Yeap, I said it at the time and I still belive it. Whitner had to be a game changer to be worthy of that pick. To use a pick that high on a Safety - where you can find good players on the second day of the draft - the guy has to be an amazing player. Whitner is good but if we were going to settle for "good" from that spot I'd prefer a DT. A "good" DT is much more important (and more difficult to find) than a "good" S. Safety is the easiest position to hide on the field - bar none. DT is one of the hardest. That, in and of itself, helps determine vaule.
That being said I prefer a "good" Safety over a bust from another position. The problem is, the player everybody wanted there - Ngata - is far from a bust. He's one of the best young DTs in the game.
As the original poster said, Whitner IS all that is right with the Bills - I love the guy. How can you not root for him. But I still would have prefered Ngata.