Bills need to make their 1st round pick the right one

[Jerry Jabber]

For over 10 years now, the Bills have had more misses than hits when it comes to their 1st round draft pick(s). With either choosing the wrong player, trading for veterans that didn't last (Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe) or trading up in the draft, is a huge reason why the Bills have failed to make the playoffs this past decade. A team's 1st round draft choice is suppose to be a guy that usually stays for 10 to 15 years (depending upon the position they play). Here's the Bills 1st round draft picks since 1998:

1998: Traded 1st round pick to Jacksonville for Rob "I Fallen and can't get up" Johnson. Jacksonville chooses RB Fred Taylor with our pick. Fred Taylor would have been a great choice since Thurman Thomas' career was winding down at that point. Instead, we use our 9th pick on a player that was with us for 4 years and was a huge bust.

1999: Antoine Winfield. Great pick, but the Bills chose not to resign Winfield and he was gone after 5 years.

2000: Erik Flowers. Do I need to say more?!

2001: Nate Clements. A good pick but wanted too much money to stay. I don't blame the Bills for not wanting to pay him 8 years, $80 million.

2002: Mike Williams. Donahoe made a huge error in picking Williams over Bryant McKinnie. Williams was on the Bills for 4 years before he was sent packing, while McKinnie is still a starting tackle for the Minnesota Vikings.

2003: Willis McGahee. This was a waste of a pick, considering Travis Henry had 1,438 rushing yards, 13 rushing TD's and 309 receiving yards the season before.

2004: Lee Evans (13th) J.P. Losman (22nd). Evans is a good WR, but he has been inconsistent. Evans would be a great #2 WR to a bigger, more physical #1 WR. Evans lacks the size to be a true #1 WR since he is unable outmuscle DB's and outleap them. Not a bad pick by any means. J.P. Losman lasted 5 years on the team but was badly mismanaged and showed he didn't have what it took to be a full-time starter in the NFL. Donahoe traded our 1st round 2005 pick for Losman which proved to be a big mistake.

2006: Donte Whitner (8th) John McCargo (26th). Marv Levy decided to choose Whitner over Haloti Ngata, that one still has Bills fans scratching their heads... Obviously, that was a huge mistake, but Levy felt he could trade back up into the 1st round and grab a DT. McCargo has been a bust and is still on the team.

2007: Marshawn "20 Dollar" Lynch. It has been rumored that Levy/Jauron wanted shut-down corner Derrell Revis, but Ralph Wilson wanted Lynch. Lynch is a good RB, but it looks like he could be trade bait and IMO was the wrong choice.

2008: Leodis "Take a knee" McKelvin. It's still too early to say if he was the right or wrong choice. McKelvin has shown some promise, but had Bills fans cursing his name after fumbling a kickoff return in the season opener against the dreaded Patriots in 2009.

2009: Aaron Maybin (11th) Eric Wood (28th). Like McKelvin, it's too early to pass judgment, but so far, Maybin looks like the second coming of Erik Flowers. This was another pick that had Bills fans scratching their heads when Michael Oher and Brian Orakpo were still on the board. Let's hope our new coaches can make Maybin into a good LB. So far, so good with Eric Wood. Wood looked great in the games he played in and everyone wishes him a speedy recovery.

 

Buddy Nix has said he plans to draft well and fill in some holes in free agency using middle of the road guys. So far, Nix & co have only signed two free agents. I like Nix's philosophy that he plans to spend the big money on the players he drafts and those he wants to resign. But, with the Bills not making a big splash in free agency so far, it's hard to get excited about the upcoming season. If Nix's philosophy works, like it did in San Diego, then we'll have a powerhouse team for many years. So if it will take a year or two of missing the playoffs and going through growing pains with the Bills (again) to make this team into a long-term winner, then I'm all for it. Let's all hope that Nix's draft choices, especially the 1st rounders are home runs and not pop flys.

[PromoTheRobot]

Jerry Jabber...Master of the Obvious.

 

PTR

[Deep2Moulds46]

So we need to draft a good player?

 

Thanks

[Jerry Jabber]

Jerry Jabber...Master of the Obvious.

 

PTR

 

That's Captain Obvious!!

[Jerry Jabber]

So we need to draft a good player?

 

Thanks

 

Thanks for the feedback (sarcasm).

[Deep2Moulds46]

Thanks for the feedback (sarcasm).

Feedback for what? You basically went to BB.com and copied their draft history.

 

Um...good work?

[shrader]

2007: Marshawn "20 Dollar" Lynch. It has been rumored that Levy/Jauron wanted shut-down corner Derrell Revis, but Ralph Wilson wanted Lynch. Lynch is a good RB, but it looks like he could be trade bait and IMO was the wrong choice.

2008: Leodis "Take a knee" McKelvin. It's still too early to say if he was the right or wrong choice. McKelvin has shown some promise, but had Bills fans cursing his name after fumbling a kickoff return in the season opener against the dreaded Patriots in 2009.

 

Everytime I read this, I wonder which way they might have gone in 2008 instead if they had taken Revis the previous year. I don't know the drafts/talent enough to know what was available at the time.

