LifetimeBillsFan
04-27-2008, 06:23 AM
I just submitted the following article for the front page. I don't know how good it is or whether it will end up on the FP--and it is unedited--but it does reflect my opinion on what the Bills did on Day One of the draft.
Please let me know what you think of it. Comments, criticisms--all are welcome. Thanks!
As I See It: The Buffalo Bills Begin Their Draft With Solid Picks
By Neil Masters
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
While it could be argued that perhaps the Buffalo Bills might have been able to do even better than they did during the first day of the 2008 NFL Draft, it would be hard to find fault with them for coming away with the combination of cornerback Leodis McKelvin and wide receiver James Hardy to fill the two positions that the team and most of its fans felt that it most needed to address early in the draft.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Indeed, if it had been suggested on Friday night, before the draft began, that the Bills would be able to get McKelvin and their choice of either Hardy or fellow WRs Malcolm Kelly or Limas Sweed, without giving up any of their other draft choices to do so, it is pretty safe to say that most Bills fans would have been delighted by the prospect. Sure, there would have been some who would have voiced a preference for some other player—Derrick Harvey or Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, etc.—instead of McKelvin and there would have been some strong opinions about which of the three wide receivers the Bills should select. But, there wouldn’t have been many that would have been unhappy, at that point, with the idea of the Bills getting McKelvin, a player widely expected to be selected somewhere in the first ten picks of the draft, and Hardy, who many projected as a late first-round pick, even if they had to give up a draft pick to do so—let alone without having to trade any of their other picks.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
In Leodis McKelvin, who the Bills selected with the 11<SUP>th</SUP> pick in the first round, the Bills got the top-rated cornerback in this year’s draft class: a solid cover corner, with 4.38 speed in the 40 yard dash, decent size, and both kick and punt returning ability. While McKelvin doesn’t have very good hands and tends to knock down passes that some other elite CB prospects would intercept, he makes up for his lack of ball-skills with a knack for breaking up passes and his excellent closing speed. Like many college players, he will need to get stronger to deal with the demands of his position in the NFL, but he has a frame that will allow him to add both bulk and strength once he gets into the Bills conditioning program.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
With starters Terrance McGee and Jabari Greer, as well as William James and Ashton Youboty on the roster, the Bills won’t have to rush McKelvin into their starting lineup, although, with his size, speed and cover skills, he should compete for at least some playing time right away. With NFL teams increasingly using 3-, 4- and even 5-wide receiver sets, it is likely that the Bills will use McKelvin much in the same way that they used Kiwaukee Thomas in 2006 in their dime- and perhaps even nickel-defense packages, with the quick, but smallish Terrance McGee moving inside to cover the slot receiver and McKelvin playing on the outside against a bigger WR, early in the season until he is ready to push for a starting job.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
At the same time, the Bills could use McKelvin’s return skills—he had a total of 8 return touchdowns in college—to relieve McGee or Roscoe Parrish of some of their return duties. Even though he isn’t the biggest or strongest guy or known for being an outstanding tackler, Special Teams Coach Bobby April will probably also find other ways to utilize McKelvin’s speed, shiftiness, willingness to tackle and knack for getting his hands on the ball at least until he breaks into the starting lineup.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
While some might argue that Rogers-Cromartie, who is three inches taller and a freakishly talented athlete has the potential to eventually become a better NFL cornerback and, therefore, would have been a better choice for the Bills, McKelvin isn’t very far behind Rogers-Cromartie in athleticism and, having played against a higher level of competition in college, is more polished and ready to step in and play in the NFL right away. McKelvin could use to add some weight and get stronger, but he is less likely to get pushed around trying to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage at this point than Rogers-Cromartie was playing against a much lower level of competition. And, even though McKelvin probably won’t end up getting as many turnovers as Rogers-Cromartie will during their careers, McKelvin’s knack for getting his hands on the ball and breaking up passes could prove to be just as valuable, if not moreso, in terms of helping to get the Bills defense off the field instead of giving up first downs in third down passing situations.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Whether it was a case of the Bills’ “braintrust” properly anticipating that the other teams in the NFL would downgrade this year’s wide receiver class or correctly reading the “runs” that took place in the first round at the offensive tackle and cornerback positions or sheer, dumb luck, after going through the rest of the first round of the draft without a wide receiver being selected and sweating out the beginning of the “run” on wide receivers early in the second round that started with the selection of two wideouts that many had rated as third round picks, the Bills found themselves on the clock with three of top four big wide receivers still available. Despite some character concerns based on two incidents, an arrest and a two game suspension, early on in his college career, the Bills decided to select James Hardy instead of either Malcolm Kelly or Limas Sweed.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
