A Few Thoughts On Day 1 Of The Draft

[R. Rich]

*Man, was I shocked to see Aaron Rodgers fall to Green Bay, the team that badly needed a QB and secretly hoped to have a shot at Rodgers (considering that nobody seemed interested in trading up and how the teams at the top, other than SF, wanted to go in other directions than QB.

 

 

**Mike Williams (WR) to Detroit? Either Charles Rogers has been sent a clear message, or Millen has forasken his lousy defense w/ his first pick. One thing is for sure: Joey Harrington is running out of excuses now! He's got plenty of weapons now w/ R. Williams, M. Williams, Rogers, Jones, and free agent TE Marcus Pollard. If he can't get it done for them now, he should be outta there. Just imagine if the Lions HADN'T drafted Harrington: there's a very good chance that the Bills would have...........ugh!

 

***I was also shocked to see New Orleans trade up to Houston's spot, but NOT draft Derrick Johnson, a guy they not only badly needed, but badly WANTED too! Still, maybe Jammal Brown will be a factor for them. Once they announced the trade, I really thought it was to draft DJ ahead of Kansas City, particularly after Thomas Davis was taken.

 

****Dallas had a nice first round, getting both Demarcus Ware and Marcus Spears. They've addressed their pass rush (Ware) and got a guy who should be a great fit to their 3-4 front (Spears).

 

*****On to our beloved Bills. Taking Parrish in the 2nd round threw me for a loop. I really thought they'd go OL or maybe even CB w/ that pick. Is it a bad pick? No. He could become a very productive slot receiver for us, something we need. All I need to do is think of the Pittsburgh game last year to know the importance of having a good slot WR to create matchup problems. He's potentially a good one. Also, the Everett pick was a good one as well. This guy is a solid blocking TE who also can help out as a receiver. Since we really don't know about the status of Euhus and Campbell, this only strengthens that position for us. Both of these guys seemed to have been drafted to give the Bills more offensive firepower, which is something I believe we all would like to see. For that reason, I'm not too upset at picking them. There are some pretty decent OL still available, especially at center. Jason Brown is the guy I've been touting for a while now (my draftee for the Bills in my early offseason scenarios), and he's still out there. There's also some lesser known, but very good, centers out there like Junius Coston of North Carolina A&T and Rob Hunt of North Dakota State who may come into play later on. One name to watch in terms of OTs (who can also play guard): Claude Terrell of New Mexico. He's more of a RT or a G prospect, but he's a highly regarded prospect the Bills may consider today if he's available at the time of their pick.

 

******Players to watch for today? Other than the OL I mentioned earlier, there's a few who the Bills could consider and are good value:

 

Marion Barber III, RB, Minnesota

I'm just stunned that he hasn't been taken. Along w/ Ryan Moats, JJ Arrington, and Eric Shelton, he's a guy I thought maybe the Bills would take a look at in rounds 3-5.

 

Ernest Shazor, S, Michigan

This would be strictly for the future, but Lawyer Milloy isn't getting any younger. This guy could learn from Milloy and eventually be ready to replace him. Think of a younger, slightly bigger Rodney Harrison w/out the cheap shots.

 

Travis Daniels, CB, LSU

This would be a great value pick. He needs some time to develop, but has the potential to become a quality starting CB in the NFL.

 

I could name a few more, but the 2nd day has already started and I'm outta here.

 

Okay, that's it. Now, continue to leave me the **** alone while the damn draft is on! See ya.

[UConn James]

Nice to go to this board where it's a little quieter.... ;-)

 

-- Agreed about Detroit's picks. Millen has just ignored his defense even tho it's probably the area that has the biggest holes -- Cody doesn't solve their lack of good LBs. I liken it to TD upgrading the defense in his first two years w/ Clements, Spikes, Milloy, Posey, Fletcher, etc. and not being as committed to balancing it out w/ offensive additions other than stopgaps like how he ultimately rented Bledsoe. Anywho, The pick-up of Orlovsky is interesting too. I think he will surprise a lot of people there, and he landed in probably the best situation he could get. Harrington is on the outs and Garcia isn't long for the league. I'll be rooting for Dan-O.

 

-- Dallas' selecting Ware... I think the trade for JP last year will prove to be very wise.

 

-- I was apprehensive about no OL picks on Day One, but reading about Preston has me going . He could be a good insertion into the line if Teague is moved to LT. Good combo of smarts (pro'ly the most important thing for a center as Hull showed) and size. Some time w/ McNally will do him good. Gates will likely be a good ST contributor similar to Sammy Morris's role.

 

-- Shazor went undrafted. At SS, I like him as a backup to Milloy, who's getting up there. He's got size that can be an asset in the 46-hybrid. Do you think, despite his size, he could play/backup FS if Vincent had to move back to CB? What I saw of him on Saturdays impressed me at times. I'd like to see him as an UDFA, but he may go somewhere where he has a better chance of breaking into the lineup.