Brandon

He ran a 4.41, improving from the mid 4.5s at the combine, but several other Nebraska players also dramatically improved their 40 times. I tend to think it was the track more than anything.

I really don't see the need to do this right now. Lee Evans is under contract for the next three seasons, Losman for the next two. Its possible that there are options to void in those contracts, but this is the first I've heard of it and would have to see some confirmation of it.

I'm not really sure I agree with where they have several players rated, but I would draft as follows: 12) RB Marshawn Lynch, California 43) OG Justin Blalock, Texas 61) FB Brian Leonard, Rutgers 74) CB Fred Bennett, South Carolina 109) MLB Zak DeOssie, Brown 169) OLB Rory Johnson, Ole Miss 203) QB Tyler Palko, Pittsburgh Lynch is the easiest pick of the group for me to make. He's far superior to the remaining RBs on the board, as good as anyone at any other position, and fills a major need. As easy as that first pick was, I had a lot of trouble with the pick #2. Granted, I passed up Patrick Willis because I expected Harris and/or Siler to still be on the board and I do not feel there is a significant dropoff to those two. The problem is, I did not expect Justin Blalock to still be there. Both are needs, but we need a MLB more. However, I expect Blalock to be a better pro, and his addition would be the final piece to the creation of a dominating OL. Tough call, but he's my pick in that situation. As pick 61 approaches, I'd have another decision to make. Trade up for Harris, or stay put and select Leonard. Another tough, tough call. As it would cost another pick to move up, I would probably stay put and select the FB. The next three picks address defensive needs. I think this is a terrible draft at DT and probably would not select one. The CB selection is not affected by the earlier picks. Its highly unlikely I would select one before R3 under most circumstances. The MLB position gets shortchanged, but Crowell's ability to play the position is a factor in the decision to wait until R4. While I'd honestly rather select one a couple of rounds higher, I don't think the situation is so dire that we must pick one if a better prospect is available.

We don't know. Even if he does, its possible that the Ravens are willing to pay him in the current market. They simply don't have that many options left. There probably aren't any full time starters among the FAs left, Peterson and Lynch are out of reach, and Willis is probably better than anyone they can get late in R2. They may feel its better to overpay for a decent starter rather than pay fair value for a player that inadequately fills their RB need.

No, they're equally important. For all of the talk of upgrading a weak defense, its notable that the Bills have also finished 29th in total yardage offensively the last two seasons. Clearly, the additions of Dockery and Walker help, but there is more work to do. The Bills have several mediocre or average players offensively that could certainly stand to be replaced. There is a lot of work that needs to be done on both sides of the ball before this team is ready to compete at a high level.

Yeah, that too. The guy is going into his 5th year and hasn't lived up to his billing as a #1 pick. At some point, its time to admit the mistake and move on. This guy has survived long enough on the promise of 'potential'. The Bills need to find a player who can turn 'potential' into actual consistent production at the RB position.

He doesn't have a whole lot of leverage in that regard. He has missed a lot of time due to injury, including last year. He has never established himself as a top tier RB when healthy, either. The best I think Chris Brown can hope for is a situation where he is in competition for the starting job in training camp, much like the Bills tried to do with Craig Nall a year ago.

Character issues aside, I'd also consider that while Lewis is only 27, he also has an awful lot of mileage on him, with about 9,000 total yards as a pro. He hasn't been particularly productive the last three seasons since rushing for 2,000 yards, either, averaging barely half that amount.

That's exactly why they would sign Rhodes. He really isn't a #1, but would provide them with some insurance and allow them to go ahead with trading McGahee before the draft. Should the RB they want be unavailable, at least they would have a veteran RB with some starting experience and with the recieving skills they seem to want out of a RB. He would more or less be the Bills' version of Kevin Faulk of the Patriots. The only disagreement that I have is that I do not expect them to re-sign Anthony Thomas in this scenario.

I wouldn't rule Denver out of the picture. 5 years, $12M is a bargain signing in the current cap environment. Henry is an insurance policy that the Broncos might use as a bargaining chip against the Bills. Its an excellent move by Denver. Never mind. I mis-read it. It was $12M guaranteed, which means the contract is probably for $30M+. They're definitely not interested.

Two sprained ankles will tend to do that.

Actually, it didn't even go that far. No charges were ever filed.

