Grade the Bills overall draft

[Oneonta Buffalo Fan]

A. This was a great draft. I know some of you were critical of our second day but we got some serious depth now AND we basically rebuilt our special teams. Not only that we addressed our key issues and we have some seriously talented players now. I can care less if ESPN (not including Chris Berman) give us a low grade, this was a great draft and I can't wait for the season!

[mead107]

A with an upside .

[jayg]

I don't know. No one was injured so I guess it was a good draft.

[Horus]

mine averaged out as a C....Bills said they wanted to go with a true FB and none taken at all, even with Hillis lasting till last round...to many CB's taken in a year when we only needed 1 CB to address Moss...RB was not a priority and TE was but not addressed very well...I really hope these guys work out but it looks like Bills went with the cheapest tires to drive this team on

[Jerry Jabber]

A. The holes on this team have gotten much smaller. Great to see us replenish special teams.

[Horus]

you guys must really love special teams and you must think all our points are gonna come from it cuz most of special teams could be replenished in round 6-7 and UDFA...if rounds 4-5 had been better my grades on 6 and 7 would be higher

[Horus]

A. The holes on this team have gotten much smaller. Great to see us replenish special teams.

agreed on much smaller but not filled..thats sad

[YOOOOOO]

Those of you who say we didnt need DB's after picking McKelvin......obviously Jauron wants bodies so he can go into camp/preaseason, then come out with the best defensive backfield he can possibly field....

 

 

Bottom Line we got beat on to many 3rd and longs....and we needed to sure up our secondary...

 

with McKelvin and Corner we now have enough there to come outta camp with a very solid secondary....

[obie_wan]

A. The holes on this team have gotten much smaller. Great to see us replenish special teams.

 

except the still huge ones at C and backup LT.

 

Most of teh starters from last year would have replenished the ST - maybe they should focus on players that may actually be able to start on offense or defense - if the need required (like last year)

[Horus]

except the still huge ones at C and backup LT.

 

Most of teh starters from last year would have replenished the ST - maybe they should focus on players that may actually be able to start on offense or defense - if the need required (like last year)

 

agree...2 starters and 1 rotational guy is all we came away with..not sure about Corner but thats all I see

[Oneonta Buffalo Fan]

except the still huge ones at C and backup LT.

I wouldn't say it's HUGE when you have Bell who can play LT

[Acantha]

I voted C, but I think the first day was an A. I just completely disagree with the strategy of day 2.

[DrDawkinstein]

agree...2 starters and 1 rotational guy is all we came away with..not sure about Corner but thats all I see

 

 

and in what has been called a "weak draft class", 2 starters (at our major needs) and a rotational guy in the trenches, is bad?

[MattM]

mine averaged out as a C....Bills said they wanted to go with a true FB and none taken at all, even with Hillis lasting till last round...to many CB's taken in a year when we only needed 1 CB to address Moss...RB was not a priority and TE was but not addressed very well...I really hope these guys work out but it looks like Bills went with the cheapest tires to drive this team on

 

Now I've heard everything--Ralph is "cheap" in the draft? How do you go cheap in the draft? Each player is basically slotted in terms of salary--don't matter who you pick, that guy's going to get a little less than the guy infront of him and a little more than the guy behind him. This is not an area that one can cheap out on--you pick the best player available at a position of need with your picks and they get paid according to the scale. Some folks like to use the "Ralph is cheap" thing even in cases where it's not appropriate. If that's not what you meant, I apologize in advance, but that's what your post looks like to me.....

[Horus]

and in what has been called a "weak draft class", 2 starters (at our major needs) and a rotational guy in the trenches, is bad?

it is when KC can walk away with 6 or more starters and ppl like Hillis are still on board till round 7

[Horus]

[/b]

 

Now I've heard everything--Ralph is "cheap" in the draft? How do you go cheap in the draft? Each player is basically slotted in terms of salary--don't matter who you pick, that guy's going to get a little less than the guy infront of him and a little more than the guy behind him. This is not an area that one can cheap out on--you pick the best player available at a position of need with your picks and they get paid according to the scale. Some folks like to use the "Ralph is cheap" thing even in cases where it's not appropriate. If that's not what you meant, I apologize in advance, but that's what your post looks like to me.....

no my remark wasnt about money..I meant it looks like i went to a tire store and went with the cheapest set I could find thinking a tire was a tire

[Stenbar]

I wouldn't say it's HUGE when you have Bell who can play LT

We needed o line backups..Nice pick..Our Def was terrible last yr we addressed that..We needed a wr we grabbed a decent prospect..I am not negative about this draft at all..I wouldve liked to see a Tight End that can run the seams and catch better than Royal but they must feel Anderson is the answer..Time will tell..

