Billsguy

Agreed. Great group of names Zebrie, Tank, Nigel, Cordy, Stephon

Stop bringing up facts - it interferes with the fantasies around here.

The Bills needed help on defense (linebackers and secondary) and on offense (offensive tackle and wide receiver). They have drafted to fill these needs so far. The remaining question is how good are these players? Nobody knows at this point. Draft grades should be broken into two parts. Part 1 answers the question, "How well did the draft fill specific needs?" Part 2 answers the question, "How well did the draft improve the team over the next several years?" The Bills seem to be doing well on part 1 so far. However, part 2 (the most important part!) remains to be seen and won't be known for years.

I read he graded out no higher than a 5th rounder. Mayock had him graded as a 7th rounder. This is a real head scratcher. I'm not saying he's bad, but why trade up? Buddy must have really loved this guy. Maybe he'll tell us.

I don't think so. Pears is set at RT. Hairston stays at LT. Glenn backs up Hairston to start, but could possibly move to RG. Looks like a solid pick. In three years he could be the next tackle for the Eagles.

Let's evaluate the draft in 3 or 4 years, not 3 or 4 hours. It's ridiculous to get worked up over draft grades anyway - positive or negative!

It's funny. I read the description about Gilmore and it sounded almost exactly like McKelvin. Physical tools and questionable instincts.

My impression is that the Bills don't think any of the "available" OT's is worthy of the 10th pick. I also believe that they think they can get a very good WR in round 2 or later. I don't think they will draft any of the hybrid DE/LB's. I also believe they don't think they have a CB worthy of the 10th pick. (BTW, I'm not saying I agree with them) What does that leave? The best player available might be ILB Keuchly or possibly safety Mark Barron.

You can't get any higher than a C+ when your top pick is considered an All-time bust!

Thanks for the post. I think his analysis is spot on regarding OT,WR and OLB. Hairston is not good enough at LT. The receiving corp is deep but not good enough. The OLB's are not good enough. There is room for improvement in all these areas. The Bills defense ranked 32nd and 28th the last two years. Clearly, not good enough. I would draft a LT in round 1 if I were drafting for Buffalo.

Here's a dream: Swap #3 for #10 plus Chris Kelsay and Leodis McKelvin.

I find nothing out of line in the article. Buffalo typically overpays for free agents and over the last 10 years it usually ends badly.(Derrick Dockery,Langston Walker,Marcus Stroud,etc.) They overpay for Kelsay and he produces virtually nothing. Heck, it's not my money so who cares what Anderson gets paid. I just think it won't make the Bills significantly better, but it is worth a gamble. The problem I see is the LB's are not strong run defenders. An emphasis on pass rush can leave the defense vulnerable to a running attack. The Bills have not exactly been stout on run defense. (28th out of 32 in 2011 and 32nd in 2010) Clearly, the run defense sucks as bad as the pass rush. There is massive room for improvement, but will it happen? The optimists will say definitely yes because of Mario Williams and Anderson will transform the defense into a powerhouse. The realists might say there are still plenty of holes in this defense and it remains to be seen and proven.

All the players drafted go into one basket. The basket is called the team. If you contribute to the team, the round you were drafted in is moot. I was only trying to reflect on the general success of the draft as a WHOLE. I wasn't looking to develop some perfect system nor was I attempting to grade each player based on the round he was drafted. The main and pertinent point (overlooked by some) was to establish how well the draft contributed to the success of the Bills since 2008. On the RELEVANT point, the 2008 draft wasn't good. The day after the draft, USA Today gave the Bills a B-, Football's Future gave the Bills a B- and called James Hardy the best pick. I think the grade is much lower than B- and the point is you can't judge a draft until several years have passed. The same goes for free agents. In four years it may be obvious if spending HUGE money on Mario Willams was worth it. Right now, nobody knows.

Here are my criteria for grading: A 4.0 elite player B+ 3.25 above average NFL player B 3.0 avg starter C+ 2.25 part time starter rotational player C 2.0 depth player D+ 1.25 borderline NFL player F 0.0 out of the league, bust Here is the 2008 draft with my grades (feel free to share your own thoughts) Round Overall 2008 NFL draft Player Position Grade Number grade 1 11 Leodis McKelvin B 3.0 2 41 James Hardy F 0 3 72 Chris Ellis F 0 4 114 Reggie Corner C 2.0 4 132 Derek Fine F 0 5 147 Alvin Bowen F 0 6 179 Xavier Omon F 0 7 219 Demetrius Bell B 3.0 7 224 Steve Johnson B+ 3.25 7 251 Kennard Cox F 0 Overall GPA : 1.125 Grade D+ Conclusion: Steve Johnson kept this draft from being horrible. Even so, it was very bad.

Smoke and mirrors. However, why not?

He's a good receiver, but he can be drafted much later than round 3 imo. Nate Burleson was a pretty good receiver for Nevada.

"I don't understand all the LT being biggest need talk" You're right! You don't understand.

It is a moot point. How could you ever test it? Why pose a question that is impossible to answer or prove?

If you look at the salary cap numbers the logical cuts will be among the following: Kelsay + Merriman combined are about $10 million Spencer Johnson + Dwan Edwards combined are about $8 million That's about $18-$19 million that produces very little. Remember these guys have been here during the time the defense has sucked with no pass rush. Why keep them? Somethings gotta give. I would say at least two of the four are going.

Tom Sestak was one of the very best at his position of all-time, but very few of the posters here ever saw him play. I did and that defense was outstanding. It was why they won the championships in the AFL. However, it is apples and oranges since the game has changed a lot in 47 years.

Sounds like a big upgrade over Kelsay.

BOOM goes the dynamite!!! Well deserved Gregg Williams. Nice job commish!

Massive numbers and huge risk. Time will tell. No one (that means nobody!) will know whether this deal was good or not for several years. Congrats to Mario for the HUGE payday.

Do you think Kelsay will ever get better?

Hilarious and ironic.