting question. And thank you to Justine tipical New for
the super chat. We appreciate you watching as well as
every one of you who are joining us tonight. Best
case scenario is we get both guys back from suspension

(40:05):
and we have one of those good problem to have situations.
Good show guys, Thank you so much, appreciate you, And yeah,
it is a good problem to have when you have
so many bodies that it's how do you actually organize it?
Because everyone has a case to make the roster. But
I pulled up that comment from AKA cash before because
this is also unfortunately something that probably happens. There'll be
enough injuries to work it out by week seven. But

(40:26):
that's also what makes it frustrating. You can't bank on injury,
but you want to because it's like, well, Joey Bose
is in the room, he's gotten hurt every year and
he's thirty years old. But we can't definitively say, oh,
he's going to get hurt. But I guess if you
do believe in the idea of patting for the potential
that he does get injured, which by each year he
gets older and by the injury history, could be a.

Speaker 1 (40:48):
Like a likely possibility. And I'm fine with it. But
it's a tricky thing.

Speaker 2 (40:52):
And then I saw someone mentioned before about linebacker, and
we could segue to that a little bit, because again
it's not I don't really have much to question out
the linebacker room, except do you think they move on
from spector? Do you think, you know, Jula Facio sticks
around and then they only carry you know, Bernard Milano,
Williams Andrews sending you a facio, Like, do you think

(41:14):
that justifies them to keep a defensive lineman because they
feel the linebacker room is really rich and they don't
need it.

Speaker 3 (41:19):
Like, what do you think about that. I'm not the
biggest Bale inspector guy. I'll start there. I think if
they were to move on from him and finally just
give that availability of that spot to someone else, I'm
all for it. I would love to see kind of
what an Ula Facio could do in that role, but
realistically they are set in that linebacker position for the

(41:42):
most part. Of course, your starters are Milano and Bernard.
From there you have Dorian Williams, who seems to be
a very secure weak side linebacker, depth rotational piece kind
of even if you need to roll three linebackers deep
in a game plan, he's absolutely foots the bill of
exactly everything you need. And then from there you can
even consider, as we all know, Tarren Johnson is just

(42:04):
a small linebacker at your nickelback spot, so you're, in
a weird way, you're probably game day active four linebackers
if you're including Taran in this conversation, obviously he's not
but three to four. And then Ula Fascio taking that
spector role would I am all welcoming to, just because
I think Baile inspector as serviceable at best as he

(42:26):
was serviceable at best, is something I would like to
not feel is good enough to make this roster, especially
when you keep spending assets for the defensive side of
the ball. If you're going to utilize one of those
back end roster spots for special teamers and then all
of a sudden find yourself because of linebacker injuries needing
to use them. They need to be a little bit

(42:47):
better at the actual linebacker position than a balance Spector.
I'll just leave it there. It's just it's a tough
watch whenever he has to get meaningful snaps in that
in that role. So I'm all gained for a NU
or any individual to see what else they can do there,
because I think Spector's time has kind of run its course.

Speaker 2 (43:06):
The health for me had always been the thing. I
think Spector is a run defending linebacker. Has had positives,
but then coverage has just look brutal at times. And
he's a death linebacker, right, that's kind of the game
you play with him, And he was putting some rough spots.
It's hard to defend Derrick Henry in the Baltimore offense
when you are essentially a third string fod string linebacker.
I was kind of like, yeah, this was going to

(43:26):
happen at some point. They were playing out of their
minds against Miami and holding down the forward against Jacksonville.
But like, here we are, and you have the best
running offense in football besides your own and you're getting
your ass kicked, and like.

Speaker 1 (43:39):
It sucks, you know.

Speaker 2 (43:40):
I do think the player himself has some potential, and
you know, if it's not with Buffalo, could be somewhere else.

Speaker 1 (43:45):
I do think the idea of.

Speaker 2 (43:46):
Moving on from him is something from a roster building
standpoint feasible.

Speaker 1 (43:51):
And even if you want to make this argument like.

Speaker 2 (43:53):
They either only carry for or that people have suggested
in our chat and it's something could be possible.

Speaker 1 (43:58):
Maybe they actually designate full time as.