[JAMIEBUF12]

how can you grade a draft when none of the players have even been to mini camp yet?i liked most of the picks.i wasnt't crazy about the mckelvin pick,but he is a bill now and i hope he has a great career for the bills.i would have never thought the bills would draft hardy.i like that pick.(i really wanted malcom kelly). i like the chris ellis pick at the 3rd spot.as for the rest of the draft i hadn't heard of any of the players except for wide receiver steve johnson.well i am glad i don't do the picking because i am not a scout.all the players i know is from reading on line.the only college players i really know are the ones that play for penn state.i usually only watch penn state games so i only know the players that play against them ...ie ohio stae and michagan.i always thought the rule to drafting was........if you need a corner draft ohio state and if you need a linebacker draft penn state and if you want a wide receiver go syracuse or michagan lol lol..........well we will see in a year or two from now how this draft really was.as far as a grade how about a B go bills!

Rd. 1 11 CB Leodis McKelvin

Rd. 2 41 WR James Hardy

Rd. 3 72 DE Chris Ellis

Rd. 4 114 CB Reggie Corner

Rd. 4 132 TE Derek Fine

Rd. 5 147 OLB Alvin Bowen

Rd. 6 179 RB Xavier Omon

Rd. 7 219 OT Demetrius Bell

Rd. 7 224 WR Steve Johnson

Rd. 7 251 CB Kennard Cox

[DrDawkinstein]

it is when KC can walk away with 6 or more starters and ppl like Hillis are still on board till round 7

 

 

the fact that KC NEEDS 6 starters out of a weak draft shows exactly why they were picking at 5.

 

and who are the 6 definite starters they picked that youd rather have starting for the Bills?

 

Dorsey and Albert are givens, so theyve matched our 2 so far...

[John from Riverside]

mine averaged out as a C....Bills said they wanted to go with a true FB and none taken at all, even with Hillis lasting till last round...to many CB's taken in a year when we only needed 1 CB to address Moss...RB was not a priority and TE was but not addressed very well...I really hope these guys work out but it looks like Bills went with the cheapest tires to drive this team on

 

Horus....

 

I am just curious on why you think the DB's were not needed......I dont know if I agree with all of the RIGHT CORNERS to pick except for the 1st one......but a lot of those guys project to be special teams guys that we need

 

I think that the RB we took was taken with the intention of making him a fullback.....in my Pro Football Weekly draft mag he is actually listed AS a fullback

[ax4782]

it is when KC can walk away with 6 or more starters and ppl like Hillis are still on board till round 7

 

Yeah, and if Buffalo had six picks in the first three rounds we would have come away with six starters too. Buffalo did very well. The fact is, the shortest talent pool on this team was at WR and CB. Buffalo filled those two areas with good solid talent. Buffalo had practice squad guys in the defensive backfield last year after Greer and Webster went down. Because of that, we got burned bad in the passing game. Buffalo filled those holes with starting talent and depth so we don't have a repeat of last year. Hardy will be an impact player from his first down on the field. Hillis is not the type of FB the Bills were looking for. He is more of an H-Back type of player, Buffalo was looking for a true FB. Schmitt would likely have been the pick in the 6th round, but he went a couple spots before we could have taken him.

 

Also, when you have NO players on your team, like KC didn't, you can take starters at all positions. Buffalo had needs at corner, wr, te and special teams. Buffalo addressed those areas, and added a skilled DE as well. What's not to like again?

[ax4782]

Not to mention we took, IIRC, an OT in the later rounds. He is likely to need time to come along, but that's worked pretty well with Butler and Peters.

[Oneonta Buffalo Fan]

Those of you who say we didnt need DB's after picking McKelvin......obviously Jauron wants bodies so he can go into camp/preaseason, then come out with the best defensive backfield he can possibly field....

 

 

Bottom Line we got beat on to many 3rd and longs....and we needed to sure up our secondary...

 

with McKelvin and Corner we now have enough there to come outta camp with a very solid secondary....

Exactly and that is something we didn't have last year.

[Kelly the Dog]

it is when KC can walk away with 6 or more starters and ppl like Hillis are still on board till round 7

How about subtracting KC's best player, which is how they got those extra picks and seemed to have such a good draft. If we would have traded Jason Peters we could have had a better looking draft on paper, too.

