By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
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 nine takeaways from Beane at the combine:
Extending players with term left on contract
The Bills have the third-most salary cap space heading into the offseason. It’s a big topic of discussion. If the Bills really want to sling some dollars and bring in the big fish, they certainly can do so.
But there’s an underlying factor at play. The Bills have several young players still on their rookie contracts, who are key members of the team, that will need extensions in a year or two. Among those entering the final year of their contracts are linebacker Matt Milano, offensive lineman Dion Dawkins, and cornerback Tre’Davious White, however, White does have a fifth-year option on his deal as a former first-round pick.
With those three in mind, Beane said the negotiations for extensions probably won’t come until later this offseason just because of his schedule. Free agency opens in March and then the NFL Draft is in April.
“It can vary,” Beane said. “The way it’s worked out, I think I’ve done more [of those types of deals] after the draft.”
“There’s just so much more going on from when the season ends, through the draft, through free agency, it’s hard to slow down and focus on guys you already have under contract,” Beane added.
Although, Beane did admit he “would not be hesitant to do a deal now if it made sense.” Players Beane has extended after the draft include Jerry Hughes, Stephen Hauschka and Eric Wood.
Targeting TE Greg Olsen
The Bills lost the coveted Greg Olsen sweepstakes. The 13-year veteran signed with the Seahawks recently, after having also visited the Redskins and Bills. Beane didn’t say he regretted going after the tight end, who he spent time with in Carolina before joining Buffalo, at all. Rather, Beane said going after Olsen is like an example of the ol’ “due diligence” that the Bills often tout.
“(Olsen has) put up some great numbers in this league. Any time there’s a guy like that, you’re going to check it out. I’m always going to be looking from the draft, free agency, salary cap cuts, somebody thinks this guy is too old but maybe I don’t, whatever the case may be, I’m going to take a look,” Beane said.
After signing with the Seahawks, Olsen said one of the reasons he joined them over the likes of the Bills and other teams was because of how good quarterback Russell Wilson is. Beane will hope his QB, Josh Allen, will one day grow into sure a talent that can bring in talent.
The XFL is a scouting zone for the Bills
The XFL is three weeks into its existence and by some metrics, such as the eye test, is pretty fun. Many of their players aren’t just looking for a paycheck, they’re lining up in the XFL for one last shot at the NFL. Would Beane go to the new league to scout?
If it’s football, Beane will come… basically.
“Anything that’s football, we;re going to check it out. CFL, XFL, we were watching the AAF. I think it’s good. I love these other leagues. We don’t have a minor league system like some of the other professional leagues do, so for us, it’s another chance for some guys to play football,” Beane said. “You can run guys around and work guys out, but this is true, simulation… helmets on, pads on, playing the game.”
So far the Bills should have interest in plenty of prospects there and don’t be surprised if you see some former XFL players getting contracts from Buffalo before training camp as a type of tryout for the team. One to watch specifically could be Cam Phillips. The Bills try to keep good relations with all players, even former ones they cut, and Phillips might be the best prospect in the entire league. He’s leading the league in receiving yards and has seven touchdowns…
… in three games.
“We definitely do have an eye on the XFL,” Beane concluded.
What’s he think of the WR class at the 2020 NFL Draft?
The Bills need a big-bodied wide receiver, right? As expected, Beane said nope. He described this class as “Baskin Robbins’ 31 flavors of ice cream.” There’s a lot of good players Beane thinks, regardless of size or shape.
“Honestly, I’m looking for a good player,m” Beane said. “There’s size, speed, length, guys run after catch, all sorts of variables.”
“This is a deep receiver class, I think i can say that now,” Beane added. “Probably the deepest.
“We’re not looking for speed or size, we’re looking at guys that can come in and fit along side what we already got, John Brown, Cole Beasley and the rest.”
So translation, really, Beane didn’t want to give away anything that he’s thinking. There’s plenty of teams ahead of the Bills in the draft, such as a the Eagles one spot ahead of Buffalo’s first-round pick, that also could use a wideout. Can’t give em’ anything (really). In regards to specific receivers, Beane was asked about one guy, Colorado’s Laviska Shenault, who’s a popular pick to the Bills in mock drafts.
On Shenault: “He’s been a productive player at Colorado. Put his name up there as one of the better receivers and we’ll see,” Beane said. “His tape was fun to watch.”
