Bills have drafted 5 QBs since Kelly retired...

[Howard]

Yep, although this may be well worn territory . You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. And this franchise just hasn't taken enough shots at the QB position. Especially as this downturn has gone on and on.

You stole that quote from Michael Scott.

[Boatdrinks]

You stole that quote from Michael Scott.

I don't think it was Michael Scott. It was Wayne Gretzky. And I didn't steal anything, it's become a known sports maxim. Wasn't claiming ownership.

[BADOLBILZ]

They've also not drafted one with their originally slotted first first round pick.......ever.

 

Literally NEVER been all-in on draft day.

 

Took Jim Kelly AFTER first selecting TE Tony Hunter........Pollom claimed almost 30 years later that the Bills were good with either Kelly or Marino but .

 

Next closest was EJ......who was acquired after trade back.

 

They are RELENTLESS short-cutters at the QB position.......they will trade a 1st pick for one with some pro seasoning(Rojo, Bledsoe) or trade NEXT year's pick to get a guy like Losman.........but never drafted one with the first rounder God gave them.

 

I've lost count of how many RB's they've taken with that pick.......or DB's in general.......even when it WASN'T a passing league.

 

At one point over half of their all-time first picks in round 1 were RB's and DB's.

[chris heff]

Even though he was drafted in1995 I think you have to count Todd Collins he was the heir apparent. Then there were trades and free agent signings. I wonder what the success rate of each method is.

[1billsfan]

 

 

It's all about value and bust potential. The bust factor on a QB is very high. It's just hard to tell if a guy has what it takes to transfer to the pro game. Measurables are huge, but players with those bust too. Mostly because it's hard to measure what's between their ears and how it will operate when the bullets are flying. So if you are passing up studs at a less important ( but less of a bust factor) position, well GMs don't want to do that. The Texans taking a Mahomes at 25 isn't seen as a desperate move. Nor would the Bills trading down for an extra pick or two, then picking Mahomes a bit later. That would be seen as a value move. Doesn't change Mahomes bust potential one bit but it mitigates the risk by theoretically helping the team with value picks where solid starters are still found . Spending pick ten and getting a bust is a lose- lose. It's a fine line, but a good GM will maximize his value. Similarly, the Bills loved Brees in 2001. They didn't love him enough to draft at their spot in round one and took Nate Clements. Brees was gone by their pick in round two. A move down there to pick up extra choices and get Brees would have been much more valuable than Clements. Drafting a QB high doesn't make him better than he is, but you need to take him if you believe in him. The importance of the position has increased need drafting and over drafting of QBs, with middling results. Take a guy where he falls on your board and get close to there by a trade down if it's warranted. First round picks are scarce commodities.

 

 

Except, you’re not on the hook for a "Sam Bradford" rookie contract and the QB position is 100 times more important than any other position on the team.

Because of these facts, it should be a completely acceptable practice to overdraft (by 15 picks) the QB you want at #10, who you know won’t be there at your next pick.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Patriots have drafted 8 since Brady won his 1st Super Bowl.

[BADOLBILZ]

 

The Bills haven’t had a “big picture” guy. The guy who takes his nose out of the tiny details and can pinpoint THE #1 PROBLEM.

 

Here’s a “big picture” example…Why is it ok for the Texans to draft Mahomes at #25 (tons of mocks have this), but the Bills would be complete fools to do so at #10?

 

1. One team gets their franchise QB because his value starts to get slotted around their pick.

 

2. The other team (which is just as desperate lacking a franchise long term QB), drafts a safety or wide receiver. Yet they still don’t have their answer to the franchise QB solution.

