Rey Maualuga

[xXSpIkes5IXx]

What are everyone's feelings about drafting Maualuga at #11? I for one am I gigantic Poz supporter, contrary to other people on this board, however, Paul played outside linebacker for 2 years in college correct? I think it would be feasible to shift Poz to the strong side linebacker position, and have Maualuga man the middle.

Poz could still wear the headset and remain the "quarterback" of the defense, as to not put to much pressure on the rookie. Maualuga is an absolute beast, i think he would be one of those players that would make a gigantic impact on this defense in his first year and be a pro-bowl caliber player by year 2. If he is the BPA at #11 I say that we take him and run.

[Turbo.GUN.Hawk!]

I love Poz too and I think he could be just as productive in the outside. I was high on Maualuga as he seems to be a really aggressive downhill middle linebacker and I think he is going to be available with the 11 pick (in contrast to Orakpo and Raji) but I have heard he hasn't impress that much in the Senior Bowl practices and that is a concern.

[Tatonka]

there are a lot of different opinions on him that i have seen. some guys see him as a stud and some see him as overrated .. a guy that put up great numbers because he was surrounded by so much talent.

i personally don't know.. i thought he always looked great when i watched.. and i like his tattoos.

[Kenny]

It just seems like it's a luxury pick... especially if we get Crowell back.
I dont think our LB corps (even minus Crowell) was our weakness (maybe depth was aproblem, but that can be fixed in day2).

We need to fix our DL more than anything. Upgrading our LB corps wont do much if we cant get pressure from our front 4... unless you want to blitz all the time, -but then that creates other problems.
We need to grab the best DE possible and if there isnt 'value' available, do our best to trade out of #11

[Turbo.GUN.Hawk!]

and i like his tattoos. Are you kidding me? Don't talk about tattoos when this guy has all that beautiful hair that would definetly look amazing, espeacially playing along with Kawika.

If we draft this guy we would just have to get Travis LaBoy to have the linebacking core with must hair in the world.

[BillsWin]

depends on how FA goes to be honest. I was really interested to see how a Mitchell, Poz, Crowell lineup could go. IMO that is alot better than drafting Maualuga, moving Poz outside and passing up on a DE, or some other need position in the draft. I have been looking at the Kiper and Bank's drafts more closely, and to be honest I like the Pettigrew pick and here is why.


Let's just say for argument's sake we load up on defensive needs in free agancy. I'm talking about a DE, OLB (Crowell- the best cover-2 OLB out there right now and cheapest.), and maybe a DT or S depth or replacment.
That leaves more options at 11, Orakpo might be there, or a player like Pettigrew, who may not be the best pick at 11, but judging by the way his senior bowl has been going, the comments i have been reading, and personally having watched him play here in Oklahoma... I think he is impact enough for a reach, providing FA has gone well.
We need an impact TE to help Trent get better. The Royal experiment has been a Royal dissapoinment.
Providing Crowell is resigned and we sign a DE or take one in the second, I think the Pettigrew pick could possibly be the biggest impact for us.I don't think we should move Poz to a different position and trust a rookie to be the anchor of the LB core, with Crowell being right there for the picking.
and if we don't get a DE in free agency, DE is a number 1 priority.

I really don't trust a Maualuga pick here. He is a player, but at the wrong position.


and also in my honest opinion, mock drafts are really pointless until free agency takes place. because...


If we resign Crowell, Maualuga is pointless and not needed at all. DE, TE, C are all possible picks at 11.
If we sign a Peppers or another solid DE from FA, DE moves lower on our lists of needs, and we can possibly go LB if no Crowell, TE, Alex Mack possibly the list goes on.
If we sign a Birk or Brown, and Crowell, and a back up DE, DE, TE, and S are picksReally at 11, we have several options and our free agency will depict where we go with it. I really don't see the Bills testing fate with moving their LBs around when we lack a pass rush, we need a TE, a C and Crowell is right there...


Free Agency people!!! This one is gunna be big for this franchise.........

