Will the 10th Pick be from the South?

[JuanGuzman]

Since Buddy Nix has ran the draft, the Bills Draft Picks have come disproportionately from Southern U.S. Schools. Out of 18 picks the last two years 15 players were chosen from southern schools compared to 3 from other regions. (Marcus Easely RD 4, Danny Batten Rd. 6, Kyle Calloway Rd. 7 are the exceptions).

 

On one hand this isn't overly surprising, Southern Schools produce the most NFL prospects: The SEC consistently leads the way in total number of players drafted and number of players drafted in the first round and the ACC the wasn't too far behind last year led by southern schools such as North Carolina, Miami and Clemson. -- At the same point Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Pacific regions of the U.S. also produce a lot of NFL players.

 

So what explains the Bills disproportionate reliance on southern school? I think it must be explained by one of the two factors below,

 

• 
   
  
• 1) There is no explanation other than randomness: The Bills draft board is not biased towards any region(beyond normal weights based on what regional sample sizes each draft year) So the fact that most picks have come from the south, its just random.
  
• 2)The bills do favor drafting players from southern schools, either because: 1) they trust their southern contacts/scouts better, 2) they feel southern players are better able to produce at the NFL than counterparts from other regions. or some combination etc.
  

 

I don't think I am going out on a limb here but IMO the Bills draft players from south not due to randomness but because they prefer southern players to draft picks from other regions. At the same point I notice that several people are projecting the Bills pick to be from a region outside the south e.g. Decastro, Reiff, M. FLoyd, J. Martin, Nick Perry, among others. That's not say people aren't also projecting players from the South e.g., any of the top CB's, upshaw, ingram, coples, cordy glenn among others. I just find it odd given Nix's recent history of drafting predominantly players from southern schools.

 

So I am asking people will the #10 pick in the draft come from the south, or will it come from anywhere but the south (Northeast, Midwest, or the West)? I think just based on the history the pick is very likely to come from the South e.g. a South Atlantic or South Central U.S school.

[bearc012]

Nope. St. Paul, Minnesota by way of Notre Dame.

Edited March 23, 2012 by bearc012

[NoSaint]

id say a little of both. dareus, von miller and cam were all southern guys and im guessing 1-2-3 on most boards last year. that said, id also guess nix has more guys on speed dial that hes worked with for 30+ years that reside in the region which helps when making a judgement call on a guy.

[jjmac]

My guess is Floyd from Notre Dame.

[Rico]

Anywhere but Boston College (and of course Penn State).

[Mr. ChumChums]

Buddy was a regional scout specializing in the Southeast. That's where his expertise is, as well as most of his contacts are. We're naturally going to see more players from the southeast because of it.

[Bflojohn]

Simply put, this works for me!! SEC or bust.

[valle7878]

the SEC is were the college prospects are and the most talented players come from the SEC