Owen Daniels (70 rec, 862 yards) is likely the most productive TE that Buffalo could land in free agency. Heller, Johnson, King (RFA), Kleinsasser, Pope and Wilcox didn’t combine (I think—I didn’t actually add it up.) for as many yards. Smith (37 rec, 298 yards) and Scaife (58 rec, 561 ayrds) were reasonably productive. Gonzales already doesn’t want to play in a place like Buffalo so a big name trade is likely out. It’s possible that Buffalo could pick up a TE before the draft. I like the stats on Daniels—he’s progressed every year. If Buffalo signed him, which I think is at least a possiblity, I’d call it good for the time being and look ahead to the draft.

I don’t think Minny lets Birk go but San Diego might not fight too hard to keep Goff. Personally I’d rather not get a good guard and hope he can be a center. There’s no way the Colts let Saturday go after Indy’s horrendous start this year without him. There will be no help at center before the draft.

There are number of free agent LBs worth considering before the draft. Ray Lewis probably stays with the Ravens. Plus, he’s old. Peterson is good when he’s healthy and he had a row with Jack Del Rio earlier in the season. Vilma and Farrior are options and don’t forget about Crowell. The way I see it, the Bills address this position in free agency. That doesn’t mean that it’s completely fixed no matter which, if any, of these guys is signed. Think of these guys as plywood covering a hole in the roof….so they might still need to draft a LB pretty high.

There are some good FA options at DE. Unfortunately, guys like Suggs and Peppers will be out of Buffalo’s price range. Kevin Carter and Chris Canty are more likely to sign but would they really solve the Bills’ problems at DE? I kind of doubt it so if you’re a DE first kind of mindset I wouldn’t look at free agency.

4 people have voted for a free agent DE. Which DE do you guys think we can get who will make an impact on our putrid pass rush?

LB→DE, C, TE

Though I’d go TE in the 4th, with BPA in round 3, such as a LB, S or DT….

Is a FA center better than some options for a FA TE? Or any combination for that matter?

There’s pretty much no TE worth looking for in FA. Bo Scaife is expected to resign with the Titans, L.J. Smith has never lived up to his athletic ability and Owen Daniels is in all likelihood (unless the Texans make a gigantic blunder) going to resign with the Texans. If he gets tendered with a second round pick, I could see us being very interested in trading that second round pick for him, but that’s not likely to be an option imo.

Gresham is by far the best TE in the draft, and is a terrific pass-catcher with good blocking potential since he’s 6-6, 260 pounds. Pettigrew or Coffman would be other options.

I feel that if we could nab a veteran DE, and/or Center in FA, that would allow us to draft a stud LB in the 1st round, then TE in 2nd round, and then use picks 3,4,5 to fill in extra DT, DE and maybe another OL to start grooming at the interior position. I just love the idea of drafting a stud LB at #11, that can come in and play right away and be all over the field. Then if we get a healthy Schobel, a veteran DE, and have Chris Ellis and a 3-4th round DE, we will have a new wave of players there to help rush the passer. And along with our new LB, plus Mitchel and Poz, I think we would have a good group of blitzers to help us significantly improve our ability to get after the passer

I went with LB in FA because the caliber of player available there is ALOT higher than at the C, DE or TE positions right now, that may change in a couple of months but no gurantees.

IF I was running the Bills, I would in the draft target Mack and/or Unger as my top C prospect, trade back 5-8 picks, nail down another 2nd rounder and then pick which of Unger or Mack is left. Then I would aim to nail Jackson as my DE and then try and nail Coffman or Pettigrew (since Gresham would be gone long before then) with my 2nd of two 2nd rounders.

LB – A couple FA OLB’s look intriguing. First is Dansby. I liked him before watching the Cards beat the Falcons today, and he was playing well all over the field.

6’4 250lbs Age 27 (and now some playoff experience)
2008:
G GS Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int
16 16 119 95 24 4.0 — 5 2
Career: (5 seasons)
G Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int
74 444 351 93 24.5 0 21 9

If the Bills don’t pursue him I’d go after LeRoy Hill OLB Seattle.

6’1 238lbs Age 26 (playoff experience)
2008:
G Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int
12 84 63 21 1.0 — 3 —
Career: (4 seasons)
G Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int
56 329 242 87 13.5 0 11 0

 He had 7.5 sacks his rookie season before they picked up Julian Peterson to take over blitzing duties.

Third on the list would be our own FA, Crowell

I’d like to hear that the Bills at least flirt with the idea of Suggs at DE, though I doubt OBD “thinks” they can afford him.

