Tag: John Brown

What Stefon Diggs said about Bills’ Josh Allen (video)

Stefon Diggs on Instagram discussing Josh Allen, John Brown, Cole Beasley, Buffalo Bills teammates.

It already seemed like new Bills wide reciever Stefon Diggs liked what he saw in his teammate Josh Allen after the two exchanged some conversation on Twitter.

Now the playmaker has confirmed those good vibes about Allen, along with some of his other teammates.

The 26-year-old is practicing his quarantine skills, but like the rest of us, has some extra free time to kill now. With that time, Diggs went on his social media page on Instagram and shot a live video, taking questions from fans.

While doing so, he raved about some of the guys he’ll be lining up with at New Era Field this fall.

Diggs called John Brown a “baller” and says he knows all about Cole Beasley as well. On his QB, even more pumping up.

“I think he a baller, I think he’s a dog, too,” Diggs said.

Check out Diggs’ full video below:

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Ranking the Bills’ needs after first wave of free agency

With all those moves in mind and as the second week of free agency gets underway, here’s an updated ranking of the Bills’ needs and the offseason rolls on:

The Buffalo Bills attacked the first wave of free agency harder than a lot of teams in the NFL. Not only did the Bills sign unrestricted free agents, but the club retained a few of their own players and traded for wide receiver Stefon Diggs as well.

Among the Bills’ actual free agent additions were defensive end Mario Addison, linebacker AJ Klein and defensive tackle Vernon Butler.

With all those moves in mind and as the second week of free agency gets underway, here’s an updated ranking of the Bills’ needs and the offseason rolls on:

Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes. Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

1. Defensive end

We’ll start here: A big plus is the Bills really don’t have any glaring needs left on their roster at this point, but let’s start at edge defender.

As mentioned, Addison was added to the Bills’ rotation along their defensive line. Addison is a fantastic story, going from UDFA 10 years ago to a player who had 9.5 sacks last season and at least nine, in total, each of the last four seasons. But what makes this need still high for the Bills is his age.

It’s just a number and there’s reason for optimism that Addison will help Buffalo’s pass rush in 2020, but he’s 32. He joins a group of players who also aren’t exactly youthful either in Jerry Hughes (31) and Trent Murphy (29). Behind those very raw prospects in Mike Love (26), Jonathan Woodard (26) and Darryl Johnson (22).

While the NFL is still in the thick of free agency, the Bills likely won’t address this need until the NFL draft. If you find a “youthful” prospect in free agency, that player is usually 24 or 25. Such players, like Yannick Ngakoue or Jadeveon Clowney, are young, but also entering the prime of their careers and will cost the Bills a lot more than say, a second or third round rookie that can play a rotational role and learn behind Hughes and Addison.

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Stefon Diggs makes quarterbacks better. Can he do the same for Josh Allen?

The Bills went all-in on their passing game with a monster trade for Stefon Diggs. QB Josh Allen must match the excellence of his targets.

Just when you thought the first day of the 2020 illegal tampering period was over, the NFL pulled you right back in.

This is a big haul for a major receiver, especially in the wake of the utter larceny the Cardinals performed on the Texans for DeAndre Hopkins earlier in the day. It also satisfies perhaps the Bills’ biggest need — an alpha receiver to put with John Brown, perhaps the NFL’s most underrated receiver in 2019, and slot man Cole Beasley. Last season, Brown caught 72 passes on 115 targets for 1,060 yards and six touchdowns as Buffalo’s primary receiver. With Diggs now on board, Brown’s route neatness becomes a force multiplier, because covering Diggs as the true No. 1 receiver on every play will be Job 1 for every opposing defense.

Diggs caught 63 passes on 94 targets for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns last season, averaging 17.9 yards per catch. With Adam Thielen as his bookend, Diggs became even more what he had been before — one of the most dominant deep receivers in the league.

This 41-yard touchdown catch in the Vikings’ divisional round loss to the 49ers is an excellent example of how Diggs can demolish a defense. Watch how he turns Richard Sherman, still one of the NFL’s best boundary cornerbacks, around on this play. Sherman thinks he has inside position… and then, he doesn’t.

Because he’s a great deep receiver, Diggs made Kirk Cousins a better deep thrower. Now, it will be Diggs’ job to do the same with Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who is still a work in progress with the subtleties of the position. In 2018, Allen completed 58.8% of his passes for 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and he imploded in Buffalo’s wild-card loss to the Texans. There, the ostensible deep thrower was muted for just 264 yards on 46 attempts, and he unleashed some howlers in the approximate direction of his own targets.

