ax4782

I think this draft would be superb for the Bills. That meets almost all of our needs, though I would rather the Bills take a guy like Mike Pollack C or Owen Schmitt FB with one of those fourth rounders than an LB who is unlikely to pan out. Both Pollack and Schmitt are clearly upgrades to the players at the top of our starting list. An LB is not likely to play. We do need depth there, but that can be addressed after camp cuts by other teams.

Kelly is a very solid receiver. We wouldn't be asking him to "separate" on long down the field routes. We would be sending him over the middle to get jump balls. That being said, I prefer Devin Thomas. Davis is the best receiving TE in the draft, which is what we are looking for at the position. Royal can block. I don't care about that. The team needs a receiving threat at TE and both Fred and Kellen Davis provide that. Both would be good and should last to out pick in the 2nd. Flowers won't be there in the third round, though there are some issues that may cause his stock to fall. Ko Simpson wasn't supposed to fall to the Fourth Round either. That being said, I think we still take a CB here. There is a better run blocking center in the draft who doesn't get pushed off the ball, and his name is Mike Pollack. I think the Bills draft him here as opposed to Justice. Pollack could also be our third round pick. Don't be suprised if they also take Lichensteiger in the later rounds, or Spanos from USC. Flip Four and Five. I think Buffalo takes Schmidt when they see him there in the Fourth. He is the best blocking fullback in the draft in the last four or five years and Buffalo would love to have him in that role. I like the Gilberry pick. The guy was solid for Alabama on a good squad this year. He will surprise and is a good option later in the season to spell Kelsay or cover for Denney if he gets injured again. All around I like the mock and both agree and disagree with the succinct analysis above.

I like focusing on the offense in the first three rounds. I also think the Bills will take two receivers in this draft. I just don't think both facts will occur simultaneously. I like the following. 1: Devin Thomas WR 2: Fred Davis TE 3: Mike Pollack C 4: Adrian Arrington WR 4: Owen Schmidt FB 5: DE 6: CB 7: OL/LB 7: DT 7: OL Rounds Five to Seven are all going to be for depth. I could also see them taking Sedrick Ellis in the first, but after his pro day numbers, there's no way he's there at eleven. That means we either trade back with say Houston or Washington or Dallas and move back, picking up another #2 and still get the player we want. If a trade happens, I believe the team still takes Fred Davis with the first pick, and you could throw in Brandon Flowers CB with the second. Otherwise, I think they follow the pattern above. The first four rounds will be offense heavy, as that is where we NEED help as opposed to WANTING depth.

I don't think Hardy will last into the second round and I don't think Buffalo will stay at #11. Though your draft addresses most of the needs, I just can't see Buffalo going this direction. Trade #11 with Houston or Minnesota for their later first along with a second. 1. Malcolm Kelly WR or Devin Thomas WR 2. Fred Davis TE 2. Brandon Flowers CB 3. Mike Pollack C 4. Jordy Nelson WR 4. Owen Schmidt FB 5. Keilen Dykes DT 6. Bryan Johnston DE 7. Matt Spanos C/G 7. Chad Reinhart OG 7. Marcus Monk WR The sevens are perhaps the most interchangeable and there are a number of players to pick from that could go. Buffalo is looking for depth there, so they will take the best player available if they can. However, in the first three rounds they will take based on NEED, and our needs really are, in order WR, TE, CB, C. If Buffalo can trade back and get an extra second, they will be able to address all of those needs with pretty much immediate impact players. Pollack is going to be a heck of a center though, I could see the Bills holding off and taking Lichtensteiger later in the draft. However, I think this gives the Bills the best coverage at positions of need, while also giving them good developmental depth at some thinner positions. No matter what happens, they will be getting some depth at O-Line, because while our starters are excellent, we need some better depth to develop.

I agree with your positional selections, though not with all of your players. I believe that unless Derrick Harvey or Sederick Ellis fall to #11 and the Bills take one of them, they will trade down with Philly or Dallas and add an additional second or third round choice to make it happen. I predict the following, assuming a trade down with Philly and an additional second round pick. 1. Devin Thomas WR or Malcolm Kelly WR 2a. Fred Davis TE or Martellus Bennet TE 2b. Brandon Flowers CB 3. Mike Pollack C 4. Jordy Nelson WR 5. Owen Schmidt FB 6. Keilen Dykes DT 7a. Matt Spanos C/G 7b. Vincent Redd OLB or another DE I think this is much more likely what the Bills will do. They have three big needs on offense that have to be addressed. They absolutely need a WR and a TE who can come in and make an immediate impact on the game. They also need a young CB who can become a potential starter in a year or two and who can make an impact at nickel or four this year. Lastly, they need to put a pure blocking full back in front of ML this year, and Schmidt is that guy. Jordy Nelson is a good addition and in a year or two may turn into another good receiver that the Bills can play. That way if Reed or Parrish are gone, we have a ready replacement. We also need an upgrade at the C position, and Pollack looks like he has the makings of becoming an absolute stud at that position.

