Levy passing on Leinart could cripple Bills’ future

By Connor Byrne  |   Monday, May 01, 2006  |  Comments( 9 )

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On paper, Buffalo Bills GM Marv Levy’s first NFL Draft in the role of an executive ended up as a success this past weekend. The 80-year-old shored up the Bills’ defense with former Ohio State defensive backs Donte Whitner and Ashton Youboty, former NC State defensive tackle John McCargo, former South Carolina safety Ko Simpson and ex-LSU defensive tackle Kyle Williams. However, it’s what Levy didn’t do that’s fueling his critics’ fire.

With the eighth overall pick on Saturday, the Bills left former Heisman Trophy winning USC quarterback Matt Leinart on the board in favor of selecting Whitner.

Entering the draft, I, and many others, projected Whitner to go No. 24 to the Cincinnati Bengals. There were some reports indicating the Detroit Lions would have taken the former Ohio State star with the No. 9 pick, but those were shot down. If the Bills wanted Whitner, they could have moved down at least 10 spots and gotten some more picks. Instead, they elected to stay where they were and reach for the All-Big 10 safety.

Leinart, one of the best college quarterbacks in history, sat in the green room in Radio City Music Hall in shock that he wasn’t picked as the Bills‘ selection rolled around. Rather than bringing in major revenue and giving a recognizable face to the Bills’ franchise, Levy elected to pass on Leinart. The Bills complain about losing revenue, yet they avoid arguably the most prominent figure in the draft. Why? Because Levy is “happy” with the Bills’ current quarterbacking situation. If Levy’s content with the three-headed monster of mediocrity the Bills currently have at QB in J.P. Losman, Craig Nall and Kelly Holcomb, then that organization has some major talent evaluation problems. The team’s fans want their next Jim Kelly, but it doesn’t appear that player’s walking through the door at One Bills Drive any time soon.

Many would say Leinart’s “weak” arm wouldn’t have held up in the windy conditions of Buffalo, but that’s ridiculous, since those people were probably the same who said two of the all-time greats, Joe Montana in San Francisco and Tom Brady in New England, wouldn‘t hold up with their “weak“ arms, either. So, in place of getting Buffalo a star figure for its main sports team, Levy drafted a relatively unknown safety, who mind you, will likely be very good. Nonetheless, it was the wrong thing to do and Levy will have a tough time living it down when the QB position is holding the Bills in the cellar of the AFC East, while Leinart is leading the Arizona Cardinals from the doldrums up to the NFL’s elite in the near future.

After Levy’s blunder on the Bills’ first pick, he elected to trade up to No. 26 in the draft. He sent the Chicago Bears picks No. 42 and 73 in order to acquire the Bills’ second first round pick of the afternoon on Saturday.

With USC bookend offensive tackle Winston Justice shockingly still on the board, Levy passed on him too, so he could select former NC State DT John McCargo. I projected McCargo to go No. 25 overall to the New York Giants, so I don’t view this as a reach, but it’s still a mistake for Buffalo. They have a need at left tackle, which means they should have selected Justice. The DT position was a major need as well, but it’s arguable Justice was a top-10 talent. Thus, rather than draft a second tremendous player from USC, the winningest team in college football over the last three years, Levy took a defensive tackle that could end up being a product of playing on the same defensive line with fellow first-rounders Mario Williams and Manny Lawson. The bottom line is that Justice was the best player available for the Bills at a need position, but they passed him by anyway.

Although Levy’s first two picks were baffling, he would end up saving some of his Hall of Fame reputation by stealing great prospects in the third and fourth rounds. Ashton Youboty, formerly of Ohio State, and Ko Simpson, an ex-South Carolina star, ended up being the best picks of the Bills’ draft.

With the 70th overall selection, Levy took Youboty, a 5-11 corner hailing from one of the best defensive back schools in the nation, Ohio State. The last two cornerbacks selected by the Bills from Ohio State were Antoine Winfield in 1999, and Nate Clements in 2001. Both have turned into top-level corners on the NFL level. Youboty undoubtedly had first round talent, but he inexplicably was left stewing until the third round. That pick may have been a no-brainer for Levy, but he still deserves credit for making it.

Leading off their second day of selections in the NFL Draft, Levy took Ko Simpson from South Carolina. Surprisingly, Simpson was still sitting there at 105th overall, so it was an easy decision for Buffalo. The only knock on Simpson, a former first round projection, was that he should have stayed in school another year, since he was drafted as a third-year sophomore. Still, at 6-1, he has good size and seems like a great prospect to succeed veteran free safety Troy Vincent in Buffalo in the next year or two.

The Buffalo Bills may have made their defense far better this past weekend, but no team will ever win without a great quarterback, with the exception of the 1985 Chicago Bears and 2000 Baltimore Ravens, but even they had wise veterans. In 2006, the Bills better hope one of their three quarterbacks becomes a star, otherwise they’ll wonder what could have been as they left the draft’s best quarterback, Matt Leinart, on the board.

--Connor Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com.
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CommentsComments: 9  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Matt		09:49 AM
05/01/2006
This was not Marv Levy's draft, it was the draft of the Buffalo Bills including Tom Modrak and Dick Jauron. According to reports...
No.2
Michael Aikin		10:10 AM
05/01/2006
I think you're way off base with your analysis here Connor. I'm not thrilled with the Bills first two picks either but for...
No.3
duckmcnutty		02:51 PM
05/01/2006
"but no team will ever win without a great quarterback, with the exception of the 1985 Chicago Bears and 2000 Baltimore Ravens...
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