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Ep. 40 - Lindy Ruff Presser & NFL Draft Preperation
39 Plays1 year ago
Join the pals as they break down Lindy Ruff's first press conference as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. They also spend time revisiting draft ideas, priorities, and break down different directions the Bills can take. Join them LIVE on YouTube and X on Thursday 4/25 @8pm for draft coverage!
3 buds. 2 teams. 1 city - The "Let's Go Buffalo" Podcast. Your new favorite podcast for all things Sabres and Bills. Our mission is to be your guide through the ups and the downs of being a Buffalo Sports fan. We are not members of the media nor are we experts - we’re just 3 friends who love our hometown teams and want to bring you along for the ride. This podcast will be for both veteran and newly ordained fans. We’ll have in depth conversation and debate with a few “newbie” questions sprinkled in to keep everyone afloat.
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Transcript
Introduction to Let's Go Buffalo Podcast
00:00:10
Speaker
You're listening to the Let's Go Buffalo Podcast, your new favorite podcast for everything bills and sabres.
00:00:24
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? You are listening to the Let's Go Buffalo podcast, your favorite podcast for all things, bills and sabers with the pals, Nigel, Tom and Jake.
Follow Us on Social Media
00:00:38
Speaker
We got episode 40 coming at you. Do not forget to follow our social medias. You can find us at the handle. Let's go buff
00:00:48
Speaker
part that's buff with two F's on Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube. Let's say hello to the fellas. Tell me how we doing, pal.
00:01:02
Speaker
Tom, you're muted, you goofball. I'm magnificent. Good things to say, too. I was saying that I got to grill in the sunshine this afternoon. So I'm pretty good, man. We love that, dude. It is about that time. Some shrimp, some teriyaki stuff. Yo, I'm good. So yeah, yeah, I could be. You know, I also might fall asleep here in a minute because I just had some great food, but I'm good. Good, dude. Peter, how are you, pal?
Casual Chat and Beer Segment
00:01:30
Speaker
I'm good, man. Yes. Summer's here. Glad to hear you're out grilling, Tom. That's awesome. Yeah, I'm good. I'm good. How are you, Nigel? Dude, I am great. One thing that I am realizing very quickly is I have a beer, but it's in the fridge. So you guys shoot the shoot for 10 seconds. I'm going to get my beverage real quick. Well, and then we'll, and then we'll pop them. Yeah. That's a good, good segue, I guess.
00:01:53
Speaker
So one thing we do when we open the podcast is do beer quarts. Yeah, you would think. And it was his idea originally, too. So yeah, yeah. Here we are. Episode 40. That's all right. It's all right. And we're back. And we're back. Let's get ready to pop him, shall we, boys? Oh, he's got it. He's got it. I'm backwards. Guys, we're so good at this. We're so coordinated. We're so good at this. Sorry. Just forgot. I forgot my beer. Which, I mean, it's probably time for that, eh, boys?
00:02:23
Speaker
Ready? Three, two, one. Nice. Good stuff. Uh, Jake, you want to go first, bro? Sure. I'll go first. I'm drinking, uh, a low bridge golden ale from big ditch brewing company out of the queen city Buffalo. So here she is.
00:02:45
Speaker
She's a, she's a nice little refreshing gold now. Nice brother. You got to think real hard about pronouncing that brewery's name. You do. You really do. Make sure you enunciate tread carefully. Tell me, what do you got?
00:03:01
Speaker
I have a switchback, but not the switchback ale that everybody knows. It's called Zaboo, and it's a hazy IPA. Nice, dude. Very good, very good. I am drinking another IPA from Thin Man Brewery, another one in Buffalo. This is the Super Freak. Love that, dude. 5.8% ABV, nice little IPA. And I'll tell you how good it is in just a second.
00:03:31
Speaker
He is not responsible for anything that comes out of his mouth after treatment. Pretty good. You know, the super freak dude. I know I got to be careful. Delicious.
Lindy Ruff's Return to Buffalo
00:03:38
Speaker
All right, boys. Well, we got a we got a pretty full docket here this this evening. Those of you may know or you may not know that there was about almost an hour long presser today to welcome Lindy Ruff or welcome back, I should say.
00:03:54
Speaker
as the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. And he was asked a bunch of questions and stuff like that from the typical panel of Sabres beat writers. So Jake and I were just going to take a little time here and go through some of our big takeaways from that press conference, some things that we liked, some things that made us maybe feel a little bit better, maybe not so much better, and then offer some final takeaways from the presser. So Jake, go ahead and take it away, brother.
00:04:23
Speaker
All right. Yeah. Well, we talked yesterday and I think both of us felt a little uneasy but excited and weren't really sure which way to lean. So hopefully at the end of this conversation, we have a little bit more direction. But with that said, I think the press conference, there was a lot of words said, but maybe not a whole lot of substance there. So to start off, I want to talk about Kevin Adams' comments, not Lindy Ruff and his
00:04:47
Speaker
thoughts on the interview process and how that went. He was asked a question about the process that we were asking yesterday. How many people did he actually interview? And we wanted him to do some due diligence and find the right coach. He confirmed that he went through an extensive hiring process that included double digit candidates. And I was kind of surprised by that claim. And he said he had detailed conversations with people
00:05:14
Speaker
So to me, those didn't happen this week. This has been coming for a few weeks now. And I was happy to hear that he said that. I also thought it was interesting that Lindy Ruff said he didn't immediately accept the role. He pondered it and wanted to make sure it was a good fit for him, too. So I think that made me feel a little bit better that both neither side was looking at this as a reunion or a nostalgia play. I do think it's
00:05:42
Speaker
something that is a good fit for both sides a little bit more after watching this interview. And I think the thing that I forgot yesterday that makes me kind of realize that is I forgot that Kevin Adams worked on Lindy Ruff's staff for four years, two years as an assistant coach. But I think that's big. If he did interview that many double-digit candidates and he still went to Lindy Ruff,
00:06:04
Speaker
He very easily could have hired another coach, right? But he has a deep understanding of how Lindy Ruff operates from his time working with him and still thinks that he's the right guy for the job. So I thought that was kind of a mark in the right direction. Did you think, did you feel the same way when he came out? Yeah, dude, I, so...
00:06:27
Speaker
Oh man, I have so many thoughts on everything that Kevin Adams said, dude. First of all, I so badly want to believe that we were in the double digits of candidates that he saw, and I just don't believe it. I just don't see how that could have happened, dude. He had to have literally been
00:06:53
Speaker
interviewing multiple guys a day. And I just don't feel like in my gut that that's true. I think that is some fluff there.
00:07:04
Speaker
You know, some of those interviews, could it be like, hey, Rod, you want the job? Nope. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Which I guess, like, you know, if, you know, but if he at least took the time to talk to Rod Bryndamore, like, I'm okay with that. If his answer was no right away, then his answer is no right away. We can't do anything. But if we took the time to reach out, that's what means a lot more to me.