While I don't think the Bills take a look at Wiggins, I don't think they are going to wait until the 4th to take a TE. If they trade down and pick up an additional 2nd, I would be willing to bet that they grab Fred Davis if he is there, or Dustin Keller, or Kellen Davis. Buffalo NEEDS a TE and I expect us to address our three pressing needs in the first four rounds. I expect a WR in the First, a TE in the second, a CB in the Third, a C in the Fourth and Owen Schmidt in the Fifth.

The Giants could take three DTs in the past two drafts because they addressed their offensive problems. They have their QB and they have starting caliber WRs at the 1 and 2. They have a good two back system that gains a lot of yards and Jeremy Shockey helps them to stretch the field. Also, they have one of the better O-Lines in the league. Thus, they could afford to draft three D-Lineman in the last draft and not have a problem. Buffalo doesn't currently have that luxury. We have offensive needs that we have to address. We used FA to address the issues on D. Not fully, but they have solidified three of our need positions. Now we need to fix the offense. I think there is good DT talent to be had in the later rounds for depth, and next year there will be some very good players at the position as there are every year. Next draft is the time to address those wants, after we fill our positions of need. Also, there are two schools of thought on how to stop that short pass offense, which, by the way, was also prevalent in the late eighties and early nineties. See the 49ers and Packers for two solid examples. A 3-4 defense, much like the Bills of old used to use was used to counteract this and many teams have gone to that. However, good LBs and a solid group at safety can stop that stuff early before the short receiver can get those YACs that are so pivotal to success in the West Coast, dink and dunk type of system. Also, watching the SB this year, and the Patriots of the past eight years, I find it hard to say that the old school offenses are dead. The Pats don't exactly favor a dunk system, as they go long and deep on the corners and over the middle more than almost any other team that I have watched. Your suppositions, I think, are not as clearly demonstrable as you seem to believe.

First, the Bucs were just so totally AWESOME last year with that stunning offensive line. They also couldn't score enough points because they had no offense. That led to their losing games. When Buffalo was first and second in the league on D with Ted Washington and Sam Adams at DT, we couldn't score points. And we couldn't win games. We're a bottom feeder because TD was stupid and wasted our picks on players that we didn't need at positions that weren't needs. I wouldn't call our DT "Razor Thin." Buffalo has a top ten DT in Marcus Stroud, a First Rounder in McCargo who looked REALLY good at the end of last season. Kyle Williams is a solid guy at the 3 and Spencer Johnson is underrated as a DT and is going to surprise. Jason Jefferson is serviceable as a backup if we get real thin. We have decent depth at the position to go through the season, and unlike some I don't believe that the ankle injury for Stroud is going to be an issue. The reason our run D was so bad last year had a lot more cause than that we had some injuries on the DT and everything fell apart. We had two starting linebackers get hurt. We had injuries on the D-Line at times during last season. McCargo had issues with his foot during the season and he missed time. We lost, at one point, both starting safeties and their backups. Corner wasn't very deep either and injuries had practice squad guys coming in and starting at times. The fact is, taking a DT in this draft with so many other needs on offense would be throwing away another season. If you can be satisfied with another 7-9 or 8-8 season while the offense languishes at the bottom of the league, fine, we can take another DT. Frankly, I beleive the FO has addressed the issues with the D-Line and that next year would be a better time to draft a DT in the first round, because there will be fewer needs and more of an ability to draft a player that we like rather than one that we need. This year, however, we have major needs at WR and TE, as well as C that need to be addressed to move this team back. Until we give the offense some weapons, it won't matter how good the D is. If the O can't score more than 17 points, you're not going to win 10 or 11 games needed to make the playoffs. And that is the goal, after all.

