Bills work out another basketball player

[psubills62]

"Former Arizona basketball player Fendi Onobun had recent tryouts with the Panthers, Bills, and Patriots.
He's getting looked at as a tight end. Onobun reportedly ran a 4.50-flat forty, jumped 37.5" vertically, and posted a 10'7" broad jump at 6'6/250. While those numbers look terrific in paper, Onobun has never played football. Often times guys like this give up not long after taking their first hit."

That's from rotoworld.com

[DMBcrew36]

Great, another James Hardy who has no idea what he is doing out on the football field.

[The Spaz]

Great, another James Hardy who has no idea what he is doing.

Without the College production.

[DMBcrew36]

Without the College production.

Yep - this organization is pathetic. Seriously. The team has so many holes and instead of doing anything to help this team this year, they just sit on their hands and think about how awesome they are for bringing in TO.

[psubills62]

Come on guys, be real. Do you think the Panthers and Patriots are pathetic too? It was just a workout. Why not expand the database? He could simply be a body for training camp if they do sign him, and they could see how he does. It's not like they're planning on him being the starter.

[The Spaz]

I like the athletic ability I was really stating I didn't like the comparison of this guy and Hardy. Hardy had very good collegiate production.

[Jan Reimers]

He might be Antonio Gates, and he might be Rusty Gates. What's the harm in taking a look?

[The Spaz]

He might be Antonio Gates, and he might be Rusty Gates. What's the harm in taking a look?

Nothing.:up:

[Pinkerton Security]

Yep - this organization is pathetic. Seriously. The team has so many holes and instead of doing anything to help this team this year, they just sit on their hands and think about how awesome they are for bringing in TO.

do you think that they have some plan to make this guy our starting TE or something??? get real dude. You talk about how they have so many holes (like TE), and here they are trying to think outside the box and try out some dude who may or may not help at the position one day, yet you criticize them? I know we havent done as much as I would like but this is NOTHING to get upset about.

[TigerJ]

Of course, the chances of this kind of prospect becoming a productive NFL TE are very slim, but i have no problem with the Bills doing their due diligence. I'm assuming these guys initiate the contact with NFL teams. Otherwise, scouts would have no idea they even exist. Note that this guy also worked out for New England. Is New England also pathetic because they worked out an athlete who has aspirations of playing NFL ball?

[Dr. Lecter]

Yep - this organization is pathetic. Seriously. The team has so many holes and instead of doing anything to help this team this year, they just sit on their hands and think about how awesome they are for bringing in TO.

What should they be doing right now?

[ddaryl]

nothing wrong with taking a look. Undrafted player who can spend a couple of years on the practice squad and may devlope is worth a look.

[psubills62]

Yep - this organization is pathetic. Seriously. The team has so many holes and instead of doing anything to help this team this year, they just sit on their hands and think about how awesome they are for bringing in TO.

Besides, isn't this the opposite of "sitting on their hands?"

[TheBrownBear]

I honestly can't see Onubun working out in any sport. I'm a UCLA alum living on the west coast and I've seen Onubun play (b-ball) in person 6 or 7 times and on television countless times. The guy was an absolute stiff who had no b-ball IQ whatsoever. He couldn't figure out the most basic things in basketball (boxing out, defensive rotations, etc.). I can't see him learning an entire new sport and mastering an NFL playbook. I'll be shocked if this guy ever ends up on the football field anywhere.

Remember, Gates was a very good baller in college - not some stiff like Onubun.

[Don't Panic]

As a huge Arizona basketball fan, I know Fendi well. He passes the look test right away. He is built really well, and has a lot of athleticism, but it never translated on the basketball court. Not for a lack of opportunity, either... he has been through very turbulent years in which there were a lot of opportunities for playing time.

Each year I thought would be his year to show what he could do, but it never developed. What is interesting is that people have been pushing him to play football there for the last couple of years. He has that build, and I could definitely seeing him becoming a good football player. I don't know if he could do that at the pro level any time soon, but should he choose to play for a year at the college level it wouldn't surprise me to see him turn into a decent player. Bets case scenario would be practice squad for an NFL team for this year IMO.

[jamze132]

Yep - this organization is pathetic. Seriously. The team has so many holes and instead of doing anything to help this team this year, they just sit on their hands and think about how awesome they are for bringing in TO.
Although I agree the organization is currently pathetic, I don't understand how they are sitting on their hands and thinking about how awesome they are for bringing in TO.

WTF does your statement even have to do with this thread?

Buffalo is looking outside the box for a possible UDFA. Besides, the Bills weren't the only interested team. An AFC powerhouse is interested in the guy too so...

[acehole]

As long as he has the hands this would be fine with me....it would allow us not to spend a high pick on a TE who will be a crapshoot anyway...so why not increase our odds...we would be playing with house money anyway at that point.



"Former Arizona basketball player Fendi Onobun had recent tryouts with the Panthers, Bills, and Patriots.
He's getting looked at as a tight end. Onobun reportedly ran a 4.50-flat forty, jumped 37.5" vertically, and posted a 10'7" broad jump at 6'6/250. While those numbers look terrific in paper, Onobun has never played football. Often times guys like this give up not long after taking their first hit."

That's from rotoworld.com

[SquishDaFish]

Ignore DMBcrew36 too bad he wasnt sitting on his hands instead of posting here lol

[DMBcrew36]

Whatever. Fine. No harm in looking. But the organization has done nothing in the way of making the team better for next season, except for signing TO. And don't be niave and fool yourself to thinking the draft will make the team much better.

[Don't Panic]

Chris Brown's two cents:

Onobun (6′6″, 250) ran a 4.5 40-time, had a 37 1/2-inch vertical and broad jumped 10′7″. Suffice to say Onobun is explosive as those numbers were equal to or better than combine leader Jared Cook from South Carolina. Cook ran a 4.5 and had a 10′3″ broad jump. Onobun’s vertical would have been second to Cook’s 41 inches.
The only problem is he hasn’t played a down since junior high and isn’t even sure if he can take a hit. But he is an explosive athlete and with proper coaching would be a mismatch in the passing game.
He also said his heart is with basketball, but with no NBA scouts calling him, he’s considering the NFL. In light of those circumstances he’s probably a 7th round pick.


http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2009/04/16/bills-looking-at-te-sleeper/

Could be worth the 7th. Those numbers are hard to ignore...

[bigbub2352]

sign him cant do worse then schouman

[OpIv37]

He might be Antonio Gates, and he might be Rusty Gates. What's the harm in taking a look?

The harm is that teams like NE or Carolina will use him to supplement their talent, whereas Buffalo will use him to BE the talent.

There's nothing wrong with looking for diamonds in the rough- every team does it all the time. The problem is that the Bills rely on finding diamonds in the rough to be successful.