Brandon

My bad. I should have realized that immediately. As far as Hill is concerned, he would seem to be a very good 2nd round pick.

Hunt may be slightly better than Pittman as a receiver, but he doesn't seem to be a player who adds a significant extra value as a true receiver. He's a screen pass or dumpoff target only, even if a very good one. He's not Lorenzo Booker or Marshawn Lynch, both of whom are skilled enough to be dangerous downfield receiving threats. I'm sure we'll disagree on this, but I believe that size is also one of the most overrated attributes when evaluating RBs. People equate size with strength and its not always true. Acceleration and short area quickness are at least as important. The average 210lb Rb is going to break his share of arm tackles. Its an exceptional 235lb+ RB that can make an NFL CB or S miss in the open field with some consistency. Short yardage is where size can help a bigger RB, but on the flip side, with defenses stacking the LOS, they can also become a big target. BTW, Hunt averaged a little over 9 yards per reception in college, not 18 (88 receptions for 799 yards). http://web1.ncaa.org/d1mfb/playerDetail.js...9&player=26

Opinions on Meachem seem to be all over the board. Most all of the fan sites have in the 15-30 range and the 2nd best WR available. However, I've seen a few articles indicating that several teams rate him much higher. Obviously, I don't know if that's true, but it honestly wouldn't suprise me to see him go as high as #8 to Atlanta.

Hunt and Pittman are such different types of players that I would have a very hard time considering one as an adequate replacement for the other. I don't think they're in the same group in this draft, anyway. While I'm not overly impressed with Pittman, I do think he's probably the best of the 2nd tier Rbs in this draft. Meanwhile, I think Hunt is at the top of the third and final group.

I'm not going to bet against it. They clearly need an upgrade at the #2 WR position, yet they have three decent situational players already. As a result, if they're going to draft a WR, they'd better do it pretty early and select a guy capable of making an immediate contribution. Otherwise, that player is very likely to get buried on the depth chart behind Price, Reed and Parrish.

Definitely. If trading up to get the 2nd or 3rd most talented player in the draft costs us a 3rd round pick, so be it. The Bills could use a difference-maker, whether its on offense or defense.

Its not just those three. You also have to consider that Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Detroit, the Jets and the Giants were also active in the RB market this offseason, whether in trades or in FA. With the exception of the Giants, all of them made significant moves at the position. That's a lot of interest in RBs this offseason and according to this board, Turner is as good as any of them, if not better. So why is he still sitting in San Diego? The only reasonable answer seems to be the pricetag.

That could possibly explain why the Bills haven't traded for him, but again, placed in the larger context of the league-wide interest in RBs last month, you'd think someone would've already pulled the trigger.

You might want to check up on that character issue with Eric Wright.

I'm pretty sure I know what he's thinking: if the Bills draft Hunt and Irons, two very different Rbs, they will cancel out each other's weaknesses. Looks good on paper, but in reality, only one of them can carry the ball at a time. In the end, you're just going to net two less than ideal RBs.

That depends upon what it actually was. Lee Evans is a good example.

Why two RBs?

I doubt that's the case. He may be that type of player, but the Bills would have long since known it and would've had no reason to bring him in unless they were OK with it. The most likely explanation is that either Turner or the Chargers (or both) simply want more than what the Bills are willing to give up in exchange. Considering how long Turner has been on the trade block, as well as all the activity at the RB position in FA a few weeks back, I think a deal would've already happened somewhere if either the Chargers' or Turner's demands weren't exorbitant. And while I'm not a big believer in the pre-draft smokescreen stuff, that may be the case here. The Bills may be trying to convince a few teams that they're unwilling to use a #1 pick at RB and thereby reduce the odds that someone trades ahead of them.

If the season were to start today, I think they're probably a 4-12 team. It would just take one addition, a quality RB, to move them up to 8-8 in my mind. I just don't see Anthony Thomas as an effective full time starter. MLB and CB additions would help as well, but neither as much as improving the running game, IMO.

I'm not buying his arguments against Lynch. The off-field incidents seem to be a non-issue and I haven't seen anything from coaches or players at Cal even hinting that he has character issues. It may also help the Bills that they can ask his former teammate, Aaron Merz, about any problems. He also tries to say that Lynch had a poor combine performance, but all of his combine numbers are very comparable to those posted by Adrian Peterson with the exception of the short shuttle. That said, Adrian Peterson's short shuttle time was only a 4.40, which isn't too good, either. The only legitimate argument that he makes is the reference to a possible back injury. If its true, it could be a problem depending upon the severity. Note that Mike Mayock, who has mentioned Lynch possibly having a back problem, still rates him as the 17th best prospect in this draft.

