If we are to believe the tandem of Chan Gailey and Buddy Nix are long term fixtures in Buffalo, then a very intriguing predicament will soon be facing them, and that is whether or not to draft Ohio State QB, Terrelle Pryor. I know your first reaction is to say I’m crazy, as the frugal owner Ralph Wilson would never allow a team to invest money in a player like Pryor, but hear me out. If the selection only cost the Bills a day three pick (say in the 4th round) then I say do it and here are the reasons why:
Mobility---Remember Chan loves quarterbacks that are mobile (one of his prized students was Kordell Stewart, whose best years were with Gailey) and he can slowly bring Pryor along behind Fitzpatrick and whatever veteran (say Brodie Croyle) they sign this off-season.
Veteran Depth----Ideally, Pryor rides the bench all of next season as a third string QB to get his feet wet in the league. This will allow him to work with Gailey and the staff on his obvious QB flaws without having the pressure to have him immediately play. Coming in this late not much should be expected from Pryor, so sitting behind a guy like Fitzpatrick (who showed he’s a solid quarterback better than just a game manager) and Croyle (who has a brief history with Gailey in KC) will give him time to digest a playbook and life in the NFL.
Location, location, location----Unlike the past “future franchise” QBs for the Bills, Pryor is a PA kid who grew up only four hours from Buffalo, played in the Big Ten so Buffalo weather and its climate should not be that much of an adjustment for them to gauge his abilities. J.P Losman, Rob Johnson and Trent Edwards all seemed to freeze up when the temperature got colder than the warm weather they were used to. Plus being a Pennsylvania kid you would think Pryor would be able to have a stronger support unit around him to help prevent future problems as the Bills experienced with say, Marshawn Lynch who was from Oakland, CA.
Low Risk-----It would be safe to assume by the end of year number two, Gailey and his staff would be able to determine if they had the next Randall Cunningham, Kordell Stewart or maybe better on the roster, or maybe instead someone like Matt Jones or Brad Smith, who they could use as both a receiver and a passing threat, or the next Damon Allen which would be the worst case. Should the experiment fail it only cost them a fourth round pick and after some of their misses on first round picks (Aaron Maybin, Mike Williams, and Erik Flowers) a fourth round gamble seems low risk to say the least. Should it work the Bill could start drafting players to specifically match Pryor’s strengths and really build a team the Buffalo faithful deserve.
For the media starved Buffalo Bills, rolling the dice on a talented but raw Terrelle Pryor makes a lot of sense as he possess many of the skills their head coach likes in his quarterback. It would also give them someone to get their fan base excited about not only this season, but the upcoming years. Also with his hometown four hours away, it may help the Bills expand their fan basea little southwhich certainly wouldn’t hurt. Do you think a #2 Bills Jersey might become a bigger seller in the Buffalo area? I do. Pryor has a ton of potential but needs a coach who knows how to develop it. Should the experiment fail, it only cost them a 4th round pick, and after some of their misses on 1st round picks, a fourth round gamble seems low risk to say the least. Should it work the Bills could start drafting players to specifically match Pryor’s strengths. Gailey has the track record to show he can develop guys like Pryor but the real question is how long will that Head Coach be given in Buffalo? Hopefully he’s given the chance and the opportunity to develop a raw but talented player like Pryor.
Here it is my yearly attempt at a seven round mock draft. It’s a lot of fun but certainly it consumes a lot of time as several factors are taken into consideration with each and every pick. Factors such as team needs, depth of a certain position in the draft, strength of a franchise structure (to take a player who may have a red flag when it comes to character), past draft selections (they might have someone waiting in the wings to replace a player), and connections to various schools or coaches such examples include Chan Gailey and Georgia Tech, Pete Carroll and USC, Bill Belichek and Pat Hill, Bill Parcells and Al Groh. While I don’t predict trades in any mocks I am expecting some if not all of the moves listed below to happen which will in turn change the landscape of the order and team needs.
1. Jason Campbell to be traded to possibly the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, or Carolina Panthers.
2. Flozell Adams to sign with either the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills or Seattle Seahawks
3. Marshawn Lynch to be moved possible to the San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks or Baltimore Ravens.
