Brandon

That sucks for him. I would imagine that he's now carrying an undraftable grade for at least a few teams. His best option probably would have been to petition the NCAA for a medical hardship and returned for another season. But by signing an agent, he likely doesn't have that option anymore.

He could also be this year's Lee Evans or Mike Williams, both of whom were widely known to have visited the Bills prior to draft day.

Kenneth Davis had over 600 yards rushing for the Bills in 1991 and 1992. Darrick Holmes had nearly 700 yards and was closing in on 1000 yards rushing and receiving combined as a rookie in 1995. The point is that it helps when an excellent starting RB and a good OL have already beaten the crap out of the opposing defense before you come into the game. Turner could be a quality starter who just needs a chance, but he could also be like any number of backups who are largely the beneficiaries of someone else's success.

I think he's probably just this year's version of Tory Woodbury, Ken Simonton, Kamil Loud, Clarence Coleman, George Wilson, Lionel Gates, etc. He may make the team and he may be better than I expect, but I'll believe it when I see it.

These types of pre-draft meetings aren't unusual. The Bills typically meet with a few players prior to the draft every year; if memory serves, its usually three or four. There may be more that we never hear about, though the NFL may also place limits on how many prospects may be brought in for a visit. If true, and it probably is, its a reasonable indicator that the Bills have a high degree of interest in Lynch, but it shouldn't be interpreted as him being their first or only choice.

Even though I think this 2nd tier of RBs is quite weak, for the price tag of a 2nd, I would not be interested in Turner. I don't like trading premium picks for backups. For a 2nd day pick, I think it might be a good deal.

I'd rather trade for Ron Dayne.

I'd have no problems with it and I believe the Bills should trust their scouting staff. He was drafted in the 3rd round for a reason and now its time for him to prove it on the field. They need to add a little competition in the middle rounds of this draft, but I see no need to push the panic button and draft a CB higher than we really need to.

I don't really care about what happened 20 years ago or even 10. These are different players and this is a different scouting staff. The McGahee pick is the only one with any relevance, and I tend to attribute it more toward Tom Donahoe trying to be cute rather than a failure of the scouting department.

Thurman was injured as a junior, not a senior. In fact, he rushed for over 1600 yards during his senior season at Oklahoma State.

The OL additions were certainly needed and will help, but even there the Bills could still stand an upgrade at both C and RG. In the end, I think they have too many players offensively who are just adequate starters. One injury to the wrong guy (Evans) and I think an already mediocre offense will be floating belly up. He doesn't have to be an all-pro or even a 1st round pick, but the Bills definitely need to find another solid, reliable, consistent weapon whether its a RB, TE, or WR who is good enough to carry the offense if necessary.

What do you expect? Arrington plays for the Cardinals. That team would make any RB look bad, as Edgerrin James has found out. James averaged only 3.4 yards per rush this season for the Cards.

That's what worries me about this offense. Besides Lee Evans, what do the Bills really have at RB, WR and TE? Not much. The rest of the players the Bills have at those positions are better suited as backups. This isn't a very good offense, anyway, but if Evans misses any significant time due to injury, its going to get really ugly.

1) RB Marshawn Lynch, California 2) MLB Patrick Willis, Ole Miss 3) WR Dwayne Bowe, LSU 4) CB Leon Hall, Michigan 5) OLB Paul Posluszny, Penn State Those are the top players that I realistically expect to be on the board at 12, with Lynch and Willis being my clear #1 and #2 choices. I don't expect Branch or Peterson to be available, but both would make the list. I also believe that there is a very good chance that Patrick Willis will be selected by San Francisco at 11.

I have no idea how accurate this is, but its somewhat interesting at the very least: http://www.newerascouting.com/index.php?c=33&a=103

Thurman also played his entire senior year following the injury. They had game tapes to evaluate his level of post-injury play. Its a completely different situation.

I've never been a fan of them at all, but yes, the ridiculous pre-draft hyping of Ron Dayne is where I jumped off the bandwagon, never to return.

My unofficial 1st round prediction? The Bills will select Lynch at 12. They will then repeat last year's trade up from same 43rd position in R2 into the late 1st. There, they will select either Posluszny or one of the CBs.

I agree on Irons and Pittman. I also like Brandon Jackson and Lorenzo Booker, but I don't think any of them are worth more than a 3rd. In fact, I wouldn't draft a RB after Lynch before R3. Not at all interested in seeing the Bills pick Michael Bush. The injury scares me, but in general, I do not like oversized RBs. They usually just end up being big targets for the defense to tackle.

I can't imagine that he'll be the lead runner, even in a RB by committee approach. While I think its a good re-signing, their interest in Rhodes, Dillon and Brown kind of makes it obvious that he was not their first choice for a veteran RB.

Nope. I'd rather take Lynch at 12 and then trade up from 43 into the late 1st to select a CB or LB, similar to what they did last year.

Someone might also want to tell him that Steven Jackson is listed at 231 by the Rams, not 250.

That may be true, but I would have to ask: according to who? I do know of one draft site that questions his hands, but pretty much everything else indicates that the opposite is true.

While I'd somewhat rather select Lynch at 12, I also think Willis would be an excellent choice at that spot if available. I think he'll go 11th to the 49ers. I have no interest whatsoever in seeing the Bills draft Michael Bush. I have a general disdain (hatred?) of oversized RBs. Toss in his broken leg and I'll definitely pass. If they choose to wait until R2 or 3, there are many other RBs I would rather have. Can't comment on Durant. Hughes will probably turn out to be a pretty good 2nd or 3rd, but I think he'll slip to the 2nd day based on a particularly poor performance at the combine. Still, I would not be upset if he were picked at 93.

I don't think Patrick Willis is even going to be available for the Bills to pick at 12. He's very likely going to go 11th to San Francisco. The 49ers have a need at ILB and should have the chance to select the best MLB prospect in the draft. But there's also another factor to consider. The 49ers coaching staff is in a position to know more about Patrick Willis than any other staff in the NFL. Why? They coached him for a week at the Senior Bowl and his position coach was none other than Mike Singletary, one of the best MLBs in NFL history. They should know better than anyone what kind of player he is. If they believe he's worth a pick in the top half of R1, I'd be very suprised if they pass over him. Of course, it should perhaps raise a few questions if they pass over him at that slot as well.