Brandon

Its both. You don't want a thug on your team under any circumstance, but at the same time, you also don't want to pass over an excellent player because he has a few problems. I'm definitely not going to throw a guy under the bus for not having a piece of paper that would've otherwise made his actions perfectly legal. There should be some consequence, but there's no reason to go overboard.

As long as it is indeed a minor injury and there's no underlying issue, it'll have no effect upon his draft status. I still think he'll go sometime in top half of round 2.

Freeney was considered too small, but for a different reason. Freeney's issue was height. He was 6'1", but weighed over 260lbs. Maybin in 6'4", but weighs less than 240. Obviously, Maybin would seem to have the potential to add some weight without losing speed or quickness, but that's pretty risky with the 11th pick in the draft. At best, he's probably a situational pass rusher for a season or two. At worst, that may be all he ever is. All things considered, I'd rather they target someone like Larry English in R2. He may only be a situational rusher in the NFL, but at least they wouldn't have a top 15 pick invested. In fact, I'm beginning to lean that direction over all of the DEs usually mentioned as R1 prospects. None of them are standouts and as we've seen in recent years, guys that don't stand out at DE in college very, very rarely turn into anything close to great pros. I'd rather take my chances with a 2nd tier guy in that situation.

But what has he really done? He appears to be guilty of carrying a loaded weapon locked in the trunk of his car. BFD. If it had been unloaded, it would've been perfectly legal. Yet a complete klutz could probably drop 6 rounds into a .357 in less than 10 seconds, or pop a loaded magazine into a 9mm in about 2 seconds. There's a pretty damn small distinction from 'legal' to 'felony' in this case, and that's why I can cut him some slack. If he'd been caught walking down the street with a loaded handgun or something, I might agree with you, but under the circumstances, I think there's a world of difference.

The injury question is a major factor, but I would not be surprised if Taylor goes to another team and posts well over 1,000 yards next year. In 2007, he had runs of 50, 62, 76 and 80 yards. He probably still has most of that speed. I don't think the Bills should sign him, mind you, but I do think he can still play if he can stay healthy. A team that signs him to an incentive-laden one or two year contract will probably be happy that they did so.

Its a felony charge, but we do not really know what he's done. Lets wait for details before we push the panic button.

Good luck finding one of those. There have been nine DEs drafted in the first two rounds over the last two years. The four drafted this year had a grand total of 9.5 sacks this season between them. The five drafted last year had a total of 12.5 this season and a total of 12 last year. So, our last two DE classes have a grand total of 224 games in the NFL...and a total of 34 sacks. It looks even worse when you consider that Gaines Adams and Chris Long have 18.5 of those. Those other 7 guys aren't doing much of anything. The point is, if you're looking for a DE to come in and make an immediate impact, you are very likely to be disappointed. The DE position is like QB. Its a long term investment that rarely pays dividends in the first couple of years.

Yes. Its something that the Bills would need to check out thoroughly. I only know about the one incident, and I *might* be willing to let that slide, depending upon details that we the fans will probably never see. If there are multiple issues over the years, then I would likely take him off the board.

Its definitely something that should factor into the decision. My preference for drafting Raji is based upon my belief that he's the best defensive player in this draft and the best DT I've seen in a couple of years. I also think there's a pretty significant gap between Raji and the rest of this class if you're looking for a run stuffer, especially in the athleticism department. He might be the only bigger DT that really fits into this scheme. But yes, just as with the DEs, the Bills will have to consider how much he'd play and it does not make sense to draft a player at 11 if they only plan to use him half the time and that's a real possibility with this defense. Honestly, I would much rather they use this offseason and the draft, specifically, to upgrade their offense. The problem is that I don't really see a great prospect available at the two major offensive needs; C and TE. There's no question in my mind that they can get a very good C prospect this year in R2, so that's when I'd fill that spot. TE? I was all for drafting Jermaine Gresham, but he stayed at Oklahoma. Pettigrew? He may well end up being my second choice for the 11th pick once April rolls around, but the questions regarding his speed and athleticism are concerning. The only guy I'm really sold on offensively would be Maclin, but do we draft another WR in R1 after last year? I'm not against it, but its not my first choice.

I think a C could certainly make a major impact as a rookie. I just don't think there's any reason to pick one at 11. I think there's at least a 50-50 chance that either Mack or Unger are on the board in R2 and if not, probably about a 90% chance that Eric Wood will be. All three would likely be huge upgrades.

The Bills would be crazy if they didn't bring in some quality competition for Edwards this offseason, but at the same time, how many QBs has this team gone through since Jim Kelly retired? Todd Collins Billy Joe Hobert Doug Flutie Rob Johnson Alex Van Pelt Drew Bledsoe Kelly Holcomb JP Losman Trent Edwards None of those guys had any sustained success with this team. Common themes during that period? A poor OL (particularly C), a lack of a quality #2 WR and, with the exception of the Riemersma, who was only decent, some absolutely awful TEs. There comes a point, when none of this sh** gets corrected, that I can no longer blame the QBs. This team has had very serious problems offensively for the last decade, and especially the last six seasons. Until they make a realistic attempt at correcting those problems, its not going to matter who they put back there. Again, that's not to say that Edwards should get a free pass. He shouldn't, but at the same time, if they continue to ignore gaping holes in the roster and try to play football with 8 or 9 guys offensively, the results will never change.