[BillsWin]

To add to my above post, I believe the best draft for the Bills would be to move down a few spots, pick up an extra pick and take Pettigrew, then a good DE in the second, C in the third.

[DraftBoy]

Honestly Im not sold on him in watching USC play you see him constantly around the ball which intially is a great thing but if you rewind the tape and watch again its that he is there but he's not the one making the stop. He's one of the 3 other guys jumping in on the stop. You'll always see him flying around and pile jumping onto tackles (which is one reason he was so nicked up this year). Im not sold on his ability to make the stop in the hole against bigger backs either. In USC's loss Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers ran right through him in the hole. Rodgers is 5'7, 192 so thats a concern. The kid has the heart of a warrior and plays the game the way its supposed to be play but Im not buying all the hype either.

[xXSpIkes5IXx]

If by some circumstance Maualuga is clearly the best player left at #11 i say take him.

The best drafters dont necessarily draft completely by need, often you see teams that become successful draft the best player on the board, regardless of need unless its at a particular strong point of the team.

The Steelers 2 years ago drafted Lawrence Timmons and Lamar Woodley in the first 2 rounds, when they had James Farrior, Larry Foote, and James Harrison, look how good that turned out.

Minnesota also drafted Adrian Peterson despite having a solid incumbant running back in Chester Taylor.

I understand at this point we may not be able to afford "luxury picks" but my personal philosophy is you get better by drafting the biggest impact player on the board at your pick, not bypassing someone because it isnt your biggest need.

[DraftBoy]

If by some circumstance Maualuga is clearly the best player left at #11 i say take him.

The best drafters dont necessarily draft completely by need, often you see teams that become successful draft the best player on the board, regardless of need unless its at a particular strong point of the team.

The Steelers 2 years ago drafted Lawrence Timmons and Lamar Woodley in the first 2 rounds, when they had James Farrior, Larry Foote, and James Harrison, look how good that turned out.

Minnesota also drafted Adrian Peterson despite having a solid incumbant running back in Chester Taylor.

I understand at this point we may not be able to afford "luxury picks" but my personal philosophy is you get better by drafting the biggest impact player on the board at your pick, not bypassing someone because it isnt your biggest need.

I have Rey as 16th on my Big Board so just by that alone, I know there will be a player at 11 that I have ranked higher available.

http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=169132

Also your Pitt situation Farrior and Foote are ILB's Timmons and Woodley are OLB's and you need 4 for their system and at the time nobody even knew who Harrison was so that's a little unfair.

In Minny Taylor was coming off a career year but in that year nearly tirpled his total amount for carries in a season, and he wore down horribly at the end of that season missing the game v. DET due to injury and in his final three games rushed for a total of 118 yards and 1 TD. That was a clear sign to Minnesota they needed another back and Peterson was the best available at the time.

[Turbo.GUN.Hawk!]

I believe the best draft for the Bills would be to move down a few spots, pick up an extra pick and take Pettigrew, then a good DE in the second, C in the third. I believe the best draft for the Bills would be to draft the best player available (at least in the first two rounds), if we go for Pettigrew then that is a clear sign we are trying to fill holes and that sucks.

[ddaryl]

The Bills are overloaded with role players... I agree we need disruptors and playmakers...

we need players on D that can penetrate and make opposing offenses lose yards, and we need a playmaker on O in the form of a TE or WR that just helps us cause major mismatches for opposing D's... BUT We need to improve the C position 1st !!!!!

What pisses me off is we should have seen a lot more of Steve Johnson and Derek Fine in the last 4 games of the season IMO so we would have a mch better idea on how those players are going to pan out.

[PECKERWOOD]

There could be worst choices at 11, that's for sure. Ray is going to be a beast if he lives up to his reputation, I certainly wouldn't mind adding him and pushing poz outside.

[Block "O"]

He doesn't escape the Top 10 but it doesn't matter as Mangini is staying with the 3-4 in Cleveland. He will be gone by #5, mark it down.

