So what holes do we still need to fill?

[Danny Duberstein]

Buddy did a great job of filling some key holes through the draft. Now, what holes remain?

QB - The staff would obviously rather roll with Fitz, than add one of the mediocre prospects from this class. Unless Fitz tears it up, and we extend him mid-season, we'll need to draft a QB next year.
RB - We should be set.
TE - Chan doesn't seem to utilize the TE much in his offense. They are probably content with Nelson.
WR - We're set for now, but we'll probably need a WR next year. I think Lee is probably a candidate for trade/release. He's lost a step (and he was never all that special to begin with).
OL - We still need a RT. This new guy we drafted is supposed to be a developmental prospect. We'll need to add a starting-caliber RT, and probably a Guard (assuming Wood stays at Center).

DT - We're set.
DE - We're set, as long as Carrington produces. I think he will. When I went to Camp last year, he looked like a beast. Hopefully that wasn't just because he was playing against our crappy OLine.
ILB - If we resign Poz, we should be ok.
OLB - We definitely need some help here. I'm not expecting much from Merriman. Kelsay isn't cut out for OLB, and I highly doubt Maybin is still in the league by the end of the season. Moats should be solid depth, but he's looking like our best OLB right now.
CB - If Williams ends up staying at CB, we should be pretty good, as long as McGee can keep it together for another season.
S - I don't expect (or want) us to resign Donte. So we'll need a SS. After reading scouting reports on Searcy, he doesn't seem like he'll be an every-down player. He is supposedly really poor in run-support (avoids contact). He'll probably be a special teamer/passing-down Safety.

So I honestly think we're in pretty good shape. It looks like our needs are:

G
RT
OLB (x2)

Possibly QB or TE

[T-Long]

Buddy did a great job of filling some key holes through the draft. Now, what holes remain?

QB - The staff would obviously rather roll with Fitz, than add one of the mediocre prospects from this class. Unless Fitz tears it up, and we extend him mid-season, we'll need to draft a QB next year. Problem is, they need a guy to learn under Fitz. Fitz is going to want starter money considering he is going to be the starter in 2011, so if the Bills don't extend him, then we are back at square one with a rookie that has to play. I am in the belief that we needed to get a QB in THIS draft, sit and watch Fitz in 11' then start for us in 12'.
RB - We should be set.
TE - Chan doesn't seem to utilize the TE much in his offense. They are probably content with Nelson. You mean Chandler.
WR - We're set for now, but we'll probably need a WR next year. I think Lee is probably a candidate for trade/release. He's lost a step (and he was never all that special to begin with).
OL - We still need a RT. This new guy we drafted is supposed to be a developmental prospect. We'll need to add a starting-caliber RT, and probably a Guard (assuming Wood stays at Center).Bills brass really likes Erik Pears, so RT is not a need in their minds.

DT - We're set.
DE - We're set, as long as Carrington produces. I think he will. When I went to Camp last year, he looked like a beast. Hopefully that wasn't just because he was playing against our crappy OLine.
ILB - If we resign Poz, we should be ok.
OLB - We definitely need some help here. I'm not expecting much from Merriman. Kelsay isn't cut out for OLB, and I highly doubt Maybin is still in the league by the end of the season. Moats should be solid depth, but he's looking like our best OLB right now.
CB - If Williams ends up staying at CB, we should be pretty good, as long as McGee can keep it together for another season.
S - I don't expect (or want) us to resign Donte. So we'll need a SS. After reading scouting reports on Searcy, he doesn't seem like he'll be an every-down player. He is supposedly really poor in run-support (avoids contact). He'll probably be a special teamer/passing-down Safety.

So I honestly think we're in pretty good shape. It looks like our needs are:

G
RT
OLB (x2)

Possibly QB or TE

[Danny Duberstein]

I would have been ok with us drafting a QB to learn under Fitz, but all of the QB's went WAY too high this year. I really didn't like this QB class. I would have loved Locker in the 2nd, or Caepernick in the 3rd, but we were better off getting potentially solid defensive starters, rather than a developmental QB, which both of those guys (and just about everybody else in this draft) would have been.

I'd rather shore-up the rest of the team, then add the QB.

