buffalobills.com
April 27, 2003
Fred Graves
Wide Receivers Coach
Strengths
"He runs good routes. I'd say he and Josh (Reed) are about the same speed; he may be a step faster than Josh. He's a good run after the catch player. He'll be able to play two to three different positions because of his knowledge of the game."
Speed Questions
"I think his speed is solid. I think he'll be just fine with what he has. There were some situations last year that everybody talked about Josh Reed's speed but he got down the field. You're not going to have the greatest speed all the time. But these guys run good routes. Josh runs good routes and this kid will be the same. Sam runs good routes and makes good runs after the catch. Everybody talks about speed. There are certain guys that just have the speed. When you look at Charles Rogers and Andre Johnson they have flat out speed. There are a lot of guys in this league that can get down the field. Sam will be one of them.
He's also a great leaper. He has a 38 or 39 inch vertical and it shows. He's a quick leaper, also. He knows how to shield the defenders off and get up and make the catch at the highest point."
Rookie Wide-outs
"There are going to be some things that they are going to need to learn. Getting off the press but he's played against some good people. He didn't have the best of quarterbacks so he'll have a much better situation here. He'll do some things that will surprise you. I'm very pleased to get him."
Nickname
"I know his nickname. He'll be a sleeper. Actually we had him ranked a lot higher so I was surprised that he was still on the board."
Aiken's Upside
"When you look at his history, he's improved every year. He got better as a receiver statistically and technique wise. You look at him on film and you can see that he's been improving. He did a good job for them."
Where will he Play
"He'll be outside, but he can play inside. They moved him around and put him in different positions, used him to go in motion, inside blocking situations, inside option routes. He'll do a lot of things for us and we have the opportunity to bring him along a little slower than most teams do."
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