4. T.O. to land somewhere before the draft (maybe the Chicago Bears or Carolina Panthers)
Make sure to check out the radio show this week as we'll have former Miami Dolphins and Notre Dame center, Tim Ruddy, Jacques McClendon OG Tennessee and Aaron Morgan OLB from Louisiana-Monroe
Round 1
1 (1) St. Louis: Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma…The Rams can’t pass on Matt Ryan, Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford in three straight years can they? Bradford has to be the pick here nothing else makes sense.
1 (2) Detroit: Ndamukong SuhDTNebraska…Just imagine plugging Suh in on the same line with Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams. Detroit’s defense will be immensely improved this season.
1 (3) Tampa Bay: Gerald McCoyDTOklahoma…besides the Rams no team was happier to see Bradford’s Pro Day then the Buccaneers as they knew McCoy or Suh would land in their lap. They will run the card to the podium to get McCoy into the fold.
1 (4) Washington: Russell OkungOTOklahoma State….this former Oklahoma State Cowboy is about to become a Redskin. Fills a huge hold and makes the move of adding McNabb look even better.
1 (5) Kansas City: Bryan BulagaOTIowa…. It is well documented the friendship between Iowa HC, Kirk Ferentz and KC GM Scott Pioli, so this is a safe pick and instant starter for Kansas City.
1 (6) Seattle: Eric Berry FS Tennessee…Getting the playmaker and leader for his defense will be Pete Carroll’s first step in his plan to rebuild the Seahawks.
1 (7) Cleveland: Joe Haden CB Florida…The Browns can add Haden with newly acquired Sheldon Brown and see a significant improvement in their pass defense this season.
1 (8) Oakland: Bruce Campbell Maryland….While film studying and experience dictate there are other offensive tackles ahead of Campbell, remember this is the Raiders we are speaking about and they put more weight into Pro Days and combine then all the other teams combined. Campbell was a combine freak who hopefully can turn the dial up a few notches and warrant such a high selection.
1 (9) Buffalo: C.J. Spiller RB Clemson…..Should the first round fall like this I can see the Bills jumping at adding Spiller to the fold (heard Chan loves him) and then shipping Marshawn Lynch out of town to maybe San Diego or Seattle for a day three (which used to be day two) draft pick.
1 (10) Jacksonville: Taylor Mays FS USC….While some fans and media might want Tim Tebow with this selection that would be a colossal error (not that the Jaguars are above that) instead Del Rio grabs a fellow Trojan to patrol the middle of the field and be his enforcer.
1 (11) Denver (from Chicago): Rolando McClain ILB Alabama…Some think the recent trading of Brandon Marshall means welcome Dez Bryant to Denver but that’s six of one, half a dozen of another. Grabbing McClain fills a need with a much safer selection than taking the controversial Bryant.
1 (12) Miami: Sergio Kindle OLB Texas. Need to replace Joey Porter and Kindle provides that and potentially more. Player with great motor and a high ceiling.
1 (13) San Francisco: Trent Williams OT Oklahoma…significant upgrade is needed on the line and the athletic Williams gives the 49’ers that quick footed linemen who will help all phases of the offense.
1 (14) Seattle (from Denver): Derrick Morgan DE Georgia Tech…..with the retirement of Patrick Kearney this makes getting Morgan that much more vital as they’ll need to upgrade and address the pass rush.
1 (15) N.Y. Giants: Jason Pierre-Paul DE South Florida…The G-Men are looking to retool the defense and are starting with the defensive line. Pierre-Paul provides a great start as they look to re-establish the Super Bowl caliber defense.
1 (16) Tennessee: Everson Griffen DE USC…… With Vanden Bosch in Detroit the Titans biggest need is defensive end and Griffen has been impressive in workouts and is poised to make an instant impact for the team that grabs him in round one.
1 (17) San Francisco (from Carolina): Kyle Wilson CB Boise State…top two priorities going into round one were to protect the QB done with the drafting of Williams and now getting a shut down quality corner is done by grabbing the ever improving Kyle Wilson. Great start for the 49’ers.