[T-Long]

I can't argue with the first three picks, but I can argue the fact that they didn't land Stanzi on Day 3. He was a very successful collegiate QB, good head on his shoulders, was coached by Kirk Ferentz, etc. He would have been a perfect pick up and could be our #2 out of the gate this year over Levi. But now, all we have is Levi Brown and that's it. Granted, there is still free agency out there, but let's be honest, it's not like we are going to land a starter there. We are going to land a Caleb Hanie or Jim Sorgi? No thanks. I'd rather draft a guy like Stanzi, give him a year to learn under Fitz and a year of evaluation. If they don't feel comfortable with him, then extend Fitz or trade up like hell in 2012 to get Luck.

[Danny Duberstein]

I can't argue with the first three picks, but I can argue the fact that they didn't land Stanzi on Day 3. He was a very successful collegiate QB, good head on his shoulders, was coached by Kirk Ferentz, etc. He would have been a perfect pick up and could be our #2 out of the gate this year over Levi. But now, all we have is Levi Brown and that's it. Granted, there is still free agency out there, but let's be honest, it's not like we are going to land a starter there. We are going to land a Caleb Hanie or Jim Sorgi? No thanks. I'd rather draft a guy like Stanzi, give him a year to learn under Fitz and a year of evaluation. If they don't feel comfortable with him, then extend Fitz or trade up like hell in 2012 to get Luck.

Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I guess I'm just tired of getting project QB's, hoping that they develop in a year, and then sitting through 2 more years of mediocrity.

I'd rather go all in on a 1st round pick next year.

[psubills62]

I'm baffled that OL doesn't appear to be as much of a need to the front office guys. Did they not watch the games?

Well, 5/9 picks last year were offense, and 7/9 were defense for a total of 11/18 on defense. Seems appropriate. I'm actually not sure how many of the defensive players this year will stick, so I'm guessing we'll be slightly offensive-heavy, maybe 4/7 on offense.

[TacklingDummy]

WR: Evans is done, Johnson could be a fluke.
DE: Kelsay/Johnson/Denney blow
TE: They all blow.

[Slim]

WR: Evans is done, Johnson could be a fluke.
DE: Kelsay/Johnson/Denney blow
TE: They all blow.

Denney? He hasn't been on the team for a year. DE is Edwards, Carrington, Dareus, Johnson.

[Go Go Buffalo14574]

We need some back up QB some more O-Line, OLB, TE and some more here and their delph on the team. You can never have too much delph players to improve the 2nd and third stringers.

[YardRat]

We still need players everywhere...Tackle, Guard, TE (2), #1 WR, every-down RB, and QB on offense...a true NT, another young DE, OLB, ILB, CB (2) and safety on defense.

[alohabillsfan]

Remember, we signed 3 O-lineman late last season, plucked 1 odd Baltimores practice squad and I think 1 off Denvers?

[doug45]

Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I guess I'm just tired of getting project QB's, hoping that they develop in a year, and then sitting through 2 more years of mediocrity.

I'd rather go all in on a 1st round pick next year.

So you want to finish last this year? If you want a great QB in the draft you better have the top pick or pretty close to that.

[tampabay25690]

QB 2 of them.......A Vet FA, and a possible Rookie FA....
TE---I don't think they addressed because maybe Shawn Nelson will be back and healthy........But another TE would be nice.
DE--Still think you need to bring in another DE
ILB---Luv to bring in Barett Ruud

DEPTH------If we can grab a guy it only helps this team get better..........

[mayotm]

WR: Evans is done, Johnson could be a fluke.
DE: Kelsay/Johnson/Denney blow
TE: They all blow.Congrats TD. You were one for three naming the team's DE's. Denney is no longer on the team and Kelsay plays OLB. You got Johnson right, but he may not make the team.

[Danny Duberstein]

So you want to finish last this year? If you want a great QB in the draft you better have the top pick or pretty close to that.

Well, I'd rather finish last and get Luck, than go 8-8, have the 18th pick and miss the playoffs.

But the way I see it, there are 3 possible scenarios.

1) Fits plays great, and we don't need a QB next year.
2) Fits plays terrible, and we end up with an early draft pick.
3) Fits plays ok, and we have a mid-round draft pick. If that's the case, we'll need to either hope a good QB falls to us, or trade-up 5 or 10 spots, which shouldn't be too hard (lots of teams in the top 15 were reportedly trying very hard to trade back).

[mayotm]

Well, I'd rather finish last and get Luck, than go 8-8, have the 18th pick and miss the playoffs.

But the way I see it, there are 3 possible scenarios.