I know. It wasn't so much a question as me telling the original poster to ask himself why the Eagles would do this. The Eagles wouldn't be letting him walk if he could still play at a high level. He may be worth a look as insurance if a rookie pick struggles, but he's definitely not the answer at TE at this stage of his career.

My top 5 are Raji, Brown, Pettigrew, Maclin and Orakpo. Raji is clearly the best of the group, IMO, with the next three being very, very close, with Orakpo a bit further down but still a solid pick. I'd avoid Mack, Maybin, Johnson and Maualuga at 11. I think the Cs in this draft have been overhyped and while one of them might go at the tail end of R1, there's no doubt in my mind that the Bills will be able to get a very good one in R2, so drafting one at 11 is unnecessary. I wouldn't even be surprised if Mack lasts until our second pick. Maybin? Its been beaten to death around here, but at his weight, he's a 3-4 OLB in the NFL. He's probably not going to be able to handle the coverage duties as a 4-3 OLB. Perhaps if the Bills think he can gain enough weight to be a 4-3 DE he'd be a good pick, but he's probably just going to be a situational pass rusher for a couple of years if the Bills draft him. Unless they think he's the next Bruce Smith as a situational pass rusher, the risk/reward ratio isn't very favorable with that 11th pick. The last thing we need is another Corey Moore. As for Maualuga, I really do not see a major need at MLB, nor do I think he fits this D particularly well. If there were no concerns about his speed and ability to drop into coverage, it would be worth considering him and moving Posluszny outside, but again, 11th is too high for a player who very well may have a major hole in his game at the NFL level. Finally, there's Michael Johnson. He's a third or fourth round pick in my eyes, though someone will certainly draft him much higher based on his athletic ability. I wouldn't, however. Back to my group of five, I think that Raji and Pettigrew would be the most likely to help the Bills immediately. 1st round TE prospects, in particular, seem to make very quick transitions to the NFL and its not unusual at all to see them catch at least 40 passes in their rookie season. At the opposite end of the spectrum, DEs and WRs tend to take a few seasons to make any impact at all, so if the Bills were to select Everette Brown, Brian Orakpo, or Jeremy Maclin, the fans need to accept that those guys are probably going to struggle badly for a couple of seasons and that those are two positions that are long-term investments with very little short term payoff, in most cases.

That was going to be my first question about him. Why do the Eagles have 'no intention' of re-signing a quality player, especially one that shouldn't be particularly costly to bring back? I'm not against bringing him in, but I wouldn't consider the need at the position to be any less after doing so. He'd merely be insurance in case the drafted rookie wasn't quite ready to go from day one.

He IS a very good return man, no question about it, and those are the clips that we see in the video, but being a good return man and a good WR are not mutually exclusive. Lets not forget that this is a guy who caught 182 passes for 2315 yards and 22 TD passes the last two seasons. Make no mistake, this guy is an outstanding WR prospect. Granted, at 6'1 200lbs, he's not a Plaxico Burress clone, but by the same token, he's not Roscoe Parrish, either.

Maclin would probably be 4th on the list right now if I were making the pick, but choices 2-4 are very close. No, I would have no problems with it whatsoever. The Bills do have a few options already on the roster, but one has a serious injury that will probably slow or even sideline him for a significant amount of next season. The other, Johnson, appears to have potential, but we've been fooled on potential before and he probably went in R7 for a reason. I would have needed to have seen more from Steve Johnson last year to feel comfortable going into the season with him as the only option. The point is, the Bills went into the last offseason with a major problem at WR and to this point, they don't appear to have solved it. All things considered, I would consider it a secondary need, but still a position that likely requires at least a mid round pick or a reasonably good FA as an insurance policy. Given this fact, if the Bills believe Maclin would provide a major upgrade over what they already have at the position, they should strongly consider selecting him as long as there's not a higher rated player available at a greater need position.

I don't know enough about Cushing to make a definitive statement about him as a player. That said, especially in this defensive system, I don't know that an OLB is really going to help all that much. I would prefer that they re-sign Crowell or find another FA to fill this position. I'm not going to complain if they pick an OLB, but with the way the Tampa 2 uses its linebackers as pass defenders first, I don't think it'll help the two bigger issues of run defense and pass rush all that much. Michael Johnson? Maybe if he's there in R3. He's going to go a lot higher than he should due to his athleticism, but on the field, I'm not impressed at all. I'd rather take someone like Larry English in R2, who may not have Johnson's athletic ability, but knows how to play. There are a number of 2nd tier DEs I like better, truth be told. I don't immediately have a problem with the idea of taking Travis Beckum in R3, but he is coming off major injury. If he's healthy, he's a very good receiving TE, if a little on the small side. That said, you can't have everything at this point in the draft. Finally, there's John Parker Wilson. I don't really dislike him, but I don't think he'll ever be anything more than an average backup in the NFL. I probably wouldn't pick him unless he were available in the last round.

