PODCAST: Grading the Bills’ 2020 NFL Draft haul

Kyle Silagyi is joined by McKenna Middlebrook and Justin DiLoro to grade the Buffalo Bills’ haul in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Despite not making a selection on the first night of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills were still able to construct a solid haul throughout the three-day event, adding talent and potential at a number of positions of need.

Headling Buffalo’s class is Iowa defender A.J. Epenesa, a first-round caliber player whom the Bills selected with pick No. 54. The team followed that pick up with the selection of Zack Moss, a Utah running back who will serve as a complementary back to Devin Singletary straight away. The Bills added to the receiving corps on day three in addition to selecting Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, an intelligent signal-caller who led the Bulldogs to an SEC Championship in his true freshman season.

On this episode of The Kyle Silagyi Variety Hour, host Kyle Silagyi is joined by BillsWire staff writers Justin DiLoro and McKenna Middlebrook to grade Buffalo’s picks in the 2020 drafts. They also discuss a few of the crazier draft picks made around the league.

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High praise for Bills picks from Draft Wire

Draft Wire on the Buffalo Bills 2020 picks.

Draft Wire only gave the Buffalo Bills a mark of “B” for their 2020 NFL Draft work. Still, the outlet was very impressed with Buffalo’s haul at last week’s event.

Here’s how Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling breaks it down:

Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa was a bargain in the back half of the second round, and landing Utah running back Zack Moss in the third round gives the Bills a tough, physical runner who is the perfect complement to Devin Singletary.

Value and depth was the name of the game for Buffalo on Day 3, grabbing two dynamic pass-catchers in UCF’s Gabriel Davis and Oregon State’s Isaiah Hodgins, while also getting a high-floor quarterback prospect in Georgia’s Jake Fromm much later than he was expected to come off the board. Georgia Southern’s Tyler Bass was arguably the best kicker in the class, and Pitt’s Dane Jackson was one of the Senior Bowl’s most impressive corners.

Really there’s no negative praise for the Bills here. Perhaps Draft Wire wanted some better quality receivers for the team after this draft, but Buffalo did address the lack of size in their receiver room in Davis and Hodgins. The rest of DW’s breakdown is pretty status quo. The Bills added depth and their lone Day 1 impact player might be Moss.

Overall, Draft Wire only pegged Buffalo’s draft as the third-best in the AFC East. The Dolphins and Jets both landed in A-territory while the Patriots bring up the rear with a C-plus mark.

 

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Bills add OL in The Athletic’s way-too-early 2021 NFL mock draft

The Athletic had some fun and looked way, way ahead in a way-too-early 2021 mock draft. In that, the Bills, picking No. 20 overall land an offensive lineman.

The 2020 NFL Draft is over, so who could the Buffalo Bills take with their next selection? You know, the team’s next one at the 2021 NFL Draft?

The Athletic had some fun and looked way, way ahead in a way-too-early 2021 mock draft. In that, the Bills, picking No. 20 overall, land an offensive lineman.

Here’s how draft insider Dane Brugler breaks it down:

20. Buffalo Bills — *Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas
Cosmi has some anchor strength questions, but he is quick out of his stance and stays square to rushers, marrying his hands and his eyes to stay busy. Last season, Cosmi vs. K’Lavon Chaisson was an interesting back-and-forth matchup with wins on both sides.

Obviously, a ton can change by next season. Buffalo’s second-round pick, AJ Epenesa, was the No. 6 overall pick in very early 2020 mock drafts and he ended up being a second-round pick. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow ended up being the easy No. 1 pick this year, too. That only came about after his stellar 2019 season.

But looking at Cosmi, his position could be on the Bills’ radar in a year from now. Buffalo is entering next season hoping continuity improves their offensive line, as all five starters return. It’s a good plan, but not a guarantee. Also, their offensive line was average. Two seasons ago the group was so bad that last year’s group seemed among the NFL’s best by comparison. But they were not.

Also worth noting: No. 20 overall? Buffalo is a playoff team. Starting next season the NFL will add two playoff teams, one per conference. That rule helps the Bills slide in via a wild card berth, but they ultimately lose that game.

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PFF label Bills 2020 draft among NFL’s best

Pro Football Focus thought a lot about the AFC East and their 2020 NFL Draft hauls. Among those were the Buffalo Bills. 

Pro Football Focus thought a lot about the AFC East and their 2020 NFL Draft hauls. Among those were the Buffalo Bills.

Overall, the Bills earned a grade of A-minus for their draft selections despite not having a first-round selection.

