The contract details have not been released but it is a heavily incentivized deal for Sanders, a heavily incentivized player. He’s been through so many injuries that I doubt he’ll ever be at his 2006 form again, but if he stays healthy he can be a solid starter for the Chargers who need help at strong safety. Worst case scenario, he gets hurt again and they don’t lose much.
Grade: A
Quarterback
Missouri
6-4 234
Draft board overall prospect rank: #48
Draft board overall quarterback rank: #3
Overall rating: 78 (mid 2nd)
40 time: 4.61
3/17/11: Reports leading up to his Pro Day were that the NFL as a whole was not sold on Gabbert. That’s probably going to change now. Gabbert looked great in his Pro Day, completing 47 of 50 with 2 drops. He probably won’t slip past the 49ers at #7 and could easily go #1 overall.
The Broncos, the Bengals, the 49ers, the Titans, and the Vikings all sent their head coaches to Missouri’s Pro Days (note the absences of Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals coach). Chan Gailey wasn’t there either, but they dined with Gabbert the night before. Ron Rivera didn’t attend, but the Panthers have a private workout set up with him Saturday. They have said they are not sold on him, but that was before his Pro Day so things could have changed.
I had a 3rd round grade on Gabbert before today. I’m moving it up to a 2nd round grade. He still didn’t produce in a system that is catered towards quarterbacks producing. He’s got upside, but I still have him ranked behind Cam Newton and Ryan Mallett.
3/7/11: I have been covering the NFL Draft for a few years and I’ve never encountered a more head scratching top quarterback prospect than Blaine Gabbert. The part that’s head scratching is not, how should I grade him, but why is he generally accepted as a first round or even a top 10 pick. It’s baffling. This guy was in no one’s first round mock for months and months and months and then Andrew Luck went back to school and all of a sudden Todd McShay put him at #5 to the Cardinals and everyone followed suit. I don’t get what everyone loves about this kid.
I watched Missouri’s bowl game against Iowa and if you had told me one of those two quarterbacks would become a first round prospect in a month or so, I would have guessed Ricky Stanzi. Ricky Stanzi was the better quarterback in that game. He looked like the better pro prospect and statistically that was one of Stanzi’s worst games this season. Stanzi is a mid round prospect at best and Gabbert is being talked about as a possibility for the #1 pick.
It’s almost like everyone is saying, this quarterback class sucks now than Andrew Luck is going to back to school. That kid from Missouri has a big arm, cool hair, and Todd McShay likes him, let’s put him atop our board. I desperately hope NFL scouts are smarter than that and actually, from what I’m hearing from various sources around the league, NFL scouts aren’t as sold on Gabbert as McShay and Kiper and all those guys are.
It’s okay to have a big board with quarterbacks with first round grades. My philosophy is always, if you need a quarterback and there’s one available in the first round that you have given a first round grade, take him. However, some years there just are no quarterbacks with first round ability. I’ve given Cam Newton and Ryan Mallett borderline first round grades, but that’s it. The worst thing you can do is to draft a quarterback in the first round when you’re not sold on him as a first rounder and a franchise quarterback. There’s always next year. There’s always 2nd-3rd round projects.
This year this is especially true as the NFL lockout could cut into training camp time. This year’s quarterbFack class is full of raw quarterbacks, whether it be Newton, or Gabbert, or Mallett, or Jake Locker or Colin Kaepernick or Pat Devlin. Do you really want to throw any of these guys out there year 1 with limited offseason practice with the team?
Teams are better off going with a veteran, a mid round project, and waiting for next year when it looks like there will be at least two first round caliber quarterbacks, Andrew Luck, widely considered the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning, and Matt Barkley, the anointed one since high school who hasn’t disappointed in two years at USC. Then, of course, there’s always guys who do what Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman did, coming out of seemingly nowhere to become first round caliber quarterbacks.
