We need to pick a tackle in the 1st or 2nd

[Kellyto83TD]

The best thing for our team right now is to have a dominant O-line. For EJ, for the runners, to give our defense a rest, to score points and win games.

 

Consider teams like the Jets who we play twice a year that have a very strong pair of DT's in Richardson and Wilkerson. (Richardson is already the best in the league after one year) Our guards are both going to be helping Eric Wood all game handling those two, which leaves our tackles all alone on both sides. Look at what Miami just did with getting Houston DT Earl Mitchell to play alongside Starks and Cameron Wake.

 

If our tackles can't play well, that means a TE or Freddy or someone will have to help out blocking which means less effective offensive weapons. Picking a versatile stud tackle in the top ten makes a ton of sense to me. It's insurance if Glenn gets hurt, and in order to run the ball in this league consistently you need to have a beast at right tackle. There are many examples of high draft picks playing RT and staying there permanently because teams see what an impact they can have (San Diego, San Fran etc)

 

It occurs to me that the teams with great O lines always seem to go far into the post season, but not all teams with great skill players do.

 

This game is about the trenches and it always has been, always will be. We had 3 D lineman in the pro bowl this year, lets give our O line the highest priority in this draft and get setup for years to come.

If we needed a LEFT tackle yes. But We need a Right tackle. Those can be found later in the draft and what Is great is THIS YEAR, the draft is so dang deep we can find a quality RT in the 3rd without a lot of difficulty

[Bill from NYC]

RT at #9?

 

Not necessary, no.

 

It depends on how good the RT is, dontcha think?

 

As a Tide Fan, I got to see almost every game that Fluker played. He was one of the easiest college players to rate that I have ever watched. The Chargers took him at #11 and he was instrumental in getting them to the playoffs. And watch him get even better!!!

 

I have not seen enough of Lewan to make a pertinent comment about how good he is. What I will say is that if he is up there with Fluker they should run up to the podium and grab him.

 

I think that the Bills will draft a wideout in round 1. A player such as Evans will sell tickets. A Right Tackle will not, no matter how good he is. This is not the philosophy that I embrace, but it's better than the Bills wasting #9 ON Clinton-Dix and again, I am a Tide Fan. I would probably be ok with Aaron Donald after a trade down as well.

 

This draft is said to be deep at WR. I don't want the Bills to waste the #9 on one, let alone a defensive back, but we ARE the Bills, ya know?

Edited March 17, 2014 by Bill from NYC

[White Linen]

I'd like to see Donald Penn signed. I think it would create so many more options in the draft to go after BPA.

[Original Byrd Man]

I'd be on board with a 2nd round tackle. Not enough talent for the first round. I'd like to see Evans in the first.

[Mr. WEO]

It depends on how good the RT is, dontcha think?

 

As a Tide Fan, I got to see almost every game that Fluker played. He was one of the easiest college players to rate that I have ever watched. The Chargers took him at #11 and he was instrumental in getting them to the playoffs. And watch him get even better!!!

 

I have not seen enough of Lewan to make a pertinent comment about how good he is. What I will say is that if he is up there with Fluker they should run up to the podium and grab him.

 

I think that the Bills will draft a wideout in round 1. A player such as Evans will sell tickets. A Right Tackle will not, no matter how good he is. This is not the philosophy that I embrace, but it's better than the Bills wasting #9 ON Clinton-Dix and again, I am a Tide Fan. I would probably be ok with Aaron Donald after a trade down as well.

 

This draft is said to be deep at WR. I don't want the Bills to waste the #9 on one, let alone a defensive back, but we ARE the Bills, ya know?

 

I disagree. The Chargers were a one over .500 team that looked horrible in their playoff game that was not against the KC Paper Tigers, getting blanked for nearly 3Q. Their QB was sacked 4 times and completed only 18 passes playing from behind. They had no running game. Their RT had no perceptible impact.

 

I would rather take a top WR at 9 than RT. The RT doesn't have to be a superstar to provide adequate protection, whereas a big, tall, fast WR is going to be someone EJ MAnuel doesn't have to spend 10 minutes locating downfield.

