The 2003 Bills Draft Guide

[Ingtar33]

The 2003 Bills Draft Guide
By: Ingtar33

The 2003 Buffalo Bills Draft Guide As promised here is the draft guide for the Buffalo Bills in the 2003 NFL draft. The way I arrange this preview is by rounds, and the players included in those rounds are guys I feel the Bills will have an interest in, and who have at least a 50/50 chance to be available. There are no trades considered, and the players in each section are "rated" according to where I feel they should be in the Bills should have them valued. Players who are "worth" more in relation to the pick are rated higher, while guys who should go lower or are less valuable are listed lower. I also sum up the player with a comparison with pro player, to give you a mental image of how these guys play… in no way is this a promise to future NFL production. Since the vast majority of difference makers are available in the first two rounds I included 7 of the 17 profiles in those rounds. So without further adieu, I present my 2003 Bills pre-draft guide.
...here... (http://www.billszone.com/YourSite/global/templates/view.php?action=YourSite_content&month=4&state=news&nid=4745)

[The Spaz]

Good job Ingtar! We need to grab all of these players...lol:)! Man I can't wait for the draft, the wait is killing me. Do you recommend any particular draft guides, I own like 5-6 and was wondering if you like any of the authors who produce them. Go Bills!

[Tatonka]

impressive.. i could read more for hours..

i noticed the last paragraph.. how is it possible that your team could not be interested in so many good players like that? even as polar opposites?

[Ingtar33]

Sorry Spaz... I haven’t read a "draft guide" in a long time... about the only time I see one is when someone in our front office wants to point out a particularly ignorant or comically uniformed opinion in one... so far Mel K is our favorite wiping boy as he is the perfect gage of media hype, and displays an alarming ignorance of actual football.

[Ingtar33]

lol... you'd be surprised... no... most of these guys are on our board, but most are in what I deem "value" positions. Which means we'll only take them if they fall far below where we think they're valued.

For example, if Mathis falls to us in the 3rd round we'll take him.

that is just an example... and not particularly accurate to gauging our rating of Mathis

[MelK]

Originally posted by Ingtar33
Sorry Spaz... I haven’t read a "draft guide" in a long time... about the only time I see one is when someone in our front office wants to point out a particularly ignorant or comically uniformed opinion in one... so far Mel K is our favorite wiping boy as he is the perfect gage of media hype, and displays an alarming ignorance of actual football. OUCH!

[The Spaz]

It's ok Mel I still buy your Draft Guides. I buy a bunch and read all of the players profiles then compile my own listings then try and guess who the bills should or will take. Then when the draft is over I go over the player profiles we select then make a decision if I think it was good and then I'll be happy or ticked. Go Bills!

[The Spaz]

Has anyone received their Mel Kiper Jr draft guide yet I'm getting ancy I need more info damn it...lol:)! Go Bills!

[Dozerdog]

I hope the Bills trade down a couple of spots- I think The Packers might if a QB they like is still around (Grossman?)


otherwise, I'd take Mathis even if it is a few slots ahead of where he's projected. . We need a playmaking safety. I'm not sold on Pierson Prileau(sp) That changes if a gift DT /DE falls to us (Like Kevin Williams)

I have Bradie James in the 3rd rd in my mock- I like that pick.

[Ingtar33]

With the exception of McDougal, I'd trade down for all of the rest of the guys I've listed in the first... but I don't think any of them are stretches at 23 (except maybe Peterson)

[Ingtar33]

Actually if we dropped low enough (29-32) I'd start to consider taking Dallas Clark.

[Voltron]

Nice Job Ing! Very good read and well written for some of us that don't know the ins and outs of the positions as some of the others here do. I just can't get over how much I have learened about the game of football since coming here. I will try to talk to my dad about stuff I read here and he just stares at me with this blank look like he is thinking "How could someone who never played football know this much about players I never heard of?"

:up:

Thanks again for your time. I am sure it is a very busy time for you!

[Ingtar33]

BTW: I think I'd be very pleased with the Bills draft if they get every player listed "first" in each round of the guide... that draft would look like this.

