Brandon

I'm really not that familiar with Harris beyond what I've read, and the Senior Bowl game is pretty much all I have as a first hand accounting and unfortunately, the South's total ineptitude offensively meant he was rarely on the field. Watching him, he does seem to play well in short zone coverage and will aggressively take on blockers in the running game. I also liked his awareness of screen plays. He stuffed one for a 6 yard loss and seemed to have what appeared to be another screen play read that ultimately didn't develop and the QB tossed to the TE. On the downside, there's no question that he's not as athletic as Willis and whether he can play in a Tampa 2, I don't know. Based just on 40 times, unreliable as they are, I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt. I definitely do like what I've read and seen of him, however, and I think he'd make a good 2nd round alternative to Willis.

I'm sure they will and their opinions are the only ones that matter. That's why they get paid and you and I don't.

After watching the Senior Bowl again a couple of time in the last two days, I'm actually convinced that he WON'T be their pick. I think he's the deluxe version of London Fletcher. He's an excellent athlete and that allows him to make plays all over the field, but he is not a particularly strong between-the-tackles run defender. He is not all that physical when taking on blocks and seems to prefer to allow the RB to come to him, hesitating instead of attacking. He certainly is an excellent tackler once the RB gets there. Unfortunately, if he gets blocked before that happens, he usually can't fight off that blocker and will be driven out of the play. He also looked more than a bit lost in zone coverage, especially dropping far too deep early in the game with no one threatening his zone, allowing RBs to release underneath over the middle uncontested, though this should be correctable. IMO, he's a pursuit type LB who will make a lot of plays at the edge of the field and will eventually become a very good coverage LB once he gets some coaching. But I don't think he'll ever be more than an average between-the-tackles run stuffer at the MLB position. Of course, that's just my opinion.

He'd be a very good mid-round selection as a strong short yardage runner. He has had major injury problems in the past and probably would not have a long shelf life as a starter.

The Bills don't *need* any position in R1. One can come up with a list of very effective list of players at any position that were taken in R2-7. The comparison is, however, very unfair. There are on average about 3 RBs taken in R1 every year. There are usually about 20 taken in R2-7. In order to get that roughly 50-50 split in 1,000 yard rushers, how many R2-7 guys DON'T make it? An awful lot.

While the Bills have a few quality players offensively, the offense as a team was arguably the worst in the NFL last year, finishing in the bottom quarter of the league in almost every conceivable way. A quick overview: Total Offensive Plays: 32nd Total Yards per Game: 29th First Downs per Game: 32nd 3rd Down Conversion%: 31st Time of Possession: 30th Rushing Yards per Game: 27th Rushing Yards per Carry: 25th Rushing First Downs: 29th Carries of 20+ Yards: 29th Rushing Touchdowns: 23rd Passing Yards Per Game: 28th Sacks Allowed: 26th Passing Touchdowns: 18th To say that these rankings suck would be a compliment. The two offensive linemen the Bills signed will help certainly help matters, but considering how terrible the unit was as a whole, there should be no doubt that this offense is still in dire need of additional upgrades. None of this is to say that the Bills shouldn't upgrade their defense. I'm merely saying that the offense is at least an equal priority to the defense in terms of need for upgrade.

Its was also on ESPN last year.

I wouldn't expect any help from the June 1st cuts. There's never more than a handful of players released and the ones that are usually can't play anymore.

BTW, after actually seeing those numbers (I knew it was bad, just not THAT bad), I now fully expect that this draft will be much more offense-oriented than most people expect.

I agree, the high play count against the defense is largely the result of an inept offense being unable to sustain drives. The Bills ran 898 plays last year, which was DEAD LAST in the NFL. San Francisco was next at 918. They were 31st in 3rd down conversion percentage at a measly 31.7%. They were 30th in time of possession, better than only Tennessee and Detroit. They were also dead last in first downs per game at 14.6 (NFL.com sorts them at 30th for some reason, but they were last), and Brian Moorman had the 4th most punts in the NFL at 92 (98 was the highest). Defensively, they weren't much better, allowing 1029 plays against, which was 26th in the league. Much better on third down than you'd think, though, at 13th in the NFL (36.6%). They were also a halfway-respectable 17th in first downs allowed per game.

Anything is possible, but its extremely unlikely. The biggest reason that the Bills are unloading Takeo Spikes is for financial reasons. If they trade for Turner, they'll probably have to sign him to contract extension and based on what we've seen this offseason, he could very well get $10M or more up front and a larger overall contract than Spikes originally signed.