 

Impact==it's not found at RT. Can't be.

Edited March 18, 2014 by Mr. WEO

[CardinalScotts]

last 4 years ten tackles selected in the first 12 picks of the draft including seahawks, patriots 49ers,eagles, chargers, chiefs all those teams have one thing in common

[Malazan]

If they take an OT at #9, I'll lose my lunch.

[PBLESS]

A Bills fan called in to the NFL station on Sirius radio and asked whoever was there, I think Brad Hopkins, what he thought the Bills should do in the draft, given who they got in free agency. I thought the answer was a little bazaar. He said to get one of the 3 top OTs, move Cordy Glen to LG and try to draft another OT in a later round to compete for RT. I know many have suggested moving Cordy to guard in the past. My opinion is that good OTs are too hard to come by and that Glen should remain at OT and Bills should get one of the 3 top OTs in rd 1 and another OG prospect in rd 4or5. In light of the fact that Spikes has only a one yr contract, and that Moats will likely sign elsewhere linebacker prospects are also essential.

[Mr. WEO]

last 4 years ten tackles selected in the first 12 picks of the draft including seahawks, patriots 49ers,eagles, chargers, chiefs all those teams have one thing in common

 

Pro Bowl/SB QBs.

 

NE hasn't taken a T in the top 12 in that time period. Philly already had a Pro Bowl LT in Peters.

[Zen_Zone]

I don't know what you guys are going on about.

 

Clearly the Bills first round choice should be used on drafting an elite long snapper.

[Overseas Bills Fan]

Big playmaking wideout first. Put him opposite Woods with Johnson in the slot.

 

Tackle second.

 

Linebacker third

[NickelCity]

I'm so desperate for a good OLine I don't think I'd be upset if they drafted 7 offensive linemen.

[thewildrabbit]

The best thing for our team right now is to have a dominant O-line. For EJ, for the runners, to give our defense a rest, to score points and win games.

 

Consider teams like the Jets who we play twice a year that have a very strong pair of DT's in Richardson and Wilkerson. (Richardson is already the best in the league after one year) Our guards are both going to be helping Eric Wood all game handling those two, which leaves our tackles all alone on both sides. Look at what Miami just did with getting Houston DT Earl Mitchell to play alongside Starks and Cameron Wake.

 

If our tackles can't play well, that means a TE or Freddy or someone will have to help out blocking which means less effective offensive weapons. Picking a versatile stud tackle in the top ten makes a ton of sense to me. It's insurance if Glenn gets hurt, and in order to run the ball in this league consistently you need to have a beast at right tackle. There are many examples of high draft picks playing RT and staying there permanently because teams see what an impact they can have (San Diego, San Fran etc)

 

It occurs to me that the teams with great O lines always seem to go far into the post season, but not all teams with great skill players do.

 

This game is about the trenches and it always has been, always will be. We had 3 D lineman in the pro bowl this year, lets give our O line the highest priority in this draft and get setup for years to come.

Sorry Webster Guy, but the days of the Buffalo Bills building an "elite" O line are long gone with the 60's, thru, 90's. That's right, this team hasn't had a top line since the AFL Championship days & four consecutive super bowls

appearances.

 

The chicken or the egg controversy, as in which came first, the great QB, or the great O line. Did Jack Kemp / Jim Kelly make those O lines look great or did those great O lines allow the QB's to make enough plays to get to the big dance?

 

Let's look at the 90's.

 

In my opinion all pro LT Will Wolford, all pro LG Jim Ritcher, all pro center Kent Hull along with RG John Davis, RT Howard Ballard allowed Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed to make those big plays. When LT Will Wolford went to the Colts in free agency at the end of 1992. The Bills went ahead and drafted another LT with a first round pick in John Fina.

