PDaDdy

That is a good point. IMO we were exposed for our lack of depth on the line and that was before we just lost Bell. If Peters didn't go down I think Bell would have remained a Bill. Looks like Peters boned us over twice If I'm not mistaken the "HIT" on Fitz that injured his ribs came on the left side in the Redskins game when Levitre moved to LT when Bell went down. If Hairston is going to become something he will find his way into the starting lineup somewhere or at least he would hopefully develop into a valuable backup at the tackle and guard spots.

I would trade up assuming Kalil is actually the real deal. I'm not sure how he stacks up against other #1 rated tackles in previous drafts but it would take care of a big need for us. I do hate the idea of giving up our second round pick because that could be a starting OLB or WR potentially. I did vote yes but with a good deal or reservation. What I would really like to see us do is trade down in the first to get Glen or Martin and trade back into the first using our second and 3rd to get Stephen Hill. These trade up, trade down scenarios are usually a waste of time as they don't happen not because we wouldn't want to but you have to find partners that are also willing and get the right value. I am not sold on Hairston who will be a 2nd year player that has played a few games but he was our second 4th round pick and hasn't shown me that he is certain to be the LT of the future. If the organization doesn't feel that Hairston is or is assured of eventually becoming that guy then the trade up would be worth it.

I would LOVE to get Stephen Hill in the 2nd round but he is a sure fire 1st round pick.

Exactly my biggest fear on that one. There are certainly other guys I would be fine with having but after his pro day Floyd might be just out of reach.

MAN! Forum posters are so predictable! People really need to work on their reading comprehension. I knew somebody would try to make the ridiculous statement that I was comparing Floyd to Calvin Johnson, I addressed it beforehand to MAKE SURE nobody thinks I am trying to put them on the same level...AND STILL someone makes the statement. *sigh* Let's forget all the you can get a starting player in round 'x' in the draft. Yes, it's all happened before. People have won the lottery so lets all go out and buy scratch off tickets instead of investing in our 401k because it's been done before! The reality is that if you want quality and immediate impact you usually have to draft it early. We need a day 1 starter at WR and Floyd by all accounts can be that guy. There are some that are now whispering that Floyd could be the best WR in the draft. Why would we pass that up to get the second best LT in the draft especially considering the belief that there is a BIG drop off between Kalil and everyone else?

That logic is just flawed all to hell. We should be looking for the best talent we can get at a position of need. If we had the opportunity to draft a Calvin Johnson do you turn him down because you are "all set" at the #1 WR position. NO! That would be ridiculous. (NO....I am not trying to say Floyd is anywhere near as good as Calvin Johnson.) Floyd is going to be a rookie. He will play where he gets put! If he pushes SJ for the #1 WR spot....FREAKING AWESOME! So much the better. Focus on the fact that we need 2 starting caliber WRs. I don't care where they play or who is #1 or #2 or 1a and 1b it just flat out doesn't matter. We need two reliable guys that can play. As many coaches like to say that is a great problem to have.

Ah, I see. Eh, I'm even less sure about providing anything resembling a useful or meaningful answer. He has shown what he could do with no offseason etc and he was thrown into the fire due to injury. I guess seeing him in some NFL games would remove some question marks in your hypothetical scenario but I still don't know that he would go that much higher. As with most players it is too early to tell if they will continue to get it and improve or eventually become a no name. Purely speculative but anyone that would have a chance to start over him would likely have to come out of the first 2 rounds or maybe getting lucky and hitting the lottery on some guy in the 3rd. Buddy did say he thinks there are 2 or 3 guys that could be starters at LT in this years draft if I am not mistaken. Kalil is one of them. I'm not sure who the other 1 or 2 are. I assume by this he means "could start over Hairston". We'll see if we reach, according to experts, for one of those guys at #10 or if Buddy thinks there is a guy in the 2nd or 3rd round that could be had to man the spot. I just have a bad feeling about Reiff and hope it's not him that Buddy thinks could come in and start. There could be better players at their respective positions in the first round at other areas of need for us. I would prefer Floyd, Keuchly or even a guy like Mercilus if he could play OLB in the 4-3!

Actually I did some digging around for what little it is worth. Hairston had a 2 star rating and was listed as the 16th best tackle in the 2011 draft. Looking at this years draft the 2 star OTs are looking like 5th round picks and as low as UFA. I don't think Hairston would be anymore highly ranked than last year.