Don't give Marv any ideas

Not true. A move from 12 to 20 should presumably net a 2nd round draft pick. I'm using the real-world example of the Bills trade from 14 to 21 as an example. A second trade down from 20 to 30, which is where San Diego picks, would probably net at least a 3rd, if not another 2nd. You would end up with the 30th pick, plus an additional 2nd and 3rd by making the equivalent trades down. This is how swapping the 12 for Turner and the 30th costs the equivalent value of a 2nd and 3rd.

I would think that was a very, very bad idea. Such a trade down is worth at least the equivalent of a 2nd AND a 3rd. No thanks.

The Rams had several well-known players in 1999. Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt, and Isaac Bruce all played major roles in their Super Bowl season. Az-Zahir Hakim and Ricky Proehl also played on that team and have had long, successful careers as #3 WR, though both left the Rams a few years ago. The only one that really never made his mark in the NFL was TE Roland Williams.

I don't really think McCardell adds much value to the roster at this point in his career. He'd be just another depth player at position that is loaded with guys who shouldn't be starting. Bryant has worn out his welcome with every team he has played for. With the exception of an occasional bargain basement signing, I think they're done in FA, anyway.

I wouldn't mind seeing them pick up a top receiving TE, but I don't think there's much chance of it. I believe they view the TE more as a blocker in this offense than a receiver and would prefer to use their RBs in that role instead.

The only problem with the whole scenario is that I actually don't think Patrick Willis is going to be available at 12. Then what? I believe we're in first round RB/WR territory if that happens, and in fact, I believe that Lynch, Meachem or Bowe will ultimately be our pick at 12. That could throw the whole thing back into a defensive concentration if the Bills feel that they must use their remaining first day picks on that side to maximize the odds of finding a couple of immediate contributors. I think it all depends on that first pick.

I've been considering that possibility of a suprise day 1 concentration on offense as well. I think it could very well happen if they are able to draft Willis at 12. They'd have the MLB hole presumably filled and with Youboty and McCargo likely to see much more action this year (and no reason to believe they aren't still high on either of them), both DT and CB might be pushed lower than we think. Its not as crazy as some will try to tell you it is.

No arguments. I've been harping on what I believe is a major need for a 2nd credible threat offensively for a couple of months now. RB, WR, TE...I don't care which it is.

I agree that the Bills should not take a 1st round RB just out of need, but by the same token, they also should not take a 1st round LB, DT or CB out of pure need, either. It comes down to not only the grades of the players available in R1, but also the players likely to be available in the following rounds as well. In my opinion, the Bills are better off coming away with a very good RB prospect and a good MLB prospect than they are an excellent MLB and an average RB. This is ultimately why I would go with the Lynch/Harris combination. It sacrificies somewhat at MLB, but I believe yields a much better RB prospect and that both should develop into, at the very least, solid every-down players. I don't think we'll get that every-down RB otherwise. Your mileage, and your opinions of the particular players, may vary.

On paper, it may look like a good idea, but in practice I think its problematic. The old saying of 'don't count your chickens before they hatch' applies. Yes, the RB class in 2008 looks good (IMO, not quite as good as some believe), but its a good bet that among the top junior and senior prospects, one or two won't declare, a couple will have bad seasons, and one will blow out a knee. The point is, that 2008 draft class could also look like absolute crap by this time next year.

I agree and if the Bills wait to select a RB, Jackson and Pittman would be among my choices. Suprisingly, so would Irons. That's really the problem with these 2nd tier RBs this year. There are a lot of good change-of-pace, 3rd down types, but there's not much to choose from otherwise.

Of that group, only Darren McFadden is a definite first round talent, and he's likely to be a top 3 selection in 2008 or 2009. Rice, Slaton and Hart are all very undersized as pro RBs and all are listed at around 5'9" 195lbs. Even if one assumes that these guys can be 'franchise' Rbs in the NFL (and I think that's a stretch), you also have to consider that Rice, Slaton and McFadden still have two years of eligibility left. While it seems likely that they will, its not a given that any of them will declare.

I would rather have the combination of Marshawn Lynch and David Harris. Willis is an excellent prospect, but like most of the 2nd tier RBs, I worry that Irons is nothing more than a good change of pace RB in the NFL due to his size.