[Dan]

How about subtracting KC's best player, which is how they got those extra picks and seemed to have such a good draft. If we would have traded Jason Peters we could have had a better looking draft on paper, too.

I think you've hit on something here. We could trade our best 2 players each year and get some great draft picks. That way we could win the draft every year!

[Captain Hindsight]

I liked the draft overall and thought we filled some needs but i was hoping we would have grabbed a center or a recieving tight end. 3 corners miffed me

[DrDawkinstein]

I think you've hit on something here. We could trade our best 2 players each year and get some great draft picks. That way we could win the draft every year!

 

haha yes! i forgot all about the term "winning the draft"

[Oneonta Buffalo Fan]

I liked the draft overall and thought we filled some needs but i was hoping we would have grabbed a center or a recieving tight end. 3 corners miffed me

We can do that now. UDFA signing period is open.

[ndirish1978]

that last cb is projected as a S

[John from Riverside]

I think you've hit on something here. We could trade our best 2 players each year and get some great draft picks. That way we could win the draft every year!

 

This is what I am not understanding.....

 

How does KC "Win the draft"

 

Is there a award for that? Because it certainly is not the Super Bowl as the same teams seem to win the draft over and over every year.....

 

KC had excellent draft position which they parlayed into some fine picks in the early rounds......but if the bills had those same picks we would have done the same thing.

 

I would have liked to see a higher TE taken....but other then that I thought we drafted very well.

[DrDawkinstein]

Remember a couple years ago when the 49ers and the Jets both "won the draft"?!?!

 

how many playoff appearances have they made since then?

[Horus]

I'm not saying we could have gotten 6 starters but there were a few guys on the board that Bills could have had and they didn't take them..then you watch better teams with fewer needs take them....as FB goes I'm only upset about them not taking one because they said they were going to use one this year..I personally dont like FB's..if they're not multi-dimensional they're taking space a WR or TE could use...I think I was just mad they didnt address a need that everyone said was a need... maybe thats my fault for takeing it to seriously...I dont know maybe my view of what the team needed was way off...

[NewEra]

Those of you who say we didnt need DB's after picking McKelvin......obviously Jauron wants bodies so he can go into camp/preaseason, then come out with the best defensive backfield he can possibly field....

 

 

Bottom Line we got beat on to many 3rd and longs....and we needed to sure up our secondary...

 

with McKelvin and Corner we now have enough there to come outta camp with a very solid secondary....

 

and if we just had drafted McKelvin, we would have McKelvin, McGee, Greer, Youbouty and James....we could have gotten another CB in the 6th or 7th if we needed a SIXTH CB.

[silvermike]

It was a solid draft. McKelvin and Hardy is about as good of a first day as we could reasonably expect to have. Even seeing how everyone went, I'm not sure if I would do anything differently - there's no DE worth that pick, and I think he was notably better than the other CBs on the board. And Hardy could be a very solid WR - certainly the equal of Devin Thomas.

 

Ellis, I'm a bit skeptical of - he's a situational pass-rusher, and I think we needed more of a run stuffer. But we'll see; it's not like we were overflowing with sacks in the past few seasons. And after that, I get confused. Corner could be great value, but we had depth at CB at that point - wouldn't this be a great time to boost our thinnest position (OL?) Derek Fine - well, I honestly don't know anything about him, so if he can make some grabs and play some special teams and develop into a starter/2nd TE down the road, awesome.

 

Bowen was a great pickup - a great guy for depth who can really play some STs. Omon - I've heard he projects to FB? We'll have to wait and see about that one because I have trouble believing he'll be a better FB than Schmitt or Hillis.

 

We got on track in the 7th - Steve Johnson was projected in the 5th or so, and could be a late-round steal. Bell is a hulking tackle who helps us out at a weak position. And then we had the penultimate pick in the draft - who cares at that point?

[duey]

I think you'd be hard pressed to give any draft an A until the following year and you've seen now everyone has played out. So...I give it a B. Solid, with potential for that A come the end of the season.

[Ozymandius]

A. This was a great draft. I know some of you were critical of our second day but we got some serious depth now AND we basically rebuilt our special teams. Not only that we addressed our key issues and we have some seriously talented players now. I can care less if ESPN (not including Chris Berman) give us a low grade, this was a great draft and I can't wait for the season!

 

Why is everyone saying that we have replenished special teams?

 

Just because you haven't heard of a player or because a pick doesn't make sense to you doesn't mean that the player in question is a great special teams player.