I respectfully disagree. I looked at the Bills drafts from when they were successful, say 1987-1995. They did not draft a single defensive lineman during that stretch. When the Cowboys were winning Three Super Bowls and building their team, they didn't take very many DLs in the first round. The Patriots haven't exactly drafted a lot of DTs in the past seven years. The only first round DT I can remember them drafting was Vincent Wilfork, who, while very good, is not top five in the league. Buffalo has addressed the DL for the current time through free agency. Now, looking at this team, we have three primary needs that have to be addressed in the draft if the offense is to finish somewhere higher than the high twenties and if we are to be competitive in the playoff race. We need to find someone who can play #2 WR and play well enough to take some pressure off of Evans. We need a big, fast pass catching TE who can stretch the middle of the field and open things up on offense to give our passing attack a threat. Face it, Robert Royal is NOT going to get the job done as a receiver. Lastly, we need a true Center who is big enough to make a difference on the line. Fowler is a smart player and does very well for his smaller size. He is a great backup for us. But we do need an upgrade at this position. We could also use a guy like Owen Schmidt at FB to get another big bruising blocker out there in front of ML. There is not doubting that D-Line is very important. We, however, have four guys who are capable of starting at the position and two guys who can be effective as backups. D-Line is not a need for this team in the draft. Stroud, Johnson and McCargo are going to be a force in the middle this year. That will also take pressure off of Schobel and Kelsay, allowing them better attack at the pocket due to fewer double teams. I always like the Bills to add talented depth to both the O-Line and D-Line because much of football is dictated by who wins that battle up front. However, when Buffalo has GLARING needs at other positions, they have to be addressed. As to the comparison with the Lions, I don't know how else to say this. I live in Detroit and am CONSTANTLY told how awful the FO here is. The problem with the Lions was they DIDN'T draft need positions. They followed the best available theme that you are calling for. That led them to draft Joey Harrington, Kevin Jones, Charles Rogers, Roy Williams, and Mike Williams. All of them were overrated by the numbers and didn't pan out. The organization is now busily clearing out all of those draft picks. Much in the same way when TD was here and we drafted the best player available, which worked out so well. Most of his picks have been traded or released, and JP will be following suit. If Parrish doesn't show up this year, he may be gone too. The fact is there is NOTHING similar between the current FO at OBD and the FO for the Lions. Buffalo has been very smart about taking players at need positions who have panned out. Whitner, McCargo, Poz, Simpson, Edwards, Lynch have all turned out to be starting caliber players at their position. I wouldn't mind taking a DE or DT at #11, though I don't think Dorsey and Ellis are as "sure a thing" as everyone makes them out to be. They both have injury issues. However, I'd only be okay with that if the Bills moved back into the first round to take one of the top WRs in this draft. The class is BOTH DEEP AND TALENTED this year and I would love to have any of the four top receivers being pegged in the draft. Then we need a TE like Fred or Kellen Davis and Mike Pollack in the third. Then you can spend the rest of your picks on depth.

The only way the Bills add a QB to the roster is in FA. I don't see us drafting a QB, and certainly not Flacco who is likely to go to a team desperate for any QB who might be able to start. Trent is the QB of the future for the Bills. Let's give him a chance to see what he has before we run him out of town.

If you want an offense that continues to RUN RUN PASS and be unsuccessful at converting third downs because they can't do anything with play number three, then we should follow your theory. I really hate these continual posts on how Buffalo should take DL or OL in the first round. That would be the absolute DUMBEST thing we could do this year. I don't care if you take some prospects in later rounds, say four and up. But in the first? With all the other needs we have on offense? C'mon. Buffalo needs to draft a WR or TE in the first two rounds, preferably both, one in each round. We don't need the rookie WR to come in and catch 95 passes next year. We need him to be a legitimate 45-50 and 700 yd guy who can take some pressure off Evans and allow Reed to play the position where he excels and can help the offense: the slot. Then you mix in Parrish and a pass catching TE and that not only opens up the passing game, but helps the run. When you have an offense that is actually a threat in the passing game, that allows you to run a ball control offense much more effectively. Also, the Bills had one of the better O-Lines in the league last year. One of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal offense. The D-Line sucked and the FO addressed that immediately. We now have three guys who could be legitimate starters at DT at any given time. We don't need to get another high paid guy at the position right now. At DE you already have over 70 mil tied up in Schobel, Kelsay, and Denney. No way they sink another 20 mil into a position that isn't great but is above average. Likely they will add another FA like Jason Hall for depth and be done with it. We have actual NEEDS on offense that need an infusion of young talent to help this franchise. I don't care that the WR we draft in the 1st isn't going to be GREAT for 2 years. I just want him to come in and be AVERAGE or GOOD. That would be better than what we've had at #2 for the last three years. And a TE who can actually catch the ball might actually mean the offense can score more points than the defense on any given Sunday. Just stop the line-drafting madness.

