Estro

Could very well be. He's not #1 on my wish list, but I'd be happy with Brandon Graham.

I would be disgusted with McClain in the top 10. I may be in the minority on this board, but I just don't see the hype in McClain. If you take an ILB in the top 10 he better not have many weaknesses, and McClain has apparent weakness IMO. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I like both Brandon Spikes and Donald Butler better than McClain and I think both could be available in the early-late 2nd round. Yea, Spikes is a little slow, but he compensates that with his instincts, just look at all the plays he made in the SEC. A much better tackler than McClain too. But anyways that's my personal rant.

Highly Rated: Sam Bradford - the only QB the Bills would consider at #9, won't be there anyways and they know this. Trent Williams - for all the pub Okung gets, Williams is rated as the #1 OT by many scouts. There's a little concern about his weight and how he'll handle a big payday, but he's a better pass protector and a much better run blocker than Okung IMO. There's things he needs to improve, but with Gailey's emphasis on the running game, Williams is probably rated higher than Okung. C.J. Spiller - A homerun threat, who is arguably the #1 skill position prospect in this draft. He may not be our #1 choice, but if the draft goes a certaian way the Bills may be forced to draft him because he'll be so much higher than other guys still on the board. He showed he could carry the load this past season at Clemson and if you get him the ball in the open field, Touchdowns are near. Brandon Graham - He may not have the ideal size or athleticism you look for in a 3-4 OLB, but he's produced big time in Michigan. He plays with great leverage and is solid vs. both the run and the pass. He lead all defensive players last year with more than 20 tackles for loss. We're thin at OLB, so he also fills a big need. He's compared a lot to Woodley, who has fit in real well in Pitt's 3-4 and we'll be running a similar 3-4 so he should fit in Buffalo's scheme. Derrick Morgan - Originally recruited to play at GT by our head coach, Chan Gailey, so even if they won't admit it, there is going to be a positive bias toward Morgan. Much like Graham, he's been a producer, and he's got good height, 6'3", to play either end or OLB. He'd bring some much needed toughness to the Bills front 7. Whether or not the Bills view him as an OLB or a DE (he'd need to bulk up to be a DE) is a big question I have. Demaryius Thomas - A bit of a surprise, but he's talented and would fill a humongous need. The Bills receiving core, as it stands now, is bad. Thomas broke his foot not even 2 months ago, and it seemed his stock would really suffer. After Dez Bryant's poor workouts and character concerns, Thomas is back in the conversation for possibly being the top WR taken. He played in a run heavy offense with a QB who wasn't a very good/accurate passer and as a result his numbers suffered. Come next Thursday, I think Thomas hears his name called in the Top 20.

Good call. I just lef ta message on the Tim Graham thread. How can I PM John Wawrow, I've never really familiarized myself with PM'ing members.

Tim, I'm currently taking a football scouting course through SMWW.com. I have to speak to someone involved w/ scouting or in a football front office and would love to track someone down from the Buffalo Bills. Any words of advice on the best way I could go about contacting someone who maybe willing to help? I called the Bills Customer Sevice already and I'm still awaiting a reply, but I'm not sure that is the best route to get a hold of somebody. Thanks for any advice you can give me.

good one

Hey guys I figured I'd ask here to see if anyone can help me out. As part of a football scouting course I'm taking through smww.com we are required to interview someone involved in the front office of a football organization. I could shoot low and go with a local college scout or an AFL team personnel, but I'd really like to get a hold of someone who works for the Bills. Any recommendations on the best way I could get a hold of someone? Thanks for any help you can provide.

To spice it up I'm going to throw a Lynch trade into my mock (just to make it more absurd) #9 - Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma #41 - Eric Norwood, OLB, South Carolina #60 - Dexter McCluster, RB, Ole Miss (from Seattle for Marshawn Lynch) #72 - Donald Butler, ILB, Washington #107 - Jeff Owens, DT, Georgia

I don't know that any team would be dumb enough to give up a 2nd rounder for Lynch. If there was one team dumb enough to do it, it would make sense that it'd be a Pete Carroll led team. This guy is destined to flame out of the NFL for a second time. At #60 overall (Seahawks 2nd round pick) we could get a quality player, and like others have said......Lynch's production is easily replacable.

