Inside The Bills

McShay: White most underrated

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay called Bills fifth-round pick Johnny White the biggest sleeper in the draft class.

“One of the most underrated players regardless of position in this year’s draft is Johnny White from North Carolina,” said McShay. “He played different positions early in his career and was a defensive back and moved him to a wide receiver role and they tinkered with him. He’s a little over 5’10” and a little over 200 pounds. Your average NFL size for a back.

“He has quickness and that lateral agility and the ability to make the sharp cuts and explode. He has tremendous ball skills and if you’re not going to be a starter right away as a running back you’ve got to contribute on third down and you’ve got to contribute on special teams. Johnny White can catch the ball as well as any back in this class and is very productive as a return specialist. I think he has a lot of upside in that regard.”

Bills nab sleeper at RB

The Bills said they would look at getting a RB late in the draft and they got one of the biggest sleepers in the class.

North Carolina RB Johnny White is a multi-dimensional player. He began his college career at WR and was moved to running back. He also returned kicks. His hands are excellent. To me White is a guy that could earn time as a third down back early in his career and obviously can be a help on special teams. Nice pick at this point in the draft.

Bills 1st offensive pick

Buffalo with their second fourth-round pick took their first offensive player and it was an offensive tackle.

Chris Hairston from Clemson, who played left tackle for the Tigers projects to right tackle in the NFL. Hairston (6’6″ 326) was a three-year starter and considers himself strong in pass protection.

What I like about Searcy

Bills fourth-round pick Da’Norris Searcy played strong safety for the Tar Heels and though he missed the first three games of the season still led the team in interceptions.

He had four in 2010 and was a victim of the NCAA investigation because he came out of it clean there at North Carolina, but because the investigation was delayed he had to sit and wait until it was done even though he wasn’t involved.

Day 3 prospects of note

Here are some Day 3 prospects that could be of interest to the Bills with some names here you might not be familiar with. I don’t want to call them sleepers, but here’s what I’ve got.

OT James Brewer – 6’6″ 323 – Indiana – (projected 3rd round)
“Played tackle at Indiana. They’re really a spread team. He’s a giant of a man with good athleticism. When you talk about a spread he hasn’t had the run blocking you’re looking for so you have to project that a little bit. He’s big enough, athletic enough and strong enough, but he’s a little behind in terms of traditional run blocking. He’s been a right tackle and is best suited for there because of his size and physicality.”
–Bills coordinator of college scouting Doug Majeski

TE Jordan Cameron – 6’5″ 254 – USC (4.53 – 40 ) (projected 4th-5th round)
A converted basketball player that transferred from BYU to junior college and eventually to USC where he was initially recruited as a wide receiver. Had 16 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown in 2010. Extremely athletic.

OLB Chris Carter – 6’1″ 248 – Fresno St. (4.58) (projected 4th round)
2010 WAC Defensive Player of the Year. Led WAC with 11 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss in 2010. Explosive well put together athlete, but might not be a fit in a 3-4 defense.

RB Delone Carter – 5’9″ 222 – Syracuse (4.54) projected 4th-5th round)
Sure-handed ball carrier that rolled up 2,906 rushing yards in his college career. Thick compact build that reminds me of Travis Henry, gets yards after contact and is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

SS DeAndre McDaniel – 6’0″ 217 – Clemson (4.63) (projected 4th-5th round)
1st Team All-ACC, with proven production the last three years. Led team in tackles (73) and interceptions (4). Had 8 INTs and 102 tackles in 2009. Good instincts.

SS Da’Norris Searcy – 5’11” 223 – North Carolina (4.55) (projected 4th-5th round)
Led the team in pass breakups and interceptions (4) despite missing half the season on NCAA suspension.

TE Luke Stocker – 6’5″   258 – Tennessee (4.68) (projected 4th round)
Played on Gailey’s South team at the Senior Bowl. One of better blocking-catching combo tight ends left on the board though he’s a better pass catcher. Sure handed.

ILB Quan Sturdivant – 6’1″ 241 – North Carolina (4.63) (projected 4th round)
61 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss in 2010. Played OLB at UNC, but likely projects inside. Good football smarts, instinctive player (former QB in high school).

TE/H-back D.J. Williams – 6’2 245 – Arkansas (4.59) (projected 4th-5th round)
Probably the best fit as an H-back left in the draft. John Mackey award winner, had team high 49 catches for 589 yards and four touchdowns. Good move tight end. Played on Gailey’s South Team at the Senior Bowl.

ILB Sheppard in the 3rd!!!!

