Who would have anticipated Buddy Nix moving down in the draft to grab EJ Manuel with the #16 pick. Don’t answer that, it’s rhetorical. The answer is “few”. While I do recall reading a few prognosticators suggesting a trade down scenario for the Bills in the days leading to the 2013 NFL Draft, I can’t say there were many who saw Manuel as the first QB picked in the draft. But today, in the aftermath of the last second (well, almost – 2 seconds left) victory by the Buffalo Bills, Buddy looks quite the genius.
On the wrong side of the two-minute warning, with no timeouts, and deep in their own territory, the Bills had the ball down by 6. For me, the only way to describe the quarterback’s final drive was “poised”. Did he look to be a rookie? Far from it; he was calm, cool and collected, and ultimately did whatever it took to sustain the drive. Before being picked off near the Panthers 30-yard line (which was called back because of a pass interference call), he was 5 of 7 for over 50 yards.
With no one open at the 11-yard line, the FSU product showed his ability to scramble and extend plays as he broke to the sideline picking up 9 yards on the way. From the 2-yard line, it was an easy pass to main Bills target Stevie Johnson. #13 made the easy grab, and with the PAT and stopping the ensuing kick return, the Bills had their first win of the season.
So, with the drama that unfolded, the airwaves in Western NY are all concentrated on one thing – is EJ Manuel indeed the franchise quarterback Bills fans have been waiting for? Is he the guy who will finally take that torch, errr, snap, from Jim Kelly? In short, maybe-probably.
Watching some ACC over the years I have seen EJ play as a Seminole. In speaking with a few colleagues including LWOS own Ben Kerr, in leading up to the draft I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, he would fall to the second round – it really wasn’t that far-fetched. Certainly there were about 4 or 5 pivots, depending who you are, who could have been considered amongst the best of the bunch last year, Manuel being amongst them. It’s reasonable to have assumed that a few would slip, which they did, and certainly he would have been a steal in the second round. But was he a steal in the first?
The Bills might have waited until the second round – I really don’t feel EJ was on too many teams’ wish list that early in the draft. But when a team has a player they want, they have to be willing to take him when they can, which is what the Bills brass did. Where Buddy Nix, Doug Marrone & co. shone that day is in balancing the desire to add him to the team versus getting as much value as possible – actually, word is that it was Marrone who convinced Buddy to take him. So when they traded down we must remember that because rookies’ contracts are based on draft order, they saved a boatload of money. In fact, estimates of just how much hover around $4 million over the length of contract and about $3 million in signing bonuses – and we all know how Ralphie likes to save a buck or two. That money, in theory, could be re-invested to fill other cracks in the sidewalk.
Add to that the fact that they were able to add a second round pick, #46 overall, that ended up being Kiko Alonso, a linebacker who has done nothing but impress Bills fans through 4 pre-season and 2 regular season games and this draft certainly looks like it will go down as Buddy Nix’s best work in his time as Bills’ GM. As you probably know, he has retired and handed the reigns to Doug Whaley.
What separates Manuel from his QB peers of the 2013 draft class including Geno Smith, Ryan Nassib and Matt Barkley is his size and speed along with his potential for success in the Bills read-option offense. At 6’5 and weighing in at 250, the young man will give would-be tacklers a fit. But when coupled with 4.65 40-yard speed, he will have opposing secondaries soiling themselves. A massive quarterback with massive hands, massive speed and massive up-side, and as we witnessed on Sunday, as well as in a very narrow defeat to the Patriots a couple of weeks ago, we now see he is as close to NFL ready as a rookie pivot can be. Like all young quarterbacks, he makes his mistakes, such as two fourth quarter turnovers on Sunday, and while he’s not perfect, he is learning just from being in the games.
Watching the young man celebrate on the sideline, tears rolling down, then meeting up with is old man who offered his own congratulations, was great to see. Not just because I root for the nice guys (of which I’m told he is one), but because I think that the Bills may have just mined their own diamond in the rough. EJ Manuel is more NFL-ready then many quarterbacks drafted early in recent years. Bills fan, he will make you want to shout.