I'm warming up to Norwoord, and I agree if the Bills liek him they must consider him at #41 because he won't be there at #72. As far as Spiller in the 2nd, you'll never have to worry that, because he'd never ever last that long. Spiller's not a lock for the top 10, but he is a lock for the top 20. Not an area of need for the Bills for sure, but he'd give our offense a home run threat that we haven't had in a long time.

Exactly the Bills are not in a postion to draft a 3-4 ILB with the #9 pick. ILB's are less important than NT, DE & OLB's in the 3-4 defense. I do think we could use an upgrade at ILB, but there are much more pressing needs and McClain simply has too many question marks to warrant looks in the top 10. He is not nearly the prospect Patrick Willis was. Donald Butler, ILB, Washington could be avialble late 2nd - early 3rd, and he's a better inside backer. My hope is: Trent Williams Derrick Morgan Brian Bulaga C.J. Spiller Brandon Graham (I don't like Jimmy Clausen, anywhere in the top 15-20 picks of the draft) in that order (assuming Bradford, Suh, McCoy and Okung are all of the board). BTW there's a good chance the top 3 guys on that list are gone so who would you rather have at #9 C.J. Spiller or Brandon Graham? Spiller's probably rated higher but Graham fits more of a need, it's a tough call.

If you look at the stat lines from that game I can see where you're coming from. However, if you actually key in on Morgan he was pretty disruptive throughout the entire game. Sure Bulaga got the better of him on a few plays, but Bulaga is a legit prospect who probably get's picked in the top 10 too. Iowa's coaches also came in with a good game plan which included a lot of 3 step drops for the QB to prevent any pressure from being able to get to him. Overall I don't think Morgan played great, but I think he played alright. He was especially stout vs. the run and you can argue Bulaga got away with illegal hands to the face a couple of plays. I especially like his effort from 8:04-8:13 in the first video where he abuses Iowa's RT Kyle Calloway who is mid round prospect. highlights/lowlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAUs6ny8Hps Morgan vs. Bulaga I just don't know if the Bills view Morgan as being big enough to play DE ina 3-4, he's right on the borderline weight wise. Because he plays with really good leverage I think he'd be alright and I'd be really happy to see him in a Bills uniform.

I attended UB from 2003-2007. Let me be the first to say, there are plenty of joke classes that can be taken at UB. It's a great college don't get me wrong, but there are plenty of cupcake classes. I also knew a couple of guys on the football team that were pretty dumb to be honest. If Nawrocki has him listed there, he's just passing down information that he's gotten from NFL personnel, so I'm sure there is some merit to it I'd actually be semi-surprised to see Starks drafted. I think he's more of a priority free agent. His injury that caused him to miss almost all of his senior season really killed any chance he had at being more than a late draftable prospect.

Take a look at Rolando McClain's highlight/lowlight reel on youtube. I know a 5 minute clip doesn't show what a player is all about, but it does give you an idea. McClain is a thin hipped, slower ILB who is not very stout against the run. Offensive lineman seem to easily locate and block McClain and rarely does McClain beat lineman to the ball. I was once very high on McClain, but after watching him closer I think he's a late 1st round prospect. Don't forget ILB's are notoriously not very high on the priority list. He's got the name, but I think his game is overhyped. I think Donald Butler and Brandon Spikes become better NFL ILB's than McClain.

That all makes sense, and I think with most organizations you're right, but you forgot one key factor: Russ Brandon, the master PR man. Do you think T.O. was a quality football pickup, or a sh*t we need to sell more tickets move. This team know how to overhype news (T.O. signing) and downplay bad news (Schobel retirement) and I think there's quite a bit of decision making that goes into when news like that is released. You do make a valid point about keeping their draft interests more wide open with teams not knowing the Schobel resolution yet.