I would think that depends upon whether or not the character concerns have any merit. The scouting staff will obviously have to look into it further, but from what I've read, I don't think there's a problem.

While its hard to see exactly why a CB struggles from a TV broadcast, as a Razorback fan, I've always thought he gave up too many receptions and was suprised to learn he was as athletic as he apparently is. I consider him a late 2nd/early 3rd type, but he'll end up going quite a bit higher than he should, just like Ahmad Carroll did. On the bright side, I do think he'll probably end up being a decent NFL CB, just not an elite one and not worthy of a 1st.

I think Booker will be the 3rd RB selected in a weak RB class. His speed and quickness will get him drafted higher than some expect, probably in the early 2nd round. He probably isn't a starter due to his size, but would be an ideal utility RB who is an excellent open field runner with great recieving and return skills.

It has that reputation, but is it deserved? They played 8 games against the Pac-10 this year. 6 of those teams had run defenses ranked 42nd or better, which means they were in the top third of all Division 1 teams and on average they were ranked 27th. Stanford (117) and Oregon (78), the other two games, drag the average down to 44. That's still not that bad. Lynch ran for 100 yards against four of them. The remaining two were against USC and UCLA, tied for 9th in the country against the run. Lynch posted 88 and 81 yards respectively against them, with 20 carries in each game.

I don't necessarily disagree with that. Still, I do expect the Bills to unload McGahee, whether I think its the best idea or not.

That's exactly why this scenario, while possible, is unlikely. There really isn't an incentive for the Bills to do this. Willis McGahee IS an average RB. Why go through this trouble in order to convince an average RB that he's not worth as much as he may think? If he is an average RB, he is replaceable, and in fact, the Bills would probably be looking to upgrade fairly soon anyway.

Very, very close call, but I would lean towards Lynch over Anderson. I am an Arkansas fan and have seen enough of Anderson to believe he'll be a great player, but we have too much tied into the position already. Meanwhile, I'm not sure we have much of anything at RB. I wouldn't give the CBs much consideration at all, as there are several good ones in this draft and its likely the Bills could pick up a good prospect in R2 or even R3. I consider Timmons to be a borderline 1st rounder and if the rumors of Jarrett running a 4.7 are true, I definitely don't want him at 12.

I'd also point out that the easiest way to improve your defense is to keep the opposing offense on the bench. You do that by running the ball. But yeah, you are right. The one piece of the puzzle being ignored by many is positional depth in the draft. How many top tier guys are there at each need position, and how large is the drop to the 2nd tier? Its a question that needs to be answered. You have to maximize the value of your picks. Myself, I would draft a DT or RB in R1, MLB in R2, and CB in R3. The reasoning is simple. Given the positional depth in the draft, and the historical trends of how teams value each position, you are more likely to get good prospects at each position by taking them in that order.

I dunno. If the Bills trade Willis McGahee, our only RBs would be Shaud Williams and Fred Jackson. I'd say that's a pretty glaring hole as well.

The Bills current RBs, including FBs, are: Willis McGahee Shaud Williams Fred Jackson Guys, that's not much. If McGahee is traded as expected, I'd say that's easily the biggest hole on the roster. Even if Anthony Thomas is re-signed, I'd still think the Bills would give Lynch very strong consideration, as Thomas is little more than a decent backup and spot starter.

Its a mistake. He re-signed with the Lions.

At the moment, no. They have too many needs. Assuming McGahee is on the way out the door, they've got major problems in the offensive backfield. They'd have no FB, and Josh Reed would probably be the best RB left on the roster, even though he's a WR. Ouch. RB appears to be a critical need on this team. CB, LB and DT are major potential problem areas as well, though Youboty and McCargo do give cause for some degree of optimism at CB and DT. We might also be OK at LB if Crowell can play the middle. But none of this is to say they don't need major help at these three positions. Down the list, WR and TE also give me a little cause for concern. The Bills have average starters filling those positions, but on a weak offense, those guys are actually part of the problem. RG isn't any better. Still, I don't expect the Bills to do much, if anything to upgrade these this offseason. The good news is that they'll probably be competitive. Quality LBs and CBs shouldn't be too tough to find in the 2nd-4th round area. The problem will be filling the needs at RB and DT in a draft that appears to be weak at both positions outside of the top two prospects at each.

A roster almost completely devoid of starting caliber OL talent?