Flip Johnson Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 Most people knew in the moment and everyone can see in hindsight that CJ Spiller was a luxury pick at #9 in 2010. The way the RB position has been re-valued in today's NFL, where would a Spiller-type player get picked now, ten years later? Third round? And speaking specifically of the Bills I would love to see them draft a guy like Spiller - just not at #9. If the Bills could find an explosive RB to play behind Singletary that could also give you something out of the backfield and in the return game, that would be a huge addition. The 2010-12 Bills had a thousand issues, but the Jackson/Spiller backfield was fantastic - it was Spiller's draft position (esp. compared to Fred as a UDFA) and relatively low usage that caused so much discontent among fans. The complement was excellent and I'd like to see a similar thing again. 1 1
GunnerBill Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 He shouldn't have gone at #9 when he did. I think he'd be in the conversation anywhere from late round 1 to mid round 3.
bigK14094 Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 Spiller was a journeyman pro.....some skills and some shortcomings. Not a first rnd talent in today's NFL. Still he was a likeable person and never complained like a later #1 the Bills trade up for. I wish him well in retirement.
whatdrought Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 Without hindsight, as a prospect alone? Probably still top 15. 5
The Jokeman Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 34 minutes ago, Flip Johnson said: Most people knew in the moment and everyone can see in hindsight that CJ Spiller was a luxury pick at #9 in 2010. The way the RB position has been re-valued in today's NFL, where would a Spiller-type player get picked now, ten years later? Third round? And speaking specifically of the Bills I would love to see them draft a guy like Spiller - just not at #9. If the Bills could find an explosive RB to play behind Singletary that could also give you something out of the backfield and in the return game, that would be a huge addition. The 2010-12 Bills had a thousand issues, but the Jackson/Spiller backfield was fantastic - it was Spiller's draft position (esp. compared to Fred as a UDFA) and relatively low usage that caused so much discontent among fans. The complement was excellent and I'd like to see a similar thing again. My biggest issue with the Spiller pick was we had a solid 2 RBs in Lynch and Jackson, I wanted us to take Dez Bryant leading up to the draft and stand by it today. I don't think Lynch wanted out of Buffalo, he just got upset that Fred got more playing time than him. 3
Kirby Jackson Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) 39 minutes ago, whatdrought said: Without hindsight, as a prospect alone? Probably still top 15. This is correct. The Bills had good RBs. Spiller was considered the top skill player in that draft class at the time. He was maybe a luxury for the Bills but he definitely wasn’t over drafted as a prospect. That’s about where experts thought he’d go. In fact, MANY had him off the board before the Bills picked. I have a WAY bigger issue reaching on Torell Troup than taking the luxury pick in Spiller. Edited February 19, 2020 by Kirby Jackson 7 1 1
CLTbills Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 28 minutes ago, The Jokeman said: My biggest issue with the Spiller pick was we had a solid 2 RBs in Lynch and Jackson, I wanted us to take Dez Bryant leading up to the draft and stand by it today. I don't think Lynch wanted out of Buffalo, he just got upset that Fred got more playing time than him. That was me as well. I remember getting the notification, as I wasn't able to watch the draft live... and that's the reason I was so pissed. Not because he wasn't a good player, but because having the backfield we already had, it was an unnecessary pick.
whatdrought Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 Lets not forget, the guy had 1700 yards and 8 touchdowns in a season. He just could never stay healthy/play on a decent team. 4 1
Gray Beard Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 Wasn’t the Spiller pick a result of somebody wanting a “water bug” running back? Was it Ralph Wilson who said that? I think he was picked higher than he should have been because of a pick for a need (possibly a misguided need). 2010 was about the time when a running back was transitioning away from being considered as an elite part of a team. Running backs who can move the pile five yards after contact are currently in demand, and they are not first round talent. Remember when Mike Ditka traded away his entire draft for Ricky Williams in 1999. How times have changed. 1
dave mcbride Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 40 minutes ago, whatdrought said: Without hindsight, as a prospect alone? Probably still top 15. Agreed, to an extent. Teams bet on talent in the first round, and he had talent to burn - a 4.27 40 time and a rep as a good receiver too. That said, I do think teams today tend to take RBs a little later, so I would say late first round. The best comps I can think of are Reggie Bush and a guy John Butler coveted - Leeland McElroy, who was the 32nd overall pick in 1996. He was a bust, but teams did love him coming out of Texas A & M. As for Bush, he had a pretty good career once you look past where he was drafted.
