Rien Long - thumbs up or down?

[Tatonka]

because we got time, i am going to start focusing on guys that could be options come draft time for the positions we need.

todays focus is on a Washington State product, Rien Long. He is a redshirt sophmore. Due to very good showings in the all star games, he has been shooting up a lot of draft boards.

He has ok size and a good motor. i think he is a little on the small side. for a 6-6 frame, 288 seems light, especially for an interior lineman. those numbers sound more like a DE than a DT.

this is my issue with this guy.

he only played highschool ball for 2 years.

he only played college ball for 2 years, and didnt even start half of his redshirt freshman year.

not enough experience for me. seems like he is somewhat of a project pick, but hell if we need to take a guy that needs time to develope in a position that is crucial for our success.

this guy may turn out to be a good player for sure. but i think it is in the bills best interest to pass on him. current projections have him going mid to late 1st, so that may not be an issue.

more later:punchu:

[Tatonka]

http://wsucougars.ocsn.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/long_rien00.html

here is his link

[WG]

I'm thinkin' that b/c we only have a 2nd round pick this year, we really need to make it count. Long would be too risky according to what you've stated. Too young to contribute immediately combined with little experience relatively speaking, and I think we need a less risky selection.

I'd have to say, more than any other year, we may need to grab the "best available" assuming that he's in one of a handful of positions. Ie., we don't need more CBs right now, or WRs, a RB, especially rookies.

[clumping platelets]

Long will be gone before rd 2 starts

[Dozerdog]

Long is going to be a top 25 pick-


Long will be long gone...

[Tatonka]

i still cant figure out why though?

[TigerJ]

A few draftniks have Long dropping, but the majority agree with Clump and Dozerdog.

DTs who might be around when Buffalo is picking are Ty Warren, and Jarrett Johnson. Anyone else who is left (Manning, Moorehead, Garay (because of health-he's a big DE who could go inside), Cole etc. would be reaches in round 2. Some have Warren going before Buffalo picks. Johnson is seen by some as a late R2 value but that's not too big of a reach. Warren was inconsistent in college but came on in his senior year and showed very well in the Senior Bowl. He's got good size though he's no Ted Washington. Johnson is a little undersized for the interior of the line, but has excellent quickness and has a great attitude. At 6'4" and 288 lbs. I think he should be able to carry another 20lbs of muscle though.

[TypicalBill]

Originally posted by Tatonka
i still cant figure out why though?

he had 13 sacks and won the Outland trophy given to the nation's outstanding interior lineman. He had 19.5 tackles behind the line for 103 yards in losses.



MORE (http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/news/outland021212.html)

[Tatonka]

the two words i absolutely hate to hear when reffering to draft picks are underperforming and inconsistent...

no thanks.