So here we are. It’s the Monday after the draft. Going into the past weekend, there was a decent amount of excitement due to our fairly high position in the draft. Eighth pick overall ain’t too shabby. Defintely should be able to get a premeire player at that spot. Someone who will be around for a long time, visiting the Pro Bowl a time or two.
With great anticipation (and limited resources) I continually refreshed the page when it was our turn to select, hoping to see some stunning trade, or a fantastic pick. Both defensive linemen whom most experts picked (including us, if you can call us “experts”?) were still available, so the question was simply which one would they take? Finally, one refresh brought forth a name. When it first came up, I actually thought it was a mistake. In all of the mock drafts I had read for all of the teams, I had never seen this player’s name. So, it must be a mistake.
But, refresh after refresh, it was still there. Donte Whitner – Strong Saftey – Ohio State.
WHAT??!?!? A player NO ONE had even mentioned was our 8th Pick of the DRAFT?!?!?!?
Oh my.
So I picked up the phone and called Uncle Josh. I knew he was around and watching. There was no answer, so I left my incredulous message on his machine. A few hours later, I received his equally incredulous message on my machine. We were both aghast at such a pick. We knew the Bills have made some pretty wacky picks in the past, but…
Amazing.
It’s now Monday morning. Cooler heads (may) prevail. I figured I would take a stab at my first impressions of the draft.
I have already mentioned my first reaction to this pick. After listening to the press conference with the three head honchos, I can understand why they liked Whitner, but… the 8th pick?? Seems a bit paranoid to think he wouldn’t have been there by even our regular second round pick. I imagine he’ll be a solid player, but selecting him at this spot still has me scratching my head.
OK, now see… we traded up to get this pick late in the first round (26th overall). We already had the 8th pick, and BOTH of the top defensive linemen prospects were still available. That is what boggles my mind. We could have gotten Whitner here, AND Ngata or Bunkley. The one thing that gives me hope is that the Bills are notorious for finding no-name gems from small schools in the draft. We’re hoping to see a lot of that from this draft, I think.
After trading our second round pick, and one of our third round picks to get the 26th overall choice (which we used to nab the popular John McCargo, before he was no longer available) we selected another cornerback. Uncle Josh is higher on Youboty than on Whitner, so that’s a positive. But what’s the deal with all these DBs?
It was this pick where I first was confident that the Bills’ brass had completely lost their mind. But with such obvious insanity, I began to question whether I knew the team at all? It was quite obvious by round four that the Bills felt they needed defensive back help. At least fresh blood back there, or something? So as to not completly lose my mind, I began to try to trust Marv and Co. that this was the best direction for our team’s rebuilding…
But… 3 out of the first 4 picks were DBs???????
With their first pick of two in the 5th round, the Bills chose another defensive lineman. That’s good. We need some interior line help especially. In these later rounds, it’s pretty much anybody’s guess as to who will do well in the NFL and who won’t. He has good speed and instinct. Probably a good choice here at the 134th pick overall.
YES!!! An OFFENSIVE LINEMAN!!!! It took us 5 rounds, 6 picks and the 143rd overall pick to get one, but we found one!!! Actually, I think this is a good pick. From what I read on him he’s definitely a good lineman. NFL.com writer, Gil Brandt said, “He played right tackle at Virginia because D’Brickashaw Ferguson was the left tackle, but everybody thinks he can be a left tackle in the NFL.” Sounds good to me.
Not too sure about this pick (again, hard to tell in these later rounds) but we could use another linebacker. Especially if Takeo can not come back to full strength. Still… seven picks now, and only one OL? That is surprising indeed. Guess the Bills felt they needed defensive help.
Again, the Bills have two 7th round choices, and we finally see more offensive linemen. In fact, they used both of their final two selections on offensive linemen. Pennington is a big guy! He’s 6’7″ and 325 lbs! Sounds like good tackle material. Another “House” Ballard, perhaps?
Rounding out the Bills’ nine picks in the 2006 draft is another offensive lineman. This time, an interior guy. The Bills need help everywhere on the line, so this is a good position to draft. As for the player, I know next to nothing about him. Apparently he has a good frame for a guard, but lacks speed.
With a pretty good amount of free agent acquisitions, and nine selections in the draft, the Bills have definitely brought an significant influx of new talent to the team. The first reaction is certainly one of surprise. No one could have picked Donte Whitner as the Bills’ first choice at the 8th overall spot. But, after several rounds, it became quite apparent that DB was the top priority for the team. We’ll see if that priority was warranted.
Stay tuned to the BuffaloBillsReview for our official Draft Show coming later this week. We’ll have a special guest with us, Andre Smith, a sports writer from Deleware. Dre has been on the show before, and has some good, in-depth draft knowledge to add to the BBR team, so we’re looking forward to it.
Leave your comments on the draft here, or take our polls in the sidebar, or call the hotline 716-989-4180 and join us as we review this year’s draft!