00:07:26
Speaker
I also echo your sentiment that it did make me feel better that Lindy Ruff did not immediately accept the position. I'm glad that he took time to think about it and make sure that he thought it was something that was important. It does make me a little skeptical that they, that Kevin Adams was an assistant under Lindy Ruff for multiple years. I think that obviously, you know, would,
00:07:54
Speaker
be more likely to make him a little bit more biased. But, you know, that also could be like, OK, I really know the way this guy takes. And I think it's going to be exactly what the guys need. So yeah. Yeah, I mean, if you think about that, that works for any profession, though. I mean, you know, like if you're trying to hire somebody, you reach out to the contacts, you know, and I'm sure that Kevin Adams and and Lindy Ruff's contact lists have a lot of overlap, you know, like so.
00:08:22
Speaker
I don't think that's as surprising. I think I kind of agree with Jake that it's probably indicative of Adams being like, okay, I thought he has what it takes to bring this team to the next level. Or it could also say, hey, I know he doesn't have what I think it takes the next level and he wouldn't have asked. Yeah. It's such a fine line. Like Nigel could be correct too. Like it's such a fine line. I'm not trying to offense it, but yeah, it's just, we don't know exactly what, you know,
00:08:51
Speaker
thoughts are on working with Lindy ruff, but clearly he saw something or else he wouldn't have hired him. So whether or not that's a false, false, false of Google and see or not, it remains to be seen. And we'll never get those details either. We'll always just be wondering. It's just his opinion. Yeah. No, no one else can say, I guess, well, I guess we'll find out when the on ice product just displays itself. For sure.
00:09:13
Speaker
Yeah, keep going there, Jake.
Ruff's Coaching Philosophy
00:09:15
Speaker
Well, yes. Speaking of on ice product, Lindy was asked a lot of questions about New Jersey, his prior coaching experience, and all of those with the kind of scope of looking at the style of play that he wants to bring to this Buffalo Sabres team, because obviously the game has changed since he last coached here. And that's the question that I wanted to kind of start off with, that he also was asked first, how has Lindy as a coach changed from, what was it,
00:09:42
Speaker
13 or something when you got let go to 2024. And he admitted and acknowledged that he has changed a lot since his first stint in Buffalo and he expressed a willingness to constantly be able to change the style of play that his teams play. He's had some
00:10:04
Speaker
pretty diverse rosters, I think, going to Dallas and then being an assistant in New York and then a head coach in New Jersey. Those are some different looks of teams that he's coached. And I think that is true. He's not been a coach this long without being willing to change his style in his game. So I think that's a plus, but that's also the answer that I was expecting. Yeah, totally, dude. 100%. I think you hit the nail on the head.
00:10:31
Speaker
Getting into more details of how he wants this team to play, he has a reputation of being a more defensive minded coach. And I don't think that has ever changed, but I don't think that's necessarily as damning as some people might think where he's going to stifle offense.
00:10:47
Speaker
He talked a lot about wanting to utilize a defensive structure without sacrificing that offense. He talks about planning to play a fast-paced and skillful style of play. And he talked a lot about defense when he talked about using defenseman to create offense. And specifically, creating good defensive zone exits can help generate your transition game and generate offense off the rush and generate some time for your team.
00:11:17
Speaker
Some of the direct quotes that you said was user speed, user talent, and user skill sets to make us the best offensive team. And I'm encouraged to hear that. We talked about how the speed and skill of the team is one of their main strengths, and that they probably got away from that a little bit in this prior season. It's very similar to New Jersey's play style. A lot of people compare the play style with two teams. So I think that will translate well
00:11:47
Speaker
I think whether or not that's an effective strategy long term and especially as you get into the playoffs is a different conversation. So we can open that up a little bit if you want. But overall, I didn't dislike the answer. How did you feel? You know what, man, all in all, I
00:12:07
Speaker
I like it and I will be honest, I know a good amount about hockey. I don't know a ton about hockey schemes and how different they are. The game to me is so fluid and so fast that I struggle to really get myself to a place where I feel like schemes make a ginormous impact. That might be ignorant.
00:12:30
Speaker
um but i you know like it's just i don't have a strong enough understanding of hockey schemes to be able to speak specifically to the scheme what i will say is i watched plenty of that new jersey devils team and i did not see a team for a single moment that i felt like was ever sacrificing their offense dude they were aggressive on the forecheck but that transition game dude when they got that puck
00:12:58
Speaker
Bang dude, it was going fucking north and it was going north in a hurry So if that's the play style that Lindy rough wants to bring to Buffalo after that team had a 50-plus win season You're not gonna catch any complaints from me, dude The last the last way I would have described that New Jersey Devils team was a team that was not generating a ton of offense Yeah, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I'm some hockey scheme expert cuz that is that's a lie in itself
00:13:27
Speaker
Um, I mean, I think I can see like some, some bigger differences between teams. Um, but I, I agree with you. That's how New Jersey came off to me. Uh, Northsoft game for sure. And efficient at getting the puck out of the, out of the, out of the Roman and that struggled that they lost two of their. Two of their big defense, big, let me back up. They lost two of their more, more talented defensemen, uh, in between.
00:13:54
Speaker
their playoff season and last season when they missed and I think that hurt them more than people thought it would. They had two rookies step in but people were people were slotting them into a top three spot in the metro and that clearly didn't happen and I think they missed those players a lot more than a lot of pundits thought they would.
00:14:12
Speaker
Yeah, dude, they were missing. They were missing Severson. One more guy in their top four and blanking on the name. And then. That was that. Thank you. And then what 20 games into the season, Dougie Hamilton goes down for the year.
00:14:25
Speaker
Huge injury. Yeah, so they're half of the half their defenses is gone Yeah, putting three of their top four and those three got replaced with young young young guys So yeah, yeah too much to overcome So he's got he's got a couple a good puck moving defenseman in Buffalo that he can use with that similar style so I think that should translate well and
00:14:51
Speaker
But look, they struggle in the playoffs using that style. They beat the Rangers narrowly, and I forget who they lost to. I think the Hurricanes. But it remains to be seen if that style is effective in the playoffs. Like, you see a team like Florida that is more grinding and still effective in transition, whereas New Jersey uses their speed and skill a lot more. We'll see if that translates. But it can. Like, I look at Colorado, who uses
00:15:20
Speaker
employs a similar very north-south style, but it didn't always work for them. It took some refinement and
00:15:28
Speaker
also have one of the best players in the NHL. Yeah, I think that's a tough one there too because I think there is something to be said for like, you need playoff experience before you can be successful in the playoffs. And that Devils team was just so goddamn young. Honestly, I pegged them to lose to the Rangers. I didn't have them getting onto the first round. So for that team to be as young as they were and get by the Rangers, which was
00:15:51
Speaker
more of a veteran team, I still thought was a pretty impressive feat. I do think, even with that play style, there's just something to be said for, okay, we've been here and we understand it a little bit more. I bet if that Devils team were to get back this year, which they clearly didn't even come close, I bet it would have looked a little bit different. I'm not saying they would have gone and won the cup, but I think there's a lot to be said for playoff experience in the playoffs.
00:16:19
Speaker
Yeah, fair enough. I agree with that. All right. To keep us moving here, the one last thing I wanted to say on kind of play style and his coaching style is he mentioned that New Jersey was a pretty analytics heavy front office and wants to lean on that similarly in Buffalo. And that's a, that's a big thumbs up for me, how much that actually factors in and how much that translates to online success again remains to be seen.
