Two Bills Drive

‘”He (Evans) is appealing in his speed and his ability to make big plays,” Bills President and General Manager 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.”‘

‘This was a need pick for the Bills, but it shouldn’t be seen as too much of a reach. Yes, Evans was thought to be a late first-round pick a month ago, but his stock has soared in recent weeks as he proved to NFL teams that his knee is fully healed after tearing ligaments in the spring of 2002. In fact, Evans ran the 40 in the 4.3s and showed great hands, great toughness and strength in his workouts. He also showed during his college career that he’s a big-time playmaker.’

‘He has some flaws in his footwork and the way he sometimes forces throws, but those are correctable. It will serve him well to mentor under Drew Bledsoe for a season. With the weapons now in place – RBs Travis Henry and Willis McGahee, WRs Eric Moulds, Josh Reed and Evans – the Bills have the makings of an explosive offense for several years for Losman to work with.’

‘Buffalo must believe J.P. Losman of Tulane is the next Jim Kelly, because the Bills surrendered their 2005 first-rounder and a second and a fifth this year to get the 22nd overall slot. After giving up so much, the Bills better be getting a future star. And they also made a serious reach for WR Lee Evans at 13th overall. That shows how badly new coach Mike Mularkey wants to upgrade the offense immediately.’

‘I know Nate Clements. We competed in high school together. He went to Ohio State so we also competed in college together, so I know Nate a little bit. Coming in on my visit I was able to meet with a few other people. Some of the people that work in the scouting department are from Cleveland and so I know a little bit. I know Coach Mularkey was over at Pittsburgh for a while and I’ve seen some things that he did over there. So I’m a little familiar with it but I’ve still got a little bit to go.’

‘When we did our board and we had some quarterbacks that we liked, we had a lot of players that we liked, but we had four quarterbacks that we thought were first round talents. We felt strongly that we wanted to add to our speed at the receiver position. We did that and as soon as we made our pick we began to explore the possibility of trying to get back into the first round to pick J.P. We were fortunate to be able to do it. We called just about every team from our pick on and proposed a trade to them. Finally we were able to get it done with Dallas.’

‘They told me to keep my eyes open for Buffalo with the 13th pick, but when they picked Lee Evans we didn’t know what was going to happen. Everyone’s been telling me this Green Bay and St. Louis type thing so I was kind of shaky and I didn’t know. But when Buffalo traded up with Dallas my eyes kind of opened up and my heart started pounding and then they called my name and it was just a sigh of relief.’

‘The Cowboys picked up another second-round pick (43rd) overall, a fifth-round pick this year and then a first-rounder next year. The Cowboys had the chance of getting either Oregon State’s Steven Jackson and Virginia Tech’s Kevin Jones, but chose to take more picks.’

‘The Cowboys have now increased their number of picks from five to seven in this weekend’s draft. And with Buffalo coming off a 6-10 record and losing their top cornerback in free agency, the Cowboys could end up with a high pick in next year’s draft.’

”’This doesn’t send any signal. Drew’s our quarterback,” Donahoe said. ”But Drew’s like all of us. He’s not going to play forever. And at some point we’ve got to start grooming a young guy.”’

‘Losman is a good athlete with a competitive attitude and strong swagger. In fact, Losman’s competitive nature and confidence can come off a bit “cocky” at times. Some reject his confidence because he lacks “big-time” experience after starting for only two years at a non-BCS conference school.’

‘He’s the one with the sudden snap of a release, a playmaker’s legs and the kind of grit throwbacks love in the huddle. None of which might be enough to propel J.P. Losman past the other three or ensure him of being a No. 1 pick, and all of which could ultimately make him the best of the bunch.’

‘It’s all but guaranteed J.P. Losman of Tulane will be sitting on the board if the Packers stay put at 25. A great debate among scouts in recent weeks, though, is whether the athletically gifted Losman rates no better than second-round consideration.’

‘We’re very excited about Lee Evans. We think that he is going to bring a special dimension to our offense. We had a great visit with him at the Combine. We had a great visit a couple of weeks ago when he was here. We certainly think that he can come in and contribute and help us to get our offense back on track.’

‘Effective blocker who will block for the running game… Normal strider with above average balance and flexibility…Team-oriented player who takes well to hard coaching and normally can be found in the film room studying his next opponent.’