Speaker 2 (44:00):
A linebacker and then they have him take the spot,
which frees up the edge rush space to be able
to keep aj Apaneza and have Javon Solomon and then
there's like a problem solved right there. I don't really know,
I could see that happening, because again, Hoyd has experience
playing linebacker. He's like a tactician, He's all over the place.
So if they want to like do the loophole that
you're a linebacker, but really like we're going to just
have you play a brount D line and then fill

(44:21):
in a linebacker in certain packages, that works too, and
I'd I'd be fine with that. And I think Spector
could find work on a different team like I don't
even say that to be like facatious or passive aggressive
or like like trying to give a polite f you like,
I don't like you know, players are playing like I
don't want. I don't want to root for anyone to
get cut and be a jerk, but like, it does
seem like when you look at the trend of how

(44:42):
they've drafted linebacker and who they've signed, it is a
possibility that he might get moved on from. And if
he does get moved on from, like I wish him
all the best. Or he stays and as people have said,
he'll be starting by week six, which seems to always
happen to.

Speaker 1 (44:55):
I just hope we're healthy. I hope everyone stays healthy.

Speaker 2 (44:58):
But yeah, apart from that, the linebacker room seems pretty stout,
And for that reason, I didn't want to give too
much time to it because like I think, you know,
youificio maybe see some reps injuries and maybe see some reps,
but it might be more special teams play. But the
secondary could be fun and there are you know, plenty
of bodies in the room now. After a draft where
we were begging for corner, Brandon Bean said, you want corners.
I got corners, here's two technically three if you count

(45:19):
Jordan Hancock and you want safety, here's Jordan Hancock again.
It's it's a room that needs sorry, it's a room
that needed the death, and I think they got plenty
of death. They also got versatility in the room again, like,
even though Harrison is stronger primarily lined up as boundary,
I could see a world where maybe you have them
occasionally line up as a nickel or occasionally ship their platform.

(45:41):
You talk about Hancock again, who is a versatile number
of your secondary? And then you post a question with
the corner room to start Benford's a lock Harston. You know,
we saw it with Elam where your first round pick
is not a guarantee to at least get a brunt
of the starting snaps, and maybe a corner you took
later in the draft might lap him. I am hoping
that then happen again, although it is a good problem

(46:02):
because the player that wlaps him ends up being really
good and gets a contract extension. So I mean, how
do you see the cornerback room shaking out? I mean,
what are the questions you have? Who gets caught?

Speaker 3 (46:13):
Like?

Speaker 1 (46:13):
Do you see it? Kind of like as.

Speaker 2 (46:15):
A as a predictable room, or are there anything you're
kind of looking at like?

Speaker 3 (46:18):
I wonder the parallels to this room to how it
was in twenty twenty two is fascinating to me. That
is my immediate takeaway from draft to now.

Speaker 1 (46:30):
But it's it is crazy.

Speaker 3 (46:35):
So you have your your all pro level corner, you're
stud on one side you just paid, of course in
this scenario, being Benford, and then on the other you
have your first round pick, your athletic specimen being Maxwell Harriston,
and then oh, by the way you drafted this kind
of he doesn't pop on tape when it comes to
his speed and athleticism, but he's very good at playing
the ball. He's very sound defensively, and everything he does

(46:58):
keeps things primarily in front of him, but has the
ability to still attack things if it gets behind him.
And Dorian Strong, you get him later on and all
of a sudden you're probably gonna see I It's it's
an early forecast, but it feels like something where only
because this this coaching staff has shown us they don't
like to dive, you know, two feet in on one

(47:19):
singular rookie, I do wonder what they're gonna do with
that opposite out, you know, boundary corner position overall, Could
we see something like we saw week one against the
Rams in that twenty twenty two season, where all of
a sudden you had Kyer elim but actually the one
who started was Christian Benford because he won that at
least starting rep in camp over your first round pick.