00:16:43
Speaker
but he at least acknowledged it. And he wasn't like some, some coaches in the league have been where they're just like, ah, the numbers are numbers, I use my eyes, you know, he at least informs himself on that. For sure. I wanted to get your thoughts specifically on this one.
Goaltending Decisions: UPL vs. Levi
00:16:58
Speaker
When he was asked
00:17:00
Speaker
jokingly about who his goalie is, because that used to be a big topic when he was a coach before. He immediately said, and didn't really sound like he was joking, that he narrowed it down to three letters, UPL. Now, UPL is due for an extension. You think that's a big vote of confidence? And my follow-up question, how does that make Levi feel? I, so
00:17:21
Speaker
Yes, I think it's a massive vote of confidence in UPL. UPL is the happiest guy in the state of New York right now, dude. That was such a boon, dude. And okay, so that's not a Lindy Ruff that we know, Jake. The Lindy Ruff from 2013 doesn't gas a guy up like that. He just doesn't. So I think right there we're seeing a way that he's changed a little bit. If you're UPL, you're feeling like a million bucks today.
00:17:50
Speaker
because this this or or multi-million on a nice little extension there you go yeah yeah what better said um but no dude i i don't think he was joking at all about that i think at this point in time lindy ruff is already decided that upl is his starting goalie going into the uh 24 25 season as far as how that makes levi feel
00:18:14
Speaker
If he's anything like UPL, it's only going to fire him up. And the fact that I got to say this dude, the fact that UPL took bringing in a guy like Levi is a fuck you and elevated his game. That's the exact type of player that I want playing for this team. So hopefully Levi's wired similarly and is going to say, okay, you think UPL is the locked in starter. Here's what I have to say about that.
Player Discipline and Accountability
00:18:39
Speaker
Yeah, he's hot shit. My shit's hotter. Exactly. Exactly. So I see it as a positive anyway. I look at that. Yeah, I agree. All right. Before I turn it over to you, there are some quotes that I wanted to mention that made me a little more skeptical than I was hoping for. First off, there were the boilerplate
00:19:00
Speaker
PR Familiar quotes that we've heard a million times got a look at ourselves in the mirror to make sure we're prepared to play every night The work begins right now. We got to show up ready to compete at training camp, etc, etc, etc, etc Boiler plate stuff. I guess I'm not surprised to hear it but it also doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy having heard it a million times and not seen results and then finally he was asked about
00:19:28
Speaker
What happened in New Jersey to generate a 50-win team or whatever they were in 2022, 2023? And I didn't love his answer. He kind of took a cop-out and just said it was the right time, end quote, and some young players took a step. And then he followed that up just by saying he kind of believes it's the right time in Buffalo and some progress from young players.
00:19:58
Speaker
kind of thing makes a big difference and it does but I think there's a lot more that went into New Jersey's success than that and so to hear the head coach just kind of brush it off is like that was the it was the right time left me a little skeptical so I don't know what are your thoughts on that and then I want you to take us through some of the quotes that you had here too
00:20:20
Speaker
Yeah, I get what you're saying. There's a part of me that wonders like, okay, is he just keeping everything close to the vest? Because there's those games that coaches just absolutely love to play it. I don't care what the sport is. They all love to play it.
00:20:36
Speaker
Um That being said yeah, I I think It didn't exactly make me feel great either I am going to assume because okay the way it here's here's what I come back to Last season the sabers had several guys take have career years, right and From what I understand there was there weren't that many more guys on new jersey
00:21:03
Speaker
that had career years than had them on the savers. I don't think it was like every guy on Jersey had a career year. And they were still way more successful than we were. So that leads me to believe that, you know, coaching and culture and discipline and accountability, all those things were more plentiful in New Jersey than they were in Buffalo. That's what I come back to. We had, I mean,
00:21:31
Speaker
We had so many guys have do so well for the Sabres last year. I don't think the gap and the gap between Buffalo and Jersey was huge in the standings. I don't think the gap in the amount of players that had great years is indicative of the gap that was in the standings exclusively. Does that make sense? Yeah, it does. Yeah, totally. Yeah. So that's how I feel about that. Yeah, for sure.
00:21:58
Speaker
So hit it, man. Yeah. Get into some of the things that jumped out to you. Yeah. So there's just a couple of things that made me feel good about the hire today. So one of the things that Lindy, he was asked about discipline because that was something that guys were saying in locker room cleanouts that they were looking for. And Lindy was quote, discipline said, quote, discipline is doing the right thing at the right time.
00:22:23
Speaker
end quote and then he went on to say you know that it is situationally dependent right whether that be you're up by one with a minute to go and you need to lock it down or the opposite is true you need a goal and you know there's a minute to go and I think back to some of those teams dude and like I can think of so many times where we were we were down by one goal and it was it was like almost always Chris Drewry but like there were so many times I remember the last two minutes of the game we got that tie in goal dude
00:22:53
Speaker
So I think I can see a little bit of proof in the pudding with what he's saying there. And then I really liked this one, his thoughts on accountability. And he said all of these things at one point or another, but I am paraphrasing. None of this is an exact quote.
00:23:10
Speaker
So, on accountability, he said it starts with each individual guy holding themselves accountable, asking themselves the question, did I do everything I could have done to help this team win? Right? So, that's thing number one, which I already don't think, like, okay, you can't convince me that if Jeff Skinner looks in the mirror and asks himself that question, that answer is yes. I just don't believe that's true.
00:23:34
Speaker
The second level of that accountability is players holding one another accountable. And that, to me, is like the peak. That's the pinnacle, right? When somebody is, you know, lacks on a back check, I want Darlene to grab that guy by the
00:23:52
Speaker
by the jersey and be like, hey, man, that wasn't it. When your guys are holding one another accountable, that's huge, asking themselves the question or asking one another the question. That play wasn't good enough. I needed you to be here. I needed you on the wall there. I needed you to block that kind of a shock for me. Lindy said that stuff is an absolute game changer, which makes perfect sense to me. And again, something that I really, really, really felt like was missing
00:24:20
Speaker
from the team this year. And then finally, he was asked about the coaching staff. He did say he was looking to add. He didn't say he was looking to get
00:24:30
Speaker
rid of anybody. He sat down with the coaching staff that's there currently, spoke with them today. Sounds like they sat down for at least a little while just to chat about the season. But nothing came out as far as I saw about firing Wilford or Ellis or any guys that are still there. But he did say he's still looking to add. And from what I can count, there's only one position to hire for.
00:24:55
Speaker
which would lead me to think that there's probably some firings that are coming. Any of that stuff you want to touch on, Jake? If not firings, then some quiet firings, like, hey, Mattie Ellis, you're player development now. Yeah, exactly. No, I think you hit the nail on the head. I wonder if the players themselves would be more vocal with each other. It kind of started with locker clean out. That was the first time I saw quotes from players
00:25:24
Speaker
I think it was Tage Thompson and a few others saying things like, if you weren't playing your best, you probably didn't deserve those minutes. You probably didn't deserve to play. So kind of indirectly calling out some players that no names were named for the media. I wonder how much of that happens in the room behind closed doors and if that will increase under rough. But I thought that was telling. I don't usually see quotes like that out of any organization. Yeah.
