1billsfan

I'm done with my draft research and I'm laying my cards on the table... Eric Ebron is my first choice. Why? Simply because the Bills picked EJ Manuel last year and I'm convinced that there is no one in this draft who would help Manuel's progression (easily the highest priority of this franchise) into a franchise QB more than Eric Ebron. I think he would become EJ Manuel's "Andre Reed" for the hopefully coming and long awaited renewed Bills' Superbowl run era. The drops and blocking are things that can be ironed out with good coaching IMO. Ebron is a freakish talent who's production I think will end up being greater than Vernon Davis' and a notch below Jimmy Graham's. This pick in my mind has always been so meant to be for this franchise that there's no need to outsmart themselves unless something crazy happens like Watkins or Robinson are still there. Aaron Donald is my second choice. Why? Because it's become very clear to me that the only reason he's not being drafted top 5 is because he's two inches shorter and 10 lb. lighter than what the experts think he should be. That's silly. The guy is an impactful defensive player and the Bills' DL will have their hands full going against the Pats' and Jets' balanced run/pass offenses. The Seahawks and the Giants have recently showed you what a great penetrating defense can get you. Last option if available of course, trading back with a team to the early 20s for an extra 2nd. Who'd I hope to pick? 1st rd, Marqise Lee WR or Kelvin Benjamin WR / 2nd rd, Carlos Hyde RB / 2nd rd, Richardson RT. Lee and Woods back together again for a solid tandem of WRs…or the giant Benjamin and Manuel back together. I'd also try to trade Spiller and/or Stevie for next years draft picks or perhaps to even maneuver in this draft. There are not enough balls to go around with WR and RB being added anyways. I should be able to get a pretty good RT prospect with that second 2nd rd pick and also Hyde is a big back who can make his own holes. There's no way I'm trading up and there's no way I'm taking a RT not named Robinson in the 1st round.

If at this late of date, you're still not sure about drafting the franchise QB or the stud DE number one overall, that tells me you have no intention of drafting Manziel or Clowney and are looking to trade the pick at all costs. IMO the Texans don't want Manziel because their head coach doesn't want him and they don't want Clowney because their "Belichick-way" head coach doesn't like the possible "motor" concerns. They have probably fallen in love with Mack and are looking for the best offer to move back a few spots. They probably have no stomach to pick Mack at #1 overall so they would rather risk losing him than to put that kind of pressure on him and the team. Not sure who their fallback players are but they're probably one of the two top tackles.

I agree with this. I like Watkins as much as anybody and he was my first choice starting the "draft season". But there is no way I'd give away either this year's 2nd pick or next year's 1st round pick to get him. The simple reason is that IMO Eric Ebron's "floor" is he's going to be very near as effective as Watkins will be and Ebron should be there at #9. There should also be a very good OL prospect at the #44 pick that I'm counting on the Bills drafting. Would I trade this year's 3rd rounder, next year's 2nd rounder and Stevie for trading up to pick Watkins? That would be a possibility.

I think the consensus is that there are 4 elite prospects...Clowney, Robinson, Watkins and Mack. Matthews and Evans are argued over from what I've read. I think that they're both on the 2nd tier level, along with players like Ebron and Donald.

Texans will trade out of the number one overall pick. Bills will not draft an OT with their first pick.

Bad hands? Seriously? Ebron had 62 catches last year, while ASJ had 32. I don't get the point of distorting the truth. The Bills don't care what we say. They will draft the player that they will draft regardless of the debate here. Let's please try to keep it real.

I think there's just a philosophical difference between the Ebron and ASJ supporters. To me, when I see ASJ highlights he looks and plays a lot like Scott Chandler. He will probably be a better TE than Chandler because he's more athletic, but they are the classic big TE model. Ebron is not the classic big TE, he's projected as a featured receiver in the mold of a Jimmy Graham. The new style hybrid TE/WR who would be used as the featured #1 target of the QB. The Bills don't have a #1 "receiver". This is a huge hole in our offense. That's the case the Ebron supporters are making. We don't want a guy that they essentially already have on the roster in Chandler. We want for EJ, in his critical 2nd season, to have a #1 receiving threat who will provide "game in, game out" mismatches. Does he drop a few more balls than ASJ? Yes, but that's something you can live with. Brandon Marshall had 12 dropped passes last year while Stevie Johnson had 7, yet you don't hear about what a failure Brandon Marshall is because of his drops. TO was well know for his drops count, yet he was a great receiver. Plus, Ebron seems very dedicated and I see him can cleaning up that part of his game.