So true.

Check out the last three games of the season when he played significant time and IIRC he actually started in the final game and had a pretty amazing interception. Just to answer your question. And he did look pretty good during the time he played in those games.

Finally someone said something in this post that makes sense. I completely agree. The Bills have done a great job over the last two years in the draft getting talent to fill holes. And to answer the question posed in my thread as to how many of those draft picks in 06' of Whitner, McCargo, Simpson, Youboty I would say should be starting on any D in the league, I would say at least two. Whitner is a far above average SS and he is arguably top 5 at the position. McCargo is an above average DT who was really starting to turn into a top-20 guy at the position. Ko Simpson was also playing well in his rookie year and I think was showing he had the makings of an above average FS until he was hurt and missed last season. I think he will have a strong year this season. Thus, arguably three of those guys could be deserving starters this year. As to BADOLBILZ's question concerning why the FO was looking at Marlon McCree, they lost five CBs and two safeties, leaving only four CBs on the roster and only young unprove guys to back up Whitner and Simpson in the starting roles. They needed depth and thus they tried to go and get a solid veteran talent. Try not to blow things out of proportion. Fact is Buffalo's front office is no where near as incompetent as that in Detroit. Buffalo hasn't "wasted" draft picks on top receivers who haven't panned out. You really need to pay attention to what actually goes on with the FO and look at what the Bills have done before you make ridiculous statements. There's enough people on this board who do that already. We don't need any more.

Except that now the girlfriend has come out and said that he never actually hit her. I guess maybe the Steelers were a bit premature in cutting the guy from the roster.

Um, what? So, when Day One of '06 landed three starters on D, that was an example of idiocy? Wow. Furthermore, I reiterate that the origninal poster is smoking crack. His numbers are all wrong. First, the Lions picked Four wideouts in four years. If you look at the draft history the Bills have taken 2 with a first round pick in the last thirteen. Further, the corners we have taken in the draft in the first round over the last, say, ten years, have been pretty good. Winfield and Clements were ballers, and Whitner is turning into one of the better SS in the league. Throw in Ko just for the sake of argument, and our backfield is pretty solid. I'm sorry that the FO eighteen years ago, and a completely different coaching staff couldn't turn Thomas Smith into a top corner for ten years. So what? The question is how has this staff done. So far I have liked what I've seen. And just to note, the Lions didn't give those receivers any other threats, including at QB. They're strategy was doomed to fail. They had no line and no RB and no QB. We aren't in that situation. We have at worst an above average line, a top RB and a young QB who looks a hell of a lot better than Joey Harrington ever did in the Lions' backfield. So, perhaps if you took a minute to look at reality rather than agreeing with a person who is clearly stupid, you would realize it is only your statements about the situation that are pure idiocy.

If by disappointment you mean he hasn't really had a lot of playing time to see what he can do, then yes, he has been a disappointment. However, he did get to play some significant time at the end of last season and he started to show signs of being the top flight corner we had hoped he could be in this defense. I think he gets this year to see what he can do and if he flops then he's gone. I would note, however, that Youboty has been a frequent visitor to OBD during the offseason and has reportedly been working really hard to try and compete with Greer for the starting second corner spot. He has size, speed and good hands, so if it works out, all the better for us.

Take a look at what happened with Peerless when we traded him to Atlanta. That might jog your memory as to the franchise then trade scenario. Other teams have done it as well. I believe the Colts did that with James. In terms of the idea, I agree with you in part. I don't like trading veteran players who know the system, only to keep bringing in new hot talent, only to then see it leave in its prime. That strategy didn't work too well for the Montreal Expos in baseball and it won't work for us. That being said, we do have a lot of short and long term needs on offense that need to be addressed. I think we need to take a WR and TE. There are a number of good ones available. Should this scenario occur, and the Bills have planned it ahead of time, I would guess they take the best player available at #11, which is likely to be LB Keith Rivers or Derrick Harvey DE or Mike Jenkins CB and then take a WR like Kelly, Sweed, or Thomas at the later pick, in the mid-teens or twenties in this scenario, then try and get either Fred Davis TE or Kellen Davis TE in the second round. Then I see us taking Mike Pollack C or Brandon Flowers CB in the Third, Owen Schmidt in the Fourth and Jordy Nelson in the Fifth. After that it's anyone guess.

