Steve O Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 (edited) Since the only picks I've hit on in my mocks the past 3 years have been EJ, Kouandjio, and O'leary, I decided to go a different route this year and take a look back at who the best Bills' draft picks in each round have been. For background, I've always been a Billls fan, what I would describe as an avid fan since attending my first game 1979. Season ticket holder for roughly 30 seasons since then. Most of my research was done on drafthistory.com. Since the draft was 12 rounds when I started following it, that's how far I'm going back for picking my best player round by round. Admittedly, I pretty much had my mind made up who the picks would be for rounds 1,2, 4, and 5 before researching, digging deeper did nothing to change my mind on those. Anyways, here are my best Bills picks round by round: Round 12 - Charles Romes, corner, 1977. Played in every game as a rookie, then started every game for the next 9 years, 137 in all, 8th most in team history. 28 interceptions rank 4th in team history. On a side note I don’t think post-football life has been kind, read an article several years ago where he was arrested for petit larceny, stealing cigarettes if I remember correctly. Hope things turned around for him. Round 11 - Howard "House" Ballard, Right tackle, 1988. Played in every game as a rookie, then started every game for the next 5 seasons as a Bill. 5 year starter for Seattle following his Bills career. Round 10 - Wil Grant, Center, 1978. Really wanted to go with Mike Lodish who is the answer to the yearly super bowl quiz question about "who appeared in the most super bowls"...actually he is now tied with Brady. But Grant was a six year starter, like Romes a mainstay in my early years as a season ticket holder. Only missed one start from 80-85, gave way to Kent Hull in 86. Round 9 - Carlton Bailey, Linebacker, 1988. Bailey gets the nod over Robb Riddick and Keith McKeller by virtue of his touchdown in the 1992 championship game against Denver. Maybe someone can find a more deserving pick from the 60's and 70's, but I didn't recognize any of them. Round 8 - Marvcus Patton, Linebacker, 1990. Solid backup and spot starter for his first 3 years as a Bill, then started every game his last two years as a Bill. Started 64 straight games for the Redskins followed by 64 straight starts for the Chiefs following his time with the Bills. Post Bills career gives him the nod over Jeff Wright, who played seven seasons, all for the Bills. Round 7 - Bob Chandler, Wide Receiver, 1971. Played 9 years for the Bills, over 4,000 yards receiving when the NFL in general and the Bills in particular were largely run oriented. Another 1K+ yards receiving for the Raiders, including 4 catches for 77 yards in Super Bowl XV. Round 6 – Corbin Lacina, Guard, 1993. Man have we missed on a lot of sixth rounders. Lacina didn’t play as a rookie, started several games from 94-97, played 6 more seasons for Carolina, Minnesota, then finished his career with Chicago. The kind of career you would hope for a sixth rounder to have, but it’s hard to believe I couldn’t find anyone more deserving. Maybe someone else can. Round 5 – Kyle Williams, Defensive Tackle, 2006. Like I said at the outset, my mind was pretty much made up before researching, which did nothing to change my mind. Still the heart and soul of the defensive line going in to his 11th season. Let’s hope he stays healthy this season. Round 4 – Andre Reed, Wide Receiver, 1985. Another pick where my mind was made up before researching, no need to summarize his HOF career here. Round 3 – Joe Ferguson, Quarterback, 1973. Another round marred by many disappointing picks going back decades, Fergy’s wall of fame career makes him the clear choice over Frank Reich. Started as a rookie and 12 seasons in all for the Bills, 5 post Bills years in the NFL. Round 2 – Thurman Thomas, Running Back, 1988. With no first round pick in 88 from the Bennett trade, the Bills were the only team not to pass on the future hall of famer. It was the early years of ESPN draft coverage, and Thomas was the one picked to have a camera on. Clear disappointment in has face as seven running backs were chosen ahead of him (according to drafthistory.com, I always thought it was 6) including 5 in the first round. On a side note, outside of missing on all 7 second round picks from 92-96 (friggin’ Lonnie was the best of the bunch), the Bills have done quite well in round 2; way more hits than misses. Round 1 – Bruce Smith, Defensive End, 1985. While a case can be made for many other first rounders, notably Kelly and OJ, in my opinion Smith is the only one in the conversation for goat at his position. There you have it, hoping someone can find more deserving picks for rounds 6 and 9, kudos if you can do better with the other picks. Would be great of one of the old timers could fill in rounds 13-18. Edited April 25, 2016 by Steve O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog69 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Don't think I can argue any of these picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Linen Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 I'd switch Bruce with Kelly for the simple fact that he is the most important player in Bills history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve O Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 I'd switch Bruce with Kelly for the simple fact that he is the most important player in Bills history. I'm sure many would agree with this assessment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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