Packerland Bills Fan

Bulaga had trouble with Brandon Graham of Michigan. Graham is one of the top pass rushers in the draft and is going to go in the first round. I've never heard about struggling in several games. He's a safer pick than Trent Williams or Anthony Davis but has less upside.

They're the most pro-Clausen of any site I've seen. There's such a wide range of opinions in regards to Clausen. In an article in the draft issue of Bills Digest, Russ Lande says he's a second round talent. He also claims that he's never spoken to anyone who sees him as a top 15 player, even those who love him.

Nothing is ever a lock when it comes to the draft, but I think the McNabb trade opens up the door for Clausen to come to Buffalo. I'd put the odds at 75%.

The Bills were very fortunate to win 6 games last year. They could easily improve in a lot of areas and still not win that many. The run defense was terrible. They need a good NT for the 3-4 to work. The offensive line was a shambles. No need is greater than getting a true franchise QB, however. Few teams have won Super Bowls without one. If they don't believe in Clausen then yes pass on him. With the amount of money that would be invested in him you'd be looking at 3 or more likely 4 years until they'd be willing to replace him. On the other hand if they pass on him and he turns out to be great the decision will come back to haunt them because they're looking at another 6-10 finish.

I see a lot of Jeff Wright in Kyle Williams. They're both quick, with good motors, and get in the backfield a lot, but will hamper the run defense because of size limitations.

I don't believe Jimmy Clausen is available at #9, let alone gets passed on. Maybe he makes his mock based more on value than need. I don't see the actual draft going this way.

Spiller would be another Ronnie Harmon-type pick - a running back taken when running back isn't a need and huge needs are elsewhere.

Darrel Talley was a bust his first two years. So was Eric Moulds. No way can Maybin be given up on yet. He has a chance to thrive in a 3-4. It's the ideal defense for him. It's just up to him to sieze the opportunity.

I think it means more likely trading up from round 2 to be sure to get one at least one OT in the first, possibly even after one was already taken. I'm also starting to think that McClain gets passed on even if he's available.

The Walter Football site is the anti-McShay site as far as Clausen goes. They have him as #1 and he has him as #28. McShay even compared his leadership skills to JP Losman's. In another post on here on this site he said what a terrible reach it would be if the Bills picked him. Remarkable how different opinions of him are out there.

I ageee with a lot of what he says, but much of this is based on McShay's own ratings. Haloti Ngata should have been taken first instead of drafting Whitner and McCargo. Revis over Lynch should have been the pick the following year, but McKelvin was rated by many as going higher than he did. I don't see McKelvin as a poor value. McShay also has Clausen way lower that just about everybody else who covers the draft. If this is accurate, then yes pass on him. If he's close in value to the #9 pick then take him because the Bills aren't going anywhere until they truly upgrade the QB position. An Anthony Davis/Colt McCoy or Tony Pike draft seems very, very risky to me and a perhaps a worse disaster than any of those other drafts.

Ralph should think long and hard about the phrase "You can't take it with you."

The size of Maybin's contract is going to give him plenty of opportunities to prove himself. He's not going anywhere else any time soon. He made two mistakes. The first was leaving school with two years of eligibility left. He clearly wasn't ready yet. The second was his choice of agents. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you take last year's contracts around pick 11 then add a percentage typical of year by year increases from the past to find out what a fair deal will be. His agent was far too passive waiting to see if Michael Crabtree was going to get something over slot in order to gain a little more leverage. Maybin badly needed a full training camp and it cost him. Maybin's work habits and athletic ability make me more inclined to bet for rather than against him.

The most interesting pick in his draft was Bulaga at #5. I haven't seen him that high anywhere else. That really doesn't make everyone else right, it's just a different opinion. I think Anthony Davis is more of a risk than Clausen. We'll see.

There could be 7 OT's taken in the first round (some think that Iupati can play OT, even though he was a G at Boise St.): Russell Okung Brian Bulaga Anthony Davis Trent Williams Bruce Campbell Vladimir Ducasse Mike Iupati That's nearly a quarter of the first round. Clearly a strength of this draft and something the Bills need to take advantage of. I'm all for taking Bradford or Clausen if either is available at #9. That would be my top priority. However if I was Buddy Nix my next move would be to go up with a 2 and a 3 (what they gave up to trade up for McCargo) and get an OT. In fact I would make that move even if one was already taken with the first pick. Davis scares me a bit with some maturity issues and Campbell with his lack of experience, but the Bills really need to come away with at least one on this list.

The most important decision that any GM makes is on a QB. If you don't have an elite one you wont go anywhere unless you defense is extraordinary. However picking the wrong one means more years of mediocrity. If the scouting department thinks Clausen and Bradford are legitimate franchise QB's then take one if they're available. If not focus on the line. Locker and Mallet may also factor in the thinking. If the Bills rate them higher than any of the QB's this year then waiting until next year becomes a better option. After the top 2 in this year's draft there are a lot of risky picks. Tebow is a major project. McCoy has questionable arm strength. A lot of first rounders fail to pan out but second rounders fail some 75% of the time. Who other then Drew Brees has gone to the Pro Bowl that was drafted in the 2nd in the last 10 years? I wouldn't be afraid to completely pass on a QB this year. I'm hoping they trade up to get an OT in the bottom of the first round even if they pick one at #9. My draft board would look like this: 1A Bradford 1B Clausen 3 Okung 4 McClain 5 Bulaga (Pro Football Weekly had Bulaga going #5 to KC in their mock draft in this week's issue. I like him better than Anthony Davis because of his toughness and work ethic. By April he might not be considered a reach at #9.)

I've heard that before. Lynch was picked over Revis because of Wilson's preference for taking skill position players first.

Sorry, but yes he is the best the Bills could do.

McKelvin was a good pick at that spot in 2008 and he went about where he should have gone, if not a little later. CB was the biggest need at the time. He may still end up being a top cover corner. CB would not have been a need, however, if they hadn't picked Marshawn Lynch first in 2007 and instead picked Darelle Revis or even Leon Hall. I know they liked Revis. Now I don't know how the other 2007 picks would have went or what other RB would have been taken, but making the right call on Lynch vs. Revis would have set up the possibility of better picks later.

I don't think it will be for a lack of trying that the Bills fail to land Cowher. I also don't think it'll be because the money isn't there either. Mostly it will be willingness to wait until the perfect situation arises. Past history, rather than current commitment is what's hurting the Bills chances. All those Super Bowl winning coaches were top assistants at one time. The situation is not hopeless.

McClain would be a good value at #9, but not Bulaga. He's behind some of the other OT's. He will probably go in the 20's. I like his toughness. A trade up to get him and pair him with McClain would make a great draft.

Fine. No Clausen. But Snead? In what round? Snead's 54% completion rate and 20-17 touchdown ratio doesn't make him seem like a can't-miss QB.

I thought Maybin was a great pick and was thrilled that they took him in the first round. It's been years since the Bills have had a true impact player on the front seven that offensive coordinators have to game plan around and I think we have one now. I would have nearly been as happy with Orakpo, but I think that in the long run Maybin will be the better player because he's more explosive off of the edge. I say this because Maybin has the same burning desire to excel that all the great ones have. There are too many guys that never reach their full potential because they've gotten by so long strictly on their athletic talent alone. Which is also why I was glad Ohler was not the pick. Ohler wasn't pushed much in college and never developed the kind of work ethic that he needs to be a star in the league. He reminds me much too much of Mike Williams and I really would have been ticked off if they had picked him.