Heading into the NFL Draft, the Bills have two absolutely fundamental assets of their football team that they must improve. Protecting the quarterback and stopping the running game.
Finishing dead last in rush defense last year means teams can move the ball on the ground against us at ease and allowing the 4th most sacks on the quarterback last year means we couldn't pass the ball to get ourselves back into ball games once losing.
Below is what I feel the Buffalo Bill's draft board should look like going into the draft. Basically, the highest available prospect on the list below at #9 should be the pick the Bills send in.
Ndamukong Suh, Defensive Tackle:
In a word, dominating. Playing defensive tackle for Nebraska, Suh with limited talent surrounding him lead the Cornhuskers to the Big 12 Championship game against Texas where he nearly single-handedly defeated the Longhorns. With a juggernaut-like 4.5 sack performance the Suh-lead defense held the explosive Texas offense to only 13 points.
Unfortunately, their underwhelming offense only put 12 on the board and Nebraska couldn't pull off the upset but Suh's performance certainly caught the attention of NFL scouts.
Sadly for Bills fans, the chance of Suh falling to the 9th pick is slim to none as he if almost locked in as one of the top 3 selections of this years' draft.
Gerald McCoy, Defensive Tackle:
Since their high-school days, Suh and Mccoy have been grouped together as the 2 most dominating defensive players in their class. As it stands currently, Suh is thought of a slightly more dominating force in the middle but some scouts have them tied with Suh being 1a. and McCoy being 1b.
Whichever way you cut it, McCoy is another truly dominant player that would most certainly help the Bills create more pressure on opposing quarterbacks and prevent teams from running all over them.
Again however, this is another situation where McCoy is basically guaranteed to go as a top 3 pick in the draft. Buffalo shouldn't hesitate to take him if somehow there at #9 but it will most likely take the Bills trading up for the Lions 2nd overall pick (which actually has been rumored) to land McCoy.
Russell Okung, Left Tackle:
A more realistic but still somewhat unlikely selection with the #9th overall pick, Okung is one of the "safest" selections of this draft and, aside for career-ruining injuries, is more than likely going to be an All-Pro left tackle in the NFL for at least a decade.
With great size and feet quicker than any man with his mass should have, Okung matches power with finesse to stay in front of pass rushers and keep his quarterback's blind side in tact. While he very-well may be gone before the Bills pick, if there he should be an instantaneous selection.
Bruce Campbell, Left Tackle:
With a strong combine, Campbell has made the case to be a top 10 selection. Originally, Okung was the only tackle to be considered not being a reach in the top 10 but Bruce has emerged as an elite prospect who could step in and start for a weak offensive-line like that of the Bills.
As it is right now, we could plug Peyton Manning behind our offensive-line and he would only achieve limited success as there simply isn't time for receivers to get open and anybody to get them the ball. A player the caliber of Bruce Campbell would fix that.
Currently, if Campbell is the Bills' desired selection we should first look to trade down into the early teens as he will probably still be available then and we could possibly pick up another draft pick. If takes two to tango though and if there are no takers than picking him at #9 would still be a strong selection in my book.
Anthony Davis, Left Tackle:
Catching a trend? Left tackle needs to be a top priority for Buffalo in this draft as our chances of a winning with the offensive line we have now is quite simply, not going to happen.
Davis has the size and agility to be a solid starter for years in the NFL and could be far and away the best left tackle Buffalo has had since trading away an unhappy and unmotivated Jason Peters 2 years ago.
Another possible slight reach at #9, trading down wouldn't be a bad decision but, like the situation with Bruce Campbell, taking Davis at #9 wouldn't be all too bad.
Rolando McClain, Inside Linebacker:
Being the consensus top linebacker prospect in this years' draft, McClain is an explosive force in the middle that, if Buffalo elects to switch to a 3-4 defense could put up some serious numbers roaming the middle with Posluszny or, if we stay with a 4-3 defense, could man the middle linebacker position and allow Posluszny to swing out to outside linebacker where he probably has more potential.
McClain would immediately help our lacking run defense and could probably create some pressure on opposing quarterbacks with his athleticism on the occasional blitz. Plus, McClain wouldn't be as much of a reach at the 9th spot and no criticism would be made towards the front office if taken there.
All in all, if any of the above players are wearing a Bills jersey come training camp Buffalo fans should be more than happy with the new organization lead by Chan Gailey and Buddy Nix. Here's to rebuilding.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
NFL Combine: Part 2
If you're a fellow Buffalo Bills fan (and I do hope you are if you're following this blog) then you would know the importance at looking for the best offensive line prospects in this upcoming draft. More specifically, you're trying to find the top Left Tackle prospect.
The left tackle is known as the cornerstone of the offensive line as, for the most part if your team has a right handed quarterback, the left tackle will be protecting his blind side; the side the quarterback is oblivious of any oncoming pass rushers on as his back is facing that direction.