It's silly question in a way. It's like asking if you like organic or regular steak. The answer is yes as long as it is a steak. I would prefer an organic steak but I won't settle for tofu if the steak isn't organic. Do you care if your president used to be a coke snorting alcoholic if you think he is doing a good job as president? Do you care if your boss is cheating on his wife if he runs the company well, makes your life easy and pays you GREAT money to do it? The answers to those questions are for the most part no. Sure, we wish they were better people but the job they do is generally more important than who they are as a person. As long as who they are as a person doesn't have a significant impact on how they do their job I don't care too much. Winning is the most important thing. I would rather win with character. That being said NFL players are human beings that make mistakes and are flawed just like every one of us. In many cases they are more flawed. They are taught to make a friend of aggression. They are put on a privileged pedestal that can often cause a person to lose their grounding and perspective. They see the hypocrisy of the the business of football at the college level. Despite getting a free education which has to come second to their dedication to football their contributions on the football field make MILLIONS for the universities and the NCAA. Meanwhile they might not even have a car to drive or have the money to take a girl out on a date. The difference with us is that we don't live under a microscope and have our every little transgression blown out of proportion and criticized by every fan who wants to feel they are better, smarter or holier than thou. All NFL players are are human beings that won the genetic lottery, were mentally tough enough and worked hard enough to hone those skills to become an NFL player. I would rather win with a flawed bunch of HUMAN beings with some character questions than lose with a bunch of squeaky clean guys that can't get the job done.

I am not big of Reif. Unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised if we did pick him but I'm not in love with it. Honestly I just hope that Floyd is available for us to pick. I could easily see the Jaguars or the Dolphins taking him.

What do we do if he doesn't make the purely speculative expected big jump or gets hurt?

Come from nowhere situations do happen but it's not something I would want to bank on. I have no idea where Hairston would be drafted this year. All I can say is he was a 4th round pick based on scouting projections last year. I don't love the talent at the top of this years draft class other than Kalil but the rest of the talent left in the 3rd and 4th rounds may not be any better or worse values than last year. I guess the only way to even attempt to project where he might go in this years draft would be based on his scouts.com rating or some similar. I don't think any of us have explored the draft and OT talent through 4 or 5 rounds in this and last year's draft to make our own assessment that would be worth anything. It would all just be pure speculation. I am glad he got some experience last year but I just don't feel that counting on him is a good strategy if we are trying to get to the play offs this year which truly appears to be the goal for once. He's already on the team and I hope that he does REALLY well. I wouldn't base my retirement plan on hitting the lottery or a come out of nowhere bet and I wouldn't want to rely so heavily on a potential come out of nowhere 4th round second year LT. It's not quite as big of a gamble as all that but it is perhaps too big of a risk.

Not to be argumentative but I really feel the exact opposite is true. The last couple years I think McKelvin played it up closer to the line and wasn't able to keep up with WR's double moves and such. He has the speed and athleticism but he seemed to get his feet tangled up or just didn't have the ball skills when the ball was in the air. The cover 2 under Jauron I think required him to play off and keep everything in front of him and only be responsible for an area of the field and anyone that came in it. I think McKelvin is suited to play that style of CB not press coverage.

I think you misunderstand what I'm saying. You have reiterated my point. He was a 4th round pick rookie. This wild optimism about a 4th round pick rookie IS the problem or I should say RELYING on it. Unless coach Gailey and Nix know something that we haven't seen on the field we just can't do that. Hairston could be good. Hell, he could be great ...EVENTUALLY! In my opinion it is one hell of a gamble to take. We can't go into the season trying to make a playoff push with this guy as the starter.

Yes, you're memory is fading. When Bell was healthy he was the starter. He played a little coming back from injury in week 14 and he started weeks 15 and 16. I think he got hurt again or something as Hairston started week 17. Basically when Bell was healthy enough which was rare he was the starter.

We definitely need a LT without question. Floyd is a better pick and better value if he falls to us at #10. He also addresses a huge need. I to believe that if we don't fix the LT spot that we could have a bad year on offense and people will try to blame the wrong guys for it. What I question is is there much difference the talent we could get at LT at #10 much different than the talent we could get at #41. It is funny to me the whole LT thing. We were incredibly critical of the spot when our perennial probowler Jason Peters was here but we have had WILD unfounded optimism regarding anyone playing the spot not named Jason Peters since. IMO Bell wasn't good enough in large part due to his injury history and he was the clear starter over our 2nd 4th round pick rookie Hairston. Bell wasn't good enough and Hairston couldn't even beat him out for the starting job. Maybe Hairston will be something eventually. Unless he made a HUGE improvement in his game since we last saw him he isn't good enough right now and we have NO depth. It all depends on what Buddy and his scouts think but in my opinion drafting any tackle that might be available to us at #10 is the definition of drafting only for need vs best player available at a position of need.

