Coach Tuesday Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 (edited) Not surprisingly, the Bills didn't fare well in this compilation of so-called "expert" draft grades, scoring the absolute lowest of all 32 teams: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2015/2015-nfl-draft-report-card-report It's not just the lack of a first round pick in 2015, however. If you click the links at the top of the article going back the past few years, the Bills consistently have scored poorly in this exercise. **I'M NOT TAKING A POSITION ON THIS - JUST BRINGING IT UP FOR DISCUSSION - DON'T FLAME ME.** Edited May 8, 2015 by Coach Tuesday
PromoTheRobot Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 All you have to do is look at who we drafted and see how good/bad they are now.
xsoldier54 Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 The "experts" are wrong more often than not. If they were really experts, then they would be working in a front office somewhere. Grading a draft immediately after it takes places is a futile exercise. Until these guys actually get on the field, nobody knows how well they will perform in the NFL. I am very comfortable with the players that Whaley has added through the draft, free agency, and trades over the past couple of years and I feel the same way about this year's draft. Some depth and ST players were added and a couple of guys that will compete for playing time right away. Good draft IMO.
Johnny Hammersticks Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 I remember after Preston Brown was drafted saying to my friend, "really?! I've heard of him, but really?! A 2 down linebacker in the 3rd round?!" Trust in Doug.
H2o Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 Like I said before, they used to rip Seattle too for their drafts. Now if they take someone early/unexpected everyone says it's "part of their plan" or "they took them because they are a better scheme fit". All these jackoffs just like to rip us because we are working on the longest playoff drought in the NFL right now. When that ends, hopefully this year, things will begin to change. Doug Whaley has done an outstanding job with this team the last three years increasing the overall talent level at pretty much every position on the field, not to mention getting a top notch coaching staff in here. Now it's time to watch our boys get some W's. the talking heads.
hondo in seattle Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 (edited) I remember after Preston Brown was drafted saying to my friend, "really?! I've heard of him, but really?! A 2 down linebacker in the 3rd round?!" Trust in Doug. It's a shame he still hasn't found a QB, but Doug's done a nice job building this roster. This year we we're going to field the most talented squad we've fielded in a long time. So, yeah, I'm willing to trust Doug on the draft. Edited May 8, 2015 by hondo in seattle
PromoTheRobot Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 It's a shame he still hasn't found a QB, but Doug's done a nice job building this roster. This year we we're going to field the most talented squad we've fielded in a long time. So, yeah, I'm willing to trust Doug on the draft. You can't find what ain't there. Wishing don't make it true.
Max997 Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 (edited) I remember after Preston Brown was drafted saying to my friend, "really?! I've heard of him, but really?! A 2 down linebacker in the 3rd round?!" Trust in Doug. I actually liked Preston Brown the player coming out of college but I questioned using a 3rd round pick on what at the time would be a backup LB in a year the team was supposedly all in. Thought there were other players at other positions who would contribute more last year (a guard, any guard) but turned out to be a great pick considering the Kiko injury which no one could have anticipated. I feel the same way about the Darby pick this year. CB is always a need we all know this but using their first pick on one when they are already 3-4 deep at the position was questionable to me especially when there were a couple tackles and TE's available who would contribute more this year. Edited May 8, 2015 by Max997
BuffaloHokie13 Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 All immediate draft grades are are a comparison of what the reviewer would have done in our spot given the same information. Looking at it in that light, it is fairly obvious why they are reviewing drafts and not managing football teams.
JESSEFEFFER Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 So much for winning the offseason. I guess they'll have to cancel this parade too.
GG Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 This was a humdrum draft, but more so in that it negated a lot of picks from the 2014 class (and not just the Sammy trade).