The left tackle is also a position that, in trading away an unhappy Jason Peters last off-season, the Bills are extremely weak at. This is proven by the fact that the Bills finished 29th in sacks allowed last season, finishing in front of only the Oakland Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Green Bay Packers.
With drafting a franchise left tackle in this upcoming draft being my top priority for the Bills, this blog is going to focus on the following three elite left tackle prospects:
Russell Okung - Oklahoma State 6'8" 299 lbs Left Tackle
Anthony Davis - Rutgers 6'51/2" 328 lbs Left tackle
Bruce Campbell - Maryland 6'6" 314 lbs Left Tackle
For a left tackle the three most important elements of the combine is their weighing and measuring-in, their bench press, and their cone drill.
The first shows that the prospect hasn't gotten lazy or let them self go during the off-season, along with proving that their arms are long enough to have no trouble with keeping the pass rushers in front of them and engaged with them.
The bench press shows the prospect won't simply be bullied around by defenders at the next level and the cone drill shows the prospect is agile enough to stay in front of some of the more speedy defenders.
Okung:
Going into the combine, Okung has been widely accepted as the top tackle prospect in the draft due to his excellence in his 4 year career with the Cowboys of Oklahoma State. But how did he fare at the combine?
Bench Press:
In the bench press drill, Okung did nothing to make any NFL scouts sweat about picking him in the top 10. Okung did a whopping 38 reps of 225 lbs finishing 2nd out of all lineman along with 3rd overall out of all of the participants in the combine.
Cone Drill:
Okung did not participate in the cone drill. While not getting to see a person you're potentially going to be paying top-10 pick salary to may be unsettling, in his 4 year career Okung has done nothing to show he has incapable feet at the next level.
Overall, Russell Okung did nothing at the combine to make him look less appealing or knock him off of the position of being the top left tackle prospect in the draft. While he'll be expensive, if Okung manages to fall to Buffalo at the 9th selection of the draft Buddy Nix shouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger and start the contract negotiations.
Bruce Campbell:
Bruce Campbell has held down the left tackle position with dominance since his true freshman season with the Terrapins of Maryland. Declaring to enter the NFL Draft as a junior, Campbell is a projected first round selection and has all of the physical tools to succeed at the professional level.
Bench Press:
Campbell's performance in the bench press drill wasn't jaw dropping but at the same time did nothing to scare any teams out of drafting him. With a solid 34 reps of 225 lbs, Bruce finished in the top half of all offensive line prospects and showed enough strength to hold his ground in the NFL.
Cone Drill:
Campbell again put in a solid performance in the 3-cone drill running it 7.58 seconds. With that effort, Campbell shows a Julies Peppers or Dwight Freeney type defender won't be able to blow around him with ease when playing on Sundays.
Campbell had a very solid performance at the NFL Combine and, if anything, slightly raised his draft stock. Maybe he'd be a bit of a reach at #9 but we could always look to trade anywhere from the 12th to 16th selection to grab him. If not, picking him at #9 wouldn't be a terrible thing and he could be the cornerstone of our offensive line for years to come.
Anthony Davis:
When Anthony Davis declared to enter the NFL Draft as a junior, general managers, scouts, and head coaches across the nations salivated at the idea of selecting him and he was immediately placed in the group of the top 3 tackle prospects in this year's draft. Unfortunately, Davis didn't participate in this year's combine and scouts will have to look solely at game tape to decide whether not he's worth the selection.
Based on their respected combine workouts, if I was in the war room with Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey on draft day I would rank the three left tackles in order of Russell Okung, Bruce Campbell, and then Anthony Davis. Landing any of the three would certainly be a good thing however.
The left tackle is known as the cornerstone of the offensive line as, for the most part if your team has a right handed quarterback, the left tackle will be protecting his blind side; the side the quarterback is oblivious of any oncoming pass rushers on as his back is facing that direction.
The left tackle is also a position that, in trading away an unhappy Jason Peters last off-season, the Bills are extremely weak at. This is proven by the fact that the Bills finished 29th in sacks allowed last season, finishing in front of only the Oakland Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Green Bay Packers.
With drafting a franchise left tackle in this upcoming draft being my top priority for the Bills, this blog is going to focus on the following three elite left tackle prospects:
Russell Okung - Oklahoma State 6'8" 299 lbs Left Tackle
Anthony Davis - Rutgers 6'51/2" 328 lbs Left tackle
Bruce Campbell - Maryland 6'6" 314 lbs Left Tackle
For a left tackle the three most important elements of the combine is their weighing and measuring-in, their bench press, and their cone drill.
The first shows that the prospect hasn't gotten lazy or let them self go during the off-season, along with proving that their arms are long enough to have no trouble with keeping the pass rushers in front of them and engaged with them.