Here’s part of PFF’s breakdown on Buffalo’s draft:

Day 2: A.J.Epenesa, PFF’s 20th-ranked prospect and EDGE2, fell right into the Bills’ laps at pick No. 54. While there’s some concern with how his below-average athleticism and lack of burst off the line will translate to the NFL, we still very much viewed Epenesa as a first-round talent in this draft. He has incredible power and great versatility — he had a win rate of over 31% when rushing from the interior in 2019 (54 such reps).

There wasn’t a more elusive running back in the 2020 NFL Draft than Zack Moss. He broke 0.33 tackles per rush attempt ever since his emergence as a true sophomore in 2017 and has broken 33 tackles on 66 catches in his career. Moss isn’t going to wow you with his speed, but he does pretty much everything else at a high level. He was PFF’s RB2 and has the size, vision, hands and elusiveness to succeed in the NFL.

Day 3: It was a pretty big surprise to see Jake Fromm end up on the Buffalo Bills, but this was a great value pick. Fromm was PFF’s QB5 and 69th overall prospect in the class. He’s a “game-manager,” but he takes incredibly good care of the football and is a sharp decision-maker. In 2019, Fromm produced a turnover-worthy play rate that ranked fifth among FBS signal-callers and had just one turnover-worthy play on his 98 dropbacks under pressure. Josh Allen has a quality backup for the time being in Jake Fromm.

Along with Fromm is Day 3, the Bills also landed wide receiver Gabriel Davis before him in the fourth round. In Epenesa, Moss and Davis, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane admitted they were all “best player available” picks. That likely helps his team earn some high-praise from PFF and others.

Around the division, plenty of other good grades were handed out. The Dolphins also had an A-minus mark while the Jets hit a B-plus. The Patriots rounded things out with a B. Of course, all of these are taken with a grain of salt. Who knows how this will turn out for all of these players? They need to prove it on the field.

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BillsWire grades Buffalo’s selection of Georgia QB Jake Fromm

BillsWire gives Buffalo’s draft selection of Georgia QB Jake Fromm a grade.

Bills Wire has graded all of the team’s draft picks, including their round 5 selection of former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm.

Fromm was selected 167th, sliding a little bit further than expected. He was ranked as the top available player for be drafted for a while but was passed on due to specific positional needs for many teams.

The Bills pick came as a bit of a shocker, considering they likely have their franchise quarterback in Josh Allen, who is entering his 3rd season coming off of an AFC Wild Card loss.

BillsWire gave Buffalo a B for the Fromm pick.

They said his draft stock might have fallen a little bit due to his combine performance, but his in-game intelligence, solid career numbers and winning drive is what could make him look like a more attractive backup than Matt Barkley, who is signed through next year.

Brandon Beane reveals details about potential draft trade target

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane reveals information on a player he almost traded for at the 2020 NFL Draft.

At the 2020 NFL Draft, the Bills made seven picks. Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane always loves to have as many selections as he can, but even Beane was surprised his did not end up packaging some together in a trade.

“I’m always a curveball pitcher; today I just threw fastballs, just to give everybody something a little different,” Beane said Saturday. “I would have lost a lot of money saying the Buffalo Bills wouldn’t have done some type of trade.”

During his first draft with the Bills in 2018, Beane made moves. In 2017 prior to his arrival, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott was with the Bills when the club made draft day deals.

But Beane did admit he was close two times.

“Two trades almost happened,” Beane said. “I was on a player that got selected three or four slots ahead of one of our picks. I was on with a team from the NFC and we had pretty much worked out the parameters for that move. And while I was talking to that GM, the player got selected.”

And on the other, Beane said no to moving back.

“There was one other time where we almost moved down in the round. But they were looking (to give) a future pick, and it wasn’t enough value for me. I liked what we had on the board vs. moving back. It was about 10 or 12 spots. We were going to get a future pick, but I just didn’t feel they were giving us enough,” Beane said.

In regard to that first potential trade, Beane revealed on the team’s radio station, WGR-550 on Monday, some details about that. He didn’t give a name, but did say he wanted an offensive lineman.

“I was on the clock with an NFC GM. It was about three picks away. There an offensive lineman on the board, I was calling this GM and we were kind of working out the parameters,” Beabe said. “That happened, I was literally talking to the GM and welp… we’re out. The guy that we were trading for got taken.”

Offensive line is an interesting mention because the Bills ended up not drafting one at all. From the sounds of piecing Beane’s thoughts together, it was probably a Day 3 pick. With AJ Epenesa and Zack Moss in Day 2, Beane’s post-draft sentiments have mostly been about targeting those guys with their picks the whole time. The GM did admit he thought about adding O-line in Round 4 instead of wide receiver Gabriel Davis, but he opted for Davis as he was his best-player available.

Taking a quick look at the final draft results. Some names to consider: North Carolina’s Charlie Heck went to the Texans two picks before Davis in the fourth round. In the sixth round, Oregon State’s Blake Brandel went to the Vikings four picks before Buffalo selected receiver Isaiah Hodgins.