00:25:53
Speaker
I wonder who they're talking about, but I think we could hazard some guesses. I'm sure, I'm sure that we could. Yeah. Um, shoot, there was just something you said that I wanted to touch on and I just totally
Season Outlook: Optimism vs. Skepticism
00:26:03
Speaker
forgot. So I guess we will let that go. Um, Jake, culminating thoughts from the podcast. How are you feeling? You want, you want to go, you want me to go first? Uh, I'll go first, but I want to hear your thoughts too. I guess overall, it didn't really make me, it
00:26:17
Speaker
some things made me happier, some things made me more skeptical. So I kind of meet in the middle. It just seemed like a lot of fluff and kind of PR quotes. So I'm going to wait until I see what the roster shakeup looks like over the offseason, what changes are made to the coaching staff. And unfortunately, I think a lot of for myself, I just need to wait and see
00:26:40
Speaker
see the proof in the fall come out blazing in the season and then i'll say absolutely fuck yeah lindy like let's go um but until then it's it's just kind of it's it's love for me how about you utah's done a really important thing um and this is the last like thing from the presser that i'll say
00:26:58
Speaker
Kevin Adams did indicate that Lindy Rupp is going to have a major say in the construction of that roster, which makes me feel good because I think Kevin Adams, I haven't written him off, and I think he's got the goods to put the team together, but Lindy's just been doing it so much longer. And I think if Kevin Adams is smart, he's going to lean on that experience a little bit.
00:27:20
Speaker
And I'm sorry to jump in, but Kevin Adams has proven, he's, he's, I think he's proven that he's, he's a good drafter. His draft classes have been effective. So, but, but he hasn't really proven that the veteran leadership and the established players that he's added are enough. Like Eric Johnson at all, for example, first name that comes to mind. So.
00:27:41
Speaker
Maybe some of the more established players that they had in the off season has Lindy roughs footprint on it. And that kind of goes back to, what was it? Lyndon Johnson's question yesterday about bringing in more established talent. So shout out maybe. We'll see. We'll see. But yeah.
00:27:59
Speaker
could be where he puts his thumbprint on the organization. Yeah, for sure. As far as my thoughts, I actually did feel better after listening to that. You use the word fluff, and that's a totally fair word to use in these situations. I just don't think Lindy's a fluff guy, dude. He's a no-nonsense guy. And yes, you have to say the right things at these press conference.
00:28:29
Speaker
I don't know, dude. He's just not a fluff dude, man. I think the biggest thing that I take comfort in is he didn't have to do this. The guy's 64 years old. He didn't have to do this anymore. He's got enough money. He could have sailed up into the sunset. He sees something here that he wants to get his hands on.
00:28:52
Speaker
And that makes me feel good. And the other thing that makes me feel good, dude, and you and you can't convince me otherwise, unless he were to come out and say it himself. But the Buffalo Sabres are personal for Lindy Ralph. He was drafted by this team. He played for this team for forever. He was a captain of this team and he coached this team for what was it, 16 years. Yeah. During some of the best years of the franchise's history. Absolutely.
00:29:20
Speaker
He said it today in his presser. He didn't get it done as a player. He didn't get it done as a coach. He feels like there's a reason that he's getting another crack at it. Unfinished business. Unfinished business. Yeah. You can't convince me that the Buffalo Sabres are personal for Lindy, Lindy Roff. I think you're going to get his absolute best effort. No two ways about it. And I don't know, man, I unique. You guys know me. I'm pretty, pretty fucking spurned at this point.
00:29:51
Speaker
I've just got a feeling. I've got a feeling it's going to be good. He said himself that he's a better coach now than he was when he got fired. He's learned so much about the game. He's learned to lean on other coaches to learn and ask questions when he doesn't know his ego has been removed. It sounds like in a lot of ways.
00:30:10
Speaker
I don't know, man. I just, I got a good feeling. I got a good feeling. It's infectious. You're making me have a good feeling. You heard it here first. Nigel and Jake are ready to be heard again, in true favor. Yeah, dude. I am, I am ready to be heard again, for sure.
00:30:28
Speaker
We'll have an SOS channel for watching you guys. All offseason, I'll be leading it. So don't worry. Folks, tune in with me for all updates on these two. All right. Tom, do you have any questions or comments about any of the things that Jake and I said?
00:30:45
Speaker
Well, no, I guess I have one comment that just kind of what you said at the end there of like the guy, he clearly didn't have to come back for this. And before he came back to Buffalo now, would you say he would go down as one of the most influential players and coaches in Buffalo franchise history?
00:31:02
Speaker
Oh, I would say he's got to be number one before. OK, so before he even starts, so he he has an opportunity to kind of put a little smirk on that, right, to put a little of a why the heck did this guy come back and, you know, and go down this way. Totally. Oh, I think I think right. He's a kind of his legacy in Buffalo, I think, has had some stakes, too.
00:31:23
Speaker
whatever coach can get them out of the drought would have that clout. And so if it's Lindy Ruff who ushered them into a dark era and brought them back out of it, he would be a god. He would get a statue. You two would be babbling baby boys is what you two would be. So true. I love Lindy Ruff, dude. Like I said, dude, he's my best memories of being a Sabres fan. And I think that's probably the same for Jake, too. All right. 100%.
00:31:51
Speaker
So let's have way, way too early season predictions. Where does he get us? Don't go, don't go. You to talk a lot. So don't just wear that. What would be successful in Lindy Rob's first season? Oh, it's, I, it's still, the team is still playoffs or bust. If we don't, if you don't make the playoffs, you're not, it's not a successful season. Take agree.
00:32:16
Speaker
He's thinking that video is completely. I'm sorry. Technical difficulties. No, there's anything short of playoffs is failure. But I think he gets there. That was so dramatic that I think he does, too. I think I listen, dude, I truly I do mean this. The Sabres are going to get that structure and that accountability they're craving for with this guy. And I think I think they are that away.
00:32:46
Speaker
from making the playoffs. All right.
Buffalo Bills Draft Preview
00:32:50
Speaker
Should we get into some some Buffalo Buffalo Bills chat here, fellas? Yeah, let's do it. All right. So this is going to be our last full podcast before the draft Thursday night.
00:33:05
Speaker
And what's happening on Thursday night, Nigel? I was just going to ask you the same thing. Tom and I are going to be having the first annual 2024 first round draft Hangtacular for the Let's Go Buffalo podcast. So we are just going to be getting together. We're kind of going with the slogan, don't come for the analysis, stay for the Hang, baby.
00:33:27
Speaker
We're just going to be hanging out, shooting the shoot. We'll have some beers. We're going to bring some guests on, some other intelligent football fans will just be coming to give their take on what the bill should do, their take on what other teams have done. So it should be a great win.
00:33:43
Speaker
Yeah, we're going to be doing some giveaways for stickers and stuff like that. We're going to do some trivia. So definitely come through and hang out with us again. It's not going to be like hours and hours of analysis. Tom and I are going to drink some beers. We're going to bring our friends on and we're going to watch the first round of the draft together. So come and hang out with us. You know, you can hear our live thoughts on everything that the first round of the draft is so much fun, dude. It's such a great hang. We're going to start it at 8 p.m.
