John from Riverside Posted April 16, 2012 Posted April 16, 2012 The interesting thing about it is Nick Harris would probably excel on the type of defense we are going to put forward this year.......
Orton's Arm Posted April 16, 2012 Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) I voted C+. Any time you take an interior lineman with a first or second round pick, it's generally considered a low risk, low reward proposition. Interior OL spots are considered much easier to fill than, say, the LT spot or a #1 WR or a CB. If two of their four first picks were used on interior offensive linemen, another was used on Byrd. Byrd has quietly become a quality player, at a position which is considered harder to fill than OG. (But easier to fill than CB.) Byrd was the best pick of that draft. The Bills failed to acquire a quality player at a difficult-to-fill position, like pass rusher, LT, or CB. The reason they failed to accomplish this is because they used their very valuable top-12 pick on . . . Drafts should be graded on a curve. The Bills went into that draft with a top-12 pick, another pick later in the first round, and two second round picks. Given that fact, they should have been expected to accomplish more than a team whose first pick isn't until the late 20s or early 30s. Edited April 16, 2012 by Edwards' Arm
Hapless Bills Fan Posted April 16, 2012 Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) I voted C+. Any time you take an interior lineman with a first or second round pick, it's generally considered a low risk, low reward proposition. Interior OL spots are considered much easier to fill than, say, the LT spot or a #1 WR or a CB. If two of their four first picks were used on interior offensive linemen, another was used on Byrd. Byrd has quietly become a quality player, at a position which is considered harder to fill than OG. (But easier to fill than CB.) Byrd was the best pick of that draft. The Bills failed to acquire a quality player at a difficult-to-fill position, like pass rusher, LT, or CB. The reason they failed to accomplish this is because they used their very valuable top-12 pick on . . . Drafts should be graded on a curve. The Bills went into that draft with a top-12 pick, another pick later in the first round, and two second round picks. Given that fact, they should have been expected to accomplish more than a team whose first pick isn't until the late 20s or early 30s. I somewhat disagree that Center is not a difficult-to-fill or high-impact position. Levitre has also shown good versatility. I also think Wood and Levitre were the best picks of that draft, so maybe I just value OL more highly than you, especially Center. Byrd has been good, though, no disagreement. If Shawn Nelson had panned out, the grade could have been higher. Then again if my aunt had balls.... it would have been higher but for maybin. Levitre, Wood and Byrd were first rate choices and Nelson and Harris are holding their own for sure. I think C plus is about right but could have fairly comfortably moved to B-. Where are Nelson and Harris holding their own? It ain't on the Bills roster last I looked.... Hint: it's SHAWN Nelson, not DAVID Nelson. Edited April 16, 2012 by Hopeful
BigBuff423 Posted April 16, 2012 Posted April 16, 2012 I gave it a C+ merely b/c Maybin was SUCH A TOTAL WASTE OF A PICK!!!!!!!!! Only Donte Whitner was a worse pick during their regime than Maybin, however those middle round guys and of course Wood redeemed that Draft as being their best...which, is just sad in many ways....
justnzane Posted April 16, 2012 Posted April 16, 2012 I gave it a C+ merely b/c Maybin was SUCH A TOTAL WASTE OF A PICK!!!!!!!!! Only Donte Whitner was a worse pick during their regime than Maybin, however those middle round guys and of course Wood redeemed that Draft as being their best...which, is just sad in many ways.... As much hatred as Whitner gets (some deservedly), at least he got on the field to produce at a certain level. Maybin couldn't even hit the field, much less a quarterback in his time here. Also that Lankster clip was funny, but i feel guilty laughing at a guy with a speech impediment.
BillsBytheBay Posted April 16, 2012 Posted April 16, 2012 I think it was an accident, but we got three immediate starters. Take Orakpo, and it would have been one of the best drafts ever.
bluenews Posted April 16, 2012 Posted April 16, 2012 I wish I had most of you as my high school English teacher
CSBill Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 (edited) three top flight starters, pretty good . . . blowing the 11th pick, terrible--not only not worthy of 11th over-all, he never even started a game, the worst pick in the history of the franchise The interesting thing about it is Nick Harris would probably excel on the type of defense we are going to put forward this year....... didn't he get a career ending injury? Edited April 17, 2012 by CSBill
Reks Ryan Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 How is three pro bowlers from one draft not an A if not A+? I'm not sure we're getting three pro bowlers but it's possible. All three of those guys are very good. This is not directed toward you, but if we just took Maybin off the #1 choice and put him at #4 and moved everyone up a notch, very few would say anything negative about the draft. To me, it's nonsense to say you have to hit a homerun with the #1 pick. You just have to get great production from any pick, and good production from 2-3 others to make it a very successful draft. I almost agree with you. The difference in missing with the 11th pick compared to later round selection is the high quality talent that is still on the board during the 1st round. Bluenews post illustrates this perfectly. There were a dozen or more very good players picked after Maybin in the 1st round. still the next 3 Bills picks salvage a B- grade.