I hope they do run at Anderson ALL DAY. That way we will know where they are going and our LB can flow to the ball carrier and drop him for losses or short gains. If you had any other option why would you rush at Dareus, KW and Super Mario? As you stated there aren't many other guys in the league that you wouldn't run at when presented with the other 3 options.

Typical. Anderson has shown what he has the capability of doing. It's up to the Stache to get it out of him. Playing alongside KW, Dareus and Super Mario should allow this guy to do his thing. We played a lot of nickel last year and with the dreaded "it's a passing league" philosophy he will be able to use his talents. I'm not worried about his run support and we obviously have a good number of horses now and we will likely platoon our d-lineman. Even if he plays 47% of the snaps like in New England and gets near 10 sacks that would be a huge success. We are paying Kelsay $3.5 Million plus bonuses. I think Kelsay is a bit over paid but if he is even slightly better than Kelsay it is worth the upgrade. It is also showing players that Buffalo can be a free agent destination. Worth every penny on paper.

It all comes down to what Buddy's Board looks like. Personally if given the choice between Floyd and any Tackle not named Matt I say take Floyd. I would look for a tackle in the second and I would definitely look for more than one. Personally I don't like the tackle value at #10. Everybody seems to need significant work or has significant flaws.

I certainly understand the talk about LT being our biggest need probably because it is. WR is definitely a huge need as well. That being said I think that Floyd if he is available is a better pick than any of the tackles we might have a shot at #10. We do definitely need an LT. Developing late round picks and UFAs into NFL LTs is generally not a strategy that is going to be successful in the long run. In my opinion we got lucky on Jason Peters and then pissed it away. Bell was nothing special but he eventually became serviceable although he couldn't be relied upon due to injuries. Jason Peters was a guy that could play on an island like a shutdown corner. Bell and Hairston are guys that need RB chip block and TE help.

I agree but not in the way you expect. The higher draft picks should be weighted more heavily since they are in theory projected as better talent and almost always have better measureables. Screwing up your early picks are much more egregious errors. Late round picks should be weighted more lightly as they are almost literally a "crap shoot". We got lucky on SJ and it took years for him to become the productive WR he is today. We didn't peg him as a future star and waited to get him in the 7th round. We got lucky.

He was a strong safety, not a free safety not a corner back for a reason. This is exactly my point. If Whitner was picked in the second round he might still be here and have fan support not hate. Did he live up to the 8th over all pick? NO! It's not his fault Jauron drafted him there. Soooo...the nfl performance vs where drafted issue is important. The original poster addressed getting an eventual good NFL player at a pick higher than expected. Whitner was good enough to get a nice contract and play on a great defense on a team that was a fumble away from playing in the superbowl. Whitner was just fine but he was hated from day one because of where he was drafted. Reaching for need can't be ignored if the guy turns out to be a starting caliber player but doesn't live up to the pick. For one the fan base will immediately hate the guy forever. My point proven. We have guys that are just fine and they cost a lot less money and were picked much lower. I'm certainly not broken up over him leaving but I'm not going to dog the guy.

Because he is available in this years draft. I hope that other teams just below us are looking at it just in case he does fall to us. If we don't see a day 1 starter at a position of need at #10 and someone wants to trade up for Richardson, AWESOME!

On the surface you are correct. Value has to do with projections and potential. A good player is a good player no matter where they are drafted. Now tell that to fans. Whitner was just fine at safety but he was given hell because we drafted him at #9 and he was considered a reach. We have many needs and many picks. Sometimes you have to take the best value at a particular pick instead of "reaching" for need. We have a big need at LT but it's generally believed that the LT options we will have at #10 aren't worth being picked that high. We might be able to get the same production with a second round pick. A WR like Floyd would be a much better value because he plays at a position of need and is accepted to be "worth" the pick. Also from a GM/fantasy football perspective it's about getting value. Could any team have drafted Tom Brady? ABSOLUTELY! Any team would have been fools to do so in the first round because you could have drafted him in the 5th. Even if you somehow KNEW he was going to be a star you have to realize where he is ranked and that nobody is even going to look at a guy like that in the first few rounds. You get some other players then get your "sleeper" in the 5th. It's about eventual NFL production AND draft projection value. If you can get the same performance at a particular position in the first or in in the second round. You get the better value in the second. If you can buy a TV at Walmart or at your local appliance store and get the exact same product(production), you get the TV from the place with the best value(lowest draft pick).

We need a LB that is fast, can stop the run and drop back into coverage. Ability to be brought as an extra rusher is key as well. Unfortunately some of the best prospects that could fill this role we college DE's not LBs. I still like Mercilus.