My meaningless thoughts on the draft

[Bill Cody]

*Most people thought McKelvin would be chosen or that we'd reach for a WR (many loved the idea of reaching in fact) so getting good value on a position of need is great. The fact that McKelvin is a killer on returns is a big bonus. When you factor in what people thought we'd do with this pick McKelvin has to be an A.

*Getting James Hardy at 41 made this draft for us. We needed to get a bit lucky for him to be there but he was and he is the perfect complement to Evans. Home run for the Bills in rd 2, an A+ pick.

*I'm amazed that the choice of Chris Ellis is not more praised. We needed help for our pass rush and you don't find that help on day 2 very often. This guy's only real knock is he's had some injury problems. If he can stay healthy I believe we will one day look at this pick as a steal. Remember pass rushers always go higher than their ratings so we did very well to get Ellis here, an A- pick.

*The rest of the draft looks like depth and help on special teams. I love the fact that we addressed defense with 2 of the first 3 picks- it was very necessary. Hardy is bigger and faster than a TE and he will create matchup problems so even without drafting a great TE the offense got a big boost. Many smart draft experts say you should draft a RB every year and we got good value in the 6th round with Odom. If we hit on either Cox or Corner we've accomplished something every team needs- quality depth in the secondary.

*Bottom line: adding Hardy gives the offense a major boost. adding McKelvin and Ellis gives the defense a major boost. And you can't have too much depth at CB, RB and special teams. 4th round was shaky but if it turns out we found one diamond on the second day (which we won't likely know for 2-3 years) this draft could go from a solid B to a B+/A-. It's a far cry in my opinion from the bad old days of Donadope.

[yordad]

I think we should have gotten a FB and a TE, not a H-back. :-(

[John Doe]

*Most people thought McKelvin would be chosen or that we'd reach for a WR (many loved the idea of reaching in fact) so getting good value on a position of need is great. The fact that McKelvin is a killer on returns is a big bonus. When you factor in what people thought we'd do with this pick McKelvin has to be an A.

*Getting James Hardy at 41 made this draft for us. We needed to get a bit lucky for him to be there but he was and he is the perfect complement to Evans. Home run for the Bills in rd 2, an A+ pick.

*I'm amazed that the choice of Chris Ellis is not more praised. We needed help for our pass rush and you don't find that help on day 2 very often. This guy's only real knock is he's had some injury problems. If he can stay healthy I believe we will one day look at this pick as a steal. Remember pass rushers always go higher than their ratings so we did very well to get Ellis here, an A- pick.

*The rest of the draft looks like depth and help on special teams. I love the fact that we addressed defense with 2 of the first 3 picks- it was very necessary. Hardy is bigger and faster than a TE and he will create matchup problems so even without drafting a great TE the offense got a big boost. Many smart draft experts say you should draft a RB every year and we got good value in the 6th round with Odom. If we hit on either Cox or Corner we've accomplished something every team needs- quality depth in the secondary.

*Bottom line: adding Hardy gives the offense a major boost. adding McKelvin and Ellis gives the defense a major boost. And you can't have too much depth at CB, RB and special teams. 4th round was shaky but if it turns out we found one diamond on the second day (which we won't likely know for 2-3 years) this draft could go from a solid B to a B+/A-. It's a far cry in my opinion from the bad old days of Donadope.

Your comments are as meaningful as that of any other poster.

[Pinkerton Security]

*I'm amazed that the choice of Chris Ellis is not more praised. We needed help for our pass rush and you don't find that help on day 2 very often. This guy's only real knock is he's had some injury problems. If he can stay healthy I believe we will one day look at this pick as a steal. Remember pass rushers always go higher than their ratings so we did very well to get Ellis here, an A- pick.


I agree! How can people who were scrambling to draft Harvey at 11 not be happy that we addressed the position, if only in the 3rd? Some sites say he is a better prospect than Daryl Tapp, who had 7 sacks last year for the Seahawks.

