BringBackFergy Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 13 Buffalo Whitney Mercilus Illinois OLB34 Reach/Value: -5 Height: 6'3" Weight: 262 Alternate Pick #1 Michael Floyd Alternate Pick #2 Alfonzo Dennard Losing out on Upshaw by one draft slot, the Bills get a great consolation prize in Whitney Mercilus. Mercilus leads Division 1 in sacks (13.5), sacks per game (1.23) and forced fumbles (8). He is also sixth in tackles for a loss per game (1.75), so he spends plenty of time in opponents' backfields. The Bills has 17 sacks through 12 games - lowest in the NFL. But it's worse than that - 10 of those came in 1 game vs Washington. Mercilus is a sure thing where Merriman, Moats, Batten, Kelsay, and Morrison each have liabilities. Watch for the Bills to take two OLB's in this draft. Whitney Mercilus is a great start down a better route to Playoffland. http://drafttek.com/CMDRound1.asp I know they have us at slot 13, but even if we get to 8, 9, or 10...gotta love this name. Perhaps Buddy will give him the kiss of death and say he has a "high motor". His stats are impressive though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjmac Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Draft Tek has Mercilus at #18, I think. That's a bit of a reach, unless he moves up or we actually win one of our two last games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endless Ike Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Draft Tek has Mercilus at #18, I think. That's a bit of a reach, unless he moves up or we actually win one of our two last games. Top 10s in December don't have a lot in common with Top 10s in April...the combine will change a lot of minds about a lot of guys. I don't think its a reach to be looking at anyone in the top 20 at this point. Good to get familiar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 13 Buffalo Whitney Mercilus Illinois OLB34 Reach/Value: -5 Height: 6'3" Weight: 262 Alternate Pick #1 Michael Floyd Alternate Pick #2 Alfonzo Dennard Losing out on Upshaw by one draft slot, the Bills get a great consolation prize in Whitney Mercilus. Mercilus leads Division 1 in sacks (13.5), sacks per game (1.23) and forced fumbles (8). He is also sixth in tackles for a loss per game (1.75), so he spends plenty of time in opponents' backfields. The Bills has 17 sacks through 12 games - lowest in the NFL. But it's worse than that - 10 of those came in 1 game vs Washington. Mercilus is a sure thing where Merriman, Moats, Batten, Kelsay, and Morrison each have liabilities. Watch for the Bills to take two OLB's in this draft. Whitney Mercilus is a great start down a better route to Playoffland. http://drafttek.com/CMDRound1.asp I know they have us at slot 13, but even if we get to 8, 9, or 10...gotta love this name. Perhaps Buddy will give him the kiss of death and say he has a "high motor". His stats are impressive though. This guy has kinda "flown under the radar" a bit because he plays for Illinois, but he could turn out to be a great player for some team. He has ideal size and pass rushing skills to play OLB in the 3-4. Many people might consider this a "reach" selection...even at #13 (I think we will be picking in the top 10), but I wouldn't complain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 (edited) Um, How are the Bills drafting 13? They'd have to beat the Tebows or the Bradys for that to happen. Doesn't seem likely. So Upshaw would be available. It would be great to have Mercilus and Marcelleus. Edited December 20, 2011 by Why So Serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 This guy has kinda "flown under the radar" a bit because he plays for Illinois, but he could turn out to be a great player for some team. He has ideal size and pass rushing skills to play OLB in the 3-4. Many people might consider this a "reach" selection...even at #13 (I think we will be picking in the top 10), but I wouldn't complain Thanks for the input guys. I watched some Youtube clips of him against Penn State (he looked slow but it was snowing something fierce there) and the Northwestern game clips...I can see the tendancy to penetrate and bull rush, but on a few occassions he rushed right past the running back. Obviously, these look like a young guy's mistakes and are correctable, but you're right...good size, burst and strength (then again they said that about "he who shall not be named" and he was a reach after one standout year at Penn State) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjmac Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Top 10s in December don't have a lot in common with Top 10s in April...the combine will change a lot of minds about a lot of guys. I don't think its a reach to be looking at anyone in the top 20 at this point. Good to get familiar. Still, don't get your hopes up. I don't think Nix will reach that far, if he ends up being a reach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 Um, How are the Bills drafting 13? They'd have to beat the Tebows or the Bradys for that to happen. Doesn't seem likely. So Upshaw would be available. It would be great to have Mercilus and Marcelleus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2o Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 (edited) Mercilus is a beast and I wouldn't be mad if we took him, if Barkley, Blackmon, and RG3 are off the board. I like him better than Upshaw personally. The guy is basically unblockable at times. He honestly reminds me a lot of Lamar Woodley. Strong as a bull, but still very quick and athletic. Relentless when getting after the QB. If we could grab Mercilus in the 1st and Vinny Curry in the 2nd I would be doing backflips in my living room. Edited December 20, 2011 by H2o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbosrrgood Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Mercilus is a beast and I wouldn't be mad if we took him, if Barkley, Blackmon, and RG3 are off the board. I like him better than Upshaw personally. The guy is basically unblockable at times. He honestly reminds me a lot of Lamar Woodley. Strong as a bull, but still very quick and athletic. Relentless when getting after the QB. If we could grab Mercilus in the 1st and Vinny Curry in the 2nd I would be doing backflips in my living room. I'm liking your thinking (except the Barkley part). I'd love Blackmon or RG3 if available, if not we need a monster OLB (we need one regardless). If healthy our D-line has the potential to be dominant. If we got the right OLB, our D could all of the sudden become explosive. The only other part of that equation would be to actually get a DC that has some sort of a clue...Edwards is awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Not sold on Mercilus. There was a thread started about him with videos in the OP (videos now removed by the Big Ten) and he looked slow and lazy and didnt stand out as anything special. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more info/clips as we approach the draft, but for right now... Meh, Id rather have Upshaw who has been a leader on the nation's best defense and already plays 34OLB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBD Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 One knock on Mercilus will be that he's only had one year as a starter, this past season, at a pretty weak football program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Not sold on Mercilus. There was a thread started about him with videos in the OP (videos now removed by the Big Ten) and he looked slow and lazy and didnt stand out as anything special. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more info/clips as we approach the draft, but for right now... Meh, Id rather have Upshaw who has been a leader on the nation's best defense and already plays 34OLB. I haven't seen much of Mercilus, but have seen plenty of Mr. Upshaw's work...he'd be an immediate and dramatic upgrade to our defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbosrrgood Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 (edited) One knock on Mercilus will be that he's only had one year as a starter, this past season, at a pretty weak football program. That sounds familiar... maybin Edited December 20, 2011 by Turbosrrgood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog69 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 we already have a bunch of useless linebackers, we may as well try out a Mercilus one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Draft Tek has Mercilus at #18, I think. That's a bit of a reach, unless he moves up or we actually win one of our two last games. Those drafttek rankings are kind of a joke. They have RGIII ranked at #24 and Reilly Reiff at #7? I wonder what data they use to create those rankings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judman Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 It would be great to have Mercilus and Marcelleus. The "Frack-You" defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 That sounds familiar... maybin He Who Shall Not Be Named Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Is Upshaw even that great? Like top 10 great? We should be taking a top flight QB at that spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsidethebox Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I haven't seen much of Mercilus, but have seen plenty of Mr. Upshaw's work...he'd be an immediate and dramatic upgrade to our defense. If that is true about Upshaw, then we are definitely picking Mercilus if both are still on the board when our pick is up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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