One of those two could be the likely target Beane wanted because he later went on to call seventh-round pick Dane Jackson a “need” pick, citing a desire to add a cornerback in the draft. Plus no offensive linemen were selected before Jackson.

 

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PODCAST: Bills 2020 Draft recap; How’d they do?

Buffalo Bills Wire podcast on the Buffalo Bills and 2020 NFL Draft.

For the first time in seemingly forever, the Buffalo Bills entered a NFL Draft without much need for urgency.

Of course, you want to hit at every pick, but it was nice to know that the future of the team didn’t ultimately depend on any selections made in this 2020 draft.

Utilizing their seven draft picks, Beane acquired it’s highest priority, a second running back to complement Devin Singletary. He also grabbed depth at receiver, adding two pieces to aide join the likes of Diggs, Beasley, Brown and others. A quality prospect for the defensive line, and a cornerback were sprinkled in as well.

Perhaps the most surprising choices were quarterback Jake Fromm and kicker Tyler Bass. Those two choices have been quite the discussion topic in the stratosphere of Buffalo social media. Regardless of what side you are on, how long has it’s been since the Bills could get away with something like this? It’s a good feeling.

Billswire Podcast Hosts Matt Johnson and Jeremy Juhasz recap the weekend, and discuss the newest acquisitions:

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10 takeaways from the Bills’ 2020 NFL Draft

Takeaways from the 2020 NFL Draft and the Buffalo Bills.

The 2020 NFL Draft has passed.

The Buffalo Bills made their picks and have a whole new slew of players joining their team. So of course there’s some things to consider.

Here are 10 takeaways from the Bills’ work at the 2020 draft:

In a photo provided by ESPN Images, the draft board is seen before the start of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2020, in Bristol, Conn. (Allen Kee/ESPN Images via AP)

Bring AJ along slowly

AJ Epenesa started things off for the Bills in terms of players picked. As a second-round pick that had a Day 1 grade from many draft analysts and outlets alike, Epenesa could come to Orchard Park and make a near immediate impact.

But don’t expect it.

Epenesa enters a veteran room. At the top is Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison. Both of those guys have some juice left in the tank, but they’re veterans and well over 30 already. Epenesa will see the field, just not as much. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott runs a rotation along his defensive line, with the starters seeing about a 60-70 percent of snaps in games. Epenesa will get the opposite and then in the future will be in-line for more. No pressure for the rookie to produce right away.

 

Bills GM on Jake Fromm: ‘He’ll have to earn a spot’

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane says former Georgia football QB Jake Fromm will have to ‘earn a spot’.

The Buffalo Bills selected Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm with 167th pick in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, which was not expected by many.

Fromm remained the best available player on the board for a while, but many teams needed other positions filled rather than a quarterback and passed on him.

The Bills were thought to be one of the teams who would pass on Fromm, with a rising star quarterback in Josh Allen on their roster, but Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane just couldn’t pass on Fromm so late.

“I wouldn’t have told you going into the day that (Fromm) was on our radar. But we had him in a spot that you just can’t ignore,” said Beane.

“He’s a winner at the highest level of college. He’s got all the intangibles.”

Allen just came off his sophomore season, throwing for 3,089 yards, 20 touchdowns and 9 interceptions on 58.8% completion percentage.  He led the Bills to the playoffs on a 10-6 season, where they lost in the AFC Wild Card game to the Houston Texans 22-19.

On top of that, Buffalo has also recently extended its backup QB Matt Barkley.

“He’ll have to earn a spot,” Beane said. “I don’t know if he could knock Matt Barkley.”

It will be interesting to see how the situation with Fromm unravels in Buffalo, but it is obvious the organization sees something they like in him.  Fromm will have an equal opportunity to earn his spot and only time will tell what happens, but the Bills stole a great QB late in the draft.

AJ Epenesa looks excited to join the Bills

Buffalo Bills’ AJ Epenesa shared 2020 NFL Draft excitement.

AJ Epenesa was tabbed by the Buffalo Bills as their top-pick at the 2020 NFL Draft. The Bills picked him up with the No. 54 overall selection in the second round, making him their first draft pick during the event since they didn’t have a first rounder.

At one point, Epenesa was tabbed as a first-round talent, but the Bills saw him stumble in their lap.

After being selected by the Bills, Epenesa took to his social media to share his excitement.

On Instagram, Epenesa had a nice photoshop job done to his jersey here:

View this post on Instagram

Bills Mafia!!!!

A post shared by AJ Epenesa (@supersamoan94) on

 

While on Twitter, Epenesa shouted out his new fans:

 

 

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