One final thing before I start talking about Gabbert exclusively. Just because Todd McShay anoints a quarterback a first rounder, doesn’t mean he’s right. McShay loved JaMarcus Russell. He had a first round grade on Brian Brohm and said, when the Packers picked him in the 2nd, that he would become their starting quarterback over Aaron Rodgers in two years. He hated Aaron Rodgers coming out of Cal, citing his “lack of creativity.” He hated Matt Ryan and didn’t care for Joe Flacco. This care is hardly the best source for quarterback knowledge. Go and watch the tape for yourselves.
I mentioned Gabbert as raw earlier and this is what I mean. The physical stuff is all there. He ran in the 4.6s and is a very mobile quarterback. He has an above average arm. At 6-4 he has NFL size. However, he’s not very accurate, his footwork is atrocious, and he is coming out of a spread offense. Before Sam Bradford, quarterbacks coming from shotgun spreads didn’t work out in the NFL at all. Bradford is the exception. Not the rule. Colt McCoy is coming along, but considering he only played 8 games last year and threw 3 more picks than touchdowns, it’s hard to put him in Bradford’s tier.
The problem with shotgun spread offenses, and Missouri’s offense especially, is there are no dropbacks, few reads, and few long throws. Most of it is take the snap, first read, short throw. As a result of this, Gabbert’s footwork is not where it needs to be at this point and neither is his ability to read defenses. I’m not saying he can’t learn, but he’s at a disadvantage from the start. It also inflates stats because it’s so pass heavy.
In most years, all of those things I read would be major red flags. They were with Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy last year. However, everyone seems to be ignoring that with Gabbert because Bradford panned out and because Gabbert is more physically impressive than most spread quarterbacks. His physical stature is also a big part of the reason why people seem to be ignoring his stats. He didn’t produce much in college. Stats aren’t everything, but if you can’t produce in college in an offense that caters to your stats, how can you be expected to produce in the NFL, at least right away. Let’s look at his 2010.
Blaine Gabbert 2010: 301-475 (63.4%), 3186 yards (6.7 YPA), 16 touchdowns, 9 interceptions
That’s across the board worse than the seasons Bradford and McCoy and Tebow had. He was better in 2009.
Blaine Gabbert 2009: 262-445 (58.9%), 3593 yards (8.1 YPA), 24 touchdowns, 9 interceptions
Two things there. One, why did he regress? That’s a bad sign. Two, that’s still worse than Bradford or McCoy or Tebow or even former Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. It’s worse than former first round picks out of shotgun spread offenses, Vince Young and Alex Smith, both of whom have had less than stellar NFL careers.
The big comeback to these facts is that Gabbert had a stronger arm than those guys and is faster than most of those guys. He may have a strong arm, but he’s wildly inaccurate with it and his delivery, especially on longer throws, is really wild. He may be fast, but he looks to run too soon and doesn’t keep his eyes downfield, as any good quarterback should.
Because of his athleticism, I compare him more to guys like Alex Smith and Vince Young, former top picks whose athleticism outweighed their lack of experience in a Pro Style offense in most people’s eyes and that’s why they both went top 3. He’s not as fast as Vince Young or as productive and accurate as Alex Smith, but he has a stronger arm than both of them.
I think the Alex Smith comparison is the best. Smith was faster than average coming out of Utah and though his arm wasn’t quite as strong as Gabbert, he had the same downfield inaccuracy problems. He also had Gabbert’s NFL frame, at 6-4 220. Smith was more of a winner and more productive though. And as was the case with Alex Smith, any team that takes Gabbert in the top 10, will be picking there a lot in the next 5 years.
NFL Comparison: Alex Smith
By Mike “Coast”
The Buffalo Bills got embarrassed by the Minnesota Vikings yesterday 38-14. They got outplayed in every single phase of the game and it wasn’t even close. All of the weaknesses we all knew the Bills had came to fruition. The offensive and defensive lines were horrible, the linebackers were horrible, the quarterback played like backup, the running game didn’t exist and the special teams was horrible.