Replacing Zo
Lorenzo Alexander was never one of the best players on any team he was on, but he sure was one of the most valuable ones. He was a good, all-around player and leader for the Bills. By the time his career was ending, the Bills trusted his skills as a defensive back in coverage, a pass rusher from anywhere, and as a key special teamer. That’s one guy doing three jobs.
Beane said he knows that’s going to be hard to replace.
“It’s hard because there’s not a lot of guys that can play a stack linebacker like he could and also give you something as a pass rusher. Not only on the edge, we had in rush inside over guards as well,” Beane said. “I’m not sure we’re necessarily going to find that piece.”
“We’ll at least try to find a guy who can play will linebacker,” Beane added.”There are guys [who can do what Lorenzo does], but not many.”
From the sounds of it, Beane might be reduced to finding multiple players to replace Alexander. He was a luxury they’ll no longer have.
Shaq Lawson (& Jordan Phillips) effect
At the pass rusher position, the Bills need to improve. Shaq Lawson led the Bills’ defensive ends with 6.5 sacks last season, while defensive tackle Jordan Phillips led the team with 9.5 sacks. Buffalo needs more production and will likely add to that position group. However, the Bills do run a rotation there, so even if there are new faces and changes, old one will still play a part. So that begs the biggest questions of the offseason, will Lawson and Phillips be back since they’re pending free agents?
That question wasn’t answered by Beane. The question that was is that Beane, regardless of what happens with those two, is probably going to still add some new faces in the defensive trenches.
“I think it’s regardless [of those situations],” Beane said. “Regardless of Shaq (Lawson) and Jordan (Phillips), it would not deter me, in any round, to take a pass rusher. I think it’s a premium position. Those guys, the elite ones, those guys get paid.”
On balancing the cap in 2020 vs. future cap
As mentioned, the Bills have a lot of cap space now, but Beane later in his interview went deeper into how important keeping some extra space around is going to be to him:
“People will say, ‘you got $80 million,’ but you know me, I want to draft, develop, and sign our own. It’s not like we can go out and spend a bunch of money in free agency, and then watch our own guys walk out the door. It’s a fine line, we do have holes to fill. But we also want to make sure that we have money in 2020, then we have some guys coming up in 2021 and 2022 that I want to make sure that we have the funds to make sure to re-sign those guys if they’re willing to re-sign with us,” Beane said.
As mentioned, 2021 guys are White, Milano and Dawkins. Beyond that, quarterback Josh Allen, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and even veteran free agent additions such as Jordan Poyer are also going to start to come into focus. If the Bills want to keep them, they’ll need cap room to do so.
On Josh Norman
In terms of free agents already on the open market, cornerback Josh Norman is the top dog. He won’t be once everyone else’s contract expires, but he’s still out there currently while others like Lawson and Phillips will be in March. In regard to Norman, Beane confirmed that he has spoken to Norman about potentially joining the Bills.
“We’re very familiar with Josh. We had some great years with him, I remember the day we drafted him,” Beane said. “Yeah, he is out there on the free agent market, we have looked into him and even talked to him. Nothing more than that, to where it’d go [at this time]. He may have some teams he’s look at beyond Buffalo. So probably similar to Greg Olsen. He’s in a spot where he’d be able to chose where he wants to go.”
“Beyond that, I don’t know what his plan is and I don’t know if we’ll come to any type of agreement,” Beane added.
White is the Bills’ cornerstone. Across from him, Levi Wallace and Kevin Johnson split playing time. The Bills will have Wallace back and he’s a ERFA, but Johnson is a pending free agent. Could Norman fit the No. 2 or 3 spot? He could, but it’s a roll of the dice. By most accounts, he’ has lost a step, but as the story goes, in 2015 in Carolina with Beane and McDermott, Norman was an All-Pro.
How he talks to prospects at combine
Wrapping it up, how does Beane get to know prospects at the combine? Always an interesting thought. Most football fans have heard stories of teams asking players beyond ridiculous questions, just to see how they’ll react. Maybe Beane does that, but he said he sticks to X’s and O’s.
“It’s huge,” Beane said of meeting prospects at the combine. “For me, the interview, getting these guys in a setting that they can’t predict.
“For me, we get on the [white] board or put on film, just to see how these guys respond. Do they take ownership of a mistake that happened on a play? Why didn’t you do this or…? Just seeing their knowledge, ‘what coverage is that?’ See where they’re at. What personnel group? And find out a little bit about them, where they’re at, their love for the game. We ask some questions about, when did you start playing football? What attracts you [to football]? What excites you the most about the NFL? Is it money? Is it whatever? We get into a lot of things.”