Obviously, Diggs is going to go up for a contested catch with more dynamism than a fullback on a deep route, but the point remains — with this trade, the Bills have exercised both a great deal of faith in their young quarterback, and they’ve pulled any remaining excuse card when it comes to Allen’s development. With Diggs, Brown, Beasley, receiving back Devin Singletary, and ascending tight end Dawson Knox, the Bills now have one of the best and brightest receiver corps in the NFL. It will be up to Allen to match that luster with his own play.

Ravens earn 2 compensatory picks in 2020 NFL Draft

The Baltimore Ravens lost a wealth of talent last offseason and only get a third- and fourth-round compensatory picks in the 2020 NFL Draft

We now have the full 2020 NFL Draft order after the league announced the list of compensatory picks handed out. The Baltimore Ravens continued their tradition of gaming the system to get extra draft picks, earning third- and fourth-round selections in this year’s draft.

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Ravens will gain the No. 106 (No. 42 in the third round) and the No. 143 (No. 37 in the fourth round) overall picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Though the Ravens earned two additional selections in the 2020 NFL Draft, it’s hard to see Baltimore as winners here.

The Ravens lost a lot of upper-end talent last offseason, seeing C.J. Mosley, Za’Darius Smith, Terrell Suggs and John Brown all leave in free agency. Both Mosley and Smith signed massive deals Baltimore simply couldn’t come close to matching, leaving huge holes on their defense that had to ultimately be filled with mid-season free-agent additions. Even though the Ravens finished with a 14-2 record, the lack of consistency at inside linebacker and any pass rush plagued the defense all season long.

Signing safety Earl Thomas and running back Mark Ingram canceled out two of their four losses on the compensatory pick formula. But there was hope Baltimore would still be in the running for at least one third-round selection to recoup from the massive losses of Smith and Mosley. However, Mosley missed all but two games last season with a groin injury, sending him to injured reserve in December.

It will be interesting to see if Baltimore changes its philosophy on compensatory picks after such a rough offseason. General manager Eric DeCosta has a tough decision with outside linebacker Matthew Judon, much like he had last offseason. After getting burned on comp picks, it could push DeCosta and the Ravens to trade Judon for a guaranteed pick if they feel they won’t be able to re-sign him instead of trying to match his value on the free-agent market. Of course, the franchise tag is also in play this offseason for Judon, which might give Baltimore enough leverage to re-sign him instead of letting it play out on the open market or through a trade.

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8 takeaways from Bills’ Sean McDermott at the NFL Combine

Takeaways from Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott at the 2020 NFL Combine.

The 2020 NFL Scouting Combine is underway from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Among those representing the Buffalo Bills at the yearly prospect event are general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott.

The front office duo spoke to reporters on Tuesday and discussed a variety of topics in regard to the organization.

Here are eight takeaways from McDermott at the combine:

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Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

How much has Texans loss affected you?

The last time we saw McDermott, he was only shortly removed from his last game as an NFL head coach in the Wild Card round against the Texans. The Bills lost that one in overtime. Moving forward, will the Bills take anything from that game to improve?

Sure, McDermott said, but also, not really.

Referring to his experience, McDermott said he knows the NFL isn’t a league you make knee-jerk reactions in.

“I’ve been around enough playoff experiences, wins and losses on both sides, or coming up short in the Super Bowl, to know that, you have to be aware of what happened, and overall, and why. But again, overall, this will be a new season. We’ve got to flush last year. Take what we felt like worked as we continue to look forward and build. But at the same time, this will be a new football team in 2020,” McDermott said.

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Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay explore Bills offseason plans

Mel Kiper, Jr. and Todd McShay explored Buffalo’s draft plan at this point in the offseason.

With just two weeks until the start of NFL Scouting Combine, the draft hype is just starting to heat up. ESPN’s First Draft Podcast took a look at the future of the Bills and how the team can push its way to the top of the AFC East.

Analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. gave a shoutout to quarterback Josh Allen as the central piece for the Bills success. “They are, and they’re a team that is not going away as long as Allen can play.”  Kiper, who challenged his colleague Todd McShay about his view on Allen, highlighted the quarterback is far from perfect, but the intangibles more than makeup for the sometimes questionable decisions. Kiper added, “The players love him. They’ll go through a wall for this guy on offense and defense. I’ve never seen a team go to bat for their quarterback as much as these guys have.”

Kiper continued, “He [Allen] improved in every category dramatically from his rookie year.” Allen increased his yards passing per game by 20 yards and doubled his touchdown production all while limiting the number of interceptions thrown. This is the growth that the team expected when he was drafted seventh overall in the 2018 draft.

