Hey guys! How did yall do?

[NOSaints213]

I tried to keep an eye out, but I was too concentrated on the Saints draft. Can someone give me the breakdown/analysis of the Bills' draft? Just curious.

Here is my saints analysis:

1.24 - Cam Jordan, DE - Holy ****! What a steal at 24! I thought he was easliy a top 10 pick, but somehow he fell to us at a position of need. Huge pick for us. Need I say more?

1.28 - Mark Ingram, RB - Wow... I think we surprised a lot of people by trading back into the 1st, but all we had to give up with this year's 2nd and next years 1st (which will in all likelyhood be a late 1st ;)). SP said that he talked things over with Reggie, and he was quoted saying, "I will be very surprised if Reggie isn't a Saint this season." Ingram is a great back and a great locker room guy, and I am incredibly excited to have him. Backfield now consists of: Ingram, Pierre Thomas, Reggie, and Chris Ivory!!!

3.8 - Martez Wilson, SAM LB - He was a fringe 1st round pick, and I have absolutely NO IDEA how he dropped to us this far. Great value here. He is a day 1 starter, but he definitely needs a little work. He is a little raw because he missed his entire sophomore year due to injury (came out early as a Junior), but he is a fast learner and a phenominal athlete. An athletic, pass rushing 6'3, 250 SAM is EXACTLY what GW wanted. Imagine the chaos GW will wreak with this new toy.

3.24 - Johnny Patrick, CB - He won't play much on the outside, but he is the ideal nickel/dime back. He has great short area quickness, hits like a linebacker, and John Gruden said, "He has the smoothest backpedal in the entire draft." What a compliment! A lot of people have compaired him to Brandon Flowers from KC. He is mainly brought in to be the 4th CB and to be a Special Teams beast! He is a great gunner, and he will likely return kickoffs for us. Great versatility with this guy.

7.24 - Greg Romeus, DE - I just about cried when we picked him! This kid would have been a top 15 pick this year had he not been injured. A lot of people are calling him the steal of the draft. He gets a lot of comparrisons to Julius Peppers. Walterfootball had this to say about him:
"Wow! This is the pick of the day. If it weren't for injuries, Greg Romeus would have been a top-20 prospect. Romeus won't contribute in 2011, but he could have a Pro Bowl-type impact for the Saints in 2012 and beyond if he can get healthy. He's definitely worth the risk in the middle of Round 7."
http://walterfootball.com/offseason2011no.php

7 (comp) - Nate Bussey, LB - Didn't know much about him at first. When I researched him, I found a lot of people were calling him the most versatile guy in the draft. He plays SS, WLB, ST, and he ran a 4.48 at his proday. He also had a 1.51 10 yard split (one of the best in the entire combine)! Sean Payton said we worked him out last week, and he weighed 238-240, but he didn't lose any of his speed! He will start out on ST (special teams), but he has a chance to start down the road. Supposedly, he was alway overshaddowed by Martez Wilson, but Bussey was always on the field in the nickel and for ST.

Sorry for gushing, but this was a great draft for us. I hope yall had as much fun as I did!

[Slim]

I love what the Saints did. I really like what the Packers, Jets, and Bucs did as well.

[wmoz11]

Saints had a great draft. Obviously the first round was great, but Romeus late and Wilson later than expected were both great picks.

I think the Bills are in the conversation with you all at the top of the "winners" this year.

[YardRat]

I thought NO did really well myself, especially with Jordan and Wilson. In all honesty, if we weren't able to snag the best defensive lineman in the draft in Dareus because Denver or Carolina took him, I would've been happy with those two with our first couple of picks.

BUT....Your team is a dumbass for giving a #1 next season to NE to move up for Ingram...Thanks for nuthin' :D.

[NOSaints213]

I love what the Saints did. I really like what the Packers, Jets, and Bucs did as well.
Yeah, it sucks that the Bucs had a good draft. I'm still not sold on Da'Quan Bowers' knee. There is a reason that teams who really needed a DE passed on him multiple times....

[NOSaints213]

I thought NO did really well myself, especially with Jordan and Wilson. In all honesty, if we weren't able to snag the best defensive lineman in the draft in Dareus because Denver or Carolina took him, I would've been happy with those two with our first couple of picks.

BUT....Your team is a dumbass for giving a #1 next season to NE to move up for Ingram...Thanks for nuthin' :D.
haha we'll try our hardest to make it the 32nd overall pick for ya ;)

Someone tell me how the Bills did!!!

[wmoz11]

haha we'll try our hardest to make it the 32nd overall pick for ya ;)

Someone tell me how the Bills did!!!

We're always looking for a franchise QB. There wasn't one there at 3 so we took the best defensive player in the draft (for our defense..read: versatility). It was nice to see a concerted effort to improve the defense. The next two picks followed that trend: we got a CB/S from a big school that has experience playing in an aggressive system.

Sheppard in the 3rd was a guy that everyone had mocked to us for a few months. Our coaches really got the upper-hand coaching some of these guys in the Senior Bowl. He is a producer, but apparently showed more athleticism than expected during Senior Bowl practices to warrant our picks. We had multiple meetings with him.

The rest of the draft was riddled with more of the same: versatile southern kids from big schools (save the 7th round guys). One would have to assume that Nix/Gailey are comfortable with our offense improving with Fitz going into the season as the entrenched starter and a young receiving core that will only get better with more time.

Defense ruled the day(s) and it looks like there's a new, more organized philosophy in Buffalo. And we'll all be better for it.

