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PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Buffalo Bills have a big-time need for a big wide receiver.
That’s the gist of Dick Jauron’s assessment of the Bills’ roster heading into the NFL Draft.
“What I’d like to add to that group — because it’s not there — is a big receiver; a big, physical receiver,” the Bills coach said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings. “Our guys are all physical, but they’re not big. Josh [Reed] is compact. You wouldn’t say Josh is small by any stretch. But we want a big, rugged, tall receiver that’s open when he’s not open. That’s what I’d like to add.”
Does that mean the Bills are a lock to take a wideout with the No. 11 pick in the draft? Obviously, Jauron is not making any guarantees. He says the Bills will not reach to fill their glaring need.
“We rank the board and then live by it,” Jauron said. “We won’t stray far from the board to pick a position if there was a huge discrepancy.”
The need can not be overstated. Buffalo ranked 30th on offense last year and has finished in the bottom six in passing five straight years.
Furthermore, all the Bills’ significant player moves this offseason have been on defense. The one big change for the offense is at coordinator, where Turk Schonert has taken over. So the offense needs more help.
The question for the Bills is whether there’s a receiver worthy of the 11th spot in the draft.
The top two available wideouts may be Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly and Michigan State’s Devin Thomas. Kelly, 6-foot-3 and 219 pounds, has yet to run for pro scouts this spring because of a slight tear in his quadriceps muscle suffered in February. He’s scheduled to run next Wednesday in Oklahoma.
There have been rumors about Kelly’s knees, too. He had a torn ligament in junior high school and a minor knee surgery his sophomore season. But he never missed any playing time in his career.
Jauron said Tuesday he’s not worried about Kelly’s health, based on a check-up done at the scouting combine in February.
“We feel good about it,” he said. “Our [medical] staff was in Indianapolis with everybody else. There’s nothing I’m aware of [that’s a problem] at this point.”
Both Kelly and Thomas are leaving college after their junior seasons. Kelly was the fastest receiver to get to 1,000 yards in Sooners history. He had 49 catches for 821 yards and nine TDs on a running team last season. He gets especially high grades for character. Thomas, 6-2 and 213, had 79 catches for 1,260 yards as a junior with eight touchdowns. He also can return kicks.
“Both of them are similar,” Jauron said. “Good run after catch, good size, good speed, good speed down the field, powerful guys, quick and explosive with good balance.”
Thomas only has had one big year but it was spectacular.
“He had a huge year,” Jauron said. “You hear all the quarterback gurus talking about college quarterbacks, and they want a guy who has thrown it a lot. I don’t know if it’s the same thing at receiver. I really believe you just keep looking at the tape and you get a feel for a guy.”
Jauron said he thinks this is a good year for receivers in the draft beyond the first round.
“I think it’s pretty deep,” he said. “I don’t know how many great players there are. You never know that. I think it has depth to it. I think you’re going to get a good receiver down the line, a little deeper than what I would consider normal.
Big receivers who might be available in the second round include Indiana’s James Hardy, a 6-6, 222-pounder; and Limas Sweed, a 6-4, 217-pounder. Michigan’s Mario Manningham is good but not huge (at 5-11z 1/2 n 2/3 181). LSU’s Early Doucet and Florida’s Andre Caldwell, both 6-foot, also project as second-rounders.
There’s no guarantee Sweed or Hardy will be on the board when the Bills’ second pick comes up, at No. 41. And can a second- round receiver make difference on the 30th-ranked offense?
The Bills had a chance to add a big receiver in free agency. They interviewed free agent Bryant Johnson, a 6-3, four-year veteran. Johnson lingered on the open market for 12 days after he visited Buffalo before signing a modest, one-year deal with San Francisco. The fact the Bills didn’t make a big pitch for him indicates they were confident they were getting somebody they liked in the draft.
If the Bills do not go receiver in the first round, cornerback is the next likeliest target.
Jabari Greer is the incumbent starter at No. 2 cornerback, opposite Terrence Mc- Gee.
“Jabari did such a good job for us a year ago,” Jauron said. “He really played well, and he deserves to step in and try to hold that spot.”
However, Jauron said recently signed free-agent William James has the ability to challenge Greer for the starting job. The Bills also have Ashton Youboty entering a key year in his Bills career.
It looks like Kelly's health checks out at OBD. His 40 time on his pro day is either going to make or break him.
