Two Bills Drive

‘After spending more than a year rehabbing, Evans responded with a stellar senior season. Many pre-draft articles have questioned the status of Evans’ knee, but he is convinced that teams know he is healthy after thoroughly inspecting the knee at the NFL’s scouting combine in February.’

‘He has proved to NFL personnel once and for all that his knee is fine. Not only did he return to form during his senior season in 2003, he produced a 40-yard dash time of 4.41 seconds and a vertical leap of 35 inches at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in February.’

‘NFL scouts seem to think so. Although the 5-foot-11 Evans, who visited Buffalo, Pittsburgh and his hometown Cleveland Browns last month, isn’t as tall as the other highly regarded receivers, he ran the fastest 40-yard dash time in the group (4.41 seconds) and scored the highest on the Wonderlic intelligence test (27).’

‘Instead, Evans returned to school for his senior year and tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the spring game. He underwent two surgeries, but in the midst of his rehab, he was arrested for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and placed on probation for a year.’

‘”Last week, going on all those visits, it gave me a boost of confidence just to hear NFL personnel saying so many good things, but you can’t get caught up too much in that. The way I look at it is that there’s not too much I can do now. I did everything I had to do, ran at the combines, testing, and all that, and now it’s time for them to make their decision. Emotionally, it’s a roller coaster. Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down.”‘

‘Evans made a successful retrurn from a torn ACL in his left knee in 2002 and had 64 catches for 1,213 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.’

‘Some fateful draft decisions led to some of the greatest coups and some of the worst blunders in Bills history. Enough good decisions led to the most productive drafts in Buffalo franchise history just as some poor decisions led to some of the worst draft crops in team history.’

‘It’s believed the Bills have Roethlisberger rated slightly ahead of Rivers. If the Chargers and Giants take quarterbacks, the chances of Buffalo getting a QB drop. In that case, Buffalo probably would have to move ahead of Pittsburgh to get Roethlisberger. If either the Chargers or Giants pass on a QB, then the odds of a passer for Buffalo go up.’

‘The 2004 NFL draft shapes up as possibly the deepest ever at wide receiver. According to most projections, seven or eight could hear their names called in the first round, which begins today at noon on ESPN.’

‘Gallery is the only offensive lineman expected to be picked in the top half of the first round today. He is a 6-foot-7, 320-pounder who has been mentioned in the same breath as St. Louis’ Pace and former Jacksonville Jaguar Boselli, two of the most heralded tackles to hit the NFL in the past 20 years.’

‘Best Bills Drafts: 1. 1985.’

‘2003: 1. Willis McGahee RB Miami.

‘”What I remember most about Bob was he was a very, very smart kid and he was a happy kid; he always had a smile on his face,” said former Bills trainer Ed Abramoski. “I remember the coaches saying if he made a mistake, he wasn’t going to make the same one twice.”‘

‘If the Bills elect to stay at 13, their options are numerous and any position but running back could easily be justified with their pick.’

‘”Last year, when we took Willis, there were already nine defensive linemen selected and people thought we should go in that direction,” he said. “Of those nine, only Terrell Suggs (with Baltimore) made a significant contribution.”‘