Great pick by the Bills in round 3. Kelvin Sheppard is a thumper and emotional leader from LSU. Was here for a pre-draft visit. A big time hole filler. Great, great pick. Here’s who I liken Sheppard to in terms of passion for the game.

London Fletcher. Now I’m not saying he’s going to have the career that Fletcher had, but you want to talk about a take charge guy that loves this game, this guy is it. He was known as the emotional leader of LSU’s defense, made the calls there and had a lights out week at the Senior Bowl.

Bowers knee was a concern

For those Bills fans that were wondering, the Buffalo personnel department did have a respectable measure of worry regarding Da’Quan Bowers and his knee. They also weren’t sure Bowers was a fit for their defense.

“We’re concerned about the injury to be honest with you,” said Bills GM Buddy Nix. “I guess maybe the fit probably wasn’t real good for us either. I’ve been watching Da’Quan since he was a freshman. I think he’s a 4-3 defensive end. He might be able to play outside backer, but you’d be taking away what he does best by dropping him.”

Nix addresses not taking QB

With Buffalo’s first two picks being DL Marcell Dareus and CB Aaron Williams, Bills GM Buddy Nix was asked why they did not take a quarterback in the first two rounds. From the sound of it Nix and Buffalo’s personnel department had a more reasoned view of what was seen as a pretty average QB draft class.

“Obviously there were some shockers yesterday or last night, but we’re to the point and I think I said this a lot of times, but with the first pick we wanted a franchise guy,” said Nix. “If he wasn’t there then we were going to get better on defense and work on needs if the right guy was there. We are still going to go to camp with probably four quarterbacks so that’s not to say we won’t take one in the draft, but it’s also not to say we wouldn’t go after a veteran to be a backup for us and then take another arm to camp.”

So it seems as though the Bills would be fine if they do not draft a quarterback as picking up a veteran backup is clearly an option they see as viable.

Bills take CB in 2nd

Bills Wall of Famer Andre Reed announced pick of Aaron Williams from Texas.

Good player, cornerback that could push for a starting job.

Pre-draft visitors on board

Marcell Dareus was a pre-draft visitor to One Bills Drive, so for what it’s worth here’s a rundown of the NFL prospects still on the board that made confirmed pre-draft visits to Orchard Park.

DL Christian Ballard – Iowa
DE Da’Quan Bowers – Clemson
LB Bruce Carter – North Carolina
OL Marcus Cannon – TCU
OLB Justin Houston – Georgia
ILB Kelvin Sheppard – LSU
OLB Brooks Reed – Arizona
ILB Quan Sturdivant – North Carolina

Not all of these prospects are necessarily considered 2nd rounders, but we figured you’d like to see the list of those still out there.

Bills 2nd rd. picks

Here is a rundown of Bills second-round picks by position all time.

WR – 9 – (James Hardy 2008)
DE – 8 – (Chris Kelsay 2003)
LB – 8 – (Paul Posluszny 2007)
DT – 7 (Torell Troup 2010)
RB – 7 (Travis Henry 2001)
DB – 6 (Jairus Byrd 2009)
QB – 4 (Todd Collins 1995)
G – 4 (Andy Levitre 2009)
OT – 2 (Joe Devlin, Ken Jones 1976)
TE – 2 (Lonnie Johnson 1994)

Feeling for Bowers

Bills top draft choice Marcell Dareus couldn’t help but feel for Clemson DE Da’Quan Bowers, who slipped all the way out of the first round last night due to concerns about his recovery from a knee injury. Dareus, who was in the green room at Radio City last night actually checked on Bowers to make sure he was alright.

“At the combine I got to know him,” said Dareus of Bowers. “I met him for a great little deal of time as we were in the same group. He’s a real cool, laid back guy. My prayers go out to him. I asked him if he was okay. He said he was straight. He texted me and let me know everything is okay with him and gave me a congratulations. I hope I get to meet him on down the road a little bit.”

With the Bills on the clock near the top of round two it could be sooner than Dareus realizes.

Round one breakdown

Here’s a breakdown by position of how many came off the board by position in round one Thursday night.

QB – 4 (Newton, Locker, Gabbert, Ponder)
RB – 1 (Ingram)
WR – 3 (Green, Jones, Baldwin)
TE – 0
OT – 6 (Smith, Solder, Castonzo, Carpenter, Carimi, Sherrod)
G – 2 (Pouncey, Watkins)
C – 0
DL – 11 (Dareus, Watt, Fairley, Quinn, Kerrigan, Liuget, Clayborn, Taylor, Jordan, Wilkerson, Heyward)
LB – 2 (Miller, Smith)
CB – 3 (Peterson, Amukamara, Smith)
S – 0

The eight defensive ends that went in round one was a draft record, and wasn’t the least bit surprising as the defensive end class was considered the best in a generation.

