| January 29, 2004 | « Previous Story | HOME | Next Story » | Posted at 03:36 PM |
Ingtar33 takes a good look at the class of 2004 and what holes can be filled for the Buffalo Bills. A question was posed to him in regards to what wide receiver looks good this year to fill a "hole" on the team, Ingtar had this to say, "WR is not what I would call a "need" position for this team, but then again not many places in this lineup really qualify as a need either." The follow article is a comprehensive breakdown of the first rounders for the 2004 draft.
I think my NEED list for the Bills would work like this...
1) RG
2) Center
3) LE
4) FS
5) WR/TE
6) QB
Now simply put, there is a very remote chance one of the Williams will fall to the Bills... I don't think any Bills fans will be particularly enamored with them as they are not the image of "deep threat" WRs, in fact they are almost clones of Keyshawn Johnson. Big possession types even though Roy Williams does strike me as more of an Eric Moulds type, though he doesn't really have the deep ball skills to stand out in the fashion EM does.
My listing of the WRs right now would be:
Larry Fitzgerald Pitt (think Marvin Harrison)
Roy Williams Texas (think Eric Moulds)
Reggie Williams Wash (think Keyshawn Johnson)
Lee Evans Wisc (think P.Price, though with better hands)
Michael Clayton LSU (sort of a lesser version of Roy Williams)
That being said, when the Bills draft it will be very unlikely Fitzgerald or the two Williams will be available, and frankly both Evans and Clayton are not good enough to go this high. Some good pickups would be:
OG/OT - Vernon Carey (Miami): a 350-370~ish natural, who could play any position on the line and excel in the NFL (except maybe center). He's a mauling run blocker, and a decent pass blocker as a tackle, and a potential all pro as a guard. He reminds me of a bigger version of R.Brown, and could be a perennial probowler on the inside... definitely worth the 13th pick, though we could likely get him as far back as 25, I just get shivers thinking of him lining up next to M.Williams.
Center - Jake Grove (VT): a 300 pound mauler who reminds me of Jon Runyan... very tough, very mean, sort of dirty. He should go in round one, though 13 might be a bit high. Will be a very good center for years to come in the NFL. This is the type of player you can build an o-line around, and the type of man everyone wants in their locker room... his teammates love him because he'll go to bat for any of them, to the point he even got ejected during a college game while defending a teammate. We could trade down 7 or so spots and pick him up easy... and I'd call that a fantastic first round pick.
DE - Kenechi Udeze (USC): he could step right in and start at LE with little difficulty, large, strong and fast... the trick with him will be this. If he is outstanding in the combines he'll go in the top ten... maybe even jumping over Will Smith. Of all the DE's in the draft this is the only one I'd seriously consider taking at 13 as smith really is too small.
TE - Ben Troupe (Fla): KW likely will be gone by pick 13, and while I'd be tempted to drop back to 17 or so before drafting troupe, he'll make a team very happy. Think Ben Coates when you think Troupe... basically an identical player... identical size... and about the same athleticism. He might not turn out to be a hall of famer, but he will turn out some pro bowl years.
Now I know a lot of fans are thinking QBs and frankly, no QB should be drafted in the first round except Ben Roethlisbeger and Eli Manning, and both of them will go in the top 5 picks, possibly in pick 1 and 2. Due to the way the draft works and our needs on the OL and elsewhere, plus the downside of rookie QBs, I don't see us even looking at QBs until maybe round 3 or 4. When you get down to that point your Rivers and the like will likely (possibly) be drafted already, however there are many QBs who might be available who would be worth a look. Foremost of whom would be Casey Clausen, who really shouldn't go before pick 3, but who has every tangible a successful NFL QB should have... to such an extent he actually reminds me a bit of Brady... only much better (Brady doesn't have the arm, nor the mobility Clausen does). Brady went in round 6, i can't see Clausen going later than 4...