00:34:10
Speaker
We're going to be live on X and YouTube. And it'll go for several hours, dude. We won't pick until close to midnight. So we're here for the long haul, folks. So for sure. Interact. Yeah, yeah, totally. And yeah, Nigel is 100% correct. The first round of the draft is always really fun, especially because it's like, OK, we're turning the page next season. Here we come. There's so much hope in the draft. It's so much fun because these are just names. These players haven't done anything in the NFL yet. And it's so much fun to be like, oh,
00:34:39
Speaker
Man, what do we got? What do we got here? And to be honest, in particular, this draft, this first round, I think, is going to be really exciting because the prospects are all really wonderful and really spectacular. And I think there's a lot of teams that there could be some movement. There could be some fireworks happening on Thursday night.
00:34:59
Speaker
Totally, dude. Absolutely. Tom, the rest of the way for the pod, we're going to talk about a couple of different things, but we're also going to do a couple mock drafts that we will stream right here to the page. Before we get into the mock drafts, Tom, do you have our document that has where we discuss our top needs? Sure do. Sweet. These are according to us as the Let's Go Buffalo podcast.
00:35:24
Speaker
Members, so for those of you that are not looking on YouTube when you're just listening on Spotify or Apple Music or whatever From most important to least important in our opinion At the top of the list we have a tie for wide receiver and defensive tackle In second place it is defensive end And then below that cornerback below that safety and below that running back three
00:35:54
Speaker
Tom, do you feel good about all of these orders still? I do, but I think there's something missing. You think there's something missing? I think and I've come around to this over the past few weeks since we've had time to touch on this this document. I think we need I think it can I guess. Yeah, I want to guess. I think you're going to say offensive line.
00:36:14
Speaker
Yeah, you absolutely nailed it. Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's into your offensive line. Specifically, I think and I think that it would be silly for the bills to not and I'm sure they are because they're paid a gazillion dollars to do this and we are not that they've already thought about that.
00:36:31
Speaker
So I think that there's more need than maybe is right in front of our noses, particularly because there's so much movement of Ryan Bates was traded, Mitch Morse was cut. There's going to be some movement and that movement isn't guaranteed to work. Plus, you always need youth and you always need youth in the upfront. The game is won or lost in the trenches on the offensive or defensive side. So in my mind,
00:37:01
Speaker
I don't know. I kind of, I hate kind of putting it on a list like this. I almost kind of like the viewing things in tiers. I think safety running back three and O-line are kind of all in a similar tier for me. You could, you could sell me on that for sure. I would be okay with that.
00:37:16
Speaker
Oops, don't cross that out, come back. There we go. Um, like, I think these are kind of interchangeable. I think, I think, honestly, all four of these cornerback safety running back three and interior offensive line could be interchangeable whatever players there. That makes the most sense for Brandon Bean, I'd be 100% fine with.
00:37:35
Speaker
The end is always going to be, again, invest in the trenches. And we've seen Bean do that year after year. So don't be surprised there. And yeah, the flashy pick right now is wide receiver, right? That's what everybody wants. That's the fun fantasy football. Like, man, let's go get... Let's trade the whole house. Trade everything. And let's go get a wide receiver.
00:37:58
Speaker
But wide receivers definitely in need. And yeah, and I think it's definitely opposite D tackle. So yeah. Is there anything here that you might move around or are you kind of in that same thing? You know what? Yes. I want to switch my defensive end and defensive tackle. I think defensive end is the bigger need today than I did when we made this. You don't actually have to do it. So the way I look at it is this.
00:38:25
Speaker
Defensive tackle starters currently are at Oliver and D'Quad Jones. That's quite good. Currently, your defensive end starters are who? A.J. Epinesse and Von Miller. And I think group group would start. Oh, oh, yes. Yes. I'm so sorry. Yes. Greg. I think it's Greg and Von, if he's healthy and AJ could could push him who could shoe in there if needed.
00:38:51
Speaker
And so let's touch on that for a split second. Groot is a lock. He's a starting team. I can't believe I forgot him. I'm so embarrassed. Yeah, you should be. I should work. Yeah, I deserve a punishment of some kind. Cheers to Groot. How about that? Thanks, Groot. Sorry, buddy. Yeah, he's a locked in starter. You don't know what you're getting with Von Miller. He's a wild card at this point.
00:39:16
Speaker
And then I don't know, dude, I don't think age up in this as a starting caliber defensive end. I think he's outstanding depth. So the potential for impact at the defensive end position, I think is greater than at the defensive tackle because at Oliver is going to play a lot of those snaps. And now we have more depth.
00:39:35
Speaker
and defensive tackle as well, too. Since the last time we talked, yes. Yeah, the Sean Williams were both signed who are not starter level. They're not going to, you know, they're not going to be thrown at or Daequan, but they're good. They're good. They're up there. Honestly, they might be an improvement over Jordan Phillips and Tim Settle. You know, I think it's 100 percent improvement. So I agree with you that the detector room is improved.
00:39:58
Speaker
So I would swap those personally. I kind of I leave them in the same tier. I think next year we got to kind of we got to drop the whole list and we got to go with tiers of positional needs. Let's why don't you highlight the tiers you're thinking right now, bro. All right, dude, we can do it live. Right. So let's take that beautiful logo designed by our friend Lisa and move it over. We got to see Lisa just this past weekend. Tom had a beautiful baby shower this past weekend. It was awesome.
00:40:25
Speaker
very excited. I don't think it's actually been publicly said. I am on the podcast. I'm very excited to... Have we not? No, we have not. No. Oh my God. My wife and I are a few weeks away from welcoming our beautiful baby into this world. And we're super excited and everything has been great so far. And we are just over the moon excited about everything going on. But Nigel's right. We had a fun
00:40:50
Speaker
kind of a baby shower this past weekend out in Rochester with family and friends and it was awesome and it's so good just kind of get everybody ready and all that love that could be shared for this for this baby who's on her way. So I'm very excited. And the three of us were in the same room which was fun.
00:41:05
Speaker
was very fun. It was a blast. All it took was a baby for us to not talk about Buffalo sports while we were in the same room together. Not for long. Because the baby got a bunch of Bill's onesies, so naturally, you know, gosh. As she should have, absolutely.
00:41:23
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So I live in New England, folks. And my wife is well, we have received many generous gifts, which was awesome. And a lot of the sports things have been all New England based. And boy, oh, boy, did I know that my Rochester and Buffalo people were going to show up for me. And boy, did they. Boy, did they. All right. Tier one. Well, wide receiver de tackle the end. Tier two. What would you put in tier two?
00:41:50
Speaker
I actually at this point would put the end or excuse me, the tackle in tier two tier two. Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine with that. I'm fine with that. I could be convinced otherwise. But and then the rest of everything else could be tier three. Yeah.
00:42:06
Speaker
RB3 interior offensive line. All right, perfect. Cool. Look at this. So now, folks, for those listening along audio style, we are Tier 1 includes wide receiver and defensive end. Tier 2 needs include defensive tackle. And then Tier 3 needs include cornerback safety, running back 3, and interior offensive line.