The Bills offensive line played as bad of a game as I have ever seen in the league. I know, they were hurt by injuries but their starting left tackle played and I hope that this team doesn’t think they are adequate at the position going forward with Demetrius Bell manning the position. Jared Allen was in Fitzpatrick’s face all game. Allen is a top echelon defensive end and I want my starting left tackle to at least look like he belongs in the same league as him. Bell failed his biggest test of the season yesterday miserably.
The Bills rush defense was as horrible as it has been the entire season. Adrian Peterson and his bum ankle led the way to a team 210 rushing yard performance. The Vikings averaged 5.3 yards per carry. The Bills allow 170.9 yards per game. That is 25 yards worse than the 31st ranked defense in the league. 170.9 yards per game is better than only 2 teams since 2002, the 2008 Lions and the 2007 Colts. The Bills have an all time horrible rush defense and there has been little to no improvement during the season. The most troubling part about it is that much of the front 7 will look the same next year.
The Bills will bring back FA Paul Posluszny. Chris Kelsay isn’t going anywhere. Kyle Williams is etched in and the Bills aren’t getting rid of Dwan Edwards anytime soon. I have no problem with bringing back Poz and I like Edwards and Williams, but other than those three guys ugh? Kelsay needs to be cut. Torbor, Ayodele, Coleman…I mean, who are these guys? Stroud should get cut this offseason too. The Bills need 4 new starters in the front 7 and that isn’t going to happen.
Fitzpatrick didn’t have a good day. Yes, he was sacked only once, but Jared Allen and company were in his face all game. I have been a huge proponent of Fitzpatrick. I think he has done a good job this year and I think the argument that he is horrible has no merit. That said, he looked like a back up QB in the league yesterday and maybe that is what he is.
Leodis McKelvin had the worst 5 minutes of football I have ever seen. He got burned on a 50 yard bomb by Sydney Rice, fumbled the ensuing kickoff and then got called for pass interference in the end zone on the next drive on 3rd and goal. To make things even more embarrassing for McKelvin, he actually celebrated on an incomplete pass thrown his way later in the game. McKelvin had an interception later in the game off a deflection and he celebrated that play too. How dumb is this person? The Bills were losing by 31 points and McKelvin had the worst game a cornerback has played in a while and he is celebrating plays in the 2nd half? Give me a break. What a freaking embarrassment, holy crap.
So where is this team going to go the rest of the season? The Bills play the Browns next weekend. The Browns beat the Patriots and Saints this year, two better wins than the Bills have had in the past 7 years. The Bills go on the road to play Miami the week after that before they finish the season with New England and the Jets. Based on how things look right now, these two teams will be playing for the division. The Bills are looking at 4-12 at best, 2-14 at worst but most likely 3-13.
Will this be enough to get the first pick? Carolina finishes the season with the Falcons and Cardinals at home and then travel to Pittsburgh and to Atlanta. If they can somehow beat a terrible Cardinals team and get the Falcons backups in week 17, they could get to 3 wins, but that is the most they will get. I don’t think that the Bungals or Lions will draft a QB so it depends on what happens with Carolina.
The Bills have a few things working against them. Carolina will have an easier strength of schedule than the Bills which is the first tiebreaker . Also, it is likely that the Panthers will have a new coach who will probably want his QB. The Bills only chance is to lose the rest of their games.