There are four teams interested in him, including the Bills. Based on his interview with Chris Brown he seemed to be interested in the Bills. We need talented depth at the position pretty badly, so I wouldn't be surprised if we signed him in another day or two. Also look for the Bills to sign Jason Hall or Kalimba Edwards at the DE position in the coming week or two as well. However, nothing has been said to suggest that Carr has been signed by us or anyone else that I have seen.

As far as your suggestion that a Rook TE might have an immediate impact, I tend to agree. However, I disagree, respectfully, to your analysis of the WR position. Reed is best utilized as a slot receiver, and is likely to have a much more significant impact at that position for the Bills. Parrish is more of a third down receiver, or a guy you use in a Wes Welker type role, but who can also run long routes and burn corners deep. What we don't have is a #2 who can run those moderate routes over the middle and get separation. That is the role the rookie will fill and even if his numbers are superstar, even if they are average for the NFL, that will force teams to respect him. That helps Evans and also likely Reed to have better numbers and more chances to make plays. That will instantly make our team better in the passing game. Adding a pass catching TE to the mix who can stretch the middle of the field deep, only makes the passing game that much better.

That last suggestion would be very intriguing and I think better for us in the long run. Roy Williams is a better long term talent that Evans, and he has the size and speed to compliment a first round choice in this years draft. That trade could be a boon for us in the long run, and both of their contracts are up at the end of the season.

Besides the fact that this post is just plain ridiculous, I have to ask how far back you are taking this in terms of years. Because, in case you weren't aware, here's the Bills first round picks for the last, say, seventeen years. 2007-Marshawn Lynch RB 2006-Donte Whitner SS 2006-John McCargo DT 2005-None 2004-Willis McGahee RB 2003-J.P. Losman QB 2003-Lee Evans WR (1) 2002-Mike Williams OT 2001-Nate Clements CB 2000-Erik Flowers DE (OUCH) 1999-Antoine Winfield CB 1998-None (Sam Cowart 2nd) 1997-Antoine Smith RB 1996-Eric Moulds WR (2) 1995-Ruben Brown OG 1994-Jeff Burris FS 1993-Thomas Smith CB 1992-John Fina OT 1991-Henry Jones SS 1990-James Williams CB In the last seventeen years, we have drafted 2 WRs in the first round. 2. And both of them were pretty darn good. Moulds is second all time on the team in all statistical categories and may make it into the HOF. Not likely, but he might. And Lee Evans has turned out all right if you ask me. Now, in 2005 we did not have a first round pick, though we did take Roscoe Parrish in the second round. If you count him, then it is too early to tell. He may still turn into a very good WR for us. Right now we know he is a heck of a KR though. As for DBs we've taken a few of those. Nate Clements and Antoine Winfield were ballers. No denying that. Yet those guys were taken early 2000's and in 1999. Before that, the last DB of any type we drafted was Jeff Burris in 1994. He was an average DB, not great, not terrible. Thomas Smith was a bust with injury issues. So there's one. Henry Jones was an above average strong safety who was an asset to the Bills last two SB teams. And James Williams I had never heard of, so Bust. Therefore, the results of your hypothesis were: UNPROVEN! Buffalo has had two clear busts at DB and none at WR. So, perhaps you should take a look at the actual history before you start spouting off. And just for your edification, the next five picks prior to 1990 are listed for you. 1989-None (Don Beebe WR was their first pick in the Third Round. He was a pretty darn good WR) 1988-None (Thurman Thomas RB in the Second Round) 1987-Shane Conlan LB 1986-Ronnie Harmon RB 1985-Bruce Smith (1st Overall Selection) 1985-Derrick Burroughs CB (He was pretty good too as I recall) 1984-Greg Bell RB 1983-Jim Kelly QB

He would be an excellent pick in the fourth or fifth round. I liked the Bills possibly taking Jordy Nelson as a second receiver in the draft, but this kid looks pretty impressive. Either one would be a good pick to me, though Simpson appears to have better size with similar speed and hands.

1. Malcolm Kelly WR 2. Fred Davis TE 3. Brandon Flowers CB

This would be a phenomenal draft, though I would still have liked for us to take Owen Schmidt in the Fourth rather than a DE. However, this actually could happen. The draft value chart shows us getting a slightly better deal than the Skins, but if they want their guy and he is available at #11, they would likely do it. If we could get those additional second and third rounders, man would we be in good shape.