In Hardy, the Bills got not only the tallest wide receiver in the draft, at 6’ 5 ½”, but a proven red-zone threat, as evidenced by his Indiana University school record 36 career touchdowns. While Hardy, a former basketball player who only started concentrating on football exclusively in 2005, doesn’t have blazing speed and is still raw, in comparison to Kelly and Sweed, he has good hands and his 4.5 speed in the 40 yard dash is good enough to allow him to run deep routes and use his size to get open underneath.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
While Kelly and Sweed are both more polished receivers at this stage and were also very productive in college, there were serious concerns about Kelly’s knees and the injury that Sweed suffered to his wrist that raised doubts about their durability coming into the draft. There were no such concerns about Hardy, who, while still having a lot to learn, has a tremendous “upside” and may have a higher “ceiling” than either of those two on the NFL level.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Just about everyone knew that the Bills were looking to get a big wide receiver in this draft that opposing defenses could not ignore: a legitimate red-zone threat who could also pull coverages away from Lee Evans and make the defense play more honestly in the middle of the field. Many assumed that the Bills would use the 11<SUP>th</SUP> pick in the first round to “reach” for Michigan State’s Devin Thomas, the top rated WR in the draft who ended up being taken by Washington in the second round with the 34<SUP>th</SUP> pick overall. Hardy is not only bigger, but was more consistently productive in college and is nearly as fast. And, the Bills were able to get Hardy with the 41<SUP>st</SUP> pick in the draft without having to give up anything to get him: which allowed them to take McKelvin with the 11<SUP>th</SUP> pick in the first round and leaves them eight picks to address their other needs on the second day of the draft.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Like McKelvin, Hardy will have to get stronger and improve his techniques in order to make an impact in the NFL. But, like McKelvin, Hardy has the kind of frame that will allow him to fill out some once he gets into the Bills’ conditioning program without losing his speed and a willingness to improve his game. If he has indeed put his character issues behind him, as he has said that he has, and works hard at making the improvements to his game that he needs to make, Hardy, who has been compared to Harold Carmichael by some and Plaxico Burress by others, has a tremendous “upside”—after all, both of those receivers that he has been compared to have been Pro Bowlers.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
At this stage, however, Hardy is more like Eric Moulds was when the Bills drafted him than he is like either Carmichael or Burress. While just his height, as well as his hands, will make him a threat in the red-zone and get him some playing time, Hardy still has a lot to learn before he is going to be ready to step in and be a consistently productive starter on the NFL level.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
That’s not to say that he won’t play or have much of an impact as a rookie—because, with his size, hands and leaping ability, opposing defenses will have to respect him, particularly in the red-zone, and that can only serve to help the Bills’ anemic passing game and red-zone offense. But, as was the case with Moulds, it is going to take some time for Hardy to develop his potential fully. Bills fans who want or expect him to be the next Burress or Carmichael will have to be patient because Hardy still has a lot to learn before his game will be as good as theirs. But…Hardy does have the raw ability to ultimately become that kind of player for the Bills.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
And, for the Bills to come away from the first day of the draft with a big wide receiver with that kind of potential and a cornerback with the ability that McKelvin has, without having to give up any draft picks to get them, it has to be said that they did a good job of addressing the team’s most pressing needs.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Now, it might be argued that the Bills perhaps could have done even better if they had taken a chance on possibly losing out on McKelvin and gotten involved in the crazy flurry of trades that took place in the middle of the first round: that they could have traded down out of the 11<SUP>th</SUP> pick and gotten an additional pick that they could have used to trade back up into the second round to take one of the top tight ends before they went off the board. Or, that the Bills should have spent one of their 5<SUP>th</SUP> round picks to move up into the bottom of the second round to take Martellus Bennett before Dallas selected him.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
But, it is hard to know exactly what opportunities were offered to them and assess what the risks would have been had they made any moves—especially knowing how highly they had rated McKelvin and how anxious they were not to lose out on him. And, it is even harder to fault the Bills for what they did do—which was stick to their draft board and come away with two players that hardly anyone thought that they could possibly be fortunate enough to end up with before the draft, without giving up any of their second day draft picks.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Maybe the Bills could have done a bit better than they did during the first day of the draft, but what they did in getting Leodis McKelvin and James Hardy was pretty good. The Bills got two pretty good prospects who should help them this year, perhaps even push for starting jobs by midseason, and have the potential to develop into elite players as they gain experience and hone their skills on the NFL level. These were to good, solid picks. And, Bills fans can’t realistically ask for much more than that.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Now let’s see if they can do just as well—or even better—with their selections during the second day of this year’s NFL draft!<o:p></o:p><!-- / message -->
Please let me know what you think of it. Comments, criticisms--all are welcome. Thanks!