In past years, I might have agreed, but lately it seems that if a top QB slides out of the top 5, he's going to keep dropping for quite a while. It happened to both Brady Quinn and Aaron Rodgers. Maybe someone would consider trading for the right to select him, but I think its just as likely that they'd sit back and see if that trend continued this year. IMO, the darkhorse for the Bills is Missouri WR Jeremy Maclin. Another WR isn't going to be #1 on their wish list in April, but that said, I do expect them to draft one in the R3-5 range. If things break right (wrong?), with Raji, Brown and Orakpo all off the board, I think they'd almost certainly look toward their offense with that pick and it would likely come down to either Pettigrew or Maclin. Given the circumstances at both positions, I would expect them to select Pettigrew, but I would not be surprised one bit if they selected Maclin instead. They're probably planning on drafting one in the midrounds anyway, and if he grades out significantly better than Pettigrew, they may as well pick Maclin and consider the #2 WR position *finally* solved. It wouldn't be a popular pick in terms of fan opinion, but if the chips fall the right way, I can definitely see it happening.

My top three choices would be BJ Raji, Everette Brown or Brandon Pettigrew. Raji is clearly the best of the three in my opinion, while it would be a difficult choice if it came down to Pettigrew and Brown. On the other hand, I wouldn't draft Michael Johnson until sometime in the early afternoon on Sunday over the draft weekend. He's a great athlete and has potential on that count alone, but otherwise, I was totally and completely unimpressed when I saw him play.

I think Steve Johnson has a chance to be a good player for the Bills and Hardy may as well. The question in my mind is whether you take that chance if you know you can sign an instant upgrade such as Bryant. I don't think I could pass that up in favor of potential, especially given their problems over the last decade. They need help *right now* pretty badly and if they can get it, they should at least consider it. It doesn't mean that the Bills would be giving up on Hardy or Johnson, either. With as many three and four WR sets as everyone runs anymore, they'd both have plenty of opportunities.

I disagree. The Bills can't afford to sit back and wait for Hardy or Johnson anymore than they can afford to wait for Chris Ellis at DE. Obviously, they can't completely give up on any of them, but the fact is, they need immediate help at both positions. That does not necessarily mean that they must sign Bryant or burn a high pick at WR, but if they believe they can acquire a top WR this offseason who would provide an instant upgrade to this offense, they should certainly give it strong consideration. That's especially true given that they're already likely to add a midround WR in the draft or a decent FA at the position, anyway.

I couldn't agree more. All of this defense, defense, defense crappola the last couple of offseasons seems a bit bizarre to me. Yes, their defense needs major help, but I'm stunned at the number of people who give this offense a free pass when the truth of the matter is that their total lack of even a halfway decent passing game is the single biggest problem on this team and the reason why they haven't won anything in a decade. The Bills aren't going to win jack sh** as long as they're a bottom feeder offensively and most of their weakness on that side is tied to their inability to throw the ball. I'd probably go defense in R1, but the rest of this offseason, I'd be concentrating on the other side if I were the Bills front office.

Well, they didn't vote for him, so he doesn't give a sh**. We didn't get it quite as bad, but I live in an area that got hit pretty hard by the same storm. As of yesterday, there were still close to 150, 000 people in Arkansas and Missouri without electricity, which is probably about a third of the population of the affected areas. We lost power for five days and we were lucky. The electric companies are saying it'll be anywhere from four to six WEEKS before power is restored in the outlying counties. Water supplies were interrupted in many of the smaller municipalities. Food and gas? LOL. Right. Again, we were lucky here...the stores, gas stations and factories opened within three days. The only thing we had to put up with were two hour gas lines. That's definitely not the case in many towns around here. FEMA, meanwhile, has been a complete no-show as far as I know. Not that I'm surprised.

Its not my first choice (or my second...or my third), but I wouldn't be upset with it. Its been a major problem for the Bills for many years now, but if we're going to burn an 11th overall pick at TE, I'd rather he be more of a big play threat as a receiver.

I'm not as sold on the possibility of selecting Pettigrew. I'm not against selecting a TE high as some are, but if they do it, I believe that player should be capable of stretching the field from that position and I'm just not sure that Pettigrew is capable of being that type of player. Ideally, I'd put Pettigrew more in the late 1st/early 2nd area. I'm not really going to be upset if they select him, mind you...heck, I think a quality receiving TE has been a huge need for a number of years, but I'm a little apprehensive about it. Purely from a receiving standpoint, I think they'd do just as well with Chase Coffman in R2, and while I think that's a bit of a reach for Coffman as an all-around player at that position, I'd rather reach a little in R2 than in R1.