[TigerJ]

Of course, Buffalo started with Marcell Dareus. I shouldn't have to say much about him. For a big man, he has excellent quickness, and coming out of Nick Saban's program, he won't need nearly as much coaching up as the typical rookie.

At #34 overall, Buffalo drafted Aaron Williams. He's got good size to match up with taller receivers and decent quickness. He is a little stiff in the hips, so he might struggle a bit in man with receivers who have quick moves and home run speed.

In the third round, Buffalo drafted Kelvin Sheppard. Since Buffalo clearly had the option of drafting Martez Wilson at that point, they presumably liked Sheppard's instincts and leadership over Wilson's measurables. Gailey loved coaching him in the Senior Bowl.

With the first of 2 fourth round picks, Buffalo picked Da'Norris Searcy, a safety out of North Carolina. This was very much an "off the radar" pick. He has decent speed, is a little stiff in the hips, but he's a big hitter who is great in run support. As a 223 pounder, he's got the size to take on running backs and tight ends.

With their second fourth rounder, the Bills got Chris Hairston. He played left tackle for Clemson, but he looks like a right tackle in the NFL. He's supposed to be smart and has decent technique both in pass blocking and run blocking, but I think he's going to need to be coached up a bit to be comfortable in the NFL. He's got excellent size, not a great forty.

In the fifth round, Buffalo got Johnny White. He is an all around running back. He has average size (5'10" and 210 lbs) and average speed (4.53 40) but the report on him is that he's excellent in several important areas: blocking and blitz pickup, and hands for receiving, vision and lateral quickness.

In the sixth, Buffalo drafted another inside linebacker, Chris White. White has decent linebacker speed and is reported to have good football intelligence and instincts. He's a strong special teams player, and could probably play OLB too, so he gives the Bills some versatility. Interestingly, Quan Sturdivant was on the board at the time to be drafted two selections down from the Bills. Again, Buffalo preferred an under the radar guy to a more heralded prospect. We'll have to see if the Bills knew something others didn't or they outsmarted themselves again.

In the seventh round, Buffalo again had two picks. With the first they got Justin Rogers, a CB and kick returner. Rogers has good speed and decent though not great size. He'll be a developmental guy and a special teamer.

With their second seventh rounder Buffalo went WAY off the beaten path as they picked Michael Jasper. Jasper was a two way player for mighty Bethel College. Jasper played guard and nose tackle and tips the scales at almost 400 pounds after having lost almost 75 lbs since the end of his college season. At that weight, his 40 time is 5.53. I think he's strictly a developmental guy and the Bills probably want to see how he can move if he drops andother 60-70 lbs. 5.53 is pretty good for someone that huge.

Obviously, Buffalo has more needs than NO, and in this draft we filled a number of them, though not all of them. We still would like a genuine franchise QB and we have virtually nothing at tight end. Overall, I think it was a good draft, and the pundits seem to like it.

[NOSaints213]

Love the Dareus pick. He is a monster and a very versatile player.

Always thought Aaron Williams was more of a safety...

I can tell you from watching Kelvin Sheppard at LSU - the kid has phenominal instincts!!! He is athletic, but he won't wow you with his numbers. The thing about him is that he looks so fast on tape because he just knows where to go because of his knowledge of the game. He is a true football player.

I really like Johnny White, but I thought yall reached a little. Nevertheless, he is a good player and should pair nicely with Jackson and Spiller.

Don't know much about the others... Sounds like yall had a pretty good draft!

[wmoz11]

Nice write-up, TigerJ.

[TigerJ]

Yeah, Williams might have to shift to safety. He has enough speed, but I guess he's not quite as flexible as he might be. It's really going to depend on matchups. I think he'll be good most of the time, but a really quick athletic receiver might turn him into a slice of burnt toast.

It's also going to depend on who among the veterans stays and goes. If Donte Whitner is not re-signed I could easily see Williams switching to safety. If Drayton Florence is not retained, then there willl be more pressure for the Bills to keep Williams at CB. If Both are not re-signed, flip a coin.

[Go Go Buffalo14574]

I think the Saints had the best draft I give the Bills top 6 or maybe top 3 right now.

[better days]

Yeah, it sucks that the Bucs had a good draft. I'm still not sold on Da'Quan Bowers' knee. There is a reason that teams who really needed a DE passed on him multiple times....

As a Bucs fan as well as a Bills fan, I look forward to seeing the Bucs get after Brees next year.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Not sure why the Saints traded up for Ingram. They already have similar RBs on their roster.

[Ground Chuck]

Plus they traded their first rounder next year.

[NOSaints213]

Plus they traded their first rounder next year.
We didn't trade out 1st rounder. We just took it this year. Technically, we traded our 2nd rounder. The Falcons actually traded their 1st round pick next year. Big difference.


As a Bucs fan as well as a Bills fan, I look forward to seeing the Bucs get after Brees next year.
Idk man... There is a reason that every team passed on Bowers (half of them passed twice), yet they had major needs at DE. Bucs took a chance, and you might get a little production, but bone-on-bone doesn't last long... Especially at 290 lbs.


Not sure why the Saints traded up for Ingram. They already have similar RBs on their roster.
Ingram is leaps and bounds better than anything we have on our roster. Imagine what he can do behind our O-line!

P.S. - Our O-line had 4 different probowlers in the last 2 years - everyone except for Jermon Bushrod, but we drafted Charles Brown from USC last year in the 2nd round, and he should push for a starting spot this year.