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Quarterback
Pittsburgh
6-2 211
40 time (projected): 4.96
Draft board overall prospect rank: #113
Draft board quarterback rank: #7
Overall rating: 66*
3/22/10: Bill Stull is a bit raw as a quarterback prospect and very inexperienced, but there are a lot of things to like about him as a quarterback prospect and a future NFL starting quarterback. Stull has started 2 years at Pittsburgh at the quarterback position. He struggled a bit in 2008 with a mere 57% completion percentage and 10 picks to 9 touchdowns, but the 25 sacks he took probably had something to do with that. He bounced back behind an improved offensive line in 2009 leading upstart Pittsburgh with a 65% completion percentage, a 8.2 YPA, and 21 touchdowns to 8 picks. I realize that one good year is not enough to say, he’s going to be a future starter, but when you consider that those stats were all while running a Pro Style offense at Pittsburgh, against fairly tough competition. He’s got a good arm and has made countless pro style throws in his time at Pittsburgh. He’s not the star Colt McCoy is, but I actually like his chances to be a future starting quarterback better than McCoy’s because of his stronger arm, his experience putting up good production in a Pro Style offense, and because of his more mature reads. He has everything you look for in an NFL quarterback. He did not receive a Combine invite and probably will not be drafted in the first 4 rounds, but I could definitely see him following in the footsteps of guys like Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Bulger, and Jake Delhomme, going from a relatively unknown prospect, to an NFL backup, to an NFL starter for a winning team. All he needs is a team to take a chance on him and then to get lucky and get a shot to start.
NFL Comparison: Jake Delhomme
*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here
The Bills began the season as the worst team in the league, starting 0-8 before finally beating the Lions by 2 week 10. The Bills would go on to win 4 of their next 6 games, but some argue that wasn’t in the best interest of the franchise. The Bills finished the season 4-12, out of reach of the #1 overall draft pick and Andrew Luck. Ryan Fitzpatrick was decent at times this year, but it was glaringly obvious on many occasions that he’s not the guy who can take this time back to the playoffs.
Overall they had their ups and downs this season. The 0-8 start was certainly depressing, but from week 6 to week 15, they only lost one game by more than 3 points. Losses to the Jets (38-14 and 38-7) as well as 7 turnovers in a 34-3 loss to the Patriots week 16, were certainly low points for this team.
Ryan Fitzpatrick grew a bit of a cult following with the fans in Buffalo. Here was a scrappy kid, a career backup from Harvard who didn’t have all the physical skills, but could get the job done, and the fans loved that when he won, but in their losses his flaws were easily identifiable, namely that he lacked the ability to consistently throw an accurate deep ball. Fitz will probably remain the quarterback in 2011, but they need to look at alternatives for the future. It helps Fitzpatrick’s chances that coach Chan Gailey really likes him and, for the time being, it seems Gailey’s job is safe despite the 4-12 record.
This team has a long way to go before it can become a playoff team, but with a strong draft this year they can work way their way there. A new quarterback is needed, but so are a lot of other things. This isn’t a one year fix, but if it’s fixed right, they can make the playoffs in 2 or 3 years, something this team hasn’t done in a long time.
9/3/11: Shawne Merriman looked decent this preseason. He’s hardly “lights out” again, but if he be even half of his old self, that’ll be a big boost to Buffalo’s pass rush, which sacked Chicago 9 times in their preseason opener. Ryan Fitzpatrick looked good too, despite the loss of Lee Evans.
The last time the Buffalo Bills made the playoffs, Bill Clinton was still president (1999). The main reason for that is inconsistent (or consistently bad) quarterback play. Is Ryan Fitzpatrick that quarterback to get them back to the playoffs? I doubt it. Chan Gailey’s offense has always inflated quarterbacks’ stats (Tyler Thigpen anyone?) without getting real results in terms of points and wins. Plus, Fitzpatrick’s 23 passing touchdowns from 2010 are a little misleading. The Bills only had 6 rushing touchdowns all last year so it’s not like they were scoring a lot.
The Bills do have one thing going for them. They are one of 11 teams that has the same head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator, and starting quarterback as last year. That has to give them an advantage going into this season, coming off of a lockout. They will be better than they were last year, when they switched quarterbacks midseason. Hell, they’ll be better than they were last year based solely on the fact that Trent Edwards won’t start any games for them this season. Bills fans can look forward to that, I guess.
Unfortunately, that might be all they have to look forward to. Their offensive line was decent against the pass rush last season, but really struggled to run block. One of two new starters on their offensive line is right guard Kraig Urbik. Urbik, a 2009 3rd round pick, will get his first chance to start this season over Cord Howard, who was terrible last year, and Geoff Hangartner, who will now backup Eric Wood at center, his natural position. Wood, meanwhile, is a 2009 1st round pick. Unlike most of Buffalo’s first round picks, he’s still on the roster, but he’s not a great player or anything. He would be best described as decent.