So the Bills MAY have offered a 2nd for Turner. Wow, thanks for that insight, Mort.

Seems to be a great talent, but he hasn't produced, even while playing at a smaller school. Considering that WR is one of the few deep positions in this draft, I'd rather see the Bills select a more productive WR with a 3rd or 4th round pick.

While I do not want the Bills to trade for Turner, I also think its a bit unfair to throw out his longest carry in each game. You'd have to do that for every RB in the league as a fair basis of comparison. One 80 yard run in a season could be dismissed as an abberation and I have no problems tossing it out, but if he's averaging one 20-30 yard run per game, those start looking like a trend and not as easily dismissed.

JRI111, to say that he didn't carry a full load at Cal really isn't a fair statement and probably isn't even accurate. While it is true that he split some carries at Cal, his total number of catches and carries this past season is very comparable to the other RBs in this draft: Marshawn Lynch: 257 Adrian Peterson: 200 Antonio Pittman: 256 Kenny Irons: 208 Tony Hunt: 304 Brandon Jackson: 221 Lorenzo Booker: 176 Dwayne Wright: 290 Darius Walker: 311 If he's right there with everyone else, I don't think it really matters. As for the injury concerns, no one has been able to provide any proof that he has any kind of back injury whatsoever. If it were true and a top prospect had a major injury problem, it would be well documented by now. The fact that it hasn't been leads me to believe its BS and probably a rumor started by a few teams trying to get him to fall to their draft position.

Your point about the share of carries/receptions between Tomlinson and Turner is an excellent one. If Turner is SO good, why is Tomlinson getting run into the ground? It would seem to be a reasonable question. http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/235249/splits/2006 The situational stats on NFL.com tell an interesting story. Late in the game, Tomlinson DID indeed appear to wear down significantly. Look at the 'attempts 21 through 30' category. He averaged only 3.2 yards per carry on the 48 carries in that situation. I'm sure the Chargers were well aware of that stat. So it makes one wonder...why wasn't Turner being used somewhat more heavily in relief of Tomlinson if Turner is indeed as good as the hype? As a comparison, the Bills were getting Kenneth Davis 125-150 touches per season in the early 90s in relief of Thurman Thomas.

You might want to do a little more research on compensatory picks, because you certainly are not guaranteed a 3rd round pick for Turner. The NFL's compensatory formula is based upon the net gain/loss of players signed and, to a much lesser extent, the salaries of those players signed or loss. Under most circumstances, you must have a net loss of players in order to get a compensatory pick. Though I have my doubts, its possible that you might get a 3rd if you lose Turner and don't sign anyone. A major FA signing will completely negate it, and even signing a couple of scrubs will drop it to a 5th or a 6th. You might not even get anything. I agree that AJ Smith probably will not and should not accept less than a 1st for Turner. The Chargers do not have to trade him and as a Super Bowl contender, the insurance is worth more than a 2nd round or later pick to your team. That, however, does not mean that he is worth a 1st round draft choice to the teams bidding for him. They still have acceptable alternatives, primarily in the form of the upcoming draft. The Bills, in particular, should get a shot at Lynch and possibly Peterson, but the 2nd tier RBs such as Pittman, Irons and Jackson are reasonable options as well. Turner is not the best or only choice for the Bills, or the Titans or Packers, either. In the end, I expect that Turner will remain with the Chargers.

I agree with you completely. With both sides having reasonable, acceptable alternatives to making a trade involving Turner, I think it is unlikely that he'll be going anywhere prior to the draft unless someone gets desperate and gives up multiple first day picks or something similar. I think all of this will ultimately amount to little more than window shopping accompanied by some sticker shock for the teams interested in Turner.

I couldn't agree more. There is waaaayyyyy too much Michael Turner around here. He'd be a good addition, but there are some very good alternatives in this draft that should cost no more than a 2nd or even 3rd round pick. The Bills are not so desperate as to *have* to make this trade, especially at the cost of multiple first day picks or the loss of their high 1st round draft position.

That's why I think this whole thing has been dragging on. The Chargers don't need to trade Turner, yet no one else actually needs to trade for him. He's just worth far more to the Chargers than he is anyone else, at least for the time being.

On the other hand, the Bills have alternatives to trading for Turner. They could: 1) Package their 1st round pick with one of the 3rds in an attempt to move up for Adrian Peterson. 2) Sit at 12 and take either Lynch or Peterson. 3) Select another position at 12 and move up from 43 if Lynch falls into the latter stages of R1. 4) Wait until R2-4 and select one or two of the 2nd tier RBs such as Pittman or Irons. Needless to say, I don't think the Chargers have the upper hand at all, unless the Bills are dead set on acquiring Turner.