Bills willing to pay dearly for star QB
Buffalo won’t be satisfied with No. 12 pick and other crazy predictions for this week’s event
With the NFL draft hours away, the ridiculous fourmonth frenzy of pre-draft speculation, misinformation and perturbation finally is at a merciful end.
Well, almost.
I’m finally weighing in with these cranky, crazy predictions:
The Bills will trade up for a quarterback and it won’t be cheap.
Buffalo wants to trade up further from No. 12 overall to select a long-needed difference maker at quarterback — and every one in the league knows it.
It’d cost a fortune of draft stock for the Bills to move up to first, second, fourth or fifth overall to snare one of the top three QB prospects: Sam Darnold (USC), Josh Rosen (UCLA) or Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma).
Fortunately for the Bills and their fans, the Bills have such a stockpile of picks (two first-rounders, two seconds and two thirds) and the second-year brain trust of GM Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott already has a track record of making bold decisions on a moment’s notice.
Still, you’ve got find a dance partner to execute such a blockbuster trade-up. If the quarterback they really want is still available at a cost and spot at which they are prepared to accept, then I expect the Bills will pull the big trigger.
Saquon Barkley won’t sparkle as a traditional running back.
Because of that, it’s possible he might not even be selected in the top five. But probably he will.
Regardless, the top-five team that selects Barkley will get five to 10 jaw-dropping plays from him this coming season, which highlight shows will eat up. But by season’s end, Barkley will come closer to 1,000 yards receiving than rushing.
The Penn State product is as electrifying a player with the ball in his hands in open space as any running back — or any player, period — to come out of college in a long time.
But until he figures out that he won’t succeed in the NFL for long as a traditional running back if he keeps running the way he did in college, then Barkley will disappoint and won’t realize his potential or justify his lofty selection.
Cleveland will take a quarterback No. 1 overall ...
Or else the city will burn down. Or else the NFL should revoke the franchise. Or else the rest of us will point and laugh until we faint.
The Browns passed on Carson Wentz two years ago and passed on Deshaun Watson last year. The climate in Cleveland is such that new GM John Dorsey cannot possibly even consider trading down from the top spot. Not after 17 losses in a row and 38 losses in their past 40 games. And not in a year with (right or wrong) one of the most celebrated quarterback classes of the modernera.
Word out of Cleveland Wednesday was that Dorsey legitimately considered trading down from No. 1, but didn’t receive any acceptable offers. Yeah, sure.
Whether it’s Darnold or Rosen (likely) or perhaps Mayfield (less likely), the Browns will take a QB first.
The Jets will select Mayfield.
Talk about a match made in arrogance heaven. The big braggart in the Big Apple.
Mayfield is so oversoaked in cockiness he unhesitatingly said at last month’s scouting combine that he intends to become the best quarterback ever. All Jets QBs since the club landed Joe Namath out of Alabama half a century ago have fallen considerably short of that goal.
If Mayfield succeeds as a Jet, it’ll be fun. If he’s a flaming disaster, it’ll be even more fun.
Josh Allen will fall, then fail.
He will fall in the draft. Maybe to Miami at No. 11. Or farther. Wherever he goes, Allen will fail as a starting NFL quarterback. At least initially.
He has an incredibly powerful arm, but not much else ready to go at this point as a pro. He’s a project.
Allen might fall so far that ...
Two Notre Dame O-linemen will be picked before Allen.
Yup. I predict it will happen. ND’s two celebrated offensive linemen — the draft’s top-rated guard in Quenton Nelson and top-rated tackle in Mike McGlinchey — are slam-dunk first-round picks. Some rate Nelson as the best talent in the whole draft. With so many teams desperate for an O-line upgrade, don’t be surprised if these Fightin’ Irishmen are gobbled up before the draft is 90 minutes old.
Canada’s Nathan Shepherd will be drafted in the top 60 picks.
The resilient defensive tackle from Ajax, Ont., shone after walking on at Division 2 Fort Hays State University. The 24-year-old is rated as high as No. 43 overall by NFL Network’s Mike Mayock. Most other top draftniks place him at or around No. 50, including NFL.com’s Gil Brandt (50th). That projects to mid-second round.
And which teams brought him in for a private visit? The Chicago Bears (who pick 39th), Arizona Cardinals (47th), Dallas Cowboys (50th), Detroit Lions (51st), Carolina Panthers (55th) and Atlanta Falcons (58th). The Houston Texans also privately worked out Shepherd.