 

It's all about value and bust potential. The bust factor on a QB is very high. It's just hard to tell if a guy has what it takes to transfer to the pro game. Measurables are huge, but players with those bust too. Mostly because it's hard to measure what's between their ears and how it will operate when the bullets are flying. So if you are passing up studs at a less important ( but less of a bust factor) position, well GMs don't want to do that. The Texans taking a Mahomes at 25 isn't seen as a desperate move. Nor would the Bills trading down for an extra pick or two, then picking Mahomes a bit later. That would be seen as a value move. Doesn't change Mahomes bust potential one bit but it mitigates the risk by theoretically helping the team with value picks where solid starters are still found . Spending pick ten and getting a bust is a lose- lose. It's a fine line, but a good GM will maximize his value. Similarly, the Bills loved Brees in 2001. They didn't love him enough to draft at their spot in round one and took Nate Clements. Brees was gone by their pick in round two. A move down there to pick up extra choices and get Brees would have been much more valuable than Clements. Drafting a QB high doesn't make him better than he is, but you need to take him if you believe in him. The importance of the position has increased need drafting and over drafting of QBs, with middling results. Take a guy where he falls on your board and get close to there by a trade down if it's warranted. First round picks are scarce commodities.

 

 

Given how monumentally important the QB position is in the NFL. In what world does this seem logical? Smart?

 

 

 

First round picks are the most overrated way of acquiring talent........by A LOT.

 

Since the Bills passed on Brees..............and shrewdly dodged drafting those bust-prone QB's( )............all they have to show for going on two decades of first round picks.......while Brees REMAINS AN ELITE QB..........Marcel Dareus.....Sammy Watkins.......and Shaq .

 

That is IT.

 

Three f*cking first rounders left from 17 bad years of top half of the first round slotted picks.

 

You can't make this sh*t up.

 

And YET........if they had a franchise QB........they'd be in contention.

 

The lesson is first round picks that aren't QB's are not really that important in the big picture.

[Boatdrinks]

First round picks are the most overrated way of acquiring talent........by A LOT.

 

Since the Bills passed on Brees..............and shrewdly dodged drafting those bust-prone QB's( )............all they have to show for going on two decades of first round picks.......while Brees REMAINS AN ELITE QB..........Marcel Dareus.....Sammy Watkins.......and Shaq .

 

That is IT.

 

Three f*cking first rounders left from 17 bad years of top half of the first round slotted picks.

 

You can't make this sh*t up.

 

And YET........if they had a franchise QB........they'd be in contention.

 

The lesson is first round picks that aren't QB's are not really that important in the big picture.

Oh I agree. Not taking Brees when they were so high on him was a huge blunder. One they have repeated many times. First rounders that aren't QBs can be huge parts of a team. Think Von Miller had something to do with the Broncos last SB win? There are no absolutes. QB is the most important, but the Bills have not drafted many pro bowlers or all pros in round one the last twenty years either. The only certainty is that they have been terrible drafting with their high picks overall, and that is the reason they have been mired in mediocrity for so long. It's the reason they don't have a top tier QB, among other things. Their last really good GM was Polian, Butler was decent but not top notch as a GM. Better as a scout. Their FO has been incompetent since Butler. You really can't make it up.

[Nostradumbass]

Remember when they didn't draft Dalton because they liked Levi Brown's upside

 

A franchise that doesn't make QB a priority is destined to always have this problem

[bisonbrigade]

The Bills should draft a QB EVERY YEAR until they find the next one.

Edited March 15, 2017 by bisonbrigade

[BADOLBILZ]

Oh I agree. Not taking Brees when they were so high on him was a huge blunder. One they have repeated many times. First rounders that aren't QBs can be huge parts of a team. Think Von Miller had something to do with the Broncos last SB win? There are no absolutes. QB is the most important, but the Bills have not drafted many pro bowlers or all pros in round one the last twenty years either. The only certainty is that they have been terrible drafting with their high picks overall, and that is the reason they have been mired in mediocrity for so long. It's the reason they don't have a top tier QB, among other things. Their last really good GM was Polian, Butler was decent but not top notch as a GM. Better as a scout. Their FO has been incompetent since Butler. You really can't make it up.

