With the sale of the Bills casting an ugly shadow over Orchard Park, NY, this draft may just be the silver lining the franchise needed. It was clearly one of the team’s best drafts, a real statement of intent as to the renewed “win now” mentality. Buddy Nix and company drafted players from winning programs, which is important because a winning mentality has been lost on the team for many years now. In fact, the total combined win-loss record amongst the first four players drafted is 44-9, enough to make Bills faithful rest just a bit easier at night.
Of course we know that strong college careers don’t always equate to memorable professional ones, but when Judgement Day finally comes and the team straps on the pads to battle the Bears in Chi-town, we will have a better sense of how close the Bills are to giving their 2014 opponents a run for their money.
2014 Buffalo Bills Draft Picks
1st Round, 4th Overall – WR Sammy Watkins (Clemson)
2nd Round, 44rd Overall – OT Cyrus Kouandjio (Alabama)
3rd Round, 73th Overall – LB Preston Brown (Louisville)
4th Round, 109th Overall – CB Ross Cockrell (Duke)
5th Round, 153nd Overall – G Cyril Richardson (Baylor)
7th Round, 221th Overall – LB Randell Johnson (Florida Atlantic)
7th Round, 237th Overall – OT Seantrel Henderson (Miami)
2014 Bills Draft Grade – 8/10
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Buffalo Bills Draft Review
Best Player: I’m going to be nominating Sammy Watkins as the best player. Many analysts have said that the Bills gave up too much to obtain him, However I believe that the Bills needed to be aggressive and that they need to try to win now. General manager Doug Whaley did an amazing job building a team through the draft. Sammy Watkins will turn heads this year in a way that Bills fans haven’t seen since the glory days! Count on it people.
Value Pick: The best value the Bills got was with Cyril Richardson and Preston Brown. These two individuals will eventually be stars with the right coaching. Richardson will be a force to be reckoned with in the trenches and Brown will eventually be a fan favorite captain for years to come.
Surprise move of the draft: For the Bills there wasn’t really a surprise pick of the draft. Instead the surprise move of the draft was Doug Whaley’s trade for Bryce Brown. While many didn’t believe the Bills needed a running back, it appears both C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson’s contract will be up soon and if you had to make the tough decision in whom to get rid of, I would have to pick Jackson. Even though he is hands down the fan favorite when it comes to players that kids, and even adults look up to, you will have to admit he is getting older and eventually his production will decline. Having Spiller and Brown as the new one-two punch will continue to bring strong production in the Bills backfield.
Steal of the draft: Corner back Ross Cockrell may be the steal of the draft for Buffalo. Earlier this year he shut down Mike Evans. He may be one of the best steals the Bills had in many years.
Bottom line: I gave the Bills an 8/10 because the win now mentality makes me feel outstanding to be a Bills fan. The team has been too conservative for many years and that has led to mediocrity, and many dreadful 6-10 seasons! Doug Whaley’s aggressiveness will put the Bills in the hunt for the playoffs. From day one I knew Doug Marrone was the man for the job; he has the respect of the players and will demand nothing less than perfection, and he will turn players with bad habits into winning leaders for years to come.
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