Draft: In the draft I’d like to see the Bills trade back a couple spots to pick up another later draft pick (that could be used to move back up at some point). I realize that’s often easier said than done though. I’d draft Mack first, but is a C worth the 11th pick? Hard to say, but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing a DE drafted there instead. But if that’s the case, we def go C in the 2nd and hope 1 of the 2 top guys (Mack/Unger) are there.
In the 3rd we go pass-catching TE, or with a big DT. (I’d actually be ok with a large penetrating DT being taken at any point in the draft, but that’s another topic…)

Its hard to get a good grasp of the draft yet though, it’ll be interesting to see which underclassmen declare over the next month or so…

Not just for Rumblings, but perhaps in SBNation history.

15 people have voted to get a center in free agency and then address the other needs in the draft, 27 think Buffalo should target a DE in free agency, 15 say go after a LB in free agency and 13 want a free agent TE.

I’m kind of surprised at the number of people (a little over 1/3 of voters so far) who think Buffalo can take care of the DE via free agency or trade. The Bills have no chance to land Suggs or Peppers. My guess is that there will be fierce competition for the 2nd tier DEs on the market and that Buffalo loses out there, too. What’s almost as surprising is that 28 people (a littler over another 1/3) think Buffalo should take a DE in the 1st round. That’s just about 70% of voters who think Buffalo should make DE either the 1st or second priority.

That contrasts with the 15 people (about 20) who think Buffalo can address C in free agency. Add the 27 people who think Buffalo should take a first round C and you’ve got about 60 of us think C should be either the 1st or 2nd priority.

TE is lagging with 13 votes for free agency and 5 votes for a 1st round TE. LB doesn’t come in much higher with 15 hoping for a free agency solution and 8 wanting a 1st round LB.

It would seem that we’ve got a consensus regarding DE and C (in some order) as the top 2 needs, with LB and then TE bringing up the rear.

I am fed up of watching guys leave the Bills and then have success somewhere else. Today watching Jim Leonhard was hard, he was flying all over the place making plays. Why weren’t we able to get such production? Bad coaching? Poor scheme? All of the above?

Crowell is a great linebacker and there is no reason to let him walk away. He wants to stay and they better find a way to make it work!

Why wouldn’t the Bills be able to afford a guy like Suggs? Didn’t we overpay for Dockery? Schobel? Kelsay? At least with Suggs we’d be paying for an actual playmaker!

After watching Alex Mack in the Emerald Bowl on Dec 29, I remain convinced that he is the missing link that we need on our O-Line and I won’t be disappointed if we use our #11 pick to get him. I am also pretty sure that Giorgia Tech’s Micheal Johnson would be a good fit in Buffalo and he will probably slide into the second round. And Wisconsin’s Travis Beckum is a pass-catching TE that is very likely to fall into round 3

Today watching Jim Leonhard was hard, he was flying all over the place making plays. Why weren’t we able to get such production? Bad coaching? Poor scheme? All of the above?

The answer to that one is easy: lack of a pass rush in Buffalo. Leonhard looked good because he wasn’t making the plays; his pass-rushing, ultra-talented teammates were. All Leonhard had to do was not screw up.

Crowell is a great linebacker and there is no reason to let him walk away.

Being an occasional playmaker on an average-to-mediocre defense does not make one a “great” anything.

Brian I expected those comments from you. I know that you are not a Crowell fan.

Funny how you didn’t comment on the rest of my post?

C’mon Brian you can do better than that… You willfully repeated yourself on the Crowell issue! BTW I agree with your statement regarding Leonhard, playing on such a top notch defense is probably what makes him look so good.

Did you see the Cal game? If so, were you not impressed by the way he completely dominates the DT’s lined up in front of him?

What about Micheal Johnson or Travis Beckum – no opinion?

Philosophically, I just think it’s a bad idea to take a center at #11 overall.

I would have no problem taking a center at #11, as long as he is the best player available. This draft is almost as deep as last years draft. The Bills need a center but that doesn’t mean that they should reach for one.

This is a stellar year for good Linebackers in the first 15-20 picks. You have 3 studs in Maulaga, Aaron Curry from Wake Forest, and Brandon Spikes from Florida. Their talent is exceptional compared to the crop of Defensive Ends. Everette Brown is probably the only end who could be possible Pro Bowler, but he is small at 250lbs.
Besides that, Michael Johnson from Georgia Tech is 6’7, plays upright, and doesn’t even play on running plays.
Not a good year in the draft for defensive ends.

I heard u say that Leonard was making plays because of a PASS RUSH!!! IMAGINE THAT!!

The Bills first offseason priority should be a DE in FA. Everyone knows I love Canty. After they sign Canty in FA, I would draft a LB in the first round. (Prefer a USC LB). Then, how about trading back into the late first round and nabbing either Grisham at TE or Mack at C. I really wouldn’t mind adding depth at DE in the draft either. Our pass rush is horrible!!