Two Bills Drive

”’I had just gotten off the phone with Carolina, and Denver called when I was talking to the (offensive line) coach from the Bills. It was pretty quick and pretty exciting,” he said. ”I don’t know much, other than they didn’t draft any other offensive linemen,” McFarland said. ”That’s a great deal for me. There is a huge opportunity there, and there is definitely a spot for me.”’

‘Overall grade: C-. The first two picks will be scrutinized closely, especially Lee Evans and his knee.’

Lee Evans (No. 13)

A season without Peerless Price proved one thing to the Bills: the need for speed. And Evans has plenty of that, but he is also very adept at catching the ball. As a Buffalo newspaper pointed out, Evans is no Bucky Brooks, a second-round pick from North Carolina in 1994 who washed out without catching a single pass. And the Bills threw 541 of them that year. “[Evans] is appealing in his speed and his ability to make big plays,” GM Tom Donahoe said. “We felt that he was a complete receiver. There are a lot of guys that are fast who struggle catching the ball. Lee is a fast guy who can catch. That’s a nice combination to have.”

‘”It’s great. I couldn’t be more happy, more thrilled with what’s going on,” Evans said. “It’s been an incredible ride. To be rated real high my junior year, to come back and play and still be rated high, it’s a great feeling. I’m really enjoying the day with my family and all my friends.”‘

‘Euhus played his senior year at Oregon State at 6-5 247 pounds. The Eugene native played in 49 career games, starting 37 straight. He was a first team All-Pac-10 Conference selection as a senior. For his career he caught 98 passes for 1,346 yards and nine touchdowns. He also played in three bowl games, the Fiesta, Insight and Las Vegas. In addition, Euhus played one season of basketball for the Beavers.’

‘The Pasadena, Calif., native rushed for 961 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2003 while adding 349 yards and another score via pass receiving.’

‘A punt returner and a receiver. I think he’s a fearless guy. He’s a quicker than fast guy who does a great job in the return area but he’s a guy that can give you an extra receiver. A slot type receiver. Big punt returns, tough guy. He’s one of those guys who’s not real tall but always has to be the first guy up off the ground after a hit. Jonathan Smith, he likes to be called Freddy, will be flexibly. He has the capability, it’s nice to have that flexibility with a guy.’

‘On picking five out of six offense picks:

It just happens that way. Obviously going into the draft we felt there were some areas on offense that we would like to address. You can’t go into the draft saying, ‘ok we have to do this and we have to do that’. When you do that, you come out disappointed. You go into the draft and you say we want to try to help our football team wherever we can help the team. This particular case it ended up that way.’

‘My aunt lived out there for a couple years in Buffalo. She was pulling big time for me to be a Bill. I think the weather is fairly comparable to up here in Montana. I’m excited about the snow. I like cold weather and I like to play in football weather. I know the fans are great. I’m just excited.’

‘He’s a good athlete. He’s got size and size potential. He’s a very bright kid. We think he has a chance to be a two position guy in time. It takes a while for guys. We’re looking at him as someone who could do one or the other, tackle or guard, because of his ability.’

‘On being a “slash” player:

I have the abilities to do different things. I’m always up for trying new things, anything to help out the team.’

Are you looking forward to working behind Drew Bledsoe?

Yeah, of course. I was kind of prepared with Green Bay talk and sitting behind (Brett) Favre, and now here I am. You never know how the draft is going to work out. Luckily enough, I am able to be in another situation like this with another great quarterback who’s been in the league so many years.

‘What do you see in J.P. Losman that made him worth moving up for?

Mobile, strong arm, competitive, leader.’

But that wasn’t the most dramatic of the 10 trades made in the first round. That distinction belonged to the deal the Buffalo Bills made to get the Dallas Cowboys’ 22nd overall pick, which the Bills then used for QB J.P. Losman. The Bills gave the Cowboys their second-round choice this year (RB Julius Jones ) and first- and fifth-rounders in ’05.

‘On Day Two, the Bills used their 4th round selection on tight end Tim Euhus out of Oregon State. Euhus, 6’5″, 260 pounds, was three-year starter at Oregon State who has good hands, but lacks pure speed, as he ran a 4.89 in the 40-yard dash. He is known for being an intelligent player, but will need to improve his blocking techniques to succeed at the next level. Euhus also earned letter status playing basketball at Oregon State.’