In their last season at UNC… Eric Ebron 62 catches / 973 yards / 15.7 ypc Vernon Davis 51 catches / 871 yards / 17.1 ypc Little production? You don't have to make stuff up. Just say that you don't think he'll score TDs in the NFL because he didn't score many TDs in college. I would strongly disagree with that opinion, but at least your opinion would be based on a fact.

The one huge risk is that you knowingly pass on one of the true impact players for quantity. If the Bills trade with someone like Dallas, they are in the no-man's land of DBs and S being the BPAs when their pick comes up in the first round. I just read a story that the 49ers might trade up to the Raiders #5 pick for the price of the majority of the 49ers entire draft of 11 picks. Only something like that would make me pull the trigger on passing on a true impact guy like Ebron, Evans or Donald. If I'm getting a second and a third then I'm not biting. This team really needs a "game changer" type of player.

You do know that Ebron was only 20 years old up until this very month? Part of draft evaluation process is understanding that 99% of them have some "polishing up" to do. He's one of the youngest players in this draft, yet he's still considered a consensus top 15 ranked player. Yes he lacks blocking skills right now, however that's something which is very coachable. Especially with a young, dedicated and motivated pupil such as Ebron. I saw someone throw out that Pettigrew was a great blocker coming out of college. I certainly hope so, dude was 24 years old when he was drafted...LOL

From the group of Evans, Ebron or Donald, I've come to the conclusion that there should be at least one future game-changing NFL player available for the Bills pick at #9. The worst possible scenario for the Bills is if all QBs drop out of the top 10, Evans and Donald are both picked by #7 and someone trades with the Vikings ahead of the Bills to take Ebron. Something like this would be really bad IMO… Texans/Clowney, Rams/Robinson, Jaguars/Mack, Browns/Watkins, Raiders/Donald, Falcons/Matthews, Bucs/Evans, Jets(trade wVikings)/Ebron, Bills…. I have full confidence that Ebron is going to be a star TE, and one that's either on or close to the level of Gronk and Graham. Does he drop more passes than he should? Yes. But the kid wants to be the best and his work ethic should take care of that flaw in his game.

I'm an Ebron guy and even I'm coming around to being good with the Bills drafting Donald at #9. If the guy is BPA and he would consistently make an impact in the run and pass defense then he should be considered. He does sound like he could be that type of player. These draft rankings that you see from the draft "gurus" and on various draft sites tend to have some glitches in them. Donald just may be one of those glitches that the rankers didn't see coming. I saw one mock that had Donald going to the Raiders at #5. Don't forget, having a nasty defense will give the offense the opportunities that come with shorter fields throughout the season.

We already have our star LT, so IMO it would be a very bad decision to burn the #9 overall pick on a OT even if he can play all the positions. They may as well trade back, add another 2nd round pick, and pick Zach Martin with their 1st.

IMO they probably had Manuel rated as the 25th-40th best player in last years draft. He always was a "project" QB who would need some serious polishing up. Yet he had great character, leadership and physical traits. So the Bills simply had no stomach to choose him at #8. While they really did like his upside, they had him rated much lower than #8. They made a calculated risk and their "Plan B" would probably have been waiting till this years draft. This year's crop of 8-10 talented QB prospects is a complete jumble and near impossible to tell who will be good and who won't. That's not to say I'm sold on Manuel, it's just that he seems a more solid bet than trying to pick the "winner" from this large group and using a high pick on. Which QB would you like to see the Bills draft at #9 or #41? There's so many QBs talked about being picked in the first two rounds that it's beyond confusing trying to pick the winners and losers... Manziel, Bortles, Bridgewater, Carr, McCarron, Garoppolo, Savage, Murray, Thomas Like Manuel, they all have their warts. None of them seem near worthy enough to bring in that kind of locker room drama to the team. If there were a Newton or a Winston there, then I'd probably be on board. Not so with these guys IMO.

Has a center ever been picked at #9 overall? I kid since I know you're not considering him as a center, but the mere suggestion that an OT prospect may be at his best at center hopefully voids the possibility that the Bills pick him. The Bills have their LT and will hopefully use their second round pick for that RT position. That way there's no looming drama or headache with Glenn down the line. I'm hoping they use the #9 pick on either Ebron or Donald. While Ebron is a TE and you usually don't take TEs at #9, I see him as a Gronk or Graham who would both be top 10 picks if NFL teams knew what they were going to become. Donald looks like a lock that he's going to be a pain to opposing QBs and RBs. The impact either of those guys would make is worth the #9 pick to me.

The more I see and read about Donald, the more I'm becoming convinced that he will be the BPA at #9, even over Matthews. Donald is a defensive player who seemingly would have a real and tangible impact on games, while Matthews would be a very solid "role" player at RT (that's fine, but not what I'm looking for top 10). At #9 you want an impact guy IMO. I beginning to hope the Bills are considering taking Donald at #9.