Kiper, Jr. brought it back to how the team can help Allen improve. “One thing that Allen needs is a bigger target. You’ve got Cole Beasley, a really good player, slot guy, and you’ve got John Brown, a really good player.” However, Kiper sees the absence of a big target for Allen. “But when you got to get a mismatch, who are you throwing to?”

Kiper,Jr.  added that the Bills have constructed a deep roster, possible one of the stronger groups in the league. “They got the cornerstone player in Josh [Allen], they got the cornerstone player on defense in [Tremaine] Edmunds, they got a shutdown corner in [Tre’Davious] White, Oliver could be really good along the interior, and they’ve got a lot of nice pieces in place.”

While discussing young quarterbacks in the AFC East, McShay made a plea that New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold has “a chance at being one of the three-or-four best quarterbacks in the league.”

Kiper, Jr.’s response: “I think Josh Allen does as well.”

Buffalo will look to supplement Allen with additional skill players this offseason. Both analysts, while they disagree on Allen, believe wide receiver is a need in the draft.

Kiper, Jr. mentioned all of the top wide receivers as options at the 22nd spot in the draft.  Colorado’s Levisha Shenault and Clemson’s Tee Higgins were options named at this point.

McShay, for his part, shared there will be talent on day two of the draft at the wide receiver position. “Don’t force it the first round” was McShay’s advice. The analyst revealed that if an edge rusher is available at the No. 22 spot, the Bills could wait on the receiver until the second round. McShay shared that Arizona State’s Brandon Aiyuk, Florida’s Van Jefferson, and USC’s Michael Pittman could be viable options of day two for the Bills.

The NFL Draft Combine takes place from February 24-March 1.

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Ravens expected to have 2 compensatory picks in 2020 NFL Draft

The Baltimore Ravens lost key players last offseason but might have been hurt by the compensatory pick formula they’ve utilized so much

The Baltimore Ravens saw a good number of high-profile players leave the organization in free agency last offseason. Outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and C.J. Mosley signed huge deals with other teams while the Ravens also lost legend Terrell Suggs, wide receiver John Brown. Baltimore seemed to be willing to let those guys go, both because they couldn’t reasonably match the offers handed out and because they’d get rewarded with compensatory picks.

According to Over The Cap, the Ravens will indeed get some comp picks in return, but maybe not at the levels they had been hoping. Thanks to the NFL’s compensatory-pick formula, Baltimore is set to get two fourth-round picks back.

The Ravens signed running back Mark Ingram and safety Earl Thomas in free agency, helping to negate the loss of Smith and Suggs in the formula. And with both Mosley missing games due to injury, it lowered his value from what many expected to be a third-round comp pick to the fourth round.

If Over The Cap’s valuations hold true, it’ll be a big blow to Baltimore in the 2020 NFL draft. The Ravens have loved to game the comp-pick system in previous years, factoring it into decisions on a player’s value to them. But in the case of Smith, Mosley and Suggs, Baltimore could have really used their presence in 2019 as they went on a 14-2 tear but failed to win in the postseason. Both inside and outside linebacker was a point of frustration for the Ravens, with injuries and poor play plaguing the team, forcing them to find free-agent help in the middle of the season.

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5 Bills named to NFL.com top-200 fantasy players list

Five Bills landed on NFL.com’s most recent fantasy football rankings.

The 2019 season saw a new group of Buffalo Bills players take the lead on offense. These skill players put up some solid numbers, seeing the offense improve from 269 points in 2018 to 314 in 2019.

These improvements have put several players on the fantasy landscape for Buffalo as well. After all, more offense is a byproduct of better production, and that’s what folks are looking for when they complete their fantasy drafts.

NFL.com named five Bills among the top-200 for the 2020 fantasy season that’s just around the corner. Here’s the five Bills players who made the cut:

Dawson Knox: 192nd overall, TE22

Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Dawson Knox showed some promise in his rookie year, making some spectacular plays and earning first-team reps throughout the season. However, he did have some drops this year, which will hopefully be eradicated with another year of experience and comfort in the pro game.

Knox ended the season with 28 receptions for 388 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions.

He’s an intriguing player due to his athleticism. There’s a chance he could break out next year. Until he produced consistently, though, he will be a waiver wire addition for next year. Nevertheless, he’s someone to be added earlier than later.

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Josh Allen revealed a secret Brian Daboll kept for Steelers game

Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen on a secret offensive coordinator Brian Daboll kept during Pittsburgh Steelers win.

