Astrobot Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Without live bullets flying yet, it's hard to make the call for the Bills' August 2010 positional needs for next April's 2011 draft (if there is one!), and we'll update our mock after a couple preseason games, but a few question marks still linger. LT--Is Bell the man? Could Jamon Meredith surprise? Is Wang the answer? Could Levitre slide outside? Too many questions here, but I'll be the Bills take a tackle early in 2011. Priority P1. OLB--Will Kelsay-Maybin and Ellis-Torbor be your OLB's in the 3-4? This one is harder to answer than LT. Torbor had shoulder surgery in January, but he's back in the position he played with the Giants--can he excel in the 3-4? By the way, don't hope to get help from the Bills' website; it still lists our OLB's as Bryan Scott Nic Harris Ashlee Palmer on one side and Chris Draft Jon Corto on the other LOL. I'll guess that OLB will be our 2nd or 3rd pick in 2011. Priority P2. QB--Is Edwards' confidence going to be shaken early given the flux at LT and injury at RT? Is Brohm the real deal? Did the Bills secure a gem to polish in the seventh round in Levi Brown? Will Fitzpatrick enjoy his new team (wherever he goes)? I think the Bills look hard at Jake Locker (if they are convinced he won't be a Los Angeles Angel), Ponder and possibly Mallett, but I expect Edwards to flourish and Brohm to impress. Priority P2. NT--Will Torrell Troup be able to occupy two blockers consistently and make tackles? Will Kyle Williams' approach to nose tackle (hang on to one guy and stay the course) begin to wear on coaches and fans? Expect Troup to be seeing more and more work as we head into the real season, but we need depth at nose. Priority P3. WR--I am enamoured with Steve Johnson and Chad Jackson, and think they will be WR2 and WR3 by September. Evans-Johnson-Jackson will put up better numbers than the entire receiving corps last season. Parrish will be a role player with a moderately-improved stat line, but his size may lead to frequent injuries. He makes the cut, however. Marcus Easley will be injury-free to start the year, but will be underplayed in preseason due to injury. He'll be selected as one of the 53 to prevent exposing him to waivers. Priority P3. That's my recommendation. All other positions would be Priority P9. Right now our 2011 NFL mock shows the Bills picking Gabe Carimi LT from Wisconsin with the first pick overall. I don't know if this will be possible picking 32nd, however. I'd like to get your input before submitting August's positional needs to DraftTek. I don't ask any other board for their input; this is where I come for opinions. Lord knows we have those! Astro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Without live bullets flying yet, it's hard to make the call for the Bills' August 2010 positional needs for next April's 2011 draft (if there is one!), and we'll update our mock after a couple preseason games, but a few question marks still linger. LT--Is Bell the man? Could Jamon Meredith surprise? Is Wang the answer? Could Levitre slide outside? Too many questions here, but I'll be the Bills take a tackle early in 2011. Priority P1. OLB--Will Kelsay-Maybin and Ellis-Torbor be your OLB's in the 3-4? This one is harder to answer than LT. Torbor had shoulder surgery in January, but he's back in the position he played with the Giants--can he excel in the 3-4? By the way, don't hope to get help from the Bills' website; it still lists our OLB's as Bryan Scott Nic Harris Ashlee Palmer on one side and Chris Draft Jon Corto on the other LOL. I'll guess that OLB will be our 2nd or 3rd pick in 2011. Priority P2. QB--Is Edwards' confidence going to be shaken early given the flux at LT and injury at RT? Is Brohm the real deal? Did the Bills secure a gem to polish in the seventh round in Levi Brown? Will Fitzpatrick enjoy his new team (wherever he goes)? I think the Bills look hard at Jake Locker (if they are convinced he won't be a Los Angeles Angel), Ponder and possibly Mallett, but I expect Edwards to flourish and Brohm to impress. Priority P2. NT--Will Torrell Troup be able to occupy two blockers consistently and make tackles? Will Kyle Williams' approach to nose tackle (hang on to one guy and stay the course) begin to wear on coaches and fans? Expect Troup to be seeing more and more work as we head into the real season, but we need depth at nose. Priority P3. WR--I am enamoured with Steve Johnson and Chad Jackson, and think they will be WR2 and WR3 by September. Evans-Johnson-Jackson will put up better numbers than the entire receiving corps last season. Parrish will be a role player with a moderately-improved stat line, but his size may lead to frequent injuries. He makes the cut, however. Marcus Easley will be injury-free to start the year, but will be underplayed in preseason due to injury. He'll be selected as one of the 53 to prevent exposing him to waivers. Priority