Taylor Lewan

[jimmifli]

I see a lot of mock drafts have us taking Lewan. I don't see it.

Last season if he came out, he might have been the 1st overall pick. Lots (most?) thought he was better than Eric Fisher. But the last year brought up a bunch of off the field problems that may indicate some severe character issues. Whether or not they are true is irrelevant to my point:

A team isn't going to risk drafting him 9th overall without being sure those problems aren't real.

Below is a list of who we've interviewed:


Walt Aikens, DB, Liberty (PRI)
Odell Beckham, WR, LSU (PRI)
Bashaud Breeland, DB, Clemson (PRI)
Preston Brown, LB, Louisville (PRI)
Terrance Cobb, RB, Cumberland (PRI)
Ross Cockrell, DB, Duke (PRI)
Scott Crichton, DL, Oregon State (PRI)
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL, McGill (PRI)
Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina (PRI)
Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M (PRI)
Kyle Fuller%, DB, Virginia Tech (PRI) (PRO)
Phillip Gaines, DB, Rice (PRI)
Jeremy Hill, RB, LSU (PRI)
Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State (PRI)
Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana (PRI)
Marcus Martin, OL, USC (PRI)
Zack Martin, OL, Notre Dame (PRI)
Jake Matthews, OL, Texas A&M (PRI)
Jerick McKinnon, RB, Georgia Southern (PRI)
C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama (PRI)
Troy Niklas, TE, Notre Dame (PRI)
Bradley Roby, DB, Ohio State (PRI)
Lache Seastrunk, RB, Baylor (PRI)
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington (PRI)
Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State (PRI)
Charles Siddoway, OL, Mississippi State (PRI)
Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson (PRI)
Terrance West, RB, Towson (PRI)
Andre Williams, RB, Boston College (COM)

http://walterfootball.com/draft2014meetingsteams.php

Another list from BB.com


Bills pre-draft visitors 2014
(in order in which they visited)

<tbody>
TE Troy Niklas, Notre Dame



WR Cody Latimer, Indiana



RB Lache Seastrunk, Baylor



LB Ryan Shazier, Ohio State



CB Bradley Roby, Ohio State



DB Bashaud Breeland, Clemson



CB Ross Cockrell, Duke



RB Jeremy Hill, LSU



TE Eric Ebron, UNC



DE Scott Crichton, Oregon State



OT Charles Siddoway, Mississippi State



OT Jake Matthews, Texas A&M



LB Preston Brown, Louisville



WR Odell Beckham, LSU



TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington



RB Terrance Cobb, Cumberlands (Ky)



CB Phillip Gaines, Rice



CB Walt Aikens, Liberty



RB Carlos Hyde, Ohio State



CB Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech



WR Mike Evans, Texas A&M



RB Jerick McKinnon, Georgia Southern



OL Marcus Martin, USC



WR Sammy Watkins, Clemson



OT Zack Martin, Notre Dame



OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, McGill



RB Terrance West, Towson



LB CJ Mosley, Alabama



T Cyrus Kouandijo, Alabama


</tbody>
http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Will-Bills-pre-draft-visitors-turn-into-draft-choices/72bdc7f0-580a-4204-a6aa-c7894aa3b9ff

Notice a name that's missing?

I just don't see the Bills drafting a guy facing assault charges, a guy with warnings from the police about threatening an alleged rape victim - without meeting with him a couple of times. It's possible they've met with him quietly, but I don't see why they'd try to keep that quiet.

[stuckincincy]

Ritchie Incognito, Version 2.0?

[Bill Cody]

I just don't see the Bills drafting a guy facing assault charges, a guy with warnings from the police about threatening an alleged rape victim - without meeting with him a couple of times.

how about they're not talking to him because they don't want him period?

[Saratoga Slim]

Nice detective work regarding the absence of a visit with Lewan. It's not unheard of for a team to draft a guy they haven't met, but sincerely doubt they'd do it with a guy that has alleged character issues.

[jimmifli]

how about they're not talking to him because they don't want him period?
Of course.

My point is that if they did want him, they'd be careful and surely meet with him at least once. Maybe more.

If you remember the story about them meeting several times with Kiko, that should tell you about their mindset around guys with potential character problems.

I think there is little to no chance the Bills draft him.

[Night Train]

Could be right.

If Matthews & Robinson are gone, they might have a guy like Aaron Donald or someone else ranked ahead of Lewan.

[swiper]

I see a lot of mock drafts have us taking Lewan. I don't see it.

Last season if he came out, he might have been the 1st overall pick. Lots (most?) thought he was better than Eric Fisher. But the last year brought up a bunch of off the field problems that may indicate some severe character issues. Whether or not they are true is irrelevant to my point:

A team isn't going to risk drafting him 9th overall without being sure those problems aren't real.

Below is a list of who we've interviewed:



Another list from BB.com


Notice a name that's missing?

I just don't see the Bills drafting a guy facing assault charges, a guy with warnings from the police about threatening an alleged rape victim - without meeting with him a couple of times. It's possible they've met with him quietly, but I don't see why they'd try to keep that quiet.

I asked this same question ("why wasn't he brought in?") in a thread elsewhere last week. A quick reply came:

The Bills didn't interview Kiko Alanzo. Whether or not they met with him doesn't matter.

[The Beef]

I don't prefer him as the pick but I can see the bright side in it.

You need some nasty *****s on your team, and OLine is a great place to have a couple.

I just don't see it at #9, I think he will drop into the 20's.

[YardRat]

They didn't bring Robinson in for a visit either.

I agree on Lewan...I think the only OT's they are interested in taking at nine or sooner are the top two, and if they are off the board they will look elsewhere and grab an OT in the second or third.

[Mr. Miyagi]

No ****** thanks on Lewan. No no no no no.

[The Jokeman]

Notice a name that's missing?

I just don't see the Bills drafting a guy facing assault charges, a guy with warnings from the police about threatening an alleged rape victim - without meeting with him a couple of times. It's possible they've met with him quietly, but I don't see why they'd try to keep that quiet.

Last week reports had Lewan high on the Raiders radar so it might be a moot point. That said I felt he was a solid pick for us before a recent thread about taking guys in the top 10 and the financial ramifications. All things considered, I think Eric Ebron might be our guy afterall. As I think we all agree Scott Chandler isn't a long term answer, heck the Bills might think so in re-signing him to a two year deal worth less than he signed for previously. In taking Ebron at #9 he'll cost us significantly less then an OT in the 5th year option year and be well worth it if he lives up to his Vernon Davis hype. Yet my biggest issue with taking Ebron over Lewan is 2014. I don't see Ebron making a big splash as a rookie at best I think he'll get 40 catches for 400 yards and 4 TDs.