 

I expect slippage in special teams play this year with the FAs we lost. Until proven otherwise, I'm not expecting these late round picks to play just as well as Aiken, Stamer and company.

[Dan]

This is what I am not understanding.....

 

How does KC "Win the draft"

Is there a award for that? Because it certainly is not the Super Bowl as the same teams seem to win the draft over and over every year.....

 

KC had excellent draft position which they parlayed into some fine picks in the early rounds......but if the bills had those same picks we would have done the same thing.

 

I would have liked to see a higher TE taken....but other then that I thought we drafted very well.

They have all the pundits talking about them and saying how great they did. And, come on, isn't that really what's important.

[Horus]

just for the record..just because I mentioned KC dosent mean I meant they won the draft

[Steely Dan]

Ok, here's my assessment;

 

Leodis McKelvin - (A+) (5'10", 190, 4.379) Not as big as I was hoping the Bills would get but in addition to being a shutdown corner it sounds like he'll take over KR and PR duties too. Some compare him to Devin Hester in that regard.

 

James Hardy - (A) (6'5", 217, 4.49) My concerns about his character issues have been alleviated a lot by his willingness to openly talk about his past problems. It really sounds like they are behind him. Great receiver maybe the best in the draft. Loses the plus because I'm not 100% convinced that his problems are totally in the past.

 

Chris Ellis - (C- ) (6'4", 263, 4.71) I think this says it all. Charged with obstructing an officer in late September 2006 and Virginia Tech suspended him for the Georgia Tech game as a result. Underwent shoulder surgery to repair torn labrum in right shoulder in 2003, slowed by shoulder injury during 2006 season, he missed 2007 spring practices after undergoing shoulder surgery and his durability is a concern. This kid has bust written all over him. He might be another Steve Entman who had a lot of talent but was out of league quickly due to injuries. At best he projects as a situational pass rusher and I think more should be expected of a 3rd round pick. Linkage

 

Reggie Corner - (B - ) (5'9", 181, 4.45) As one draftnik said; Having to many corners is like having too much money. He runs a 4.45 but at 5'9" and 181 pounds seems to be small, even by the Bills standards. At that size I wonder how effective he can be on ST's.

 

Derek Fine - (A+) (6'2", 251, 4.849) Hybrid capable of lining up at both the tight end and fullback position. Quick off the ball and able to avoid contact working against press coverage. Does a good job of selling the run and gets into the flats quickly off play action. Smooth, runs clean routes and is at best getting open underneath. Has a wide frame and does a nice job of using his body to shield defenders from the ball. Possesses an understanding of how to attack defenders and set up breaks. Appears to read defenses well and does a nice job of finding open areas working against zone coverage. Gives great effort as an in-line blocker and is relentless once in position. Takes sound angles to blocks, flashes the ability to adjust to the moving target in space and can get into position at the second level. Is as effective lead blocking from the backfield as he is lined up at tight end and is somewhat versatile. 'Nuff said. This is the FB they need. Linkage

 

Alvin Bowen - (A+) (6'1", 223, 4.79) Should be immediate ST force and all of the problems he has being a very good OLB seem like they can be corrected by coaching. This is exactly what a team should be getting in these rounds

 

Xavier Omon - (C ) (5'10", 228, 4.62) If the Bills are looking at him as a possible FB then he'll need to bulk up and if they aren't planning on using him as a FB then Dwayne Wright better start working out hard.

 

Demetrius Bell - (A+) (6'5", 303, 5.25) Small school developmental project that could turn into a RT with some work. Great OL's don't need to be taken high. It's the one position that late round picks can be turned into great players. See; Peters, Jason. The Bills could also be looking at him as a possible RG.

 

Steve Johnson - (A) (6'1", 210, 4.589) Great pick for this stage of the game. Has potential and could surprise. A great 7th round pick.

 

Kennard Cox (A) (5'11", 192, 4.549) Another could surprise pick. It's hard to really criticize any 7th round pick. Especially one this late in the round.

 

So having said all that I graded them a B. I have reservations about every pick after McKelvin in one way or another but if these guys can work hard they may surprise.

[marauderswr80]

I will give it a B grade. There were a few players on the board I wanted Buffalo to grab. However, getting an elite CB and a big WR that the offense needed is awesome. Im pretty excited to see Leodis McKelvin & James Hardy play football.

 

I cant wait to get a jersey for both guys..........

 

But overall, This Russ Brandon guy is making a name for himself.......