P3. That's my recommendation. All other positions would be Priority P9. Right now our 2011 NFL mock shows the Bills picking Gabe Carimi LT from Wisconsin with the first pick overall. I don't know if this will be possible picking 32nd, however. I'd like to get your input before submitting August's positional needs to DraftTek. I don't ask any other board for their input; this is where I come for opinions. Lord knows we have those! Astro Based on what we know right now I concur with T and QB, I would expand T to left and Right as a Priority 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huuuge Bills Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 If Locker is there (assuming he has a good season/ workouts) when we pick, he's who I take. If he's not, best LT/ OLB available. Also if Luck surprises people and comes out early, I'd look at him too. I'm not worried about NT or WR as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristocrat Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 chances are that gaither and mcneil will be healthy so if they are healthy we can pay them and draft a qb early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 Based on what we know right now I concur with T and QB, I would expand T to left and Right as a Priority 1. I can only have one P1; would you think LT as a P1 and Right Tackle as a P2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 I can only have one P1; would you think LT as a P1 and Right Tackle as a P2? That works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quester74 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 I can only have one P1; would you think LT as a P1 and Right Tackle as a P2? Personally, I'd have it like this: LT: P2 QB: P2 OLB34: P3 NT: P3 WR: P4 When it comes to QB or LT.. I'll take the best player available between the 2 positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 Personally, I'd have it like this: LT: P2 QB: P2 OLB34: P3 NT: P3 WR: P4 When it comes to QB or LT.. I'll take the best player available between the 2 positions. That's a good solution, and maybe throwing RT in at P3 as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrid Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 I'd say an ILB should be added to the mix, P4 ish level. plan to start him 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 If Locker is there (assuming he has a good season/ workouts) when we pick, he's who I take. If he's not, best LT/ OLB available. Also if Luck surprises people and comes out early, I'd look at him too. I'm not worried about NT or WR as much. What about Ryan Mallett? I was able to watch a couple of his early games last year then a couple later ones...he improved greatly. Anyway...back to Astro's question... QB P2 LT P2 WR P3 C P4 OG P4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrid Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 What about Ryan Mallett? I was able to watch a couple of his early games last year then a couple later ones...he improved greatly. Anyway...back to Astro's question... QB P2 LT P2 WR P3 C P4 OG P4 Dont forget about Sean Allen-C & Cordero Howard-G, both rookies. they so far appear to be stepping up nicely. esp for UDFAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 I'm hoping Edwards can improve as much as anyone, but I think we're kidding ourselves if QB is anything other that Priority #1 at this point in Buffalo...LT would definitely be a close 2nd... After that, again this is before we even see a Pre Season Game, I'd say it's WR, TE, and OLB in that order... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orton's Arm Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 My own list: QB: P1 LT: P2 RT: P3 OLB: P3 C: P4 NT: P4 I placed QB at P1 because I see it as an all or nothing proposition. Either the Bills don't need a QB at all, or else they need the best possible QB they can get their hands on. A quarterback who's somewhere in between those two extremes--some decent, not great, QB to arrive in training camp to "compete" with Edwards and Brohm--would be worse than useless. The Bills don't need "competition" at the QB position. They need The Guy. If Edwards isn't The Guy, they need to use a first round pick on someone who is. The above logic meant that, for me, QB would either be P1 or P10--but not in between. I chose P1, because I feel Edwards is more likely to turn out to be a second- or third-rate QB than he is to be the next Jim Kelly. I chose LT as P2, because we had nothing there last season, and because a former Green Bay practice squad member (Meredith) is unlikely to be the long-term answer there. Also because the LT position is so critical; second only to QB among importance for the offensive positions. I have similar concerns about the RT position, but ranked it at P3 because it's less important, easier to fill, and because we have some stuff there which will allow us to get