Orton's Arm Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 I somewhat disagree that Center is not a difficult-to-fill or high-impact position. Levitre has also shown good versatility. I also think Wood and Levitre were the best picks of that draft, so maybe I just value OL more highly than you, especially Center. Byrd has been good, though, no disagreement. If Shawn Nelson had panned out, the grade could have been higher. Then again if my aunt had balls.... Where are Nelson and Harris holding their own? It ain't on the Bills roster last I looked.... Hint: it's SHAWN Nelson, not DAVID Nelson. I agree that center is a more important position than OG. A good center is probably more valuable than an equally good safety. The knock on Wood is that he's been hit with the injury bug. If in the future he stays mostly injury-free, and if he continues playing at his current level, I'd rate him as more valuable than Byrd. But if he continues missing games at the rate he's missed in the past, he'll be less valuable than Byrd.
vincec Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 (edited) I'm surprised to see so many Cs. Any draft where you pickup 3 solid starters is a very good draft. I don't think too many other NFL teams did better than that. It's a B... at least. BTW- Maybin and Lankster are currently depth players for the Jets, so 5 players still in the league including 3 starters out of 8 picks. Edited April 17, 2012 by vincec
NoSaint Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 As everyone else is, I'm disappointed with the #11 pick. But a miss is a miss, be it a 1st rounder or a 7th. The only difference is that we're LESS likely to miss with a 1st rounder. A number of NFL guys have said that they'd like to get 2.5 starters out of every draft. We did better than that, and the three aren't just decent starters, but very good ones. We should be so lucky EVERY draft. My only quibble is that we got no depth other than the three. Pluses: 3 Excellent starters that would be difficult to upgrade. Minuses: No other (competent) backup players even as emergency fill-ins. Grade: B+ And honestly, we're a full scheme removed on offense and now two on defense. For a depth guy to survive being drafted cover 2, switching to 34, and now on to a straight 43..... It'd be a miracle to survive unless you immediately shot up the depth charts ala the big 3 from that draft.
billsfan89 Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 C+. Maybin is a total zero but Wood, Levitre, and Byrd are all at the least above average with serious potential to be probowl players. The other players were later round picks although I guess you could make the case that maybe they could have hit on one of those. Had they hit on pick 11 or found a late round gem they would have been in the B-A range.
rayray808 Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 -My grade was a solid "D." Just can't miss at #11 and leave so many good players on the board! (11)BillsMaybin, AaronDE6'4"249Penn State (12)BroncosMoreno, KnowshonRB5'11"217Georgia (13)RedskinsOrakpo, BrianDE6'3"263Texas (14)SaintsJenkins, MalcolmCB6'0"204Ohio State (15)TexansCushing, BrianOLB6'3"243Southern Cal (16)ChargersEnglish, LarryDE6'2"274Northern Illinois (17)Buccaneers (From Jets through Browns)Freeman, JoshQB6'6"248Kansas State (18)Broncos (From Bears)Ayers, RobertLB6'3"272Tennessee (19)Eagles (From Buccaneers through Browns)Maclin, JeremyWR6'0"198Missouri (20)Lions (From Cowboys)Pettigrew, BrandonTE6'5"263Oklahoma State (21)Browns (From Eagles)Mack, AlexC6'4"311California (22)VikingsHarvin, PercyWR5'11"192Florida (23)Ravens (From Patriots)Oher, MichaelOT6'5"309Mississippi (24)FalconsJerry, PeriaDT6'2"299Mississippi (25)DolphinsDavis, VontaeCB5'11"203Illinois (26)Packers (From Ravens through Patriots)Matthews, ClayOLB6'3"240Southern Cal (27)ColtsBrown, DonaldRB5'10"210Connecticut (28)Bills (From Panthers through Eagles)Wood, EricC6'4"310Louisville (29)GiantsNicks, HakeemWR6'1"212North Carolina (30)TitansBritt, KennyWR6'3"218Rutgers (31)CardinalsWells, ChrisRB6'1"235Ohio State (32)SteelersHood, Evander wow... can't really argue with you after looking at that list
Mark Long Beach Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 And honestly, we're a full scheme removed on offense and now two on defense. For a depth guy to survive being drafted cover 2, switching to 34, and now on to a straight 43..... It'd be a miracle to survive unless you immediately shot up the depth charts ala the big 3 from that draft. Yeah, I agree. I don't expect too much out of depth guys. But we got nothing out of any of those other picks. Another team managed to squeeze some production out of (gasp) Maybin and Lankster filling out a roster spot. But we got nothing out of either. So for that lack of depth, I'm disappointed. Don't forget, that changing systems can give fringe guys another shot to prove themselves. None had the talent to stick. Even with the lack of depth bodies, It's a B+ from me.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 Wood, Byrd, and Levitre? Solid B and it would have been an A or A+ had they not botched the first round. The interesting thing about it is Nick Harris would probably excel on the type of defense we are going to put forward this year....... Nic Harris is a free agent right now. I believe he's rehabbing an injury though. I love the guy and you're right, he's a nice athletic 4-3 linebacker who would fit the scheme here very well.
Buffalo Barbarian Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 They say it takes 3 years? Well it's been 3 years. How would you grade out the final draft from the old administration? Round Pick Overall Pos. Player College 1 11 11 DE Aaron Maybin Penn St. 1 28* 28 G/C Eric Wood Louisville 2 10 42 S/CB Jairus Byrd Oregon 2 19*** 51 G/OT Andy Levitre Oregon St. 4 21** 121 TE Shawn Nelson Southern Mississippi 5 11 147 OLB/S Nic Harris Oklahoma 6 10 183 CB Cary Harris USC 7 11 220 CB Ellis Lankster West Virginia With 3 very solid players this gets a B, Brian Cushing would look pretty sick in this Defense.
jumbalaya Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 I ask you if Maybin produces six sacks for Jets in a situational role, while Dareus produces 5.5 in a featured role...is Maybin the bust or is our coaching staff the bust for not puttong <aybin in a position to succeed, or are the fans to blame for turning on young black men and not allowing them the time to mature ala maybin and lynch?
benderbender Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 BTW- Maybin and Lankster are currently depth players for the Jets, so 5 players still in the league including 3 starters out of 8 picks. Well, la de frickin da! Who cares if Maybin and Lankster are still in the league? That's like being happy that two of your ex-girlfriends are still seeing other people.
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