[Jerry Jabber]

Feedback for what? You basically went to BB.com and copied their draft history.

 

Um...good work?

 

Actually, I googled the draft history from 1998 to the present.

 

Our draft picks, especially since 1998 have been more misses than hits. Granted, the draft is a crap shoot, but for how long can one team make the wrong choices?

[Jerry Jabber]

Everytime I read this, I wonder which way they might have gone in 2008 instead if they had taken Revis the previous year. I don't know the drafts/talent enough to know what was available at the time.

 

Hindsight is always 20/20, but you can't help but imagine if we had Haloti Ngata and Derrel Revis on the team. I would have loved to see Ngata & Stroud paired up as our DT's and Revis & McGee paired up in the backfield. IMO, they would have made a big difference on our defense.

[TheLynchTrain]

Everytime I read this, I wonder which way they might have gone in 2008 instead if they had taken Revis the previous year. I don't know the drafts/talent enough to know what was available at the time.

 

he would have gotten hurt....played with nagging injuries. then dickie would drafted another cb anyways.

[TheLynchTrain]

Hindsight is always 20/20, but you can't help but imagine if we had Haloti Ngata and Derrel Revis on the team. I would have loved to see Ngata & Stroud paired up as our DT's and Revis & McGee paired up in the backfield. IMO, they would have made a big difference on our defense.

 

anytime you add 2 pro bowl defenders in their prime your defense will obviously be different

[Canadian Bills Fan]

You obviously put time and effor into your post. Thank you and no its not sarcasm I mean it

[Jerry Jabber]

You obviously put time and effor into your post. Thank you and no its not sarcasm I mean it

 

Thanks, I appreciate it. I wanted to put together a well thought-out post. After compiling all the info, it's kind of sad to see who we could have drafted instead and how well those players are doing on their current teams. Players like Bryant McKinnie, Haloti Ngata, Derrell Revis, Michael Oher or Brian Orakpo and seeing the Jags use our pick on Fred Taylor, I wish they were all on the Bills.

[kota]

Our first round draft choices aren't as bad as you think.

[Jerry Jabber]

Our first round draft choices aren't as bad as you think.

 

Considering the position we've been in the 1st round this past decade (majority of the decade was in the top 15), we should have had much more production from our 1st round picks.

[Canadian Bills Fan]

Thanks, I appreciate it. I wanted to put together a well thought-out post. After compiling all the info, it's kind of sad to see who we could have drafted instead and how well those players are doing on their current teams. Players like Bryant McKinnie, Haloti Ngata, Derrell Revis, Michael Oher or Brian Orakpo and seeing the Jags use our pick on Fred Taylor, I wish they were all on the Bills.

 

 

What kills me is that we could have drafted Ed Reed. I know it probably would have been a reach at the time but could you imagine?

[Jerry Jabber]

What kills me is that we could have drafted Ed Reed. I know it probably would have been a reach at the time but could you imagine?

 

That makes it even more frustrating.

[OldTimer1960]

After compiling all the info, it's kind of sad to see who we could have drafted instead and how well those players are doing on their current teams. Players like Bryant McKinnie, Haloti Ngata, Derrell Revis, Michael Oher or Brian Orakpo and seeing the Jags use our pick on Fred Taylor, I wish they were all on the Bills.

 

You can do the same exercise for each round of the draft for any team. Have the Bills missed more than their share of

1st round picks? Maybe, but they aren't that far off from most other teams. As you said, the draft is a crap-shoot and

the Bills biggest problem has been a lack of decent QB play. Where would NE be if they hadn't gotten stupid lucky on

Tom Brady in round 6? Yeah, they did pick him, but there is no way they expected anything like what they got from

their 6th round pick. Take Brady away and the Pats are probably much like the Bills have been for some time.

 

Now, I am not saying that I think the Bills should draft a QB this year. I don't like what I've read about any of them

other than Bradford who won't be available. I am just arguing that sometimes its when you get lucky that you are the

smartest (like SF was with Joe Montana in round 3).

[Jerry Jabber]

You can do the same exercise for each round of the draft for any team. Have the Bills missed more than their share of

1st round picks? Maybe, but they aren't that far off from most other teams. As you said, the draft is a crap-shoot and

the Bills biggest problem has been a lack of decent QB play. Where would NE be if they hadn't gotten stupid lucky on

Tom Brady in round 6? Yeah, they did pick him, but there is no way they expected anything like what they got from

their 6th round pick. Take Brady away and the Pats are probably much like the Bills have been for some time.

 

Now, I am not saying that I think the Bills should draft a QB this year. I don't like what I've read about any of them

other than Bradford who won't be available. I am just arguing that sometimes its when you get lucky that you are the

smartest (like SF was with Joe Montana in round 3).

 

You definitely bring up great points and luck is definitely a factor as in the case of Brady & Montana. But with the Bills, the Lions (Matt Millen era) and the Raiders, you just scratched your head and asked why in the hell did they draft that guy?!

[Max Fischer]

Interesting draft philosophy.