(47:41):
I'm not saying that's gonna happen again because I'm all
in on Harriston, especially his play style opposite of Christian Benford.
It's a beautiful marriage in my eyes. It's but can
you see a reality where he's not necessarily getting one
hundred percent of the snaps or even seventy five percent.
Maybe he's getting a little bit under seventy five and
they still want to see what they got in a

(48:01):
Dorian Strong, Or if they're just not fully sold on
Harriston because he has a lot of rookie mistakes in him,
they bring in your Dane Jackson. I'm really hoping not this,
but they bring in your Dane Jackson just to be
the safe option on the opposite side. Or again, love
Trey White the guy and everything. I think his best
play as well behind him, you see someone like him
just to get some more safe and I keep using

(48:22):
air quotes for a very good reason, safe reps. Opposite
of Christian Benford. I cannot wait to watch this, And
again I always keep bringing up the parallels because I
really would love to see I want to see Harriston
get one hundred percent because he's just an absolute beast.
That's the A and B plan, but C plan to

(48:43):
me would be okay. We actually seem to have found
maybe potential another diamond in the rough than the late
round with Dorian Strong. Harriston's gonna get majority of the snaps,
but we got this guy that depending on what we're
trying to achieve defensively, he can do something just like
Benford opposite of Benford. That will be intriguing. And because
I keep bringing that up because even as you watch

(49:03):
Dorian Strong, it is scary how similar his tape looks
to a Christian Benford right now, the past couple of years,
it is scary how similar it is. And I personally
love that because it you can't have too many Christian Bedfords.
They're not athletic freaks, but boy do they just shut
down their side and do it sounding collectively, they are great,

(49:25):
great boundary corners that feel like there's not too many
Christian Benford level guys that just do their business quietly.
That I would be fascinated by what Dorian Strong can bring,
if he's anything at all.

Speaker 2 (49:37):
Yeah, I like the comparison to Benford because again, you
can never have too many stout corners in your room.
And with the way the Buffalo Bills have developed defensive
facts mostly you know, obviously Elam was kind of a
Iwam was kind of a sorry, I just got this comment,
did you leave the conclave? And for for background on
this Luca. When I did the draft live stream, my

(49:58):
setup wasn't set up yet it's still isn't, honestly, so
I did like a shitty green screen background, which it
was like with like a funeral home, and I ran
with it for six and a half hours. It was
the best decision I ever made because I was just
having so much fun with the chat. It got called
the brothel, it got called the cigar lounge, it got
called Podwarts, gryffindor everything, so that I just had to
call that out because that was a fun time. But

(50:20):
I like the comparison because I think again stout technique heavy,
not world beating athleticism, but just able to make a
play with good processing is never anything you can have
too much of, and it's a great way to round
out your room. Wow, guys that are more not even projects,
but like athletic guys that maybe need to refine their
game a little bit more can work into and rotate into.

(50:41):
And I think that was the vision originally with Kyer
Elam was we feel comfortable Bedford's floor enough where we
don't need to rush him. Benford just molded into his
own and ended up becoming a really good corner that
got an extension in Elum. Never panned out, I hope,
and I don't think it's going to be the same
or like it's gonna end up as a one for
one situation with Hair. I think Harston is coming from

(51:01):
a more similar system. I think Harston is someone that
went at least just a zone corner to start is
going to do quite well. It's really the man coverage
chops that I have more concerns about in the frame.
But again, like he has you know, reached, he has length,
he has ball skills, he has speed, So those traits
are there to mold into man where at least he
could be a good enough man corner.

Speaker 1 (51:20):
And I feel really comfortable with kind of saying.

Speaker 2 (51:22):
I think he's going to get one of the top spots,
if not the de facto CB two across from Benford,
but the back end of the room. Like you brought
up Dane Jackson, who the Bills know him, he has
scheme familiarity.

Speaker 1 (51:33):
Fans were not happy.

Speaker 2 (51:35):
I was not mad at it because I viewed it
as he is going to compete in camp for a spot,
and if he doesn't get it, it means someone beat
him for the spot, which is a good thing, and
we need to stop losing sleep over Dan Jackson signing
a one year contract with the Buffalo Bills. And if
Dan Jackson wins it, but it's a crowded room, guess what,
he played well enough to get the spot as the

(51:55):
final boundary corner on your team that you hope barely
sees the light of day or play special teams.

Speaker 1 (52:01):
If they make him do that.

