Bills should wait on Reyes’ fate until draft concludes

By Connor Byrne  |   Thursday, April 20, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Buffalo Bills
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Last week, the Buffalo Bills brought in Carolina Panthers' free agent offensive guard Tutan Reyes in for a visit at their facilities in Orchard Park, NY. Reyes was thought of as a solid yet replaceable player on the Panthers' offensive line, but he'd catapult to being one of the Bills' best on what appears to be an uninspiring collection of blockers.

With no real bidding war for Reyes taking place, the best thing the Bills can do is take care of the upcoming draft before they worry about the 28-year-old left guard. Day One of the NFL Draft, which is April 29, has what is believed to be an embarrassment of riches at the offensive guard positions. Thus, the Bills could find a player with more upside than Reyes if they truly wanted to.

The second-round of the draft, where the Bills hold the 10th pick (No. 42 overall), has a number of gifted young monsters who have the size and ability to manhandle large defensive linemen. Davin Joseph of Oklahoma, Max Jean-Gilles of Georgia and Duce Lutui of USC are the best of the second-round bunch.

At 6-3, 309 pounds, Joseph has enough size and more than enough athleticism to handle his fair share of mammoth defenders. Joseph seems like exactly the type of player Bills GM Marv Levy is looking for: a tough as nails, character individual with a terrific work ethic. Joseph has the kind of mean-streak in him that the opposition hates going up against. For those who watched the Holiday Bowl in late December, Joseph was the one who spent most of the evening having his way with former Oregon nose tackle Haloti Ngata.

As for Georgia's Jean-Gilles, he's thought of as more of a right guard than left, but he could sit behind veteran Chris Villarial and learn for a year while second-year man Duke Preston tries his hand at left guard. Since Villarial's age is increasing and his production is decreasing, this might be a good solution for Buffalo. However, the 355-pound Jean-Gilles may not be what the Bills are looking for, since he takes certain plays off, has trouble with his physical fitness and doesn't have the killer instinct of the aforementioned Joseph.

The final guard projected to go in the second-round, Lutui, has the potential to end up as one of the premier linemen to emerge from this draft. Although the 338-pound Lutui doesn't have very good speed, he makes up for it with his tremendous work in pass blocking. The Bills have clearly lacked a legitimate pass blocker over the last few seasons, and it's showed. Lutui, also a character player, can fill that void.

If the Bills elect to go another direction from those three in the second-round, they can always look to the third-round for good interior linemen. Buffalo has the sixth and ninth picks in the round, so they should have their shot at some nice talent. However, there seems to only be two worthwhile guards in this round, and those two are: Pittsburgh's Charles Spencer and Louisville's Jason Spitz.

Spencer is clearly the Bills' best option at this stage in the draft because he is a great character player with boatloads of talent. Weighing in at 352 pounds, Spencer is an intimidator who can dictate a game in the trenches. Spencer visited with the Bills earlier this month, so they are clearly serious about taking him at some point on day one.

Spitz is the second-best guard in the third-round, but he'll likely go somewhere in the middle of it or toward the end. Thus, the Bills would have to trade down for him, and it's highly doubtful they would do that. Nonetheless, Spitz is a versatile player who can fill in at both center and guard. He also possesses good intangibles, an undeniable mean-streak and durability. However, he's a poor pass blocker, and that's exactly what the Bills don't need. Seeing Buffalo select Spitz would be a clear long shot, unless it's in the fourth-round or after.

Without question, there is a lot of offensive guard talent early on in the upcoming draft, so the Bills don't have any excuses for not getting one. Veteran Bennie Anderson is still penciled in as the Bills' starter, but look for him to be released during the summer months. Preston might be able to step in, but the Bills haven't at all given him a vote of confidence. Their three best bets are Joseph, Lutui and Spencer. Whether or not they nab one of them will be found out in just nine days. If not, Reyes could be the answer.

--Connor Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com
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