That’s the gist of Dick Jauron’s assessment of the Bills’ roster heading into the NFL Draft.
“What I’d like to add to that group — because it’s not there — is a big receiver; a big, physical receiver,” the Bills coach said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings. “Our guys are all physical, but they’re not big. Josh [Reed] is compact. You wouldn’t say Josh is small by any stretch. But we want a big, rugged, tall receiver that’s open when he’s not open. That’s what I’d like to add.”
Does that mean the Bills are a lock to take a wideout with the No. 11 pick in the draft? Obviously, Jauron is not making any guarantees. He says the Bills will not reach to fill their glaring need.
“We rank the board and then live by it,” Jauron said. “We won’t stray far from the board to pick a position if there was a huge discrepancy.”
The need can not be overstated. Buffalo ranked 30th on offense last year and has finished in the bottom six in passing five straight years.
Furthermore, all the Bills’ significant player moves this offseason have been on defense. The one big change for the offense is at coordinator, where Turk Schonert has taken over. So the offense needs more help.
The question for the Bills is whether there’s a receiver worthy of the 11th spot in the draft.
The top two available wideouts may be Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly and Michigan State’s Devin Thomas. Kelly, 6-foot-3 and 219 pounds, has yet to run for pro scouts this spring because of a slight tear in his quadriceps muscle suffered in February. He’s scheduled to run next Wednesday in Oklahoma.
There have been rumors about Kelly’s knees, too. He had a torn ligament in junior high school and a minor knee surgery his sophomore season. But he never missed any playing time in his career.
Jauron said Tuesday he’s not worried about Kelly’s health, based on a check-up done at the scouting combine in February.
“We feel good about it,” he said. “Our [medical] staff was in Indianapolis with everybody else. There’s nothing I’m aware of [that’s a problem] at this point.”
Both Kelly and Thomas are leaving college after their junior seasons. Kelly was the fastest receiver to get to 1,000 yards in Sooners history. He had 49 catches for 821 yards and nine TDs on a running team last season. He gets especially high grades for character. Thomas, 6-2 and 213, had 79 catches for 1,260 yards as a junior with eight touchdowns. He also can return kicks.
“Both of them are similar,” Jauron said. “Good run after catch, good size, good speed, good speed down the field, powerful guys, quick and explosive with good balance.”
Thomas only has had one big year but it was spectacular.
“He had a huge year,” Jauron said. “You hear all the quarterback gurus talking about college quarterbacks, and they want a guy who has thrown it a lot. I don’t know if it’s the same thing at receiver. I really believe you just keep looking at the tape and you get a feel for a guy.”
Jauron said he thinks this is a good year for receivers in the draft beyond the first round.
“I think it’s pretty deep,” he said. “I don’t know how many great players there are. You never know that. I think it has depth to it. I think you’re going to get a good receiver down the line, a little deeper than what I would consider normal.
Big receivers who might be available in the second round include Indiana’s James Hardy, a 6-6, 222-pounder; and Limas Sweed, a 6-4, 217-pounder. Michigan’s Mario Manningham is good but not huge (at 5-11z 1/2 n 2/3 181). LSU’s Early Doucet and Florida’s Andre Caldwell, both 6-foot, also project as second-rounders.
There’s no guarantee Sweed or Hardy will be on the board when the Bills’ second pick comes up, at No. 41. And can a second- round receiver make difference on the 30th-ranked offense?
The Bills had a chance to add a big receiver in free agency. They interviewed free agent Bryant Johnson, a 6-3, four-year veteran. Johnson lingered on the open market for 12 days after he visited Buffalo before signing a modest, one-year deal with San Francisco. The fact the Bills didn’t make a big pitch for him indicates they were confident they were getting somebody they liked in the draft.
If the Bills do not go receiver in the first round, cornerback is the next likeliest target.
Jabari Greer is the incumbent starter at No. 2 cornerback, opposite Terrence Mc- Gee.
“Jabari did such a good job for us a year ago,” Jauron said. “He really played well, and he deserves to step in and try to hold that spot.”
However, Jauron said recently signed free-agent William James has the ability to challenge Greer for the starting job. The Bills also have Ashton Youboty entering a key year in his Bills career.
It looks like Kelly's health checks out at OBD. His 40 time on his pro day is either going to make or break him.
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