The other new starter on the offensive line is Erik Pears, a career journeyman backup who will somehow start for the Bills this season. He should struggle, which could force 4th round rookie Chris Hairston into the starting lineup. The line side of their line is fine. Demetrius Bell rebounded from a terrible 2009 with a decent 2010 season at left tackle. Meanwhile, left guard Andy Levitre might be their best offensive lineman, though that isn’t saying much.
Buffalo should be able to run the ball once again, in spite of their line’s terrible run blocking. Fred Jackson remains one of the league’s most underrated backs. He’s 30, but he doesn’t have a ton of career carries (remember he was a late bloomer) so he should have another solid year in him. They also have CJ Spiller, the 9th overall pick in 2010, as the backup. Rookie Johnny White will be their 3rd string running back and won’t see much action unless someone suffers an injury ahead of him. Unfortunately, this team has done well on the ground for the best two seasons and where has that gotten them? This is a passing league and they will once again struggle to throw the ball.
Steve Johnson is a legitimate deep threat #1 receiver for Fitzpatrick, though he does occasionally get a case of the dropsies (6 drops in a loss to the Steelers last year, although apparently that was God’s fault, so there’s that). However, after him, their options kind of suck. Lee Evans is gone and Donald Jones is expected to start is his place. While he has some promise, I don’t expect too much from him. Tight end is even bleaker. Scott Chandler, who has one career catch, is penciled in as the starter. Yikes!
Defensively, things don’t get much better. Good defenses have to be able to get to the quarterback and this team can’t. They had a mere 27 sacks last year. Marcell Dareus will help a little bit, but remember this is a lockout shortened offseason. He won’t be nearly as effective as he would have been in a normal year. Plus, it’s not like he is some sort of Ndamukong Suh esque pass rusher. His strength is against the run, though he can contribute as a pass rusher. After nose tackle Kyle Williams, 5.5 sacks, no one had more than 3.5 sacks on this team last year, so Dareus sadly could be their 2nd best pass rusher this year.
The only way this pass rush is anything other than terrible to mediocre next year is if Shawne Merriman finds his “lights out” form. However, it’s not like Merriman was “lights out” two years ago or anything like that. His last good season was 2007. He’s a long shot to even stay healthy, let alone be a solid contributor.
Opposite Merriman at the other rush linebacker slot is Chris Kelsay, who had 3.5 sacks last year. He’s also on the decline of his career at age 31 and it’s not like he’s ever been a great pass rusher (career high 5.5 sacks). Danny Batten has some upside at the position, but overall, it looks pretty bleak. Rounding out the defensive line next to Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams will be Dwan Edwards. Edwards, a top reserve in Baltimore prior, got paid big bucks last offseason to start in Buffalo. He managed one sack. The Bills hope 2010 3rd round pick Alex Carrington can take the job from him, but so far he has yet to do so.
Finishing off the front 7 are Nick Barnett and Andra Davis, two marginal players older than 30. Paul Posluszny might not have been a great fit for their 3-4, but they will miss him now that he has signed in Jacksonville. Rookie 3rd rounder Kelvin Sheppard could start at some point this season, but not because he’s great or anything, but out of necessity. 2nd year player Arthur Moats is also in the mix as is Reggie Torbor.
The secondary is the strength of the defense. Leodis McKelvin and Terrence McGee are both solid starters. The team drafted Aaron Williams in the 2nd round to be the nickel back, but then signed incumbent nickel back Drayton Florence to a 3 year deal, a peculiar move. However, they do go 4 deep at the position, not a bad thing. Jairus Byrd at free safety intercepted 9 passes as a rookie in 2009, but managed just one last season. Still, he’s an above average starter. Opposite him, they lost Donte Whitner in free agency, but his backup George Wilson is actually better than he was.