The Buffalo Bills beat that Pittsburgh Steelers to clinch their playoff spot early this year in Week 15. That’s known.

It came to light after the game that the Bills used the popular Styx song “Renegade” to pump the team up in practice prior to the game because the Steelers often blast the song during their home games when the defense is on the field. A pump up song, if you will.

What was just revealed by quarterback Josh Allen about that whole scenario is that Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll had something hidden up his sleeve the week leading up to that game with that song in mind.

Something that worked.

As things went down at Heinz Field on Sunday Night Football, the Steelers played the song right on cue in the fourth quarter.

The Bills, having listened to it all week, loved it. The team even posted the players on the sideline jamming out to it:

 

Around the same time that video was taken, Daboll acted.

Speaking to Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast on Monday, Allen mentioned that game, along with the Bills’ win over the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, were among his two favorite wins of the year. He also briefly got into Daboll’s secret.

“We played (the song) all throughout practice,” Allen explained. “So when it came on, (Brian) Daboll told me after the game, he’s like, ‘I didn’t tell anybody, but as soon as they turned that song on, I was going to go deep.'”

Moments later, John Brown was bumped by Steelers cornerback Steve Nelson. A defensive pass interference call ensued, but it didn’t matter because Brown still caught the ball for a 40-yard gain. That big chunk of yards was the first play of the Bills’ game-winning drive which concluded with a Tyler Kroft touchdown pass from Allen with 7:55 left to put the Bills up 17-10.

Here’s the play for a refresher:

“So that was the play we called… and John Brown went up and got one,” Allen said.

Following the game, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was among the many Bills players who commented on the song and the positive affect it had on his team during that game, rather than a negative one.

“Not a coincidence,” Phillips said in December. “We knew exactly what we were going to do when we heard that song.”

But Phillips, Allen and the rest of the Bills apparently didn’t realize the offense was going to dial it up like they did… exactly like Daboll drew it up, or at least hoped for.

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Pro Football Focus names Bills’ 3 biggest offseason needs

Buffalo Bills top-three needs heading into 2020 offseason, according to Pro Football Focus.

Did the Bills have a good 2019 season? Yes. Could the Bills stand to still improve? Also yes.

Pro Football Focus looks deeper than most outlets when divulging football details. The football analytics outlet took a peep down every single NFL roster recently and pegged their top-three needs for every team.

For the Bills, the No. 1 need isn’t a surprise: another wide receiver.

But behind that, PFF tabbed Buffalo’s “secondary needs” as edge defender and the interior of their offensive line.

In regard to the wideout situation, here’s how PFF breaks that down:

John Brown and Cole Beasley proved to both be solid investments this offseason who could separate and provide reliable targets for Josh Allen in a revamped offensive scheme that was built by Brian Daboll to highlight Allen’s strengths. Both receivers are going to be on the wrong side of 30 next season, though, and the Bills could use a bigger, field-stretching wide receiver to complement their skills. On the season, Bills receivers caught just 40.3% of their contested catch opportunities (28th in the NFL). Adding someone who excels in those tight-window situations would give Allen another weapon to work with.

With receiver in mind, many are already looking toward the Bills’ first-round pick at the 2020 NFL Draft. That pick is at No. 22 overall and players such as Clemson’s Tee Higgins, Colorado’s Laviska Shenault and LSU’s Justin Jefferson will certainly be in play.

Having said that, there’s actually a fourth name that the Bills land in PFF’s most recent 2020 mock draft. In that, the Bills trade back to the No. 26 pick and land Baylor’s Denzel Mims, a 6-foot-4 target who had 66 catches for 1,020 yards with 12 touchdowns in 13 games last season.

Moving down the Bills’ needs on PFF’s list, edge defender could certainly be in play as well. Shaq Lawson is a pending free agent and simply put, the Bills need more sacks out of their defensive ends next season. This position could also be attacked at the draft with a player such as LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson or Iowa’s AJ Epenesa with the first round, but there’s also free agency to consider. Players such as Yannick Ngakoue, Jadeveon Clowney, Dante Fowler and Vic Beasley could all test the free agent waters and those names make attacking that position in free agency much more appealing.

Finally on the interior of the offensive line, many observers of the Bills praised the work of Quinton Spain on the interior of their line. But could that be a product of the Bills’ offensive line being so bad the year prior? That’s kind of how PFF looks at it. Spain, a pending free agent, only graded out as the outlet’s 58th best guard last season. Jon Feliciano on the other side of Buffalo’s line was a bit better at the No. 35 spot via PFF’s grades. The Bills could stand to get better than 58 with 64 starting guards in the NFL each week.

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