It seems as though now that draft has completed, and even though it's barely a week old, the next logical step is to hand out draft grades.
Well, no one ever accused me of being logical.
It's going to take anywhere from 3 to 4 years to really determine if GM Buddy Nix's first draft class was a success or failure, and it doesn't make a lot of sense for me to give the Bills high or low marks without seeing what the players have to offer on the field.
So instead I'm going to give you my 10 draft thoughts regarding the Buffalo Bills and where we're headed from here. These are just my thoughts, and please remember that I don't see all and know all, nor do I pretend to be. I'm just a simple man with simple opinions, and I'm usually 62 percent of the time, all the time. Feel free to agree, disagree, or agree to disagree.
10 Post Draft Bills Thoughts
1. The Bills really like Demetrius Bell at left tackle. How else do you explain not taking an offensive tackle until the 5th round? As it stands now, Jamon Meredith is Bell's backup unless their current project, 5th round pick Ed Wang, completely blows everybody away at training camp. Personally I liked having Jason Peters or the idea of drafting Michael Oher last year.
2. Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch are the real losers of the draft. They went from getting potentially double-digit carries somewhere in the teens, to possibly between 7-10 carries a game now that the Bills took C.J. Spiller. Now with three running backs, there's only so much of one football to go around to have one guy become the feature back.
3. I was disappointed the Bills passed on Jimmy Clausen at No.9, then outraged they passed on him again in the second round. Carolina must believe that Clausen can win the starting quarterback job over Matt Moore, but the Bills don't believe he could be a better option than Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick or Brian Brohm.
4. It's all tied to the almighty dollar. And I mean it's about the money Ralph Wilson doesn't want to pay. Had the Bills selected Clausen with the ninth pick, he would've gotten a lucrative contract comparable to whatever Sam Bradford's going to cash in. I don't think the Bills were willing to go down that road. The same can probably be said about drafting a top prospect at left tackle. If the Bills had selected Bryan Bulaga or Anthony Davis and they became top tier NFL left tackles, what would make you believe they'd be willing pay either guy big dollars? Jason Peters went from anonymity to high caliber left tackle and instead of writing a check, the Bills wrote his ticket out of town and traded him to Philadelphia.
5. I commend the Bills for sticking to their draft plan. When you've got the 30th ranked defense in the NFL against the run and you're converting to a 3-4 defense with 4-3 personnel, that became priority No.1 for Buddy Nix to address. The foundation of their new 3-4 defense has been injected with youth and players who the Bills believe fit their defensive scheme.
6. Early prediction: Trent Edwards and Demetrius Bell will be your starting quarterback and left tackle Week 1 against Miami. I really took a tremendous leap outside the box with that prediction, didn't I?
7. I'm surprised the only QB in the draft the Bills were high on was Levi Brown. The evidence speaks for itself. They passed on Jimmy Clausen twice, Colt McCoy three times. They left Dan LeFevour on the board, ditto for Tony Pike. Buffalo's brain trust claims they got the guy they coveted in Levi Brown, a developemental, project quarterback who will take a few years to transition from quarterbacking at a small school like Troy, to NFL starting signal caller.
8. Early training camp battle to watch: competition for No.2 receiver. It's unlikely rookie UConn WR Marcus Easley will win the job, but it's definitely wide open. James Hardy and Steve Johnson both have a lot to prove and neither are ideal candidates to be starting opposite of Lee Evans. The Bills have yet to bring in any veteran wide out free agents, though that could be subject to change. For now, it's a three way dance between Hardy, Johnson and Easley.
9. How good does Chan Gailey think his offense will be if he cannot successfully work in cohesion with the most pro-ready QB in the entire draft? And yes I'm referring to Jimmy Clausen. So much for the old saying, "new regimes mean new quarterbacks." If someone happens to see Chan Gailey in the streets, please ask him that question.
10. I think it's fair to question whether or not the Bills are making progress. I know this is going to take time, probably the most hated four-letter word by most Bills fans. They simply have far too many problems for one draft to be a solution. I get that. I don't have to like it, but I do understand it. But from my vantage point,the Bills are still missing a left tackle, Trent Edwards is still the quarterback, Tom Modrak still runs the Bills' scouting and it seems as though Ralph Wilson still doesn't get it.
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