Overall, the Bills continuity in this lockout shortened offseason should be able to help this team win a few more games than they should, but the talent just isn’t there. It hasn’t been there for a long time. The good news for Bills fans, your team might not finish in last place. At least the Bills have their starting quarterback situation figured out, more than you can say about Miami.
Quarterback: C-
Running backs: B
Receiving corps: D
Offensive line: C-
Run defense: C-
Pass rush: C+
Pass coverage: B-
Projection: 7-9 3rd in AFC East
By Cormac Eklof
Buffalo Bills (0-2) at New England Patriots (1-1)
This could have been a close game. The Patriots are reeling after a nightmare second half last weekend against the Jets. They themselves are in something of a transition. This could have been the week that the Bills broke the insane streak of 13 straight losses to the Brady Bunch. Instead, Buffalo are making changes at QB and are showcasing a washed up veteran RB instead of riding a healthy young future stud. Lynch is vulturing half Spiller’s carries just so the Bills can get something good in return for a trade from someone desperate for running back help, like Green Bay. Or New England for that matter. Chopping and changing like this the week before traveling to New England is not a recipe for success. Combining the Bills tactics with the Patriots anger from losing last week, with Brady, Welker and Wilfork’s professionalism, with the fact that the game is in New England, with history telling us the Patriots this decade always come back hard after a loss, it’s impossible to see anything but a serious trouncing for the over matched Bills here.
New England 42-13
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Defensive End
The Bills managed just 28 sacks in 2011. Marcell Dareus led the way with 5.5 sacks, while Chris Kelsay had 5. After those two, no one had more than 3. They’re switching to a 4-3 defense. They’ll be set at defensive tackle with Marcell Dareus shifting inside next to Kyle Williams, who is expected to make a full recovery from foot surgery. However, defensive end is a different story. Chris Kelsay can be one starter, but he’s a declining player at age 32, 33 in October. At the other defensive end position, they don’t really have anyone. This should be their priority during the draft. I expect them to take either Quinton Coples, Whitney Mercilus, Melvin Ingram, or Courtney Upshaw at 10 and maybe another end at another point. They really need to improve their pass rush.
Tight End
The Bills raised some eyebrows when they started Scott Chandler, a 2007 4th round pick with one career catch, at tight end. The 6-7 263 pound Chandler was a solid blocker, but managed 38 catches for 389 yards and 6 touchdowns this season. He’s a free agent and if he’s brought back, it should be as a run blocking red zone threat in two tight end sets. They’ll need a complimentary tight end. If Dwayne Allen or Coby Fleener are available when they draft in the 2nd round, they could be the pick.
Wide Receiver
Steve Johnson just had another great season, catching 76 passes for 1004 yards and 7 touchdowns. However, he’s a free agent. He’ll need to be resigned. Opposite him, neither David Nelson nor Donald Jones were all that impressive this season. Bills GM Buddy Nix mentioned that he wanted to add a big bodied receiver this offseason. This is a strong wide receiver class in free agency, so they may go that route. They could also spend a pick in rounds 2-4 on a receiver, because this is also a pretty deep wide receiver draft class.
Quarterback
I don’t know if these two things were related, but Ryan Fitzpatrick really struggled after being given a long term extension last season. They have an out in his contract that would save them a lot of money, but I expect him to be brought back because there really isn’t a better option available to them. However, they could still use a mid rounder on a developmental quarterback behind him.
Offensive Tackle
Demetrius Bell has grown into a very good left tackle. However, he can’t stay healthy. He was really good in limited action this season, but has just once played more than 8 games in the last 4 seasons. He’s also a free agent. In his absence, Chris Hairston wasn’t very good. Buddy Nix (who is very candid about these things) said that he wants Bell to return for the right price, but that they’d also be looking at offensive tackles in the draft.
