Archives for April 29, 2006

‘Everywhere McCargo has gone, the reviews have been glowing. Gil Brandt, the former vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys who is now a senior analyst for NFL.com, rated McCargo as the No. 3 defensive tackle in today’s draft. "He has a chance to be a Pro Bowl player," Brandt wrote.’

‘"What I know about Donte is he’s an extremely hard worker and a very mature guy," said Fletcher. "He left high school early to get started on his college career early at Ohio State. He’s been coached by one of the best high school football coaches in Ted Ginn who is Ted Ginn Jr.’s (Ohio State teammate) father. What I know is Donte is an excellent addition to the Buffalo Bills and to the defense."’

‘Whitner recorded 73 tackles and two interceptions as a junior in 2005 with the Buckeyes. The 5’10, 204 lb. Whitner is a strong physical player that was clocked in the 40-yard dash at the combine in 4.4 seconds.’

‘After trading with the Chicago Bears, the Buffalo Bills selected North Carolina State defensive tackle John McCargo with the 26th pick. In order to select McCargo, the Bills dealt a second-round pick (42nd overall) and third-round pick (73rd overall) to the Bears.’

‘It didn’t matter to Levy that some considered McCargo a second-round pick at best or that the player wasn’t among the 42 defensive linemen featured in the NFL’s own draft guide. “It was a calculated thing,” Levy said. “We felt, in terms of our need, this merited making that move.”‘

‘Whitner is a very good athlete with the foot quickness, speed and explosiveness to make hard hits and plays all over the field. Is consistently aggressive when coming up the field in run support and makes hard, physical tackles. Obviously, Whitner’s lack of size is the biggest weakness for him — can be dragged for extra yards by big ball carriers, misses some tackles and will struggle to maintain durability in the NFL.’

‘It was thought that the 80-year-old Levy and new coach Dick Jauron – a former defensive coordinator – would address the defensive line after the Bills ranked 31st against the run last season. Instead, the Bills decided to address the secondary. Buffalo ranked 19th against the pass last season, and released veteran safety Lawyer Milloy in the offseason.

‘Whitner is an interesting prospect. He is an excellent safety, and could have an immediate impact at that position. But, he may also have the talent to project as a cornerback for some teams, but he will need a lot of work to make that move. I believe he projects best at free safety, but will be a standout at either safety spot. This is a deep safety class, but Whitner is as good as any of them. He has an outside shot at landing in the Top 50 despite all the talent in this safety class.’

‘The Cons: He’s got to add some size, and his height isn’t ideal. He could have been a lock first-rounder if he had stayed another year and played well, but he chose to enter the draft, and that will make teams leery of him. Despite his ability to finish off at the pile, he can be handled when a downfield blocker (wide receiver) locks him up. He’ll have to get stronger to improve at getting off those blocks. His lack of height may slow him in diagnosing plays quickly from the secondary.’

‘At No. 8, the Bills could be staring at a choice between Bunkley and Texas safety Michael Huff. The Bills love tight end Vernon Davis and have a high grade on linebacker A.J. Hawk, but neither are expected to last past the first six picks. Defensive tackle is more of a need for the Bills than safety. A few teams have 340-pound Haloti Ngata rated above the 305-pound Bunkley, but Bunkley appears to be a better fit for the Tampa-style defense the Bills are running.’

‘The final grade on Donahoe’s drafts is yet to be written. His record will take a significant bump up if quarterback J.P. Losman, who cost the Bills their 2005 first-round pick, turns out to be good. But if Losman busts, Donahoe’s overall grade will drop to a D or maybe an F. Why? Because he will have failed on decisions involving four of his six No. 1 picks (Mike Williams in 2002, the 2003 pick given away in the ’02 Drew Bledsoe trade and Losman in ’04 and ’05).’

‘”It’s a cheaper way to get players, it’s still about developing a talent base for your team. To me, free agency augments the draft, not the other way around. A lot of people didn’t think that early on, but it hasn’t been the case. The draft is the reason why the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl. I don’t know of any team that won the Super Bowl because of free agency.”‘

‘But what if a consensus can’t be reached. Will the buck stop with him? “I’ve never thought of it in those terms,” Levy said. “I’m never going to bring it down to a final say. In the 12 years I coached here, I can remember only one time I said, ‘No, we’re going to take this guy.’ We picked Shane Conlan instead of some guy (Reggie Rogers) that wound up going to jail.”‘

‘We won’t subject you to another mock draft, not even just the first round. Instead, the staff here at Greater Niagara Newspapers will take a stab at who we think the Buffalo Bills will tab with the eighth overall pick. Just don’t hold us to it.’

‘Should Ferguson or Hawk somehow fall to Buffalo, it would be hard to pass them by. But if they don’t, and a team wanted to take a shot at the remaining quarterback(s), the Bills trading down and taking Bunkley, Huff or Ngata wouldn’t be a surprise.’