by in the short-term even without adding a draft pick. Going into last year's draft, Maybin's best position was generally felt to be an OLB in a 3-4. But even if Maybin contributes nothing to our defense, I still feel that the 2011 draft should emphasize the offense first, defense second. Once the QB and LT positions have been taken care of, the Bills will be in a better position to take a more balanced approach. That said, pass rushing OLB currently appears to be the defense's biggest need. Center is a need as well: Hangartnar was the 32nd ranked starting center in the league last season. The Bills' division rivals all use 3-4s, so a good starting center is pivotal to making the offense work. The only reason I didn't rank this position higher is because it's harder to find good QBs and OTs than it is to find good starting centers. The Bills could draft an OG and move Wood to center. One option is to eliminate the P4 at center and replace it with a P4 at OG. The Bills drafted Troupe, and by all accounts he's off to a good start in camp. But you really need at least two good NTs in your rotation for a 3-4, and I think Kyle Williams would be a better fit as a LDE than as a NT. Adding a good, solid NT would help toughen up the Bills' front seven. One need I didn't mention was at CB. In a 3-4 defense, you strongly benefit from the presence of a shutdown CB. While the Bills' secondary is very solid top-to-bottom, it does not have a true shutdown CB. Possibly McKelvin will turn into that player. Even if he doesn't, the Bills should address the above-mentioned needs first, before attempting to improve the situation at CB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucson Ed Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 I live in Pac-10 country. Luck is better than Locker. Locker is more like Tebow, Luck has Pro-QB skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 OK without knowing how this season will play out I will have to say that QB or a LT will be our 1st pick while a pass rushing OLB or a WR will be our second round choice. BUT with the way the season shakes out these needs will be shifted a lot or at least a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yungmack Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 I live in Pac-10 country. Luck is better than Locker. Locker is more like Tebow, Luck has Pro-QB skills. I too live in Pac-12 (gotta keep up with the times) country and absolutely agree with you about Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haplo848 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 To me, it seems like Chan and Co. are drafting more for value then for need, trying to get as much talent on the team as quickly as possible, regardless of position. I think setting the priorities is a good idea, but don't expect the Bills to follow them come next year's draft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 I live in Pac-10 country. Luck is better than Locker. Locker is more like Tebow, Luck has Pro-QB skills. Luck is a junior, and may not come out this year, but agree he'd be in the mix in RD1, likely around 10th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 How about we try this on the next draft: QB: P1 (too many good ones will be there in RD1) LT: P2 (if Carimi is there it'll take him if he's less of a reach) RT:P3 OLB34: P3 NT: P3 (we need two; rather see Kyle Williams at DE) WR: P4 OC/OG P4 (if Woods moves to OC it's a guard) ILB:P5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4BillsintheBurgh Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 How about we try this on the next draft: QB: P1 (too many good ones will be there in RD1) LT: P2 (if Carimi is there it'll take him if he's less of a reach) RT:P3 OLB34: P3 NT: P3 (we need two; rather see Kyle Williams at DE) WR: P4 OC/OG P4 (if Woods moves to OC it's a guard) ILB:P5 I'm thinking: QB: P1 We need a franchise guy if he's there OLB34: P2 While we have Maybin, who else has at least some potential to be a standout 3-4 olb? Let's not ignore the requirement of the 3-4 to have top notch pass rushing olb's. LT: P2 Assuming Bell doesn't step it up OG: P3 Let's get Wood over to center NT: P4 We can get a rotational guy for NT here, but I'm not sold on the need. Pit will bring their NT off the field in pass rushing situations, and I can see the Bills letting TT play run downs and bringing KW in for pass rush. RT, ILB, OG, C: P5 - Looking for backup depth and possibly hitting on one of these guys. Assuming Meredith plays well enough to start at RT and we will still need some depth at interior OL. Although I wouldn't be suprised if we pick up a guy in free agency here for the interior. I like putting multiple positions at one level in your software because it seems to pick the bpa better. I had a lot of fun with that last draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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