1) Fits plays great, and we don't need a QB next year.
2) Fits plays terrible, and we end up with an early draft pick.
3) Fits plays ok, and we have a mid-round draft pick. If that's the case, we'll need to either hope a good QB falls to us, or trade-up 5 or 10 spots, which shouldn't be too hard (lots of teams in the top 15 were reportedly trying very hard to trade back).Plus, with so many teams reaching for a QB this year, it won't be surprising to see a few slip some next year.

[Don't Panic]

I can't argue with the first three picks, but I can argue the fact that they didn't land Stanzi on Day 3. He was a very successful collegiate QB, good head on his shoulders, was coached by Kirk Ferentz, etc. He would have been a perfect pick up and could be our #2 out of the gate this year over Levi. But now, all we have is Levi Brown and that's it. Granted, there is still free agency out there, but let's be honest, it's not like we are going to land a starter there. We are going to land a Caleb Hanie or Jim Sorgi? No thanks. I'd rather draft a guy like Stanzi, give him a year to learn under Fitz and a year of evaluation. If they don't feel comfortable with him, then extend Fitz or trade up like hell in 2012 to get Luck.

Amen. I'm cool with everything from this draft except that they didn't take Stanzi with one of the three chances they had on day three. It would have been a perfect grooming situation and we probably won't have one like it again. So be it...

As far as holes, I think we still need to bring in a starter quality OL for sure, but I could live with minor upgrades everywhere else. The bottom line with this year's group is we're still in the shoring up process. We need to see what we have out of what we have. 2012 is poised to be the year we make a move, so we can still have another session next year before we make a run.

[Jan Reimers]

I think OLB is the position of greatest need. We have virtually untested guys like Moats, Batten and Coleman, a couple of duds in Maybin and Kelsay, a question mark in Merriman, a nonentity in Ellison, and someone else I can't remember.

Unless Merriman is healthy and a couple of the young guys step up, we will need help.

[Danny Duberstein]

Plus, with so many teams reaching for a QB this year, it won't be surprising to see a few slip some next year.

Exactly.

None of the teams who took a QB in the 1st round will do it 2 years in a row. And barring an organizational change (like the Panthers had), teams won't draft a QB early after taking one in the 2nd round the year before, because it would be admitting that they blew a 2nd round pick.

So the teams that could take a QB early next year would be:

Us
Miami
Washington
Arizona
Oakland
Seattle
Maybe KC, if Cassel sucks this year (he probably will)

Now, if one of those teams lands Kolb, you can cross them off the list. Hopefully, the same thing thing happens with McNabb. So I think there will only be 4 or 5 teams who need a QB next year.

[mayotm]

Exactly.

None of the teams who took a QB in the 1st round will do it 2 years in a row. And barring an organizational change (like the Panthers had), teams won't draft a QB early after taking one in the 2nd round the year before, because it would be admitting that they blew a 2nd round pick.

So the teams that could take a QB early next year would be:

Us
Miami
Washington
Arizona
Oakland
Seattle
Maybe KC, if Cassel sucks this year (he probably will)

Now, if one of those teams lands Kolb, you can cross them off the list. Hopefully, the same thing thing happens with McNabb. So I think there will only be 4 or 5 teams who need a QB next year.I'd throw Cleveland into the mix, obviously depending on how McCoy develops.

[Danny Duberstein]

I'd throw Cleveland into the mix, obviously depending on how McCoy develops.

Possibly, but I think McCoy will do well. Especially with getting Hardesty back, and the WR and TE that cleveland just drafted.

[cgbm]

ok so that is quite a list for teams that will be wanting a qb. and who knows there may be 4? first round quality qbs next year. and we want luck. wich brings us back to needing to have a horrible year so we can get him. haha

[mysticsoto]

Exactly.

None of the teams who took a QB in the 1st round will do it 2 years in a row. And barring an organizational change (like the Panthers had), teams won't draft a QB early after taking one in the 2nd round the year before, because it would be admitting that they blew a 2nd round pick.

So the teams that could take a QB early next year would be:

Us
Miami
Washington
Arizona
Oakland
Seattle
Maybe KC, if Cassel sucks this year (he probably will)

Now, if one of those teams lands Kolb, you can cross them off the list. Hopefully, the same thing thing happens with McNabb. So I think there will only be 4 or 5 teams who need a QB next year.

Word is that Seattle, Miami and possibly Arizona will be in the play for Kolb in FA this year.