1 (18) Pittsburgh: Mike Iupati OG Boise State….The Steelers (or at least the Rooneys) want to get back to smash mouth Steelers football but they realize they need the big boys upfront to accomplish that and Iupati is a Steelers kind of guy who should start early and keep the spot for twelve years.
1 (19) Atlanta: Maurkice Pouncey C Florida….After addressing the top need of the team when they added Dunta Robinson this off-season they can turn to add an anchor for their offensive line in Pouncey. Often mentioned when I asked SEC defensive linemen who was the best player you faced in college the answer usually was “Maurkice Pouncey”.
1 (20) Houston: Kareem Jackson CB Alabama….Priority one is to replace the void created by the loss of Robinson to Atlanta and getting a guy like Jackson, who has played for Nick Saban’s defense the past few years, is a great start and should allow them not to nearly miss a beat.
1 (21) Cincinnati: Jermaine Gresham TE Oklahoma…Most glaring need for the offense was the lack of a threat at the tight end position. Rumor has it they offered this pick during the season to Dallas for Martellus Bennett. Regardless, now they get to add the talented and fully healthy Gresham.
1 (22) New England: Dez Bryant WR Oklahoma State….The Patriots have several holes to fill on the defense but grabbing Bryant this late as the eventual replacement to Randy Moss is a no-brainer. The chances of a Bryant meltdown reduces significantly adding him to a team with the structure in place as the Patriots.
1 (23) Green Bay: Devin McCourty CB Rutgers. Two biggest area of needs are offensive line and adding youth to the corners. With all of the top tier offensive line gone by this point the Packers look at McCourty who has the makings of a very talented player and should contribute almost immediately.
1 (24) Philadelphia: Brandon Graham OLB Michigan…The face of the franchise has changed in Philadelphia with the trade of McNabb to Washington but the fact they need to significantly upgrade the defense has not changed. Graham stood out at the Senior Bowl and seemed almost unstoppable against top senior class talent. Brandon will be a welcome addition as Philly looks to establish themselves again at a top defense.
1 (25) Baltimore: Dan Williams DT Tennessee….They’ve addressed the offense this off-season so far but now need to continue to add talent to the already impressive defense. Tight end might have been a nice selection here but no one still on the board rates nearly as high as big Dan Williams.
1 (26) Arizona: Carlos Dunlap DEFlorida…No team is in a bigger transition this off-season than the Cards who are going from the Warner years to uncertainty. As they look to retool several position the first spot on the list is filling the void of Bertrand Berry and grabbing Dunlap this late will certainly help with that plan.
1 (27) Dallas: Earl Thomas FS Texas…Jerry wanted to go into the draft with no obvious glaring needs but switched gears once he cut Ken Hamlin and Flozell Adams making pretty obvious what the Cowboys two biggest needs are going into the draft. Thomas is higher rate on my board than any of the remaining offensive tackles so taking a Texas player for the Cowboys makes sense over grabbing Anthony Davis.
1 (28) San Diego: Ryan Matthews RB Fresno State…Sproles needs help and unless they make the trade for Marshawn Lynch like I think this is their best move.
1 (29) NY Jets: Brian Price DT UCLA…Big clog up the middle that is needed for Ryan’s defense to fully succeed. Price is a steal at this point of the draft and should push for a starting spot in camp.
1 (30) Minnesota: Chris Cook DB Virginia…..If I were more daring I would say Jimmy Clausen but I’m not sure Minnesota can take that risk and have a player sit and learn for the future as their future is now and Chris Cook is the player who can fill a lot of holes depending what direction they want to use him. Playing for Al Groh you know he’s fundamentally sound and with his size will be a great addition.
1 (31) Indianapolis: Jerry Hughes OLB/DE TCU…The Colts need another pass rusher on the roster as they’ve relied too long on Dwight Freeney and it might have cost them a ring. Hughes has moved up on several teams’ board and is the perfect player for the Colts to add this late in round one.
1 (32) New Orleans: Sean Weatherspoon OLB Missouri..Payton’s crew had one of the most impressive offenses in the past several years but still have some glaring needs on defense and with the first being upgrading the linebackers and Weatherspoon will become an instant starter and contender for defensive rookie of the year.
