Did anyone hate the Jairus Byrd pick on draft day?

[Ginger Vitis]

I have to admit I did... I wanted the Bills to take either Phil Loadholt or William Beatty..

[Nighthawk]

I didn't understand it, but I was wrong...this kid is playing great.

[Philagape]

Def. a better pick than Whitner

[Crisis]

3 games from Byrd > Whitner's career

[Nighthawk]

3 games from Byrd > Whitner's career

You can say that again! This kid is like a magnet and the football just comes to him.

[Crisis]

And as much flak as George Wilson catches (deservedly so)...atleast he creates turnovers unlike Whitner.

[BillsWin]

I was confused, but then found out we wanted him to be a FS and flipped. The kid was a ball hawk in college and has transitioned that to the NFL.

[ddaryl]

I wasn't mad about the pick... because anything after round #2 and I usually don't know who these players are....

I remember soon after the pick we were talking about his ball hawking skills

[YardRat]

I can't remember, but if I had to guess I probably wasn't impressed.

[Saratoga Slim]

I'm really happy with him too, looks like a great find.

I think I'd be pretty happy right now with Phil Loadholt as well. That dude looks pretty good for the Vikes.

[Nighthawk]

I'm really happy with him too, looks like a great find.

I think I'd be pretty happy right now with Phil Loadholt as well. That dude looks pretty good for the Vikes.

I was thinking the same thing today while watch the Vikes and Steelers. I'm happy with Byrd, but damn, Loadholt seems like he'll be a good RT too.

[Demon]

I didn't understand it, but I was wrong...this kid is playing great.

I didn't understand it at first either. After the draft, several media outlets, including Sporting News, had Day 1 coverage and many called Byrd a day 1 steal. Sporting News compared him to Ed Reed. Not one reporter/expert had anything bad to say about Byrd, and well, my opinion got very optimistic. After reading all about him, i've been really waiting to see him play and now that he is, wow.... the scouting reports seem to be right.

[Nighthawk]

I didn't understand it at first either. After the draft, several media outlets, including Sporting News, had Day 1 coverage and many called Byrd a day 1 steal. Sporting News compared him to Ed Reed. Not one reporter/expert had anything bad to say about Byrd, and well, my opinion got very optimistic. After reading all about him, i've been really waiting to see him play and now that he is, wow.... the scouting reports seem to be right.

You're right, everybody had positive things to say about him and I can't remember anybody saying anything negative. That is when I really got intrigued to see what he could do and he has disappointed. Kid looks like a damn good player.

[dannyek71]

I wanted everett brown. While EB looks good, I am eating my words on the Byrd pick

[Nighthawk]

I wanted everett brown. While EB looks good, I am eating my words on the Byrd pick

At this point I'm thinking we should have taken Brown over Maybin...maybe he could at least get on the field!

[Joe Fo Sho]

I was only upset because he was listed as a CB. I hate how the Bills take a corner with every other draft pick that they have. I'm not so mad anymore though.

[yordad]

I was pissed until I heard the plan was to use him at safety. At that point I was open minded, but I didn't realize he was going to start like this after showing up late and having limited playing time (2 starts now?).

[losman2evans]

chance to be defensive rookie of the year?

[SeatownBillsFan21]

chance to be defensive rookie of the year?
Absolutely

[yordad]

I do want to add that a NFL career is a marathon though, and not a sprint. I actually wanted Everette Brown there, who BTW, looks considerably more NFL ready than Maybin.

[Mahdi]

I have to admit I did... I wanted the Bills to take either Phil Loadholt or William Beatty..
I was surprised at the pick but later that day after further thought it made perfect sense. And when Whitner returns we have one of the best secondaries in the NFL.

[OpIv37]

I wouldn't say I hated the pick, but I certainly questioned the logic of taking a DB so early when we are deep at DB and the logic of converting a CB to safety.

I'm happy to eat some crow on that one though. Byrd is one of the few bright spots on an otherwise lackluster team.

[DynaPaul]

No, he was a 2nd rounder and Whitner and Simpson weren't exactly lighting up the field.

[The Natrix]

I didn't think they should have went DB at the time but I never had anything against him as a player.

[BillsWin]

chance to be defensive rookie of the year?

A few more picks and he goes to the pro bowl. We need to help with the voting, but the kid is second in the NFL in INT's and first in the AFC and has really only had three games with quality playtime.

[Griff]

I think the only time I was mad with a pick is when we passed up Ngata for Whitner (I think)

[jmb1099]

I don't remember anyone being happy with this pic, in fact the zone nearly exploded in rage. Truth be told, nearly all of us would need to eat some crow, but as of right now I am glad to have been wrong in this instance.

[psubills62]

If I had seen it live, I would have been pissed.

But as it was, I was out with my family after the Eric Wood pick. Once I came back and had the ability/time to read up on the pick, I was very happy with it.

It's about time they started drafting guys who have the instincts already instead of drafting guys (like Whitner) and hoping they develop the instincts.

[Ingtar33]

from my draft review...

http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=174363


3) Jairus Byrd - He killed himself in the combine with a poor 40 time, but when you watch him play, he doesn't play anything like a player with 4.6 40 time. He's got great break on the ball, good hands, and has great instincts. In short, with a 4.4 40 time, he would have gone in the top 15 picks. The Bills say he'll play safety, i think as a ball hawking free safety he'll probably thrive. Before the draft i would have summed him up as an ideal 2 deep zone DB... we'll see if that's the case.

Grade: B Probable day 1 starter at FS in round 2, you can't ask for better. Possibly limited physically is the only warning sign.

not everyone was mad.

[BuffaloBlitz83]

He will be the all time leading safety in bills history!