[Jan Reimers]

I'm not convinced that Maualuga is the kind of disruptive outside pass rusher that we desperately need, or the Poz would be either, if we moved him outside, with Maualuga in the middle.

[Turbo.GUN.Hawk!]

He didn't impress me at all in the Senior Bowl and actually I was reading Draft Boy's profile about Maualuga in this thread and that is exactly what I'm concerned about him: He is never the one who makes the stop, he is always one of those guys arriving late and jumping on the stop.

[jimbohastle51]

though i am a maualuga supporter i am not sold on him at 11. however and i know some of you are going to kill me for saying this, i am REALLY high on that patrick chung. he has all the numbers and was in my opinion the best defensive back out there at the senior bowl. if he has a good combine i wouldnt be mad if we took him at 11 if a DE or OLB wasnt there. i would rather see a reach for a guy that can easily play slot corner and both saftey positions (which would help donte out) than a reach for a DE (because 9-10 times you reach for a DE it doesnt work) and if we reach for a OLB we might end up getting an average OLB at 11. there is no way chung is a bust. 11 may be alittle high for him but any time after the 15th pick he will be picked up so i dont see 11 a real reach for him. on the field he looked twice as fast as rashad johnson (who is a highly rated saftey from alabama), a guy like chung sures up our secondary and then we can always jump up for a DE after seeing how the draft plays out. i would also not be opposed to brian cushing if we dropped back 5-6 spots (again i have to see him run first, but around 16 is where i see him going)

[PECKERWOOD]

though i am a maualuga supporter i am not sold on him at 11. however and i know some of you are going to kill me for saying this, i am REALLY high on that patrick chung. he has all the numbers and was in my opinion the best defensive back out there at the senior bowl. if he has a good combine i wouldnt be mad if we took him at 11 if a DE or OLB wasnt there. i would rather see a reach for a guy that can easily play slot corner and both saftey positions (which would help donte out) than a reach for a DE (because 9-10 times you reach for a DE it doesnt work) and if we reach for a OLB we might end up getting an average OLB at 11. there is no way chung is a bust. 11 may be alittle high for him but any time after the 15th pick he will be picked up so i dont see 11 a real reach for him. on the field he looked twice as fast as rashad johnson (who is a highly rated saftey from alabama), a guy like chung sures up our secondary and then we can always jump up for a DE after seeing how the draft plays out. i would also not be opposed to brian cushing if we dropped back 5-6 spots (again i have to see him run first, but around 16 is where i see him going)

I think that Malcolm Jenkins would be the better option at 11 over Chung, if we decided to go with our secondary in the 1st. Greer is a FA and both McGee and Youboty will be FA's next year. If we added Jenkins in the 1st and Chung in the 2nd we would have a very beastly secondary. McKelvin, Jenkins, Youboty, Whitner and Chung. We would have to have a very active free agency though. I'm talking Suggs at DE and Brown at center.

[ZacGriffi~82]

Isn't even the best LB from USC in this years draft.

[Block "O"]

Isn't even the best LB from USC in this years draft.

LOL good one

[DraftBoy]

I think that Malcolm Jenkins would be the better option at 11 over Chung, if we decided to go with our secondary in the 1st. Greer is a FA and both McGee and Youboty will be FA's next year. If we added Jenkins in the 1st and Chung in the 2nd we would have a very beastly secondary. McKelvin, Jenkins, Youboty, Whitner and Chung. We would have to have a very active free agency though. I'm talking Suggs at DE and Brown at center.

You could get Chung right now in Round 3, he has questionable cover skills as a move to FS would take time for him, as he played ROV in college.

[eyedog]

Isn't even the best LB from USC in this years draft.



Oh yeah ? Who exactly is ?

And don't even say Mathews.

[Block "O"]

Oh yeah ? Who exactly is ?

And don't even say Mathews.

Anyone who thinks Cushing is a better LB doesn't watch college football and they get their info from the talking heads.