00:42:27
Speaker
There's a few positions, to be honest, that I'll be like, honestly, I hope we don't invest much draft capital at all in, and that includes quarterback and tight end. I really don't think we need too much draft capital spent there, because I just don't see the impact on this roster, and then they're going to win the practice squad, and what are we doing? We're going to lose it. We're going to lose it, right? That's what we've done, right? So positions that are not here, linebacker,
00:42:56
Speaker
I don't think that's a huge need, but I wouldn't be upset if we make an investment. Specialist, I think would be kind of silly, but I might understand, but I think it'd be kind of silly. Fullback, we got Reggie Gilliam, best in the game. I think we're good, right? So I think if we touched on cornerback tight end or specialist or fullback kind of thing, I think it'd be kind of goofy.
00:43:23
Speaker
I don't think we will. You can sign a guy to be a fullback off the street of Buffalo. You don't have to. A shovel or roster. Yeah, exactly. Before we get into some mock drafts, let's just take everyone's temperature on
Draft Strategies and Mock Simulations
00:43:42
Speaker
what we're thinking in terms of at this point. And this can be, I guess, clarified before you say your piece, but predictably,
00:43:50
Speaker
or what you would do right at this point. What's your draft strategy for the first round? Are you looking to trade up for something? Trade into the top 10 for Aroma, Dunsey, Malik, Neighbors, Marvin Harrison Jr. Are you staying pat at pick 28 or are you looking to trade back? Anybody dying to go first?
00:44:10
Speaker
I'll go first so you guys don't take what I'm going to say. In general, so it seems like for them to get a real impact, high octane wide receiver, they'd have to trade up quite far into the first round. And just for me, for general drafting opinion, I think you often have to overpay to move up that far. If you're going to move up four or five picks or whatever to get your guy that's still there, I'm okay with that.
00:44:36
Speaker
I don't really like the opinion of moving up 20 spots to get somebody I think you're overpaying. I'm more of a quantity over quality when it comes to the draft. So that's my two cents. What do you guys think? Totally. I think you crushed it there, Jake. I am certainly not in the camp of trade way up for exactly the reasons that Jake just said. And here's the catch, too, that we don't talk about enough.
00:45:04
Speaker
teams know that if we're trading up that far, it's to go get one of those receivers. They know we're missing a number one, which is only going to influence or encourage them to try and drive the price up. Okay. I'm not guess dude is trading up into the top 10 is costing you a minimum.
00:45:24
Speaker
of like four players dude it's costing you pick 28 it's probably costing you your second round this year it's definitely costing you your first round next year maybe cost you your second round next year as well so like that to me dude like and for how well Brandon Bean drafts I know he's got his misses but I think the more darts and Jake just said this the more darts you have for a guy like Brandon Bean the better
00:45:49
Speaker
The only time you do that is if you need a quarterback. A hundred percent. The only time you need that if you need a franchise quarterback, that's when you invest that kind of ammunition to go do that. And boy, oh, boy, do we have Josh Allen. So thank you.
00:46:02
Speaker
Yeah, I think, yeah, just one more thing for me. I want to pick at 28, dude. I think there's a chance the board is going to fall nice for us at 28. I do. I think there's a really good chance. And here's the thing that people are going to hate. And Bill's Mafia is going to have an aneurysm if we don't pick a receiver in the first round.
00:46:27
Speaker
but I don't want to pick a receiver at 28, dude. I'm sorry. The value isn't there for me. I am out on Brian Thomas Jr. He's the consensus number four for Across the League.
00:46:40
Speaker
If I'm drafting a wide receiver in the first round, it's somebody that I want to be the number one within two to three years, right? At the, at the latest, ideally next year, I need to know now before I draft that, that man, that they can win all three levels of the field. And I only have tape that BTR can win deep.
00:46:59
Speaker
I have little to no tape than he can win in the short and intermediate areas in the field. And a number one wide receiver in the NFL has to be able to win with separation, not just contested catches at all three positions, in my opinion. So for me, I'm out. I'm Brian Thomas Jr. And I know the caliber wide receiver you can get if you trade back eight spots.
00:47:23
Speaker
It's not that different. So I am sticking pick at 28. If one of those really great defensive players falls to you, Chuck Robinson, Johnny Newton, Cooper Dajon, you know, Byron Murphy. And if those guys aren't there, you move back. That's where I'm at. Dumb.
00:47:44
Speaker
I like it. I like it. I agree. I'm not team trade all the way up. Um, if it happens and it's in man, we do it boy, it'll be fun. But I will be squeezing my butt to try and hope and pray that we get, we hits right. That you are putting every, every chip in that basket to make it work. Right. It's like, it has to work there. And if it doesn't, then it's in a complete disaster. Um,
00:48:09
Speaker
Dude, I'm honestly getting closer and closer to being like this trade back, baby. Let's go get three or four picks in the top 100 and trade into the mid 30s. Go get another second round, third round pick and take another couple of dart throws.
00:48:27
Speaker
But there's some good players there at first round. There's going to be some good players because there is a whole slew. We know quarterbacks are being taken, right? There's so many quarterback needy teams that meant so we know the top three are going to be taken are absolutely going to be quarterbacks. One, two, three, I can guarantee we'll be quarterbacks. And then there's a good chance that there's teams training back into the first to come get a quarterback, which
00:48:53
Speaker
Maybe puts us in a good point where just like, hey, we know that it's going to be expensive for us to get up into the top 10. Can we drive up the price for them to come in and grab 28 from us? I don't know. Bean's got to work as magic. So could be. And we know wide receivers are really heavy. We know offensive tackles. There's going to be a good zillion of those. There's lots of tackle-needy teams.
00:49:17
Speaker
I don't know, man. I don't know. It could call all of a sudden that we have the pick of the litter at 28 and at the positions that we need because we don't need tackle. We don't need a quarterback. We need wide receiver. But maybe you're right that the value isn't there. I don't know, man. That's why I'm excited. That's we got to come to the hangathon. That's hang tack. Also hang on the hang tack. Yeah, dude.
00:49:45
Speaker
All right. Should we get into a couple of months? Yeah. Yeah. That will help these. These are just thought processes, right? These are thought problems. Just a good way of like, hey, this is what could happen. It's also a bad way to think about, oh, this is what will happen. So please, anybody who's viewing our mock drafts or anybody else's, these are absolutely not going to be anywhere close to what happens on Thursday. So not indicative whatsoever.
00:50:11
Speaker
The draft is the wild, wild west, dude. You just absolutely never know what's going to happen. The year that Josh got drafted, if you had told me Baker was going to go first, dude, I would have told you you were on
00:50:27
Speaker
crazy drugs. So, you know, dude, like you just you just absolutely never know. OK, folks, we are only going to do four rounds. We are going to pick as the bills. And I had this to go fast. I think we said that we're not going to do trades right now. Or are we thinking about it, baby boys? Let's let's keep it on. Let's keep it on. All right. All right. So we'll say we'll say, yeah, we'll leave it on for right now. So enters the low draft.
00:50:54
Speaker
It is going to move quick. You're probably not going to be able to keep up with what happens here. No, I'm a speed reader. I can read them all.