[PECKERWOOD]

I was initially really pissed off about our draft but McKelvin, Hardy and Ellis alone makes this a very good draft, the first 3 picks couldn't have gone any better, imho. I'm still not thrilled about the Derek Fine selection but I'll give the man a chance before I criticize him too much. I liked the Steve Johnson pick right off the bat and the Demetrius Bell selection has grown on me, he should be a nice project for us. I would be lying if I said I wasn't befuddled by the Omon selection because I'm already pretty sold on Lynch and Jackson as a solid 1-2 punch. Overall, I'll change my grade from a D to a C+ with a chance of becoming a B- to B+ depending on who makes the final roster.

[The Answer]

*Most people thought McKelvin would be chosen or that we'd reach for a WR (many loved the idea of reaching in fact) so getting good value on a position of need is great. The fact that McKelvin is a killer on returns is a big bonus. When you factor in what people thought we'd do with this pick McKelvin has to be an A.

*Getting James Hardy at 41 made this draft for us. We needed to get a bit lucky for him to be there but he was and he is the perfect complement to Evans. Home run for the Bills in rd 2, an A+ pick.

*I'm amazed that the choice of Chris Ellis is not more praised. We needed help for our pass rush and you don't find that help on day 2 very often. This guy's only real knock is he's had some injury problems. If he can stay healthy I believe we will one day look at this pick as a steal. Remember pass rushers always go higher than their ratings so we did very well to get Ellis here, an A- pick.

*The rest of the draft looks like depth and help on special teams. I love the fact that we addressed defense with 2 of the first 3 picks- it was very necessary. Hardy is bigger and faster than a TE and he will create matchup problems so even without drafting a great TE the offense got a big boost. Many smart draft experts say you should draft a RB every year and we got good value in the 6th round with Odom. If we hit on either Cox or Corner we've accomplished something every team needs- quality depth in the secondary.

*Bottom line: adding Hardy gives the offense a major boost. adding McKelvin and Ellis gives the defense a major boost. And you can't have too much depth at CB, RB and special teams. 4th round was shaky but if it turns out we found one diamond on the second day (which we won't likely know for 2-3 years) this draft could go from a solid B to a B+/A-. It's a far cry in my opinion from the bad old days of Donadope.

The sad thing is that if McKelvin wasn't there at #11 we probably would have drafted a WR in that spot instead of trading down (although there were reports that we had deals in place until McKelvin fell into our laps). And this board would be a zoo right now if we would taken Hardy or any other receiver that high.

The big criticism of the draft was that we reached on a lot of picks on the 2nd day, but I just don't see how anybody can say a day 2 pick is a reach, especially when the thinking behind day 2 is 'developmental' for the most part. You can't really even judge a 1st round pick until at least 2-3 years later, let alone a day 2 pick. Also when you have multiple 7th round picks, you are truely rolling the dice regardless at that point. As a GM you just hope to get a guy who can challenge established players and hopefully make the practice squad. If you are really lucky you find a gem that develops into a starter or solid back up after a few years.

Bottom line is that we used our first 2 picks on players that were projected to go in the top 7 and top 20 respecitvely. And we did have a lot of holes on ST to fill so even if any of the picks from rounds 4-7 don't ever end up being stars or solid role players, than to me this draft was a success as long as McKelvin and Hardy pan out.

~The Answer

[yordad]

I was initially really pissed off about our draft but McKelvin, Hardy and Ellis alone makes this a very good draft, the first 3 picks couldn't have gone any better, imho. I'm still not thrilled about the Derek Fine selection but I'll give the man a chance before I criticize him too much. I liked the Steve Johnson pick right off the bat and the Demetrius Bell selection has grown on me, he should be a nice project for us. I would be lying if I said I wasn't befuddled by the Omon selection because I'm already pretty sold on Lynch and Jackson as a solid 1-2 punch. Overall, I'll change my grade from a D to a C+ with a chance of becoming a B- to B+ depending on who makes the final roster.I agree. Some of these picks are growing on me, but not too fast. It didn't go how I wanted, but that doesn't mean I can't look back and say "Man, I was wrong". I am keeping an open mind for now, and hoping for the best, but at the same time, trying not to be super homer.