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View Full Version : Buddy Nix Draft History...then and now.



jpdex12
04-19-2012, 08:45 AM
I know we considered some of the local draft pundents ie Buscaglia, etc. especially after the luncheon but I like to rely on historical data and apply that to current trends within OBD.

I tried to copy all of Nix's drafts since 2001 but had some technical difficulties. If you look at all drafted players in every round that Nix was involved with from 2001-2008 in San Diego he drafted mostly CB's and WR's in the first few rounds of the draft most years. In fact, four out of the eight years he drafted a CB 6 foot or taller and 190 lbs or heavier. A taller beefier WR was found in his drafts in the top two rounds. OLB (Merriman) was the first pick in his 2005 draft. Of course there were occassionally other positions sprinkled into the mix in the top of his drafts but CB and WR are "slap you in the face" noticeable. In fact in only three of his drafts was a position other than WR or CB selected at the top and those three drafts and they were at QB (Manning), at RB (Tomlinson) and at OLB (Merriman) selected.

Looking at Nix's drafts in Buffalo, he knew we had a severe issue with stopping the run and selected teh DT's in the first two rounds the past two years but CB was our second pick last year and Spiller was the playmaker he was looking for and picked first the year before that. Now that we have heard him speaking of aging CB's on our roster and a FA next year in McKelvin, my bet is squarely on Gilmore as our selection if he is there. Gilmore has started something like 40 games I believe in the SEC. If I had to select three candidates I'd say Gilmore, Floyd and Kuechly are top on the list for OBD this year to be our #10 selection. Truthfully, if you look at Kuechly's history, it's off the charts. Over 500 tackles recorded in his career. Seven interceptions which two he took to the house. He is a sure fire can't miss especially with his capabilities to cover TE's as an OLB when we have Gronk and Hernandez to deal with twice a year. Floyd is a playmaker that would balance our WR corp.

The more I think about this the more I flip flop. Gilmore or Kuechly? With the DE's we added that's going to make our LB's better and having Kuechly the best LB in this draft and possibly in the last three years would be an interesting pick in round one.

mjt328
04-19-2012, 08:50 AM
Has anyone looked into Doug Whaley's drafting history?
That might be interesting as well, since I think he's got a lot more input this year.

psubills62
04-19-2012, 09:03 AM
Has anyone looked into Doug Whaley's drafting history?
That might be interesting as well, since I think he's got a lot more input this year.
With Nix...he was heavily involved in the draft each year in SD. With Whaley, I believe he was more in charge of free agents while in Pittsburgh. I'm sure he had a hand in the drafts, but I doubt he had a lot of influence. That's one reason I'm not sure it's as applicable to look at Pittsburgh's drafts and apply them to Whaley.

jpdex...I guess you didn't see my LONG posts this year and last about Buddy Nix's draft history.

Link for 2011 analysis. (http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=199778&highlight=buddy+draft+history)

Link for 2012 analysis. (http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=211326&highlight=buddy+draft+history)

jpdex12
04-19-2012, 09:11 AM
I'm sorry, I missed your thread. I try to get on here as often as possible for updates but work has been so busy I'm out of the loop at times. Just decided to take a breather and thin football recently and explored some background details on Nix's draft history.

How can I find your previous thread if you already hit on this?

jpdex12
04-19-2012, 09:12 AM
Oh crap, nevermind, I see your links. Guess too much work makes you go blind too...er maybe that's something else...

psubills62
04-19-2012, 09:19 AM
I'm sorry, I missed your thread. I try to get on here as often as possible for updates but work has been so busy I'm out of the loop at times. Just decided to take a breather and thin football recently and explored some background details on Nix's draft history.

How can I find your previous thread if you already hit on this?
No worries, man. I don't care if people do their own analysis - chances are, you'll see/find something I missed. Not to mention that my posts end up being so long that I know some people just don't bother reading them.

Don't Panic
04-19-2012, 09:39 AM
Good stuff jp. Kudos to you as well, psu. I come here just to see what the committed Bills fan can come up with and these are two great examples of it.

jp - I agree 100% with your trio. I think you could make an argument for Reiff, but the signals seem to be pointing away from OT with the #10.

Kuechly is at the top of my wish list. I know that goes against the common wisdom of Wanstache's history, but he just makes too much sense to me. We have addressed the pass rush/run the gut issue, now we need a pursuit guy who can clean up everything else in the run game while serving as a reliable coverage guy. To me, Shep is not quite that guy... Kuechly is.

That said, the Nix history is important to consider. I would not be surprised if Gilmore or Floyd were the pick because they address exactly what you mentioned - big and capable. The thing I keep coming back to is the depth at both positions this time around. There are going to be quality CBs in the 3rd and quality WRs in the 4th barring something completely unforeseen.

If Nix wants the pick of the litter at WR or CB, he'll have it in Gilmore or Floyd. But with 5 picks in the top 125 and 7 in the top 150, I think he'll decide to wait on those two spots and fill them later. At least that's where I'd go with it.

jpdex12
04-19-2012, 07:40 PM
Good stuff jp. Kudos to you as well, psu. I come here just to see what the committed Bills fan can come up with and these are two great examples of it.

jp - I agree 100% with your trio. I think you could make an argument for Reiff, but the signals seem to be pointing away from OT with the #10.

Kuechly is at the top of my wish list. I know that goes against the common wisdom of Wanstache's history, but he just makes too much sense to me. We have addressed the pass rush/run the gut issue, now we need a pursuit guy who can clean up everything else in the run game while serving as a reliable coverage guy. To me, Shep is not quite that guy... Kuechly is.

That said, the Nix history is important to consider. I would not be surprised if Gilmore or Floyd were the pick because they address exactly what you mentioned - big and capable. The thing I keep coming back to is the depth at both positions this time around. There are going to be quality CBs in the 3rd and quality WRs in the 4th barring something completely unforeseen.

If Nix wants the pick of the litter at WR or CB, he'll have it in Gilmore or Floyd. But with 5 picks in the top 125 and 7 in the top 150, I think he'll decide to wait on those two spots and fill them later. At least that's where I'd go with it.
Thanks, I thought the same thing about the depth at WR and CB in this draft. I don't feel there is much depth at LB. I actually think if we take Kuechly he'll be at OLB. I like Kuechly a lot just because he is so well rounded and has an amazing track record. I know that doesn't always transition completely into the NFL but this guy reminds me of how I felt about Patrick Willis. I think we could survive with the CB's we have to start with now barring any injuries and that just proves the sense it makes for Kuechly since we don't have a sire fire solid starter at OLB. If we take Gilmore you wouldn't hear any complaints from me either.
kuechly may be our man!