AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots Front Office Intrigue

Bills

Virginia Tech CB coach Derek Jones said Buffalo got a steal in the sixth round in CB Dorian Strong, who he said was one of the better players that he’s ever coached.

“They got themselves a steal,” Jones said, via Buffalo News. “Everybody’s got to understand that this guy’s a little bit different when it comes to playing that position. He had one of the most amazing seasons of anybody I’ve ever coached. If you go back and look at what people we’ve played against have done against him, it just hasn’t been a lot of success, especially when you talk about throwing the ball downfield.”

Jones added that Strong plays with a chip on his shoulder and it wouldn’t matter if he got drafted in the first or sixth round, he’s out to prove that he can compete with the best.

“It’s Dorian’s job to prove that he is the guy that I know he is and that he knows he is, and I would say he’s OK with that,” Jones said. “I know he’s eager to prove himself, but had Dorian gone in the first round or second round, he’s still that type of guy that would want prove himself because he’s a very competitive kid.”

Jets

The common theme for new Jets fifth-round DE Tyler Baron and what he brings to the roster is versatility. The expectations for mid-round picks like Baron are usually measured, and GM Darren Mougey noted the positive about Baron is he can contribute in multiple ways. 

“I think you get somebody that can kind of check three to four spots off that 53-man roster,” he said via Ethan Greenberg of the team website. “I think with me the biggest thing is just value. Then you get a guy that just wants to be in the Jets building, wants to be a part of everything it means to be a Jet, so I think you get the right type of person and someone that looks forward to being there.”

“I think [my] strength is really just the versatility in terms of the run game and the value I bring in terms of the pass rush,” Baron added. “Just being able to work for a bunch of different spots and just be whatever [the coaches] need me to be on that given day.”

Long-term, the Jets hope they can tease more upside out of Baron’s game. 

“If you watch him on tape, he actually showed really good pass rush ability,” Jets HC Aaron Glenn said. “So now it’s just nudging him a little bit more to get him over that hump to be a really good player for us and we expect our player to do that for us.” 

Patriots

SI’s Albert Breer doesn’t believe Patriots GM Eliot Wolf‘s job security is in danger at all. In fact, the hiring of A.J. Highsmith, who is the son of Alonzo Highsmith, EVP of player personnel to Wolf, reinforces this point.

“The connection many people didn’t make is Mike Vrabel’s link to fellow Ohioan Chad Brinker,” Breer said. “Brinker and Vrabel worked together for a year in Tennessee and had a strong relationship. Brinker is very close to Wolf, with whom he spent nearly a decade with in Green Bay. Vrabel learned the Packers’ scouting system in his time with Brinker and talked to Brinker about Wolf before taking the Patriots job. Could things go wrong from here? Sure. That’s always a possibility when you have a scouting chief inheriting a coach or vice versa. But I think Vrabel, Wolf and VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden, who got close to Vrabel in Tennessee, are on the same page now.”