As I See It: The Buffalo Bills Begin Their Draft With Solid Picks
By Neil Masters
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
While it could be argued that perhaps the Buffalo Bills might have been able to do even better than they did during the first day of the 2008 NFL Draft, it would be hard to find fault with them for coming away with the combination of cornerback Leodis McKelvin and wide receiver James Hardy to fill the two positions that the team and most of its fans felt that it most needed to address early in the draft.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Indeed, if it had been suggested on Friday night, before the draft began, that the Bills would be able to get McKelvin and their choice of either Hardy or fellow WRs Malcolm Kelly or Limas Sweed, without giving up any of their other draft choices to do so, it is pretty safe to say that most Bills fans would have been delighted by the prospect. Sure, there would have been some who would have voiced a preference for some other player—Derrick Harvey or Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, etc.—instead of McKelvin and there would have been some strong opinions about which of the three wide receivers the Bills should select. But, there wouldn’t have been many that would have been unhappy, at that point, with the idea of the Bills getting McKelvin, a player widely expected to be selected somewhere in the first ten picks of the draft, and Hardy, who many projected as a late first-round pick, even if they had to give up a draft pick to do so—let alone without having to trade any of their other picks.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
In Leodis McKelvin, who the Bills selected with the 11<SUP>th</SUP> pick in the first round, the Bills got the top-rated cornerback in this year’s draft class: a solid cover corner, with 4.38 speed in the 40 yard dash, decent size, and both kick and punt returning ability. While McKelvin doesn’t have very good hands and tends to knock down passes that some other elite CB prospects would intercept, he makes up for his lack of ball-skills with a knack for breaking up passes and his excellent closing speed. Like many college players, he will need to get stronger to deal with the demands of his position in the NFL, but he has a frame that will allow him to add both bulk and strength once he gets into the Bills conditioning program.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
With starters Terrance McGee and Jabari Greer, as well as William James and Ashton Youboty on the roster, the Bills won’t have to rush McKelvin into their starting lineup, although, with his size, speed and cover skills, he should compete for at least some playing time right away. With NFL teams increasingly using 3-, 4- and even 5-wide receiver sets, it is likely that the Bills will use McKelvin much in the same way that they used Kiwaukee Thomas in 2006 in their dime- and perhaps even nickel-defense packages, with the quick, but smallish Terrance McGee moving inside to cover the slot receiver and McKelvin playing on the outside against a bigger WR, early in the season until he is ready to push for a starting job.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
At the same time, the Bills could use McKelvin’s return skills—he had a total of 8 return touchdowns in college—to relieve McGee or Roscoe Parrish of some of their return duties. Even though he isn’t the biggest or strongest guy or known for being an outstanding tackler, Special Teams Coach Bobby April will probably also find other ways to utilize McKelvin’s speed, shiftiness, willingness to tackle and knack for getting his hands on the ball at least until he breaks into the starting lineup.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
While some might argue that Rogers-Cromartie, who is three inches taller and a freakishly talented athlete has the potential to eventually become a better NFL cornerback and, therefore, would have been a better choice for the Bills, McKelvin isn’t very far behind Rogers-Cromartie in athleticism and, having played against a higher level of competition in college, is more polished and ready to step in and play in the NFL right away. McKelvin could use to add some weight and get stronger, but he is less likely to get pushed around trying to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage at this point than Rogers-Cromartie was playing against a much lower level of competition. And, even though McKelvin probably won’t end up getting as many turnovers as Rogers-Cromartie will during their careers, McKelvin’s knack for getting his hands on the ball and breaking up passes could prove to be just as valuable, if not moreso, in terms of helping to get the Bills defense off the field instead of giving up first downs in third down passing situations.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Whether it was a case of the Bills’ “braintrust” properly anticipating that the other teams in the NFL would downgrade this year’s wide receiver class or correctly reading the “runs” that took place in the first round at the offensive tackle and cornerback positions or sheer, dumb luck, after going through the rest of the first round of the draft without a wide receiver being selected and sweating out the beginning of the “run” on wide receivers early in the second round that started with the selection of two wideouts that many had rated as third round picks, the Bills found themselves on the clock with three of top four big wide receivers still available. Despite some character concerns based on two incidents, an arrest and a two game suspension, early on in his college career, the Bills decided to select James Hardy instead of either Malcolm Kelly or Limas Sweed.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