00:51:01
Speaker
You can read them all. All right. So we do have a couple trade offers here. I'm thinking maybe for these first two go arounds, we don't take any of these, but I agree. This is one that is very possible. This is stupid. Washington is picking number two and they're most likely grabbing a quarterback and they have a ton of other needs and they have a ton of draft capital. So I think honestly, Washington is a trade partner. I think we should be looking out for on Thursday night.
00:51:29
Speaker
Washington is also rumored to want to trade back into the first round. So this is super plausible. Now, for right now, let's say no, only because I'm looking over here, and I'm seeing two guys that I can't let go with, 28. So I'm going to reject everything here. Washington made us two offers. That's crazy. OK, so here we've got Johnny Newton, Cooper de Jean.
00:51:54
Speaker
Folks, look me in my eyeballs right now. It is not a world that we live in where both of these guys are on the board of 28. It's not going to happen. And I'm saying that now and you watch. They're both going to be there 20. Yeah. And you're going to have you're going to have to watch one fall fly by. You're going to exactly like I'm looking at picks that just happened like Kool-Aid McKinstry is not going over these two guys. I really don't think so. I would sprint to the podium for either of these picks. Johnny Newton or Cooper Dajon.
00:52:23
Speaker
My pick here would be Johnny Newton, only because...
00:52:28
Speaker
Defensive tackle is a position that impacts every single play that they are on the field, right? Or every single play period, right? Safety, not so much. If it's a run yard or if it's a run for two yards, you probably didn't do anything as a safety, right? You had no impact on that play. So for me, this is a easy home run sprint to the podium pick of Johnny Newton. How do you guys feel?
00:52:56
Speaker
man, sign me, sign me up every 10 out of 10, 10 out of 10. And you're right. Well, we might be. Oh, go ahead. Keep going. Yep. Yep. We're taking, we're taking him there.
00:53:09
Speaker
All right, so we're getting to 60. We're, of course, going to have a couple of trades here. I would say for right now, let's ignore. I think right. Yep. Because so next we probably I'm thinking here, if we go defensive tackle or defensive line period, probably going to want to go start thinking about that wide receiver. I want to peek at who's a defensive tackle and edge. OK, this is a guy, either of these guys.
00:53:35
Speaker
I would say here. Yep. So Michael Hall Jr. Thank you. I forgot. Not everyone's looking at us. Um, actually there's three here. Michael Hall Jr., Chris Jenkins, Braden Fiske. All of these here would be sick defensive tackle picks. We're not going to take a defensive tackle because we just did, but these would be awesome picks here. Let's peek at edge real quick. Okay.
00:54:00
Speaker
Um, so the names I'm seeing here, Darius Robinson, Adisa Isaac, Braylon Trice, Brandon Dorless. I'm not loving the value here at defensive end. So my thought here is definitely let's go to wide receiver. And this is where we are going to start to walk into some really great value.
00:54:20
Speaker
Okay, Roman Wilson at pick 60 would be awesome. Just a lot of those like a lot of those things that we're looking for can win it all three levels ability to separate just just good value for the pick where you're reaching for a wide receiver at pick 28. Either you guys have thoughts.
00:54:41
Speaker
No, other than I think that's another tier down from some of the players that maybe we could have gotten at 28, you know, thinking the Adonai Mitchells, the Xavier Worthy is the the laggets of the worlds, right? I think this is another tier down and it's because we took this, we took D tackle in round one.
00:55:03
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're correct, Tom. I don't disagree with you there. I just think the drop off here, if the drop off here with these with these couple of tiers is this, right? The drop off with D tackle is
00:55:20
Speaker
that you can't see because it's off my score. Well, we just saw three players that we honestly, I'd agree with you that we'd be happy with a detackle around. Yeah. And I just, yeah, now I'm getting my words. Yeah. Great point. So, you know, I think we go in Wilson. I think Roman Wilson is the pick because I think I think we get even more sad about wide receiver as we go down without getting one of these players. But I don't know. It's always an opportunity cost. Right. Let's go. Robert Wilson here.
00:55:47
Speaker
Let's go Roman Wilson. Yup. That's, I mean, dude, let's, let's, you know, if this direct goes, um, Newton, Roman Wilson, like I'm, I'm thrilled on the first round. Yes. Yes. I completely agree.
00:56:02
Speaker
So dude, so Malik Washington, Javon Baker, both here on the board at pick 128, I would be stoked on either of those guys. Um, but we just took a wide receiver. Let's go look at, actually, let's go to all first and just see who's on the board here. I like it.
00:56:19
Speaker
So as I'm looking at some of these names, I'm seeing Leonard Taylor III, Bucky Irving, Jayden Hicks, Jared Wiley, and Tanner Bortolini. Of all of these picks, honestly, I would say Jayden Hicks at safety is my favorite. I personally don't love Leonard Taylor. I don't love the way he uses his hands. I think he's not heavy-handed enough. And I think his pass rushing moves are a little bit limited. I would go Jayden Hicks here at safety.
00:56:48
Speaker
But let's just peek around a little bit at the board. Look at the detackle. We have Leonard Taylor there.
00:56:54
Speaker
Mackay Wingo, I like more than Leonard Taylor, personally. Let's peek at Edge. OK, so for me, this is my pick here, Jevon Solomon, Edge out of Troy. I really, really like Jevon Solomon. According to Pro Football Network, which is the board that we're using here, we're reaching a little bit at pick 128. He's ranked as their number 138 player.
00:57:18
Speaker
But for me, given the fact that we have not the fact that we have not taken a defensive tackle and a wide receiver, I'm looking to fill that edge spot. Jevon Solomon is a name I really like here. Let's do it. Let's do it. All right. So Jevon Solomon, you are the next Buffalo Bill.
00:57:35
Speaker
And now at this point, I think we can probably go to all because we kind of just picked, and now we're getting into a world where honestly, Leonard Taylor is just good value at this point, right? We're a pick 133. He's at 99. That's, you know, at some point that's just solid value there. As I scroll down... Malik Washington's still there. Still there. Yup.
00:58:00
Speaker
And I don't. So what are your thoughts on the double dip at the wide receiver, like a first or a second and then a fourth or fifth? Like, I love it. Honestly, let's fill the cupboards, man. Right. Like, go get it. Go get. I think if we leave with two. I mean, heck three wide receivers. I think two needs to be the minimum wide receivers that Brandon Bean leaves this this draft with.
00:58:21
Speaker
Yeah, i'd be happy with brandon coleman here too if i'm being honest if we wanted to shore up some offensive line depth But I think this is an even better pick So we'll go with that and that's gonna that's gonna be the end of it there for us. So for this round we went Um number 28, we got johnny newton Um pick 60 we got roman wilson pick 128. We got javon solomon edge out of troy
00:58:44
Speaker
and then 133 we got Malik Washington, the wide receiver out of Virginia. I'd be thrilled if these were our first four picks. Boys, we're at 58 minutes. Do we want to fly through another one real quick or do we want to
00:58:59
Speaker
Do the people out of here and remind them. Let's just do one. Let's do one more. Do one more. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool. All right. Restart this real quick. And sorry, my computer. My computer is telling me nonstop that it just doesn't have enough RAM to do anything. So hey, man, my body tells me the same thing. So we're jumping in here. Let's see the way the board falls to us this time.