The bench press shows the prospect won't simply be bullied around by defenders at the next level and the cone drill shows the prospect is agile enough to stay in front of some of the more speedy defenders.
Okung:
Going into the combine, Okung has been widely accepted as the top tackle prospect in the draft due to his excellence in his 4 year career with the Cowboys of Oklahoma State. But how did he fare at the combine?
Bench Press:
In the bench press drill, Okung did nothing to make any NFL scouts sweat about picking him in the top 10. Okung did a whopping 38 reps of 225 lbs finishing 2nd out of all lineman along with 3rd overall out of all of the participants in the combine.
Cone Drill:
Okung did not participate in the cone drill. While not getting to see a person you're potentially going to be paying top-10 pick salary to may be unsettling, in his 4 year career Okung has done nothing to show he has incapable feet at the next level.
Overall, Russell Okung did nothing at the combine to make him look less appealing or knock him off of the position of being the top left tackle prospect in the draft. While he'll be expensive, if Okung manages to fall to Buffalo at the 9th selection of the draft Buddy Nix shouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger and start the contract negotiations.
Bruce Campbell:
Bruce Campbell has held down the left tackle position with dominance since his true freshman season with the Terrapins of Maryland. Declaring to enter the NFL Draft as a junior, Campbell is a projected first round selection and has all of the physical tools to succeed at the professional level.
Bench Press:
Campbell's performance in the bench press drill wasn't jaw dropping but at the same time did nothing to scare any teams out of drafting him. With a solid 34 reps of 225 lbs, Bruce finished in the top half of all offensive line prospects and showed enough strength to hold his ground in the NFL.
Cone Drill:
Campbell again put in a solid performance in the 3-cone drill running it 7.58 seconds. With that effort, Campbell shows a Julies Peppers or Dwight Freeney type defender won't be able to blow around him with ease when playing on Sundays.
Campbell had a very solid performance at the NFL Combine and, if anything, slightly raised his draft stock. Maybe he'd be a bit of a reach at #9 but we could always look to trade anywhere from the 12th to 16th selection to grab him. If not, picking him at #9 wouldn't be a terrible thing and he could be the cornerstone of our offensive line for years to come.
Anthony Davis:
When Anthony Davis declared to enter the NFL Draft as a junior, general managers, scouts, and head coaches across the nations salivated at the idea of selecting him and he was immediately placed in the group of the top 3 tackle prospects in this year's draft. Unfortunately, Davis didn't participate in this year's combine and scouts will have to look solely at game tape to decide whether not he's worth the selection.
Based on their respected combine workouts, if I was in the war room with Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey on draft day I would rank the three left tackles in order of Russell Okung, Bruce Campbell, and then Anthony Davis. Landing any of the three would certainly be a good thing however.
NFL Combine: Part 1
With the NFL Draft coming up, this past week is considered one of the most important in the off-season.
Every year, the best collegiate athletes in all the land who are entering the NFL Draft are invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. There, they are put on display in front of scouts from all 32 NFL teams. The athletes participate in events such as the bench press where they show how many times they can lift 225 pounds, the cone drill where they show off their agility, and the flashy 40 yard dash where players put their pure speed on display.
We'll be splitting up my coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine into 3 separate posts, with my first starting with the exciting 40 yard dash drill.
Blazing 40 yard dash times:
Two years ago, Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson dropped jaws running a combine record 40 yard dash in 4.24 seconds. While initially a relatively unknown prospect coming out of an obscure school in East Carolina, Johnson immediately flew up teams' draft boards and ended up being selected by the Titans withs the 24th overall pick.
Fast forward to this year's combine, USC Safety Taylor Mays made serious splashes when it was reported that he tied Johnson's record with a 4.24 second 40 yard dash time. Mays is a big safety who's speed and agility was supposedly one of his weaknesses and this time was going to make a huge impact for his draft status.
Unfortunately for Mays, it was later clarified that he actually ran a 4.43. A time that still should boost his draft status but isn't as jaw-dropping as once thought.
Only 3 players ran in the 4.2s this year. Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford who's projected to be a mid-round prospect, Clemson running back CJ Spiller (4.28) who was the consensus best running back prospect in the draft, and LSU return specialist Trindon Holliday who's draft status is hurt by his lack of size (only 5'5").
While as it stands right now Spiller is the only one of the three that is projected to go in the first round, don't be too surprised if Ford and Holliday jump up the boards more than expected as speed is the one thing you can't coach.
Not so impressive results:
While the 40 yard dash can certainly do wonders for a players' draft status, it can also do quite the opposite. A slow 40 time can make coaches question whether or not you should change positions or if you're even fast enough to play at the next level.