In Hardy, the Bills got not only the tallest wide receiver in the draft, at 6’ 5 ½”, but a proven red-zone threat, as evidenced by his Indiana University school record 36 career touchdowns. While Hardy, a former basketball player who only started concentrating on football exclusively in 2005, doesn’t have blazing speed and is still raw, in comparison to Kelly and Sweed, he has good hands and his 4.5 speed in the 40 yard dash is good enough to allow him to run deep routes and use his size to get open underneath.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
While Kelly and Sweed are both more polished receivers at this stage and were also very productive in college, there were serious concerns about Kelly’s knees and the injury that Sweed suffered to his wrist that raised doubts about their durability coming into the draft. There were no such concerns about Hardy, who, while still having a lot to learn, has a tremendous “upside” and may have a higher “ceiling” than either of those two on the NFL level.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Just about everyone knew that the Bills were looking to get a big wide receiver in this draft that opposing defenses could not ignore: a legitimate red-zone threat who could also pull coverages away from Lee Evans and make the defense play more honestly in the middle of the field. Many assumed that the Bills would use the 11<SUP>th</SUP> pick in the first round to “reach” for Michigan State’s Devin Thomas, the top rated WR in the draft who ended up being taken by Washington in the second round with the 34<SUP>th</SUP> pick overall. Hardy is not only bigger, but was more consistently productive in college and is nearly as fast. And, the Bills were able to get Hardy with the 41<SUP>st</SUP> pick in the draft without having to give up anything to get him: which allowed them to take McKelvin with the 11<SUP>th</SUP> pick in the first round and leaves them eight picks to address their other needs on the second day of the draft.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Like McKelvin, Hardy will have to get stronger and improve his techniques in order to make an impact in the NFL. But, like McKelvin, Hardy has the kind of frame that will allow him to fill out some once he gets into the Bills’ conditioning program without losing his speed and a willingness to improve his game. If he has indeed put his character issues behind him, as he has said that he has, and works hard at making the improvements to his game that he needs to make, Hardy, who has been compared to Harold Carmichael by some and Plaxico Burress by others, has a tremendous “upside”—after all, both of those receivers that he has been compared to have been Pro Bowlers.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
At this stage, however, Hardy is more like Eric Moulds was when the Bills drafted him than he is like either Carmichael or Burress. While just his height, as well as his hands, will make him a threat in the red-zone and get him some playing time, Hardy still has a lot to learn before he is going to be ready to step in and be a consistently productive starter on the NFL level.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
That’s not to say that he won’t play or have much of an impact as a rookie—because, with his size, hands and leaping ability, opposing defenses will have to respect him, particularly in the red-zone, and that can only serve to help the Bills’ anemic passing game and red-zone offense. But, as was the case with Moulds, it is going to take some time for Hardy to develop his potential fully. Bills fans who want or expect him to be the next Burress or Carmichael will have to be patient because Hardy still has a lot to learn before his game will be as good as theirs. But…Hardy does have the raw ability to ultimately become that kind of player for the Bills.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
And, for the Bills to come away from the first day of the draft with a big wide receiver with that kind of potential and a cornerback with the ability that McKelvin has, without having to give up any draft picks to get them, it has to be said that they did a good job of addressing the team’s most pressing needs.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Now, it might be argued that the Bills perhaps could have done even better if they had taken a chance on possibly losing out on McKelvin and gotten involved in the crazy flurry of trades that took place in the middle of the first round: that they could have traded down out of the 11<SUP>th</SUP> pick and gotten an additional pick that they could have used to trade back up into the second round to take one of the top tight ends before they went off the board. Or, that the Bills should have spent one of their 5<SUP>th</SUP> round picks to move up into the bottom of the second round to take Martellus Bennett before Dallas selected him.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
But, it is hard to know exactly what opportunities were offered to them and assess what the risks would have been had they made any moves—especially knowing how highly they had rated McKelvin and how anxious they were not to lose out on him. And, it is even harder to fault the Bills for what they did do—which was stick to their draft board and come away with two players that hardly anyone thought that they could possibly be fortunate enough to end up with before the draft, without giving up any of their second day draft picks.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Maybe the Bills could have done a bit better than they did during the first day of the draft, but what they did in getting Leodis McKelvin and James Hardy was pretty good. The Bills got two pretty good prospects who should help them this year, perhaps even push for starting jobs by midseason, and have the potential to develop into elite players as they gain experience and hone their skills on the NFL level. These were to good, solid picks. And, Bills fans can’t realistically ask for much more than that.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Now let’s see if they can do just as well—or even better—with their selections during the second day of this year’s NFL draft!<o:p></o:p><!-- / message -->