00:59:30
Speaker
And there they go. I'm not moving that fast now. We'll get there, I promise. Tom, we need some public domain music during these bricks. Play the Saints go marching in. All right.
00:59:58
Speaker
So we've got three trade offers here. Do we want to look at the trade offers?
01:00:02
Speaker
No, not that's just for the sake of time. That's all right. Yeah, cool. All right. So as we're looking at the best available care, we have Cooper Dijon on the board. Um, not going to read a quarterback, not going to read a tackle. And then the next two guys are at an I Mitchell and Xavier worthy. I scroll down a little bit. Keon Coleman is on the board. Led McConkie is on the board. Um,
01:00:30
Speaker
Chaolin Polk is on the board. So, and at that point after that, we're probably reaching a little bit. Yup. Did you see like it? I was looking for him. I missed him. 50, 50 something. Okay. So like it's here too. Oh, yeah. Okay. Okay. A row, row, row. Um, so what are you thinking here? Tommy looking at the guys that we got available to us. So the more the impact player for me that I'm really excited about would be Cooper Dijon. Um,
01:01:00
Speaker
But looking wide receiver, man, I don't know if I'm sold an ed and I Mitchell. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. I think, I think Xavier worthy could be really fun because the speed would be just, just wicked. Put Curtis Samuel out there. Kalir Shakir, James cook and Xavier worthy. Like good night.
01:01:19
Speaker
Yeah, I just don't know the guy. He's tiny. The guy's one like five seven one sixty five. Right. So small. He's a little he's a little bit of him in the back pocket, you know, like. Yeah, I do. For me, it's a no brainer. The pick is Cooper Dijon. You just you can't you can't convince me that he's anybody on this board right now is better. So, yeah, let's take Cooper Dijon just for kicks, because I don't think he gets there. I think the world is smarter than this mock draft.
01:01:47
Speaker
But my god if he's there Sick part of my desire to trade back is that man? I'm in love with Xavier Leggett and lad mcconkey. Yeah, me too Either one of those twos, but at 28 the value isn't there but at the 30s or the 40s I
01:02:06
Speaker
It could be closer, right? Yeah. So like that's what makes me want to try and trade back and get another pick in that second or third round this year and set us up to get them and other people too. You know, so I don't know. Walk us through what we have here, bud. Yep. We're a pick 60 here. I'm looking at Ruke, a row, row, row. He's listed as a D tag, but I think he's going to play defensive end in the NFL. Cooper Bebe offensive guard from Kansas state, Troy Franklin wide receiver, Oregon.
01:02:36
Speaker
Michael Hall, Jr. Defensive tackle, Ohio State and Chris Jenkins, defensive tackle, Michigan. Tom, looking at this here, what are you thinking? Um, so we just took Cooper. Um, so I think, I mean, wide receiver is going to be a, um, uh, kind of a, a need here. Can you go to offense and show me more than just Trey Franklin? Absolutely, dude. Offense wide receiver.
01:03:04
Speaker
Roman Wilson's there, Ricky Pearsall's there, Troy Franklin's there. Dude, I think any one of those three would be great. We've already picked Roman Wilson, so let's not do him. Let's pick a new name. So talk to me about Troy Franklin. What are your thoughts on him?
01:03:22
Speaker
I like Troy Franklin. I think he is solid. I worry about him a little bit in the contested catch game. But I think he's going to be an impact player at the next level. Can he separate? Yes.
01:03:36
Speaker
So that's what helps Josh Allen the best, right? Those are the players that help him the best, not the contested catch guys. He's not a, he's, he's a fine contested catch thrower, but he's not, that's not where his strength. So if he's a player who could help us get, get, get into space and separate, then Troy Frankins my pick.
01:03:54
Speaker
OK, oops. I will tell you here my pick here. My pick is is Chris Jenkins, defense tackle from Michigan. That's my pick here. Jake, what do you want to be the tiebreaker? Do you want to go defensive tackle or do you want to go wide receiver? It means nothing, but I'll be the tiebreaker. I'm going wide receiver. Cool. All right, so we're going Troy Franklin. It's like like Air Bud.
01:04:25
Speaker
between the kid and the clown where everybody has to pick. You're on wide receiver still, so if you want to go back out to all, then you'll see. Oh, yeah, I'll go out to all here. So I don't think it'll update until we actually get to our pick, which has taken a minute here. Sorry, everybody. My laptop is fighting for its life, I can tell. Life support. We'll get there.
01:04:54
Speaker
Yep. Got it a little ways back. It's a little old now, you know. We do what we can. All right, we're into round four. We're picking at 128. We're at pick 104 right now. Pick 114. Do, do, do, do, do. And here we are. OK. So.
01:05:20
Speaker
Ooh, I don't like our all holes here. Let's go peek. Let's go peek at defensive. Tackle. Yeah, and I don't love.
01:05:36
Speaker
Tavandre Sweatt's decent value here. I would be happy with that pick here. So where would pick 128? And as far as defensive tackles, I've seen Tavandre Sweatt, Tyler Davis, Jordan Jefferson, Keith Randolph Jr. Tavandre Sweatt would be my pick there. Jevont Solomon's still here at pick 130 on the board. I like him a lot, but
01:06:03
Speaker
I guess that would be my pick here. We've got defensive tackle and wide receiver. I would go Jevon Solomon again, but we did already take him. I then the man, if that's the player that we're really like, let's do it. Let's do it. Just for time's sake. Let's do it. Yeah. That's why I like here. Okay. So we'll take Jevon Solomon again. Then.
01:06:27
Speaker
So we have 128 and 133. We're five picks. Yeah, two really close together there.
01:06:37
Speaker
for going with a different pick. Yeah, like Washington is there still were pick 133 he's there. As I'm looking through this year, I would I think a Dylan Laube pick could be really fun here. I like him a lot. He would be a good compliment to James Cook, in my opinion. But yeah, the smart pick legitimately would be Malik Washington again. Let's go Dylan Laube. What do you think, Tom? Sure, why not?
01:07:00
Speaker
Sure. Why not? I'll finish this out here. Cool. So this all we got Cooper de Jean safety from Iowa pick 28. Pick 60 Troy flank Franklin Franklin wide receiver from Oregon 128 we got Jevon Solomon again and pick 133
01:07:18
Speaker
We got Dylan Loughley running back out of New Hampshire. Tom, get us out of here, would you, buddy? All right, folks. Hey, this is it. This is the week. A lot's going on this week. So come and hang out on Thursday with Nigel and I right here on YouTube, on Twitter for the 2024 Let's Go Buff Pods.
01:07:38
Speaker
Hang spectacular. Hangtacular. And we'd love to see you. Thank you so much for hanging with us tonight. And please give us a share on all the socials on Instagram, on Twitter, on YouTube. We really appreciate it. And it really does help us out. So thank you. We appreciate that.
01:07:57
Speaker
These are my buddies. That's Nigel. That's Jake. My name is Tom, and you're listening to the Let's Go Buffalo podcast. We're sending you love wherever you are. Go, Phil.