Best on the board

Buffalo selects 34th or second overall in round two. Here’s a rundown of some players by position that could be seen as best on the board by the Bills at the top of round 2, which gets underway at 6 pm on Friday.

DE
Da’Quan Bowers – Clemson

QB
Andy Dalton – TCU
Colin Kaepernick – Nevada

LB
Akeem Ayers – UCLA 
Brooks Reed – Arizona
Martez Wilson – Illinois

TE
Kyle Rudolph – Notre Dame

CB
Aaron Williams – Texas
Ras-I Dowling – Virginia

Bills scout on Dareus

Bills regional scout Shawn Heinlen was asked for his assessment of first-round pick Marcell Dareus prior to the time he was selected when scouts were made available in the week leading up to the draft. Here was his take on the Alabama defensive lineman.

“Athletic big man,” said Heinlen. “He’s powerful. He’s explosive. The ability he has to shed blockers is what impresses me the most. His ability to engage the offensive tackle or guard or center when he’s playing at the nose on occasion and control that blocker and either collapse the pocket, discard the player to make a play or to just change what the offense is trying to do that’s the thing that’s most impressive with him.”

Mayock: Dareus All-Pro potential

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock had four players that he felt were as sure fire as they come in this year’s class. Bills first-round pick Marcell Dareus was one of them. Here’s what Mayock had to say about Dareus, Von Miller, Patrick Peterson and A.J. Green as a group.

“If you’re looking at players where you say All-Pro potential, clean off the field, and an ability not to be a bust and play at a high level for a long time, for me those are the four guys,” said Mayock.

The power of Dareus

For a look at the pure power of Bills first-round pick Marcell Dareus take a look at what he was able to do on ESPN’s Sports Science program prior to the draft.

Dareus had to get to the dummy QB in under three seconds and get through 3 heavy bags weighing 900 total pounds. He also tried to see how far he could throw the Sports Science host coming off the line of scrimmage. Believe me, it’s worth watching.

Nix: There has been dialogue

Bills GM Buddy Nix just spoke with Buffalobills.com in an exclusive interview just hours before the start of the NFL draft and he says there has been some dialogue the past 24 hours with other NFL clubs.

“We’re all approaching this thing where all you can trade is picks and we’ve had calls on the way home and on the way back in to work and during the day,” said Nix. “Teams are asking, ‘If you’re guy is there would you consider moving down?’ ‘If our guy is not there would you consider moving up?’ You get that and my answer is always the same. ‘We’re open, call us on draft day.’”

While Nix did not disclose the teams that the Bills have been in contact with he did say that one team they’ve not heard from is the Patriots. There has been a lot of speculation that the Patriots are trying to trade up in round one.

My 2nd rd mock pick for Bills

I released my 2011 mock draft on Buffalobills.com this morning. Can’t believe it’s the sixth annual already. I thought with the Bills picking so high in round two (34th – second) I would also submit a second-round mock pick for Buffalo.

In round two I’ve got the Bills taking Florida St. QB Christian Ponder. Here’s what Bills scout Darrell Moody had to say about Ponder.

“We had him at the Senior Bowl,” said Moody. “He’s an intelligent kid with good arm strength. Not great, but good and there are a lot of quarterbacks in this league that have good arm strength instead of great and usually those guys have to anticipate more and not try to throw them into small cracks. I’ll be surprised if he’s not a productive quarterback in this league.

“He’s proven that he can play with some injuries and quarterbacks have to play banged up in this league. He’s a very intelligent kid and athletic enough where he can avoid if he needs to and he’ll help somebody. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes whether he goes in the first round or the second round and a lot of that will depend on how quick those top two go.”

Bills GM Buddy Nix also mentioned Ponder as a consideration beyond their first pick as a player they liked in an interview with 103.3 the Edge Wednesday.

Panthers, Broncs down to 4

The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, the NFL clubs that hold the first two picks in the draft are each down to four possible choices with their top choices Thursday night.

According to ESPN’s reporters in the field (Sal Paolantonio and Ed Werder) the Panthers are down to Cam Newton, Marcell Dareus, A.J. Green and Patrick Peterson. Denver meanwhile is down to Dareus, Peterson, Von Miller and Nick Fairley.

It will be interesting to see what the Panthers and Broncos leave on the board for the Bills at third overall.