Speaker 2 (52:02):
With the top half of the room, I think it's
likely that you're going to see it as status quo. Benford, Harriston,
and then I think Trey White as you're three as
strong as you're four, and the reason, well, you know,
Teraren Johnson. I'm excluding this talking purely Boundrake because obviously
Johnson spots solidified. But I think with Trey White he
played better last year. He's vet presence scheme. Familiarity is

(52:25):
a big thing. If you feel like you want to
go with the VET over the rook, I do get it,
and I could see Trey White being their primary rotational
guy with limited snaps but still has all the juice
to be a good coverage corner. And again, like he
got demonized and people thought he was done in the
in when he was in the Rams defense, and obviously
it wasn't going well.

Speaker 1 (52:43):
I think it was just a mismatch. But I think
that Tray White got.

Speaker 2 (52:47):
A lot better over the year, and I think he
does have a future with this team that isn't just
like camp body. I think he is going to play,
and I think that for that reason, I feel comfortable
with him being CV three and eventually maybe going down
the pet going down the path till later on death
if Strong ends up being something more than just like
another deaf body but actually has like the chops that

(53:08):
Benford might have had when he was coming out, and
you feel comfortable, so corner room, I really just want
to know what the back end looks like. And also
Brandon Codrington, who I count as corner but we haven't
really mentioned much of and his name circulates all the
time because of the impending returner battle. This might be reductive.
I could be wrong. I open myself to being wrong.
I don't think he's losing his role. I don't think

(53:29):
he's losing that specialist role. I just don't see why
you would. He had an injury at the end of
the year that derailed him in the playoffs and then
didn't come back for the playoffs, but that was also
because he wasn't one hundred percent and maybe they had
a new thing going and they didn't want to interrupt
it because they needed to have it in place with
you gear. But before that, he was a very big
threat as a returner, and I really liked him as

(53:50):
a returner, and I felt safe and comfortable with him
as a returner, and we traded for him.

Speaker 1 (53:54):
And he's a rookie, so or was a rookie.

Speaker 2 (53:57):
I don't think I want to give that up, and
I don't think I want to move on from Coddrington.
I think I want to keep him and I think
I want to keep him in that role. So I'm
sorry to the like Chult Truthers or like the Elijah
war returns or whatever, like.

Speaker 1 (54:09):
I want Condroyton to be that guy.

Speaker 2 (54:10):
Like I don't really have an opinion otherwise, Like, I
think that's my guy.

Speaker 1 (54:14):
What do you think?

Speaker 3 (54:15):
Uh Man? The Channelt Truthers thing just gave me shivers.
I do not need to see Kyle oh boy, No no, no, no, no, no, yeah,
I'm I'm okay with Codrington. I this this safe comment
is perfect. Before he was getting scratched, you know, due
to injury and then just scratched going into playoffs. You know,
when he was your primary returner, you did feel safe

(54:37):
and he did have a couple of pops there and
even you felt like you had something there. I will
say it does it sucks that he takes up a
defensive back spot overall on your roster construction to make
it happen. It feels like and I say that only
because the brief moments you saw him even play any
sort of defensive back. Of course, we're in blowout games

(54:59):
that don't matter at the end of you know, whatever
it was, but he's getting mossed by your Alec Pierce
in garbage time or whatever it is, and it's like, okay,
this guy can't actually play corner at all. But it's
it's okay because if he has to do that, it's
probably a lost cause at that point or you're already
blowing out the team that the game's over and it
doesn't matter anyways. So that's that's where it's like, it
does suck. It takes up one of those spots for

(55:21):
you on your roster, but overall, the comfort blanket that
he is in the return game is enough for me
to go and justify, yes, this is worth it. Everything's fine.
I will say, there will be one eye a little
bit in camp and everything like that on Daykon Hardy
and if anything can transpire there, just because he's someone
that fascinates me myself. Honestly, it's just it's the Terence

(55:43):
McGee fan and me that just wants to see someone
like a Dayquon Hardy work out. But that would be
that's the individual I look at a lot more than
Lafiscus Chanol to maybe be someone that could threaten Codrington's
role on this team because at least daikon Hardy, at
least it seemed in very very brief glimpses, has some

(56:04):
sort of ability to play defensive back and corner and everything.
So let's see what comes with that. If nothing comes
with that, it is what it is. And you have Codrington.
He is your safety blanket. But Hardy's deacon. Hardy's kind
of the guy I have my eye to on. If
Codrington isn't the answer, what is?