Cornerback
Nix also said that he wanted to add two more cornerbacks to the mix. This makes sense. They have some aging players at the position and their lack of depth was exposed this season. One of them should be a young cornerback through the draft to pair with 2011 2nd round pick Aaron Williams for the future. Leodis McKelvin seems more comfortable as a nickelback, depth cornerback type.
Outside Linebacker
They’re making the switch to a 4-3 without sufficient 4-3 outside linebacker depth. Kelvin Sheppard is probably the middle linebacker, while Nick Barnett is expected to move outside. They’ll need one more linebacker outside, however, because I don’t think Danny Batten is the best fit for a 4-3. Meanwhile, Barnett is getting up there in age so they might want to find a future successor. Kirk Morrison could be an option if he’s resigned. He didn’t play much in their 3-4, but he would be a better fit in a 4-3.
Free agency priorities
Tight End
Their leading receiver at tight end had 12 catches for 111 yards. That’s just sad. They didn’t draft one, so hopefully they can find one through free agency.
Wide receiver
Lee Evans is at the point where his salary greatly exceeds his production. They should cut him and find a cheaper alternative.
Rush Linebacker
Chris Kelsay, Shawne Merriman, and Aaron Maybin weren’t the answers last year and unless Maybin breaks out and Merriman finds his 2006 form, they won’t be the answers this year. For some reason, they neglected to draft a rush linebacker. Maybe they’re looking at free agents.
Draft Needs
Quarterback
It became painfully obvious that Ryan Fitzpatrick was not the answer down the stretch, but at that point they had won too many games and cost themselves a shot at Andrew Luck. If they like Ryan Mallett or Cam Newton enough, they can take him at 3, or trade down and get one of them later. Most likely, they’ll either just draft a developmental quarterback in the 2nd round on or not draft a quarterback at all just give it another go next year with Fitz and a better supporting cast.
3-4 Defensive End
The Buffalo ranked dead last in the league against the run this year after ranking 30th last year so the switch to a 3-4 defense didn’t really help their run defense. They also ranked 29th in the league with a mere 27 sacks. Nick Fairley is a legitimate option for the Bills at 3.
Drafted Marcell Dareus (#3)
Rush Linebacker
Focusing on their 27 sacks, the Bills desperately need a #1 pass rushing linebacker for their 3-4 scheme. Aaron Maybin, who should have been a natural for their 3-4 scheme, really struggled in his 2nd season so the 2009 1st round pick can be considered a bust. Chris Kelsay led all Bills linebackers with 3 sacks.
Offensive Tackle
If the Bills are going to go ahead with Ryan Fitzpatrick next season at quarterback, they need to upgrade the offensive tackle position. While their interior line is talented, they lack talent at both tackle spots. They want a good offensive line when they eventually add a rookie quarterback.
Drafted Chris Hairston (#122)
Cornerback
Depth is needed at the cornerback position. Their 16th ranked pass defense isn’t great, but it needs a bit of help.
Drafted Aaron Williams (#34), Drafted Justin Rogers (#206)
Wide Receiver
Lee Evans’ abilities have really gone south and he is owed a lot of money next season. They may cut him and in that case, they’d need a receiver opposite Steve Johnson.
Middle Linebacker
The Bills made the transition to the 3-4 without an adequate number of true 3-4 inside linebackers. Depth is needed.
Drafted Kelvin Sheppard (#68), Drafted Chris White (#169)
() FA Rank
QB Brian Brohm
TE David Martin
TE Jonathan Stupar
TE Scott Chandler
3-4 DE Marcus Stroud- signed with Patriots 2 years
3-4 DE John McCargo
MLB Paul Posluszny (#24)
Posluszky had 155 tackles last year, 2nd most in the league, and has 375 tackles in 3 years as a starter. He also has experience in a 3-4 and a 4-3.
MLB Keith Ellison
MLB Akin Ayodele
CB Drayton Florence
CB Ashton Youboty
S Donte Whitner
S George Wilson- resigned 3 years
S Jon Corto- resigned
Offseason moves:
Resigned Jon Corto
Resigned Donte Whitner
Cut Marcus Stroud
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