Inside The Bills

DE Mercilus clocks well

Illinois DE Whitney Mercilus is one of a handful of pass rushers clocking very good 40 times at the NFL Combine.

Mercilus unofficially ran a 4.65 and a 4.63 for his pair of 40 times. Nick Perry’s unofficial 4.5 and Bruce Irvin’s unofficial 4.43 are the fastest for the position thus far.

DE Perry testing well

USC DE Nick Perry was predicted to test well at the NFL Combine and thus far, despite adding 11 pounds of lean muscle, has done just that.

Perry has tested extremely well. His first 40 time was an unofficial 4.5, which is crazy. He has the best vertical leap of the DL position group with a ridiculous 38.5-inch vertical. He also put up 35 reps on the bench, which is comparable to most of the generally stronger defensive tackles.

I asked Perry if he feels comfortable carrying the extra weight.

“I feel good,” he said. ”I wouldn’t have it on if I couldn’t handle it.”

So far, so good. Perry was widely forecast as a late first to early second-round pick. With a super workout in a year where the elite pass rushing talent is scarce he could get pushed up the board a bit come late April.

Nick Perry bulks up

USC DE Nick Perry has apparently been working out a lot. He’s added 10-15 pounds of muscle.

“I was 6’2″ and weighed 271,” said Perry Saturday. “It’s just from working hard. I feel I carry it just fine otherwise I wouldn’t stay at 271.”

Perry, who said he was 260, maintains that he hasn’t lost any of his speed, which is expected to be in the mid-4.6s. Players that beef up in a short period of time during the pre-draft process sometimes concern NFL talent evaluators, but if he can carry it in Monday’s workout there won’t be any questions. Perry is forecast as a late first or early second-round pick.

Who’s going to test well in Indy?

There are a group of players that are expected to improve their draft stock with a strong showing at the NFL Combine this week. One such player happens to be at a position of need for the Buffalo Bills.

DE Nick Perry from USC is considered by most draftniks to be a late first to early second-round pick. The pass rusher however, could go a long way toward solidifying his first round status with a good showing in Indy. NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock is expecting Perry to succeed in doing that knowing that he’s gifted physically.

“I think he’s going to test extremely well,” said Mayock. ”I think he’s going to be one of those guys that the combine helps and his pro day helps because he’s a little bit of an athletic freak. There were games this year where I thought he could be a first-round pick and there were games where I thought he was a second or third-round pick. I think the lack of consistency (in his college career) will hurt him a little bit, but I think he’ll test extremely well. He looks good in a pair of shorts, he moves well and he’s got some natural pass rush ability.”

Stay tuned all week to our NFL Combine coverage on Buffalobills.com beginning Thursday from Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Latest mock has DT for Bills

Buffalo went DT last year with their third overall pick in the form of Marcell Dareus. One of the latest mock drafts out there has the Bills investing in their defensive line again, only it’s not a pass rusher, it’s another DT.

The National Football Post’s Wes Bunting has Buffalo taking LSU DT Michael Brockers. Here’s what he wrote about the pick.

10. Buffalo Bills: LSU DT Michael Brockers
Brockers is a talented defensive lineman capable of maturing into a real game changer up front. He’s got the ability to play all over the Bills D-line early and offers them a lot of 3-4 and 4-3 versatility.

As far as where Brockers is expected to come off the board this pick is in the right range for Brockers’ talent level. And he does offer 4-3, 3-4 defensive scheme versatility as Bunting says. I just think Buffalo has to go pure pass rusher with this pick and USC’s Nick Perry, who Bunting has going 12th to the Seahawks, might be the better fit in terms of the value he’s placed on both prospects.