 

In 1994 the Bills no longer had Wolford at LT, no Jim Ritcher at LG, no Howard Ballard at RT and went from 12-4 in 1993 to 7-9 in 1994. Coincidence? The Bills replace 15 year vet LG Jim Ritcher with Corbin Lacina. Then wised up and replaced Lacina with a first round pick in future all pro, and first round pick LG Ruben Brown. The result of that 1st round pick at LG was the Bills went 7-9 to 10-6 in 1995. Jeez, could a top LG make the difference between a losing season, and the playoffs?

 

 

In my view an "elite" LT is worth at least as much as Super Mario simply because that is the position that faces that 100 million dollar DE. The RT is just about as important because what's to stop that left side DE from moving to the right side? However, In the opinion of many fans here, along with the Bills current front office that an "elite" tackle is not needed on either side....kinda why the team loses so many games every year for 14 years IMHO.

 

 

Last season it wasn't only rookie first round pick at #11 by the Chargers, RT DJ Fluker help them make the playoffs. The Chargers make the playoffs under rookie HC Mike McCoy. Last year the Eagles selected RT Lane Johnson #4 overall, and he played all 16 games at RT. Oh yeah, The Eagles made the playoffs under rookie HC Chip Kelly.

 

 

The Bills went 6-10 under their rookie HC!! The Bills lose their best pass blocking player on the line in Andy Levitre, and tried replace him with two players from a dumpster....that were both cut, and off the team by week 6. Then the player brought in to be the backup center who was another dumpster revival from the Steelers who graded as their worst player, and he played like it for the Bills. So this year the Bills wanted to replace the LG, and what did they do? Went dumpster diving again for the St Louis Rams worst graded player to play LG.

 

My take is, you can forget about any O linemen being drafted by this team in the first three rounds in the near future, as this team simply doesn't value the O line players the same way other teams do. If Chris Hairston isn't up to the task, then expect a dumpster revival or a waiver wire scrub to be the new RT.

[Bills Fan of St Augustine]

I'd be ok with Evans in round 1 but then we have to draft linemen in round 2 and another one later (4/5). The game is still won and lost in the trenches even though the NFL continues to showcase skill position stars to make the game more exciting for the casual fan. RT is becoming more and more important as edge rushers become specialists and come from both sides. I'd have no problem at all with a premier OT at 9.

[machine gun kelly]

You never take a RT in the 1st so agreed with a few of you. For the mock draft, I'd want a TE and we can wait on RB til next year as we just picked Dixon from the 49ers.

 

I still want a WR in the first and hopefully it's Evans.

 

[BuffaloFan68]

OT in the 4th at the earliest. First 2 picks should be for LB & WR even though we still have Kaufman.

[ALF]

If the Bills drafted Watkins and Ebron , it would matter if EJ doesn't have time to throw.

Edited March 18, 2014 by ALF

[maryland-bills-fan]

I agree. I always like big galoots on the line of scrimmage. If you control there, grandma with a walker can get 4 yards a carry.

http://www.buffaloru...ial-depth-chart has an unofficial Bills depth chart as guessed after the recent free agent signings. Looking at it and thinking about where the problems were thought to be at the end of last year, the following seems to jump out at me. Most of the holes have been addressed, even before the draft, but Right Offensive Tackle still looks as if it needs immediate help from the draft. Chris Williams is penciled in at LOG and the Bills appear to be high on Unga as quality depth or someone to push for a starting spot. Spikes and Rivers should shore up the linebackers. The promotion and extension of Aaron Williams as well as bringing in Corey Graham strengthens the defensive backfield. Dixon adds depth and a pounder to the running backs. Resigning Chandler brings a favorate target for EJ back and an improved backup will come from the competition between Smith, Gragg and Moeaki. Pears at ROT looks like the neglected position, with a below average starter and no depth.