 

Von Miller was a very important part of their defense and his play in that SB was game changing.

 

But he's not a franchise changer........he had his moment the same way Dareus had his in the national championship game versus Texas.

 

How much you hear about Von Miller for the rest of his career depends greatly on who his QB is.

 

And I don't think the Bills have been terrible drafting in round 1...........Watkins and Dareus are all-pro talents that have been mostly mismanaged. Gilmore was very good.

 

Technically they've drafted a lot of good players in round 1 since 2000.......lot's of pro bowl players.....Clements, McGahee, Whitner, Spiller, Dareus, Gilmore, Watkins.....Lee Evans deserved to make one too........they had PLENTY to have had very good teams..........but the positions you use those picks on matters.....and ultimately it just doesn't mean all that much without a QB.

[gomper]

I may be wrong but the only QB they have drafted and developed completely within the organization that was a success was Fergy in 1973. Kelly was groomed in the USFL. Now that's depressing.

[jeffismagic]

I may be wrong but the only QB they have drafted and developed completely within the organization that was a success was Fergy in 1973. Kelly was groomed in the USFL. Now that's depressing.

Before I was born.

[LI_Bills]

The Bills should draft a QB EVERY YEAR until they find the next one.

 

I've heard this from many others in many posts and I understand the sentiment. So what do we do with the guy we pick each year? Let him sit and develop (if so, for how long?) or just throw him out there and let him sink or swim? Not worry about developing a competitive team until we have found "the guy" to build around?

 

I just don't see drafting a QB every year as a cut and dried decision.

 

Take this year for example. My feeling is that Tyrod is OK but needs to show improvement and we need to plan for the possibility that we need to move on from him (cue the Tyrod non-believer posts). Have we given up on Cardale? If so, we need to draft a QB this year when the general consensus is that the QB prospects will be better next year. Do we think Mahomes/Trubisky/Watson or whoever is "the man"? If so, by all means go get him but I don't think you can do that every year until it works.

 

Back to the OP's point: 5 since 1996 is ridiculous

Edited March 15, 2017 by LI_Bills

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

...all Canton bound....the Cantonese province in China...........

Haha; great line!!

[LI_Bills]

I may be wrong but the only QB they have drafted and developed completely within the organization that was a success was Fergy in 1973. Kelly was groomed in the USFL. Now that's depressing.

 

I can't argue with your facts, but are you suggesting that Kelly would have sucked if he had joined the Bills after being drafted?

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

where would cardale slot in this draft class...?

[BuffaloFan68]

Just draft Mahomes at 10 & be done with it already!!

Come On Buffalo!!!!!

[xRUSHx]

In Whaleys own words "QB Purgatory" he came in and said he would fix it but all he did was give other teams backups raises. It will be Whaleys downfall as a GM because without a talent at QB this team isn't going anywhere. Next seasons schedule will be a nightmare having a running QB being forced to stay in the pocket and be a QB, it has fail written all over it. Sadly in my opinion it is Chan/Fitz era all over again.

[BobbyC81]

Oh I agree. Not taking Brees when they were so high on him was a huge blunder. One they have repeated many times. First rounders that aren't QBs can be huge parts of a team. Think Von Miller had something to do with the Broncos last SB win? There are no absolutes. QB is the most important, but the Bills have not drafted many pro bowlers or all pros in round one the last twenty years either. The only certainty is that they have been terrible drafting with their high picks overall, and that is the reason they have been mired in mediocrity for so long. It's the reason they don't have a top tier QB, among other things. Their last really good GM was Polian, Butler was decent but not top notch as a GM. Better as a scout. Their FO has been incompetent since Butler. You really can't make it up.

 

One of the worst picks was OT Mike Williams with the 4th pick of the 2002 draft. That pick should end up as a long-time starter, which he was not. That didn't hurt that much though since Jason Peters, an undrafted free agent, eventually beat him out for the LT spot. Still you'd like better return from the 4th pick.