I see the Rams picking Watkins with an eye towards trading up for Matthews using their #13 and 2nd round pick. I see the first three picks solidifying with Texans/Clowney, Rams/Watkins, Jaguars/Mack, and the draft craziness starting with the Browns pick. The Browns may be forced to pick their QB at #4 if the guy they want is rising on draft boards and they can't trade out.

IMO... The Bills have only two players, Matthews and Ebron, that they're willing to pick at #9 and who would realistically be there. The Rams will trade up from #13 to the Vikings #8 spot to pick Matthews since it's becoming very clear the Bills like him a lot. Also, there's a very strong connection with the Matthews family and Fisher. In the end, the Bills will be too afraid to trade back concerned that they'd lose out on picking Ebron knowing that the Giants at #12 seem to like the kid a lot and they need to get Eli Manning help to get him back on track after his horrible year. IMO, the Bills and Ebron are a match that's destined to be (which I'm very good with). I think Bills fans need to understand that at #9 the Bills are out of the "elite" player loop unless they're willing to give away picks which I don't see happening (but who knows they could surprise us). Please don't get riled up, this is merely my opinion and prediction.

IMO, the Bills offense really needs a consistent game to game mismatch at the WR or TE position. They simply do not have that right now. Since Watkins will be gone and we already have our LT of the future in Glenn, it makes no sense to pass on Ebron with the knowledge that a very good RT prospect will be there at their second pick. If they're not picking Ebron, I'd almost rather they draft Aaron Donald than Matthews since the Pats and Jets will be heavy on the run game this year and we could use the extra help for that poor run defense. I don't like the thought of picking a RT at #9 at all.

I think a lot of these guys on tv sometimes say stuff in an attempt to sound shocking. I can see Robinson being head and shoulders above last year, I certainly do not see Matthews or Lewan that way.

I'm sorry, but when look at Jake Matthews I just don't see a "dominant" NFL OT. I see a guy who can play anywhere on the line and play solidly there for a long time with no issues. That is great, but at #9 overall? I wouldn't be angry if they took him, but I wouldn't be that happy either. I read that Matthews' best position is probably at center since he's smallish with shorter arms than you'd like at the tackle position.

I'd choose Ebron and here's why... 1. While Matthews is the "safer" pick. In the end, he's only going to become a very solid and versatile offensive lineman nothing more and nothing less. That's great, but IMO you can find those guys in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. 2. Ebron while being more risky, is a legit game changer if they hit on him. The only knocks I've seen on him are his lack of blocking skills and his lack of TD totals. The videos I see of him is that he looks like the prototype of the new big chunk yard gobblin', TD makin', modern NFL TE. Will he be a 2 to 5 pick reach? Perhaps, but to me that sounds silly to even say. The Bills will have no doubt a very good RT prospect at their second round pick who will eventually produce just as good or a notch below what the solid and versatile Matthews can do.

I think the thing that scares me off of Evans is that he's widely looked at as a Vincent Jackson clone, and not a Calvin Johnson clone. Vincent Jackson has been a fine pro, but that's not the home run impact player that I'm looking for. I want a guy who will be a matchup advantage each and every game for the opposing defense. I think Evans will be the kind of WR who has a few very big games, but who will also have too many average to bad games during the year. In short, he won't have the "high bar" consistency of an AJ Green or Calvin Johnson IMO.

I'm not a huge Mike Evans fan, but I understand that there are a lot of people here who are and are still hoping that he somehow falls to #9 and the Bills pick him. What I don't understand are fans still thinking the odds are decent he makes it to #9. I think there's no chance he makes it to #9. Well, maybe a 5-10% chance. Unless the Bills trade up, Mike Evans is going to be a Raider, Buc or Eagle (in a trade up ahead of Buffalo). The Bills are outside the bubble of the "elite" prospects. Many fans here are starting to realize this and are starting to scramble on what they think the Bills should do. IMO they should just draft Ebron. I think he'll have a better career and a greater impact than Evans anyways. While it sucks to be left outside the bubble, the good news is that you don't have to trade up to get the guy you like among the next level of talent. You're first in line. If not Ebron, I'm starting to like the thought of picking Aaron Donald at #9. The AFC East has the Pats and Jets who are going to be trying to run the ball down the Bills throats in both games they play them. Donald is great at both pass rush and run stuffing. If it's neither of those two then perhaps they can trade back and still get one of them along with adding a 2nd round pick. Although I think both are gone by pick 18, so getting a 2nd rounder and one of those players will be a stretch.

He broke Vernon Davis' records in catches and yards for a TE in the ACC. So I don't understand how you can say that he had limited production.