Coach55 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 What happened... back in the day we used to get starters out of the late rounds, now we can't even get practice squad guys (Steve Johnson not included)... Some late rounders 81-96 81 - Robb Riddick (Round 9, Pick 241) - Solid Backup - short yardage guy 82 - Gary Anderson (7, 171) - Didn't play for Bills, but one of the best kickers of all time 85 - Ron Pitts (7, 169) - decent starting Free Safety and now a decent announcer 86 - Mark Pike (7, 178) - Special Teams Extraordinare 86 - Butch Rolle (7, 180) - #2 TE that only caught Touchdowns, literally 87 - Keith McKeller (9,227) - TE who the K-Gun is named after 87 - Howard "the House" Ballard (11,283) - Probowler 88 - Jeff Wright (8, 213) - Starting NT 88 - Carlton Bailey (9, 235) - Starting ILB 88 - Martin Mayhew (10,262) - Starting CB for Washington Redskins 90 - Marvcus Patton (8,208) - Starting LB 90 - Mike Lodish (10,265) - Decent reserved DL and Special Teamer 90 - Al Edwards (11, 292) - Decent #3 receiver and KR 91 - Mark Maddox (9, 249) - Decent Reserve LB and Special Teamer 92 - Kurt Schulz (7, 195) - "I know nothing!" 95 - Darrick Holmes (7, 244) - decent #2 RB 96 - Jay Riemersma (7, 244) - Starting TE Oh how I miss the good late rounders (08 may have been decent - the jury is still out) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Wow thanks for the post. You dont realize something until you see it in writing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 While they haven't hit it every year, there have been some good late round finds like Sammy Morris, Freddy Smith, Brad Butler, Keith Ellison, Kyle Williams, Mario Haggan, Justin Bannan, and the very well beloved Lauvale Sape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003Contenders Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Well, Williams and Butler were both 5th rounders. Ellison was a 6th rounder. Schouman was a 7th rounder, and there is some positive buzz about Bell, who I believe was a 6th rounder last year. Jason Peters and Jabari Greer were both undrafted as was Fred Jackson. All of these guys have been/potentially will be starters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2o Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Well, Williams and Butler were both 5th rounders. Ellison was a 6th rounder. Schouman was a 7th rounder, and there is some positive buzz about Bell, who I believe was a 6th rounder last year. Jason Peters and Jabari Greer were both undrafted as was Fred Jackson. All of these guys have been/potentially will be starters. Yeah, what he said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLocke Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Why not just look at drafts in their entirity? Usually teams are satisfied if they get 2 to 3 starters per draft. If the Bills did that every draft would it matter where the players were selected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 1995 was a great draft. John Holocek was a steal in the 5th. Imo Holecek and Kerner would have been tremendous players if they didn't get hurt. Bills draft history Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan Trapped in Pats Land Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Ron Pitts is a great guy, but that pick was hardly a steal. He was pretty much what you should get in the 7th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFan Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Jay Remeirsma came in a trade from Pittsburgh if my memory serves. (and it may not). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Wasn't Ballard drafted as an underclasssman? I think he was and that is how he was taken so late. It would be like us drafting Andre Smith in the 6th round of the 08 draft even though he didnt declare. If you take him out, those late round picks are somewhat average. Some starting TEs and LBs but mainly reserve and ST players. Id like to see the Bills exceed theses past drafts eventually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 What happened... I don't think it's fair to say that the Bills used to find these gems in late rounds and they simply don't anymore. It's a kind of selective memory in my opinion. You listed 17 players over a period of 16 years. It would be a very very long list if you listed all the guys that never made a mark at all from those years. Some recent success story finds have already been listed in this thread. Overall, it's pretty consistent--most of these late-rounders and undrafted guys come to nothing and a few of them blossom. Same then as now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Pat Williams was undrafted. I'd consider Terrence McGee an excellent middle/late round pick-- I think he was 4th round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans4e64 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Of course there were more late round steals back then. 20-25 years ago there wasn't nearly the coverage and publicity surrounding the draft that there is now. Fans didn't read scouting report upon scouting report from internet guru's like they do now. There wasn't as much film watching by fans and draft guru's, they didn't have entire shows specifically for draft talk, there wasn't the news technology there is today... I could go on forever. In this day and age, 2009, it is almost impossible for a player to fly under the radar. Sure there are players here and there, such as a Marques Colston, even Tom Brady. But as a whole, it was much easier for that to occur back then. Now, it is nationally publicized about what your 7th round draft pick ate for lunch. Just different age and era. You're not going to find the consistency in late round steals per team that you did before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Brain Moorman - undrafted free agent - arguably Bills' MVP last few seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Teams scout harder now than they did years ago. Instead of a few teams going to the small schools, all of them are exploring those options now. Polian and his people unearthed a lot of solid late rounders, and he continues to do so in Indianapolis. Jerry Reese does well for the Giants. It's not out of the question, just much more challenging that it was in the late eighties and early nineties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Just to play devil's advocate, a lot of these guys weren't that good - Jeff Wright, Carlton Bailey, Mark Maddox, Marvcus Patton, etc. They only started because they were better than players worse than them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 1995 was a great draft. John Holocek was a steal in the 5th. Imo Holecek and Kerner would have been tremendous players if they didn't get hurt. Bills draft history Yes Holocek was a classic run stuffing linebacker. Old school MLB. And Kerner was an excellent athlete with good ball skills. NFL football is very rough on the body and some people's bodies just can't hold up. Jay Remeirsma came in a trade from Pittsburgh if my memory serves. (and it may not). Riemersma was drafted by the Bills. We traded him away to Pittsburgh. One thing not mentioned so far in this post is that the mere fact of having more picks gives teams a greater chance of getting lucky on a pick. That's why so many teams would like to stockpile draft picks. The draft is hit and miss but with more picks your chances of unearthing late round gems increase. In 1992 the draft was 12 rounds. It was shortened to 8 rounds in 1993 and to 7 rounds in 1994. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizell Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Just to play devil's advocate, a lot of these guys weren't that good - Jeff Wright, Carlton Bailey, Mark Maddox, Marvcus Patton, etc. They only started because they were better than players worse than them. i beg to differ - jeff wright was a pretty good player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Teams scout harder now than they did years ago. Instead of a few teams going to the small schools, all of them are exploring those options now. I think that's debatable. With FA the way it is now, teams have to draft players that can provide some kind of immediate impact (on ST at a minimum), rather than being stashed away on the roster to develop over time. It's harder for D-II and D-III guys to make the jump to the bigs, so they are at more of a disadvantage than in the 1980's and early '90s, IMO. There are always exceptions, like everybody's 'next Jason Peters', Demetrius Bell, but even Bell will have to show a lot of progress this year if he wants to keep the next 6th round draft choice from taking his spot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach55 Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 i beg to differ - jeff wright was a pretty good player. and he had the team's best mullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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