6: Drafting Aaron Maybin at 11th overall would say, “Last year’s 3rd round pick was a waste.” When they drafted Chris Ellis in the 3rd round, they knew he would not contribute right away. When speaking of James Hardy, 90% of Bills fans (including myself) will say that he has a ton of potential and will be a very good player in a few years. Why is this different for Chris Ellis?

that’s an argument I can never get behind. If you draft a player that shows no signs, then your damn right you draft another player to fill his spot. Competition breeds success or forces guys to quit. We don’t need quitters, we need production.

Quitter? He was a rookie last year…. give the guy a change? Not all rookies are pro-bowl or bust. Did any one really expect him to start?

WOW, if I had time right now, I would refute every single one of those opinions.

I will say, you list our current DE’s, one in the last year of his contract, one who is terrible, one that is definitely on the downside of his career and one that has proven absolutely nothing at the NFL level. Three of them are 30+ and none of them provide a pass rush threat. Look at the big picture.

right now the Bills have too many guys taking up space. in this case strength is not in numbers. our line, specifically the DE’s are not good. they need to be upgraded. the tampa 2 is predicated on getting pressure on the CB. if no pressure is applied then the defense gives up yardage. aside from Schobel, and even he is a question mark at this point, we have no pass rushers, none.

if thats not a reason to upgrade then I don’t know what is

If the Bills really wanted to see a pass rush they would switch there schemes from there dumb Tampa-2 defense which clearly doesn’t work.

I think without it we would have been blown out by the Cowboys on MNF and a bunch of other teams. The Tampa 2 defense has won more Super Bowls in the last 15 years than any other defensive scheme. Tampa Bay, Colts, Bears have all used it to get to the Super Bowl.

i have been waiting for someone to come out and say it. while i and everyone who has watched our version of the tampa two get picked apart again and again, because we couldn’t even get a hand in the face of an opposing qb, knows, we need pash rushing help. However, maybin is not our guy. while i dont agree with alot of what you said, like chris ellis being a bust. (one year? and your already throwing him under the bus?). maybin is small..(a lot of the problem in my opinion of our current stable of de’s. I know the cover two typically relies on smaller ends, but i digress.) Maybin had one, count them one good year of starting. i dont trust that. He was, and correct me if im wrong, only roughly 245 ish at the combine. Thats not much bigger then Mitchell or Poz and they play three yards deeper. So he went and bulked up…at what expence? he hasnt played football at this weight. i just believe that that there are safer options and that we shouldnt gamble so much in the first round..My alternatives? Cushing, trade down get pettigrew ( assuming we plugged our left tackle hole. if not, trade down get next best availablr lineman, Unger, Mack d. Robinson. Then look for pass rush help in round two, Connor Barwin has attracted my attention latley.

I think Maybin doesn’t go until the SECOND ROUND. I think he is overrated, young and definately a boom or bust player. Maybin has a quick first step and he is a very athletic prospect with tons of upside but I don’t see him as a first round guy. Just like Poz two years ago.

Just hopefully not ours

He only started one year at Penn St. because of what was ahead of him on the depth chart- Mo Evans had a career year in ‘07, not exactly something that you beat out in camp. What’s worth noting is that when Evans got suspended at the beginning of this year, he never got his job back. That should tell you something. Yes, he probably should have stuck around for another year, but I don’t think that diminishes what he could be. And seriously, I think he’s an upgrade over any of our current DE’s…and I think that position will have a bigger impact than a TE- not to mention, if you get a TE in the 3rd round, it’d be a much better player than a DE at that point in time.

I guess I don’t get the complete aversion to drafting him- try finding some game film and watching him, it might help.

To assume that someone who disagrees with you just simply hasen’t done his homework is a bit arrogant. i have watched his game film (albiet what i could find on youtube and others places, perhaps maybe you have a better source?) and while i thing he is a good player (good motor, great first step), i am not convinced he provides the bills the best choice at eleven….(i hope we trade down). you cant argue to me that staying put and taking someone we have liked as an organization has worked out so well. ( i mean whitner before you go the marshawn route.) while what you say is true, he prolly would be an upgrade over what we have, i think that the gaping hole at left tackle, linebacker and te need more of the first round attention. like i mentioned earlier, we can look to supplement our line in round two.

No bad blood at all, K. i agree that just looking at measurables doesnt do a player justice. Also, I will never claim to be a decent judge of nfl talent off of films i see on myspace either. im just not that good. my one point is this, i think the bills have a great oppurtunity to trade and pick up more quality picks, and if they choose not to i will be dissapointed.

I think Maybin is the most overrated player in the entire draft. Here are my reasons:

1. He gets pushed around like a rag doll on tape.
2. Most of the plays he makes he is untouched or facing a terrible lineman (rarely does he actually beat someone)
3. Just because he played at Penn State people are praising him. It doesn’t exactly matter where they play, it’s how they play.

I have absolutely no idea how people rate Maybin ahead of Brown or Orakpo. The comparison is not even close in my opinion. Furthermore, I think Lawrence Sidbury from Richmond is a better player than Maybin.

I wouldn’t totally give up on Ellis quite yet, he still could be a good player. The thing with ellis, he didn’t produce that much in college. Maybin produced, but he rarely beat anyone like I said before. Look at Everette Brown on youtube and then tell me Maybin is better. You won’t be able to because it’s not even close. Maybin should not even be 1st rounder.

Every single one of the reasons listed has been noted by NFL GMs eons ago. He will still be a 1st round pick because the author of this piece doesn’t list his strengths. Some scouting nerd could easily put together a top 10 reasons why Maybin will be a value pick in the first round.

If I, or any other intelligent person, is going to list their biggest busts, then you pick one of the 1st round QBs every time. The QB position is simply the hardest to gage.

I come from BlazersEdge where it is used all the time to highlight good posts. It makes it very easy to read the essential stuff quickly.

I agree as well…. I loved Michael Johnson going into the 2008 season (same as Calais Campbell going into the 2007 season). Both had bad seasons but I can see both of them becoming top DE’s in the next few years.