O-line could be lesser priority for Bills in '07 draft

[Don't Panic]

http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/04/bills-offensiveline-lesserpriority240407.html

The one perceived troubled area of that starting fivesome is Preston, who hasn't yet been impressive during his two-year career. The 2005 fourth-round pick from the University of Illinois started eight games last season, leaving much to be desired in the process.
Regarding the 24-year-old Preston, Bills General Manager Marv Levy said in February, "It's time to find out [if he's capable]."
Given Preston's blocking difficulties in the past, there's a decent chance the Bills will look to beef up their right guard position in this weekend's draft. It likely won't be a well-known prospect, though. Instead, Buffalo could turn toward the weekend's later rounds, choosing a sleeper (perhaps Notre Dame's Dan Santucci or Auburn's Tim Duckworth) to challenge Preston and second-year man Brad Butler -- whom the team grabbed in the fifth round of the '06 draft.

I know a lot has been said about Walker playing RT, but I think he may still move to RG, especially if we pick up someone in the 3rd round who impresses in camp.

[Night Train]

Re: O-line could be lesser priority for Bills in '07 draft

Somebody needs to explain to me why Pennington is suddenly hopeless at RT. He was a rookie thrown into the fire last year, during the bye week.

I sit in the stands and watch the lines like a hawk. He improved every game and looked like a pretty good RT to me. Plus you can't teach that type of size and arm wingspan. The eyes don't lie. I saw him bury a few DE's last year.

Walker has experience playing Guard and at 6-8 345, may be much better inside, if his movement is average. His power is real and he gets surprising knee bend for his size.

That being said, it's never a bad idea to try and draft for the OL or DL, since it's usually the place where demand is the highest and quality is thin.

[Don't Panic]

Re: O-line could be lesser priority for Bills in '07 draft

A lot has been said about how Royal needed to stay at home and block more last year due to our vulnerability on the right side. If Pennington (or Butler or Preston for that matter) can step up and be a productive starter for us then great... one less thing to worry about. I just think that's far from a sure thing, so you need to have a contingency plan(s) in place.

[Jan Reimers]

Re: O-line could be lesser priority for Bills in '07 draft

I think that Butler, who has recovered from a shoulder injury and added some weight, may seriously compete for the RG or RT spot.

[ddaryl]

Re: O-line could be lesser priority for Bills in '07 draft

http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/a...ity240407.html



I know a lot has been said about Walker playing RT, but I think he may still move to RG, especially if we pick up someone in the 3rd round who impresses in camp.

I think we have all the OL we need and the Bills will not draft a single OL this year. We signed 3 FA OL, we have 3 project OL on the roster as well. We will be spending our draft picks on D mostly IMO.

This article is a "no **** sherlock" article