whatdrought Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 1 minute ago, dave mcbride said: Agreed, to an extent. Teams bet on talent in the first round, and he had talent to burn - a 4.27 40 time and a rep as a good receiver too. That said, I do think teams today tend to take RBs a little later, so I would say late first round. The best comps I can think of are Reggie Bush and a guy John Butler coveted - Leeland McElroy, who was the 32nd overall pick in 1996. He was a bust, but teams did love him coming out of Texas A & M. As for Bush, he had a pretty good career once you look past where he was drafted. We've seen great prospects go high at RB lately, and I think Spiller was seen as a great prospect. He may not have been Barkley or Elliot, but I think he was considered near that level of a prospect.
dave mcbride Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, whatdrought said: We've seen great prospects go high at RB lately, and I think Spiller was seen as a great prospect. He may not have been Barkley or Elliot, but I think he was considered near that level of a prospect. I just read the scouting reports from the time. They all generally say that he off-the-charts speed, but most expressed concern about his size in that they thought he couldn't put on weight and maintain his speed. Some saw him as a really dynamic #2/third down back. Still valuable, but the reports at the time did question whether he could be a horse. Elliott and Barkley both had reputations as guys who could handle very large loads. Another comp mentioned was Jahvid Best, who went 30th overall. He was also superfast (4.35) and quick as lightning, but his career never got off the ground because of injuries. EDIT: Best was even faster than I thought. He ran in the Olympics in the 100 for St. Lucia (he went out after his first heat which featured Usain Bolt as the winner), and his personal best in the 100 was 10.16. Edited February 19, 2020 by dave mcbride 1
auburnbillsbacker Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 Revisionist history here. He was considered good value at the time.
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 43 minutes ago, The Jokeman said: My biggest issue with the Spiller pick was we had a solid 2 RBs in Lynch and Jackson, I wanted us to take Dez Bryant leading up to the draft and stand by it today. I don't think Lynch wanted out of Buffalo, he just got upset that Fred got more playing time than him. In 2010 the new offensive genius Chan I often read about here, ran an offense where he could not figure out how to use this nearly HoF caliber RB And since he convinced nix to get his “waterbug” in spiller at pick 9, There weren’t enough touches to go around. this was after 2 1K+ seasons and a pro bowl mind you, granted there were the legal issues and who knew at that time if he was going to straighten up. I also can’t remember why his 09 season blew, but the team in general was a dumpster fire. Anyway chanix shopped him and Seattle obliged.
The Frankish Reich Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 37 minutes ago, whatdrought said: Lets not forget, the guy had 1700 yards and 8 touchdowns in a season. He just could never stay healthy/play on a decent team. Right. I think there’s increased awareness today that most RBs have an extremely short peak window - not even the 5 years of team control you get with a 1st rounder - so that’s made them unpopular 1st round picks. And Spiller certainly fit the mold. But then again: was there any objective reason at the time of the draft to think he couldn’t go on for as long as, say, Darren Sproles did? It was an odd pick given the many other holes the Bills had to fill, but we can’t forget that he was a dynamic player while it lasted.
Beck Water Posted February 19, 2020 Posted February 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Flip Johnson said: Most people knew in the moment and everyone can see in hindsight that CJ Spiller was a luxury pick at #9 in 2010. The way the RB position has been re-valued in today's NFL, where would a Spiller-type player get picked now, ten years later? Third round? And speaking specifically of the Bills I would love to see them draft a guy like Spiller - just not at #9. If the Bills could find an explosive RB to play behind Singletary that could also give you something out of the backfield and in the return game, that would be a huge addition. The 2010-12 Bills had a thousand issues, but the Jackson/Spiller backfield was fantastic - it was Spiller's draft position (esp. compared to Fred as a UDFA) and relatively low usage that caused so much discontent among fans. The complement was excellent and I'd like to see a similar thing again. I think a player like Spiller is a luxury to put a team over the top. A team like the Bills trying to improve on offense would be better suited seeking a workaday Derrick Henry or Fred Jackson type hoss who reliably gets 3-4 yds when you need it. I also think Spiller got under-utilized because he struggled with the playbook 1
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