truth on hold Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) I'd rank them ... #1 1985: Bruce Smith (all time leading sack leader), Derrick Burroughs (excellent corner up until career ending injury), Frank Reich (terrific backup QB who was instrumental to their success and who would have started for other teams) and Andre Reed (4th round steal) #2 1983: mostly because of Jim Kelly, but also picked up Talley #3 2001: Hit on all first 5 picks with good to excellent starters Clements, Schobel, Henry, Ron Edwards and Jennings. Here's the history: http://www.nfl.com/d...=0610&type=team Be curious what others think. Edited January 30, 2013 by Joe_the_6_pack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 That 2001 was a really good draft and also was a "need" based draft. We needed a RB, needed a DE, needed a DT and an LT and we got good ones for all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 '87 was regarded as a good draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSBill Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Hard for me to put the 2001 draft up there, what did they produce? one, winning season, and certainly no play-offs. Drafts, like teams, are ultimately measure by results, and "results" in the NFL is winning; specifically, winning play-off games. Thus, I will go with the 1985 gang, they may have won more than any Bills group ever--and all those mentioned where big contributors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibs Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 '87 was regarded as a good draft. The 87 draft put us in 4 Superbowls. Conlon, Odomes, Ballard, Mckellar, Seals, Mueller. Then the Bills traded for Biscuit out of the same draft class. No other draft even with out Bennett is even close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 2009 would actually be a great candidate if only we had done the obvious thing in taking Orakpo instead of Maybin. The next 3 picks were Wood, Byrd and Levitre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterpan Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 2009 would actually be a great candidate if only we had done the obvious thing in taking Orakpo instead of Maybin. The next 3 picks were Wood, Byrd and Levitre. D ont remind me of that stooopid Maybin pick !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gRAhhhhhhh!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T master Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I would say seeing as there is 1 HOF player, 1 HOF candidate, & 1 history making back up QB that the 85 draft was by far the best ! Sure you had Jimbo in the other but he jerked our chain for a couple of years & he was the only HOF player in that draft although Talley was a core player for years he's not HOF yet , time will tell ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills Fan since '64 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 OJ and James Harris in 1969. But in typical Bills fashion, after taking OJ in the first round, in the second round they took... a RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Ridlehuber Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 OJ and James Harris in 1969. But in typical Bills fashion, after taking OJ in the first round, in the second round they took... a RB Nice name. But how is not the 1979 draft up for discussion? Tom Cousineau whi ends up as Jim Kelly Jerry Butler Fred Smerlas Jim Haslett Jeff Nixon Ken "baby" Johnson even Rod Kush and Jon Borchardt were more then serviceable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 That 2001 was a really good draft and also was a "need" based draft. We needed a RB, needed a DE, needed a DT and an LT and we got good ones for all of them. Notably, that was the year we traded down in the 1st round. Unless you are drafting a QB, I have no idea why you wouldn't look to trade down. At the mid-low part of the 1st, you can usually just about every year get a top-3 CB, the best interior o-lineman, the best TE, and some great value at LB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Linen Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 2013 I don't think it's really fair to say that because we haven't drafted yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsCelticsAngelsBama Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 The 87 draft put us in 4 Superbowls. Conlon, Odomes, Ballard, Mckellar, Seals, Mueller. Then the Bills traded for Biscuit out of the same draft class. No other draft even with out Bennett is even close. 87' followed by 79' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 The 87 draft put us in 4 Superbowls. Conlon, Odomes, Ballard, Mckellar, Seals, Mueller. Then the Bills traded for Biscuit out of the same draft class. No other draft even with out Bennett is even close. It's important to note however that '87 was a 12 round draft as were all the drafts until 1992. Nice name. But how is not the 1979 draft up for discussion? Tom Cousineau whi ends up as Jim Kelly Jerry Butler Fred Smerlas Jim Haslett Jeff Nixon Ken "baby" Johnson even Rod Kush and Jon Borchardt were more then serviceable Definitely an excellent draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 It's important to note however that '87 was a 12 round draft as were all the drafts until 1992. Definitely an excellent draft. A 12 round draft was a huge advantage for a GM who knew what he was doing. Yeah, 79' was very good as well. And even though Cousineau flamed out, we did trade him for some picks. Only Cleveland (I think) go screwed by Cousineau. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 1979 Buffalo Bills Draft Round Overall Player Position Birthdate College 1 1 Tom Cousineau LB 05/06/1957 Ohio State 1 5 Jerry Butler WR 10/12/1957 Clemson 2 32 Fred Smerlas DT 04/08/1957 Boston College 2 51 Jim Haslett LB 12/09/1955 Indiana (PA) 3 62 Jon Borchardt OG 08/13/1957 Montana State 4 83 Ken Johnson DE 03/25/1955 Knoxville 4 87 Jeff Nixon DB 10/13/1956 Richmond 5 114 Rod Kush DB 12/29/1956 Nebraska-Omaha 5 116 Dan Manucci QB 09/03/1957 Kansas State Not bad. Especially when we parlayed Cousineau into Jim Kelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyC81 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I'd rank them ... #1 1985: Bruce Smith (all time leading sack leader), Derrick Burroughs (excellent corner up until career ending injury), Frank Reich (terrific backup QB who was instrumental to their success and who would have started for other teams) and Andre Reed (4th round steal) #2 1983: mostly because of Jim Kelly, but also picked up Talley #3 2001: Hit on all first 5 picks with good to excellent starters Clements, Schobel, Henry, Ron Edwards and Jennings. Here's the history: http://www.nfl.com/d...=0610&type=team Be curious what others think. You forgot about TE Tony Hunter in '83. Oh, wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnbillsbacker Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) I must be missing something. Isn't the 1983 draft the best in bill's history? That draft gave the bills the franchise QB who led them to 4 consecutive super bowls. Edited February 1, 2013 by auburnbillsbacker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 over 6000 views for worst bills draft thread, but best Bills draft gets buried. Very telling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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