Going into the combine, Florida cornerback Joe Haden was considered a top 10 draft pick and heads and shoulders above his peers at the cornerback position. All he had to do was run somewhere in the 4.4 range and his draft status wouldn't be questioned. That's when he flopped.
Haden's first 40 time was an underwhelming 4.57 seconds. Frustrated, he then ran it again and recorded an even worse 4.60 seconds. To put that in perspective, defensive end prospect Dexter Davis was able to run 40 yards in 4 56 seconds. For teams interested in selecting Haden in the top 10, that kind of money being invested into somebody who may not even have the speed to stay with some of the top-end receivers may make them weary.
Another combine disappointment was one of Haden's teammates at Flordia, Carlos Dunlap a defensive end. Dunlap is a potential first round pick and is as athletically gifted a defensive end as anybody else in the draft. His downfall has been his effort and attitude problems. Unfortunately for Dunlap, the combine didn't do much to change his image.
4.71 seconds was Dunlap's fourty time, one of the lowest out of all of the defensive end prospects. With all of the question marks he has, you would think he'd put in the extra effort to make sure he makes general managers and head coaches a little more uncomfortable with spending a 1st round pick on him.
Overall though, Haden and Dunlap were the only real red flag 40 yard dash participants in this years' NFL Scouting Combine. For the most part no players did far worse than expected and there weren't too many surprises either.
That just about does it for the 40 yard dash talk, next up we'll be talking about the bench press drills, the cone drills, and how these drills translate to the gritty battles in the trenches.
Every year, the best collegiate athletes in all the land who are entering the NFL Draft are invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. There, they are put on display in front of scouts from all 32 NFL teams. The athletes participate in events such as the bench press where they show how many times they can lift 225 pounds, the cone drill where they show off their agility, and the flashy 40 yard dash where players put their pure speed on display.
We'll be splitting up my coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine into 3 separate posts, with my first starting with the exciting 40 yard dash drill.
Blazing 40 yard dash times:
Two years ago, Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson dropped jaws running a combine record 40 yard dash in 4.24 seconds. While initially a relatively unknown prospect coming out of an obscure school in East Carolina, Johnson immediately flew up teams' draft boards and ended up being selected by the Titans withs the 24th overall pick.
Fast forward to this year's combine, USC Safety Taylor Mays made serious splashes when it was reported that he tied Johnson's record with a 4.24 second 40 yard dash time. Mays is a big safety who's speed and agility was supposedly one of his weaknesses and this time was going to make a huge impact for his draft status.
Unfortunately for Mays, it was later clarified that he actually ran a 4.43. A time that still should boost his draft status but isn't as jaw-dropping as once thought.
Only 3 players ran in the 4.2s this year. Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford who's projected to be a mid-round prospect, Clemson running back CJ Spiller (4.28) who was the consensus best running back prospect in the draft, and LSU return specialist Trindon Holliday who's draft status is hurt by his lack of size (only 5'5").
While as it stands right now Spiller is the only one of the three that is projected to go in the first round, don't be too surprised if Ford and Holliday jump up the boards more than expected as speed is the one thing you can't coach.
Not so impressive results:
While the 40 yard dash can certainly do wonders for a players' draft status, it can also do quite the opposite. A slow 40 time can make coaches question whether or not you should change positions or if you're even fast enough to play at the next level.
Going into the combine, Florida cornerback Joe Haden was considered a top 10 draft pick and heads and shoulders above his peers at the cornerback position. All he had to do was run somewhere in the 4.4 range and his draft status wouldn't be questioned. That's when he flopped.
Haden's first 40 time was an underwhelming 4.57 seconds. Frustrated, he then ran it again and recorded an even worse 4.60 seconds. To put that in perspective, defensive end prospect Dexter Davis was able to run 40 yards in 4 56 seconds. For teams interested in selecting Haden in the top 10, that kind of money being invested into somebody who may not even have the speed to stay with some of the top-end receivers may make them weary.
Another combine disappointment was one of Haden's teammates at Flordia, Carlos Dunlap a defensive end. Dunlap is a potential first round pick and is as athletically gifted a defensive end as anybody else in the draft. His downfall has been his effort and attitude problems. Unfortunately for Dunlap, the combine didn't do much to change his image.
4.71 seconds was Dunlap's fourty time, one of the lowest out of all of the defensive end prospects. With all of the question marks he has, you would think he'd put in the extra effort to make sure he makes general managers and head coaches a little more uncomfortable with spending a 1st round pick on him.
Overall though, Haden and Dunlap were the only real red flag 40 yard dash participants in this years' NFL Scouting Combine. For the most part no players did far worse than expected and there weren't too many surprises either.
That just about does it for the 40 yard dash talk, next up we'll be talking about the bench press drills, the cone drills, and how these drills translate to the gritty battles in the trenches.
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