Another note: One player who has been warming up tp me is Eric Norwood - OLB - South Carolina. I originally wasn't impressed with his size and saw him more as a one trick pony in rushing the QB, but I think he's got game. He's built and plays a lot like Lamarr Woodley of the Steelers, but I think he's more athletic than Woodley. I happen to think he'll be a productive player in a 3-4 system. He also fits in with Nix's whole philosophy of playing at a high level over a sustained amount of time. He'd be a bit of a reach at pick #41, but I don't see him making it to our 3rd round pick. Look out for the Bills make an Andy Levitre type move back into the middle/late 2nd round to nab Norwood. This team is needy at OLB and if they dont get one with pick #1, I think Eric Norwood would make a lot of sense.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/04/1...up-draft-boards http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/04/0...t-value-chart-2 Quick thoughts: 1) For those who think Demaryius Thomas may be an option in Round 2, not looking good. It's iffy whether or not he get's past pick #23 at this point. 2) For those thinking Tyson Alualu is a 3rd round prospect, once again appears he'll be gone by the middle-late 2nd at worst. 3) Not down on Clausen, but also not really high on him, especially as a top 10 pick. I'm not going to let 55 passes in shorts and what most say was an impressive Pro Day sway my judgement. Ryan Mallett, who should've come out this year is 2 times the prospect Clausen is. 4) With a possible run on offensive tackles (3 or 4) before we pick and the possibility of Clausen being off the board, a player that the Bills have rated as one their top 5 prospects likely falls to them at 9. Whether it's Spiller or D. Morgan remains to be seen, but I'd be real happy with Morgan.

My feeling is that Schobel has already informed them he plans on retiring. The Bills are waiting to announce it until a few days after the draft so that it will barely make headlines.

I'd be ecstatic over this draft, but I can't see it happening. There's a chance Bulaga is there at #9, but there is no chance Thomas is there at #41, not a prayer. He's currently the #1 WR on Nawrocki's board (he has him as an 11-20 1st round pick). Also Russ Lande, a former NFL Scout who runs Sporting News' draft coverage loves Thomas and believes he's one of the top 5 talents in this years draft. He's been telling me since early March that Demaryius Thomas is the best WR in this draft and should be the 1st taken. He may not be right, but if he sees him as a top 5 talent and the #1 WR then he's not escaping the 1st round. Even in the draft where no WR's were taken in round 1, they started coming off the board early in round 2. Wish he was there at #41, but I doubt Thomas is still around by pick #23 of the 1st round. Also you guys know how I feel about Donald Butler. To get him in the 4th would be an amazing value, but once again I see him off the board late 2nd round to mid 3rd. He's my favorinte ILB in this draft, Spikes and McClain 2 & 3. I would be thrilled with Donald Butler in the 3rd, personally. This guy's got an NFL ready body and I think he'd be a starter from Day 1, but the Bills already have adequate depth at ILB so I don't see them going w/ Butler. I defintiely don't think Tyson Alualu fits in as a NT in a 3-4.......maybe a DE. At 6'3" 295 lbs. he's much too small for NT. Personally I think he's more of a 3-4 DT, but it's possible to see some teams envisioning himas a 3-4 DE. I like this mock draft a lot though. I just think it's far fetched.

Nevermind. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...ing-his-tender/

Where'd you hear this? If so, that would even out the trade a bit. I haven't see that reported anywhere, nor have I heard of future considerations when it comes to NFL trades.

Right. And our 5th is obviously higher than the Jets. It's not like the Steelers really cared about where Holmes wanted to go either (ala the whole McNabb situation). Bad move by the Steelers, I believe they could've fetched much more than a late 5th rounder for a young, fast, solid reciever. A so so #1 receiver, a superb #2 WR. The Jets thinking is probably this: Braylon Edwards ia okay, but he thinks he's worth a lot more than he actually is. Probably won't resign him, so let's take a chance on a talented receiver like Holmes. If he proves himself this year, we'll look to extend him. If not, oh well we parted with a 5th this year and we have better personnel than last year when we were 1 game away from the SuperBowl.

Damn, despite facing a possible 4 game suspension the Jets really made out on this deal. Get a solid staring WR for a 5th round pick, that's a no brainer. If I read the Bills acquired Holmes with their 4th round pick I would've thought that was a steal (for the Bills). I can't imagine there weren't other teams that would've been willing to give up more. Very weird. The Jets will certainly be contenders this year, they are building on both sides of the ball.

I really like Morgan, but there's a 50/50 chance he's gone at #9. Looking at your mock I really don't like Saffold. Look at his film. He's athletic so he's been getting a lot of attention, but his play on the field is that of a 4-5th round prospect.

Yep. The Bills are checking him out because there's a good chance he'll be availble when we pick in the 2nd round. The guy also has a lot of question marks and wasn't very consistent, so it seems the Bills want to see him up close because they have a lot of questions they want answered. Don't stress out about Griffen in the Top 10, it won't happen.