Bills hope for first-stringers among triple-digit picks

By Anthony Bialy  |   Tuesday, April 28, 2009  |  Comments( 103 )

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Did the Buffalo Bills wait too long? While they could use some rookie starters this season, they may or may not have nabbed some on the NFL draft’s second day. Instead, they settled for a promising yet incomplete tight end and an intriguingly raw linebacker. Their excessive patience created a further delay: it’s going to be awhile before they discover if any of their Day 2 picks will help this season.

Most notably, they’re banking that holding off until the 121st turn to grab a tight end wasn’t too long a postponement. In the team’s defense, some claim that Southern Miss’ Shawn Nelson falling into the fourth round was a surprise, but no one can argue with the fact he was the sixth tight end taken. He’ll have to perform above his positioning to make the impact Buffalo requires.

He was occasionally deployed away from the line during college, which isn’t a promising sign. Buffalo’s offense doesn’t need a wideout impersonating a tight end, especially considering the sudden glut of receivers on the roster. Plus, the Bills have to worry that Nelson will also block like a receiver: he may struggle as a pro in protection due to his relative lack of size.

It would be nice to be the optimistic sort who holds that there’s a definite starter among Nelson, last year’s fourth-rounder Derek Fine and former seventh-round selection Derek Schouman, but it’s going to take a lot of energy and bouts with nervousness to maintain faith.

Meanwhile, fifth-rounder Nic Harris is no longer mostly a safety; the 234-pounder fits Buffalo’s linebacker concept. The problem is that he’s a project. While he’s a stellar athlete who actually played nearly everywhere in Oklahoma’s defense, it remains to be seen whether he can pick up the intricacies of ceaselessly playing linebacker, much less how quickly he can do so.

The Bills finished their draft by grabbing another two secondary candidates to join the torrent of players they’ve added over the past few seasons. Sixth-rounder Cary Harris plays rough football, perhaps to compensate for middling speed; the University of Southern California cornerback is also a smart competitor who will have to use his sense to overcome his slow wheels.

College defensive back Ellis Lankster could be a cornerback or safety as a pro. Or, he could be neither: It remains to be seen whether he has the ability to cover pro wideouts or physical makeup to last as a safety. It’s not that there’s pressure on the 220th overall choice to pick the right direction; any contributions the Bills get from the West Virginia product should naturally be considered a bonus.

As for their earlier second-day picks, the Bills may not have been early enough. The Bills weren’t done fulfilling their primary needs until the 147th pick when they obtained Harris, and he understandably might not be a starting candidate until at least 2010. Each of the four is a captivating choice, but that doesn’t automatically translate into productivity, especially in the cases of the first two. The Bills drafted with hopes on the second day, not expectations.
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CommentsComments: 103  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Greg S		09:25 AM
04/28/2009
Second day picks are not guys you expect to come in and be starters. If you get one that does, that is purely a bonus. In...
No.2
Cap55		09:28 AM
04/28/2009
Bottom line is that teams looking for starters out of the first couple rounds of the draft is a less than ideal situation, though...
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No.3
ddd		09:47 AM
04/28/2009
Seems to me the Biils have had more success finding "diamonds in the rough" signing undrafted free agents rather than mining them...
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