1)Jerome McDougal (DE, Miami)
2)Dallas Clark (TE, Iowa)
3)Bradie James (LB, LSU)
4)Kassim Osgood (WR, SDSU)
5)James Lee (DT, Oregan St)
6)Austin King (C, NW)
7)Jesse Sowells (FS/CB/SS, Houston)

[Ingtar33]

your welcome Voltron... and thanks for the props guys

[Tatonka]

i picked the bills to trade down..

my dream would be to see them trade down with the raiders and grab mathis and clark.. then ty warren with the 2nd rounder :D

not likely.. but man.. could you imagine????

[Ingtar33]

Clark, Mathis and Warren?
:drool:

[Tatonka]

with a crafty guy like TD in charge.. i would not say it is an impossiblity.

clarke and warren could easily be 2nd rounders.

[don137]

I would be pleasantly surprised to see Dallas Clark lasting to Buffalo's second round pick. I could see Carolina grabbing him with Wesley Walls no longer their TE with their second round pick if he was still available.

Very informative and good reading Ing!!

[Dozerdog]

I can't see Oakland giving up BOTH 1st rounders to move ahead 7 spots.

I could see Buffalo giving up their 1st and 2nd for both of Oakland's 1st round picks- Oakland moves up 7 spots, Buffalo moves up 14 spots from their 2nd round slot.

And Oakland's cap hit is smaller -getting rid of 2 first rounders. I's a pretty even trade - but Oakland has to covet someone- a QB replacement for the aging Gannon? (Jump ahead of the Packers?)

[Earthquake Enyart]

I bet we take Mathis.

I like Austin King as a sleeper too. He is definately a leader.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Great work ING!!! Thanks for taking the time!!!!

[TigerJ]

I've seen a number of mocks that have Buffalo picking Haynes. Do you think that is an impossibility Ing, or do you just dislike him? You do mention one of my sleeper picks, James Lee. As always, I appreciate your work. Looks like lots of interesting possibilities.

[Ingtar33]

Haynes is part of the "overrated" crowd in this draft... Somewhere the word went out that this draft was deep at DE, and suddenly guys who were 2nd round talent started to show up in first round projections. No, I don't think Haynes is a serious pass rush threat, and more a product of the line he played on. He may become some day a Phil Hanson type DE, solid at everything, but he isn't good enough to be a first round pick.

[DraftBoy]

Great work Ing!!! See some players I like and dont like, also some players that i dont see that i think we will be considering. But great job none the less!

[Tatonka]

ing.. just out of curiousity.. who is on your short list of cream of the crop pass rushers that would fit in on the left side (opposite schobel)?

[Ingtar33]

Well that’s the trick T...

With the 46 D we use, the RE and LE are not interchangeable (at least not as much) as they are in the standard 4-3. They really do have totally separate jobs/tasks.

While I shouldn't call them RE or LE (weak side end and strong side end would be more accurate) it works something like this.

The RE (weak side end) is mainly an edge pass rusher... almost a big OLB, small DE. That’s why you never see Schobel on the LE. He's a bit too small to play that side. In essence, he has one job... get to the QB, force the QB to step up and get sacked by the inside pressure. For the Run he has to stay outside and "up field" to keep the running back from getting outside the tackles... this is something he struggled with last year, but he got much better by the end of the year. You can play a "bigger" end in this position... size really isn't a factor... but above all, you need a guy with killer speed.

The LE (or strong side end) in our 46 defense plays a very similar role to a DE in the 3-4, or even a comparable role to the UT on the other side of the NT... He lines up directly across from the RT, and is supposed to threaten the B and C gaps. He needs to be big enough to take on double teams, and strong enough to hold his ground against the big RT in the running game. But most importantly he needs to be able to provide a good "bull rush" pass rush. It can be very effective to have some speed on this side (as most RT have problems with speed guys), but the "fast" end has to be strong too.

I list McDougal as a great pickup, and that’s mainly because I think he's a natural pass rusher, and would instantly upgrade our edge rush, especially on third downs. Too much talent to pass up and he would provide a good rotation with Schobel. But he really doesn't have the size to play the LE.