Speaker 2 (56:21):
Yeah? And I liked Hardy in preseason last year, and
I wonder if there's a place for him in this room.
It is again another very crowded room with a lot
of justification for a lot of different players. If Hardy
can take on the return role but then be a
backup Nickel, that's awesome. But then you ask yourself and
I'll transition over to the safety room because that's just
where I have a misted even though he's an all
around dB. But Jordan Hancock, you know, what is the

(56:43):
outcome for him? Do you actually think he is truly
a deaf safety? And then does he take Cam Lewis's
spot safety? I think with Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop.
That seems to be the pairing. I think that's what
they're going to go with. The question I have is
behind them immediately, and do you think Derek Forrest has
life on this roster as a true safety three, maybe
even safety two if they feel like that veteran experience

(57:04):
he has gets him to a spot where he's gonna
end up playing real snaps. And then is DeMar Hamlin
an expendable spot? Is cam Lewis an expendable spot to
shoe in the versatile Jordan Hancock, who can line up
in a bunch of places. Do you almost feel like
that maybe they go with like one less body to
add to the corner room, Like what do you think
about safety? And this will be the final defensive group

(57:25):
we cover safety?

Speaker 3 (57:27):
Safety is an interesting one in the sense of I
do believe that Jordan Hancock cam Lewis dynamic is the
one to watch there. Cam lewis as great as a
servant as he's been for a long time for this team.
He's starting to get to that back end now. I
believe he's gonna be twenty nine once the season starts,
he'll be He'll be approaching it. If he's not, I
believe he's twenty eight at the moment, it's he's been

(57:50):
okay and been great. And again I love to call
him a game day servant because he is that dude
that is game day active, because he can get you
out in a pinch if injuries, strong or whatever the
situation is at Nickel, at safety whatever, he can play
that versatile role. That's what Jordan Hancock can be. Though.
So if as long as Jordan Hancock it has, you know,

(58:12):
a brain on him that is able to understand what
is going on defensively in this room. From there, I
would just lean to the youth and in the possible
athleticism and dynamic that he could bring additional to what
cam Lewis gives you. That it's that would be your
fourth safety. The now I say fourth safety because of

(58:33):
course the other three are Wrap Hamlin and Cole Bishop.
I really want to see Cole Bishop get get propelled
into that starting role where he gets in over either
Hamlin or Rap I'm curious to see where that goes. Honestly,
I'm not sure which role he would go in. I

(58:54):
personally would prefer him over Hamlin, but again that's just
me talking from an outsider. We will time will tell
on what their role for him will be, but I
would love to see him make that jump this year.
And we've seen a lot of Day two picks in
the past, although primary linebackers where they are rough their
rookie year, you know, they're not getting a lot of
starting reps, and all of a sudden, one offseason they

(59:15):
figure it all out. Babbage and McDermott do their work
and boom, they are a great starting caliber player for
this defense moving forward. I'm really hoping for that jump
for Cole Bishop this year, that it can kind of
elevate that safety group from what we had last season.
And I think Bishop, you know, when you're talking about
the concerns over who plays the deeper safety role, or
who plays the one eye, or who do you trust
as like a field general, I think they want Bishop

(59:37):
to do that, and I think they trust Bishop's athleticism
to develop into that with their development, of course, their
approach to it.

Speaker 2 (59:45):
I just wonder if that's going to translate in year two.
It's a very difficult position to learn in the Bills defense,
So how do you actually get him up to speed
and acclimated. He has another year he showed some flashes
last year. I really like Cole Bishop and I like
his profile, so I'm hoping he could take that because
it also makes me feel better about Taylor Rep. And
Taylor Rep playing a bit more of a strong safety role.

(01:00:05):
They rotate everybody right, They're gonna move him around the field,
But Taylor Rep. Playing closer to the liner in the boxer,
closer up a little more often feels better in a
world I'd like to live in, just for how hard
of a hit or he is, how aggressive he is,
like the tenacious way he plays feels better suited for that.
But he made plays in the de paps yes last
year too, So I mean, I'm not totally opposed. I
think Derek Forrest really is the outlier in the one,

(01:00:28):
like when I'm questioning the room itself, like I think
Hancock makes it. I think that the versatility is basically
a one for one can Lewis replacement. I think they'll
move on and put Hancock in that spot. But Forrest,
to me is what is the ceiling? Like he's on
a one year deal, but with starting experience and good
tape from Washington, is this the player you feel that
you could bring in and ultimately you have a player

(01:00:48):
that kind of shores up as like that true immediate
backup safety or maybe even a starter, and do you
trust him. Like That's what I'm going to be watching
for in camp because I think getting that in free
agency for such reasonable value will make you feel a
lot more comfortable with the safety room, and in turn,
it's just a room that again a lot of people,
myself included, want them to address in the draft. They
kind of did it, but I think, like when you

(01:01:11):
talk about like going for someone like a Kevin Winston
or an Xavier Watts or a Malachi Starks, like that's
kind of what everyone envisioned, and they didn't do it.
And it's clear that right now they're showing confidence in
the room by keeping it as this, unless they go
and sign like Justin Simmons after the show, which would
be totally on brand for something to happen right after
I go live, because it seems to happen every single
damn time, like literally, like a few weeks ago, or

(01:01:33):
like free agency. Joey Bosa signed on ant show right
after this, and I went live saying I like Hoyle,
I like I like at the time I think it
was Palmer and Hoy only I'm like, I'm curious to
see what else they do for the line then immediately
after so I was like, of course, So I do
think that he is an X factor for the safety room,
especially because, like people have said in the chat, and

(01:01:55):
people have worried Taylor Rap does tend to get banged up,
safety is and physical position. Is he good enough to
kind of take a spot over? And could that be
as early as training camp? Could that be in the
first few weeks? Like, I want to see that. And
I think that the safety room, I didn't think it
was as bad as people made it out to be
last year.

Speaker 1 (01:02:13):
I didn't think it was great.

Speaker 2 (01:02:14):
I would like the athleticism of the room to kind
of grow, and I think you get that with Forrest.
I think Hamlin sometimes, like in coverage, just didn't look
like he could keep up with some of the more
you know, high end talent, the faster guys, the quick
cutter guys, And I think Forrest has that ability to
And I think if you can get him to stay
healthy and you know, really transition to this defense, that

(01:02:34):
could be an actual, really great value signing for the
bills that provides impact, so I'm cool with it. I'm
excited to see how it shakes out. But ultimately, the
defense is, in my opinion, just on paper. Positions have
been improved and I'm excited to see what the competition
looks like. And that's kind of where I'm gonna leave it. Luca,
any final thoughts on this defense before we sign off tonight.

Speaker 3 (01:02:54):
No to the safety point and everything. Last year, I
don't believe it was as bad either. It's just the
natural thing. You went from two all pros being back
there for so long and giving you such consistently high play.
There's a fall off of that. That is what you saw.
It wasn't play to the field. It was just play
to what you were used to in the standard you were,

(01:03:14):
you know, maybe not even appreciating the level of how
high end those safeties were. The defense, it's going to
be all eyes on it when it comes to the offseason.
That is, that is for sure, and Brandon being made
sure of it through his draft that Hey, all the
discussion needs to be about the defense. Let the offense
just continue to be their thing and they will be

(01:03:36):
a Okay.

Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
Yeah, I think the philosophy didn't need to change. On offense,
I think they just did a few pieces and that's
exactly what they did and I feel comfortable with that.
And then defensively they needed to rework. They just they
got out of a lot of bodies that were here
for a long time, and there's a lot of transition
like last year, and this is part of it. They
get a lot of new features in the room, a
lot of different types of skill sets. Athleticism seems to

(01:03:59):
be off the charts with who they've taken and it's
going to lead to a lot of interesting questions and
really goal of this episode again just to ask those
as we go into the weeds of the summer and
when we get to training camp. Some of the questions
we had, what is that? How do they get answered?
You know, like what can we sit here and say
I'm going to be keeping my eyes on closely and
really these d line battles, the secondary battles towards the

(01:04:19):
back end, which I love every year, but especially this
year when it seems like you have an abundance of
justifiable roster options.

Speaker 1 (01:04:24):
That's what I'm gonna be watching for.

Speaker 2 (01:04:26):
And I think that as far as anything else, when
it comes to questions like we didn't even talk about
special teams. But it's really Punter Palooza with Jay Kmarta
and Brad Robbins. So we'll see man. But otherwise I
got nothing else. Luca, thank you so much for being here.
I appreciate you as always. Guys again bill Chat. These

(01:04:47):
guys do great work. They've been very good friends of
the show, very approachable, awesome people, great follow on Twitter,
both of them. Tell them what you got going on, man,
I mean, tell them about the show, tell them what's
going on in your world that they could check out.

Speaker 3 (01:04:57):
Yeah, no, I mean we Josh, my co host here,
who's not here. He runs our Twitter account. You can
find us at bills Chat Pod. I will say we
are doing a giveaway right now. We're so close to
five hundred subs on just our own independent YouTube we've
been trying to grow. We're only fifty away. Once we
hit five hundred, we will be giving away a signed

(01:05:17):
I don't have it hear me signed many Keihan Coleman
helmet that I was able to acquire. We're giving that
away to one person once we hit five hundred. All
you got to do well, you can find out what
you can do at our Twitter, but realistically, just subscribe
to our YouTube, leave a comment on our tweet where
we're doing the giveaway, find us at Twitter at Bill's

(01:05:38):
chat pod you can enter there. Like I said, we're
only fifty away from that, so hopefully that comes soon.
We just appreciate everyone that's been watching us through and honestly,
any revenue, any money we get in, we always like
to just give back because we do it for fun.
We call it good therapy. That's what a honestly is.
It's fandom therapy, and we enjoy it and we enjoy Yeah, Joe,

(01:05:58):
You've been great to us and everything like that, So
anytime you reach out to us, we always like to
try to come on and just kind of give our
two cents on everything as we have a good conversation
every time.

Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
Absolutely, your two cents are worth one thousand, maybe even more,
and I appreciate you immenseally.

Speaker 1 (01:06:13):
Man. It's always fun talking to you. Again.

Speaker 2 (01:06:15):
Check out the show, guys, It's very worth your time
if you're a Bills fan and follow Bill's Chat on
Twitter because they're always firing awful lot of takes on
I align with most of them. I don't want that
to sound like controversial or anything. I just you guys
are cranking it out. You guys are active, and I
appreciate that. So thank you again for all of you
that tuned in tonight. I appreciate you. Thank you so much.
Thank you for the super Chat. Just a tipic cane.

(01:06:35):
If you are new here, feel free to drop a like,
sharecover one this show, the other shows in our network.
Bill's Chat with all your Bills fan friends and let
them know what's going on in the content creation community.

Speaker 1 (01:06:45):
The draft might be over, but the train never stops.

Speaker 2 (01:06:48):
We got plenty more comment As I mentioned last week,
I have AFC preview episodes coming up that I'm super
excited about. I got my started next week for the
AFC South, so stay tuned for that. Otherwise, keep your
eyes out. We don't fall into the sauce too much
with the wide receiver talk. Don't give up on Dwayne Carter,
Eat a strawberry and crustable, and keep these questions in
your mind. For training camp, guys, there's a lot of

(01:07:08):
interesting battles you can look forward to watching, and I
think this is a time where it's truly going to
be best of the best refined back end of the
defense with a lot of youth infusion that I'm so
pumped for because it's needed to happen, and I think
we could be on the cusp of something really great
on defense or not, we'll see, but that's to be
answered in training camp. The questions are posed tonight, and

(01:07:30):
for tonight's episode, they say, take care everybody, have a
great rest of your evening, enjoy your Tuesday. Stick around
because at nine pm you can find Anthony Prohasko Live
with Disguis Coverage to talk more about the defense if
you're interested. I know we had a few people in
the chat talking about safeties, talking about everything. Stay tuned,
don't close your YouTube out, get a snack, come back
and check it out. But for us, we are done

(01:07:51):
until next week. As always, go Bills, see you soon, everybody,

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Early Questions About the Buffalo Bills' 2025-26 Roster! | Under Review