BillsVet Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 I remember after Preston Brown was drafted saying to my friend, "really?! I've heard of him, but really?! A 2 down linebacker in the 3rd round?!" Trust in Doug. In this era of offensive football, what has a NFL GM done if, after 3 off-seasons of rebuilding, he hasn't identified a franchise QB? I know I'm in the minority who aren't enamored with Whaley. He just doesn't seem like this great GM who's ahead of the curve, and it's not just his selection of Manuel or addressing the subsequent issue at QB with journeymen. I will grant that he didn't hire the previous HC or that he inherited a great situation from Blundering Buddy. As much as 2015 is make or break for Manuel, it's almost to that degree with Whaley. He's been given a better HC, resources to acquire better talent, and had 3 drafts to mine talent. If they don't win this year I, it's time to look for a replacement. Especially considering he's been with the organization for 5+ seasons now.
BarleyNY Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 I'm not on the "Trust in Doug" bandwagon. I'm not hanging the guy at this point either, I'm just not sold. I like a lot of what he's done with the roster, but he's done it at a substantial cost from a cap perspective. He's not nearly at Phins-level, but he has the Bills up there (probably second) and that's without having to pay a franchise QB. I am not a big fan of these last two drafts either. I will take a wait and see approach, but I'm watching the cap situation as closely as the QB situation right now. How those progress will give me my final opinion on Whaley.
Dorkington Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 In this era of offensive football, what has a NFL GM done if, after 3 off-seasons of rebuilding, he hasn't identified a franchise QB? I know I'm in the minority who aren't enamored with Whaley. He just doesn't seem like this great GM who's ahead of the curve, and it's not just his selection of Manuel or addressing the subsequent issue at QB with journeymen. I will grant that he didn't hire the previous HC or that he inherited a great situation from Blundering Buddy. As much as 2015 is make or break for Manuel, it's almost to that degree with Whaley. He's been given a better HC, resources to acquire better talent, and had 3 drafts to mine talent. If they don't win this year I, it's time to look for a replacement. Especially considering he's been with the organization for 5+ seasons now. Which QB do you think we should have been obtained, and are they a guarantee to be successful?
blargo Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 Which QB do you think we should have been obtained, and are they a guarantee to be successful? This is a real important point because we can use hindsight to get a clear picture. There have been zero Free Agent QB's that would have been the franchise QB. So in the last 3 years of all the QB's that the Bills could have drafted who would be that franchise QB?
FireChan Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 Which QB do you think we should have been obtained, and are they a guarantee to be successful? No QB is a guarantee to be successful.
Lurker Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 How many quality starters have they drafted since 2011? By my count, 11 of the 33 picks (with Alonzo and Searcy moving on to other teams), with a couple of more potentially able to join that category this year. Also, two ROY candidates in the past two drafts. http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?teamId=0610&type=team
Chuck Wagon Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 I was annoyed with the Darby pick, but I understand why Doug did it. The only pick that Whaley had a hand in that legitimately made me angry was TJ Graham over Russell Wilson. I liked EJ the best out of any QB in that class, wasn't in love with him, but we were able to move down and get a year of Kiko/now Shady out of it. Notable players drafted since 2011: 2011 - Dareus, Aaron Williams, Sheppard (traded for Hughes), Searcy / 2012 - Gilmore , Glenn , Bradham / 2013 - Woods , Kiko (traded for Shady) / 2014 - Watkins , Brown Obviously still some question marks in the newer drafts that may still come through. One thing that sticks out is how we've done terrible in the later rounds, but the standard for a successful class is viewed as getting 3 good starters and Whaley has pretty much hit right on that mark. Our later round track record is kind of concerning, obviously there's a lot of wildcards getting taken but we haven't really found one real quality starter after the 4th round in the last 5 years. The "experts" have consistently graded our classes poorly while some bad classes from "good" teams have been graded well. As others have mentioned, it's just like preseason predictions, we aren't getting a high score unless we start winning consistently.
TPS Posted May 8, 2015 Posted May 8, 2015 Like Whaley said, this is the kind of draft where they have to earn their money. It's easy to give this non-flashy draft a poor grade today, and that's what the media's job is, to provide instant gratification. We'll see how it pans out in 3 years. Looking at last year's draft, it has the potential to be one of their best ever, if they end up with 2starting OTs in the next couple years, their mlb, and an all-pro WR. We'll see...
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