 

http://msn.foxsports...-tackles-031314 2014 Cowboys Draft Weekly Notebook - Episode 8 - Offensive Tackles (bob Sturn) has a good evaluation of the top tackles and I will go with that for my judgment on their value. They rank the top three as (no surprise), Mathews (top for them because of polished pass protection), Robinson (also can’t miss and a generational run blocker), and Lewan. All are top LOT guys and should be gone by #9. We have a LOT so if Lewan drops to us and we need a ROT, it might be a good time to think of a trade down because these 3 are much better than the next guys for the high need LOT and we have a bargaining chip for trading down at a premium. The next guy down is Zack Martin (Notre Dame), who would be a very solid ROT and run blocker. Bob Sturn likes him, but not at the Cowboys pick (#16), so if this is a real estimate of his value, we might be able to trade down in the first to ? #20 and still pick Martin up as our starting right offensive tackle as well as the equivalent of a high 2^nd. (there would be 500 trade-value-points, which could give us the {{{{ #8 in the 2^nd round }}}}}} or {{{{{ #20 in the 2^nd round AND and another a low 2^nd round #28 pick }}}}}. That would give us our starting ROT from the first round and three 2^nd round picks(no 3rd round) or two 2^nd and two 3^rd’s. We get our guy as a starter and pick up another good pick in a draft year where there is high quality in the first 3 rounds.

 

Lower rated tackles are Kpiamdijo (Alabama), who Sturn can’t see as a 1^st round pick, (big, slow and bad knees), Antonio Richardson (Tennessee), (not quick enough and already at his ceiling). For second rounders, he likes big Morgan Moses (Virginia) or Billy Turner (N.Dakota State) (a mauler for low 2^nd or high 3^rd rounds). Both of these would fit as ROT, but maybe would take a year or two to come up to speed. That is what I see as the "FOR SURE" part of our draft strategy- several scenario but all having us get a ROT somewhere in the draft region as the 20th to 50th player chosen.

Edited March 18, 2014 by maryland-bills-fan

[bobobonators]

The stars of our offense are at RB and we have a young QB who is slow to make decisions.

 

Thinking about that for a second, what do you think would help our offense more? Another WR, or a much improved OL? I'd go with the latter.

 

A dominant OL makes everyone on the offense better - WR's by giving them more time to get open; RB's by giving them wider lanes and blocking better downfield; and the QB by giving him more time to make the correct reads.

 

The question is, how do you get a dominant OL? By drafting high or finding gems in the later round? It can be done both ways, but how it's done quite frankly I don't give a crap about. Just do it.

Edited March 18, 2014 by bobobonators

[C.Biscuit97]

It depends on how good the RT is, dontcha think?

 

As a Tide Fan, I got to see almost every game that Fluker played. He was one of the easiest college players to rate that I have ever watched. The Chargers took him at #11 and he was instrumental in getting them to the playoffs. And watch him get even better!!!

 

I have not seen enough of Lewan to make a pertinent comment about how good he is. What I will say is that if he is up there with Fluker they should run up to the podium and grab him.

 

I think that the Bills will draft a wideout in round 1. A player such as Evans will sell tickets. A Right Tackle will not, no matter how good he is. This is not the philosophy that I embrace, but it's better than the Bills wasting #9 ON Clinton-Dix and again, I am a Tide Fan. I would probably be ok with Aaron Donald after a trade down as well.

 

This draft is said to be deep at WR. I don't want the Bills to waste the #9 on one, let alone a defensive back, but we ARE the Bills, ya know?

 

I love how you ignore the Chargers took a wr in the 2nd round who was the runner up Rookie of the Year. I'm sure he was quite instrumental too.

 

I'd love someone to do the breakdown but there's some fallacy that OTs are a safe pick. I predict that in the last 5-10 years, top 10 pick OTs bust at a higher rate than top 10 wrs. There's a reason good Ts are hitting free agency more and more. There are a lot of good Ts in the league and most of them aren't picked in the 1st. Do you think AJ Green or Calvin Johnson would be allowed to hit free agency like Jake Long?

 

Bottomline is if you go into the draft saying you need to do something, you're setting yourself up for failure. I want a playmaker at 9 but it would be stupid for me to just assume that has to be the pick no matter what. Same thing with a OT or any other position. Pick the best player while closely matching your needs.