Peterson would be a much better fit on the LE. He's solid against the run, and has good pass rushing instincts. The big problem is he really doesn't deserve to be taken at 23 (early 2nd maybe). Yet our need might be big enough to justify this pick. I just don't see superstar ability, more like a more talented version of Phil Hanson. I liked him better than Haynes because he carried his DL, conversely Haynes was carried by his.

Haynes could also fill the LE position, as while he is slower than Peterson (and not nearly as quick) he shows much better strength against the run and decent pass rush instincts. The trick is his very poor physical numbers combined with his inflated stats (from playing next to Kennedy) really make him a high to mid 2nd round pick.

I think the best pickup for our LE would be Cory Redding in round two... he has "natural" pass rush talent. He's also "fast" although he isn't particularly quick. He has very good strength, and the only thing keeping him from being a first rounder is his "suspect" technique. He also would be drafted in a position consistent with his talent.

[TypicalBill]

Wow, from your explanation Kevin williams would be a perfect fit if he gets his weight down to around 285.



great explanation BTW...... and i loved the Shurron Pierson pick. I have us taking him in the fourth.

[TypicalBill]

I also, have us taking Cecil Sapp in the fifth....

[Tatonka]

ingtar.. man i just cant get enough of your info... that was a very clear explaination.. you probably just taught about 1/2 this board (including myself) something they didnt know..

with what you said.. it would seem to make sense to me to go after a guy like rein long and put him out there no? he is a natural pass rusher, but obviously has some size, so he could be effective at the strong side end spot. to me really.. he would seem like an ideal pick there.. i mean most tackles play the run better than natural ends to begin with.. but the thing is most tackles dont have true pass rushing skills.. obviously with 13 sacks last year, long has a "knack" for penetration and disrupting backfield play.

i think i just talked myself into being a rein long fan.. :D that is kinda funny.

oh.. and i still like A. Garay.. if he can stay healthy, he could be a good SS DE.. imho.

[Dicknoze69]

that is kinda funny T...I agree that Rien Long would be an excellent pick, but not until the 2nd round. I thought that we could play him at DE. He hasn't had any good workouts at all, and he is still kind of raw. In games that he played, he showed great initial quickness, but he didn't show anything in his workouts. I think he'll still be there when we pick in the 2nd round.

[Ingtar33]

That is most definitely an option. Personally, I think Long's true skills lie with being a NT (eventually), but he does have decent quickness and pass rush talent to go outside. Personally I tend to like moving guys outside only if they've played there with some success.

[Earthquake Enyart]

I don't like it when they have stiff hips.

You've got to be able to shake it baby. :hump:

I think Mathis is our boy. Unless my predicted QB run happens and someone slides down to us.

[Ingtar33]

We'd love a guy like Mathis... he's a serious playmaker, and a good threat to go the distance once he's picked one off.

[SoCalBillsFan]

I'm a big fan of taking mathis with the first rounder. I think FS is our biggest need to be honest. At least at DE we have shoebel and two guys (jones and mckenzie) who can compete. I dont think isell reese is realy the answer....

[Tatonka]

someone mentioned the signing of sidney as a possible sign that we may not go for mathis.. i would say that sidney is just a straight up swap for watson... i dont think it changes our need or want for mathis..

but has TD showed any interest in mathis at all? or given any inclination that we want him?

[The_Philster]

I'd say Sidney is a trade up from Watson, Tatonka

[Tatonka]

i didnt mean even swap in terms of talent. i just ment we will dump a CB and add a CB.. so there is still room for mathis.

[DraftBoy]

I agree I think mathis is our answe in rd. 1

[Ingtar33]

Figured I'd bump this since the draft is tomorrow... also will use this as a small moment to advertise, on Monday I'm going to submit a post draft review, looking at each of the guys the Bills picked up, and seeing what each brings to the table.

[Tatonka]

well, i guess i will take this oportunity to read it again for the 10th time then... :eek: