Four are defensive linemen

three of the four are our 3 top defensive ends. Somewhere Kurupt is pulling his hair out and screaming “I told you so years ago!”

Chris Ellis was a step in the right direction and I think he’ll be a bigger part of our future plans at defensive end then many are expecting. As I’ve said many times, he was only a rookie and he was a third rounder. There was nothing to expect last season but he will be a pass rusher on this defense soon enough.

That said, a defensive end surely has to be a pick in round 1 or 2. Unfortunately I’m not sure if any of the 3-4/4-3 hybrid types that are all over the place this year are what we need. I still think if Brian Orakpo falls he should be the pick at 11 even if we trade Peters. Walker proved he can handle the left side and Chambers can take the right. If Orakpo is gone at 11 we wait and grab Ayers, Johnson, English or Barwin at 43.

Whatever the case, defensive end can no longer be ignored. If the lack of sacks isnt enough to convince OBD maybe age will be.

I’m not concerned about Walker or Chambers hitting 30. If Walker can shed a few lbs and remain pretty light on his feet, he’ll be able to have a number of good seasons still. In a few seasons, maybe earlier, he will likely have to shift to OG for good, IMO. That’ll probably have to happen elsewhere anyhow.

The issues on the DL are as glaring as any issue on the team. Production, skill, contract status and most definitely, age, are killing this position. I haven’t shut my mouth about the need for a overhaul at the position, and it seems like I may start to get my wish. At least I can remain as hopeful as ever!!!

Coming off of a serious foot injury – which he did not fix with surgery – Schobel has serious age and durability questions to answer this season.

Glad you added this Brian. That’s been my major concern for Schobel this offseason and I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, he’s not making it through this upcoming season healthy. I still don’t know how he can avoid having surgery on a Lisfranc injury. It’s bound to be problematic until he does get it fixed. I’m very concerned that we’ll have him for a few games, and then boom, the injury is back. Yet another reason why we need to add one of the top talents at the position this draft….

whether it be 7 picks or possibly 10 picks…….everyone could/should go the OL/DL

If Bills knew how to draft and restock and groom young players. The Steelers, Titans, Patriots, especially the Patriots are known for getting rid of players like Bledsoe, Lawyer Milloy, Asante Samuel, due to their age, salary demands, etc. – And getting draft choices like Jerod Mayo to step in and win AFC Rookie of the Year. The Bills draft character players like Donte Whitner………

Maybe there aren’t as many to go around, but we could have been stockpiling them for the past few years, but instead we drafted ONE (as far as I can recall)
So, that is a very large mess there, and I would like to see two drafted this year, one high and one mid round.
Other than that, the age thing isn’t too much of a problem, as long as they draft some younger prospects in some of those areas (OL, DT) in this years and next years draft, which I think they will

The only player on this list that Buffalo has to think about replacing long term is Stroud. Everyone else either has some years left or should be replaced regardless of age. Obviously I think the DE position needs to be overhauled, but 30 year old players like Mitchell, Walker and Chambers have a couple seasons left before Buffalo even has to begin to think about replacing them due to age.

TO should never be viewed as anything but a one time roll of the dice. The odds of him being back are slim (or at least I hope they are).

the Bills under Donahoe, ignored the OL. IN 2006, the Bills drafted Butler, Merz and Terrence Pennington. They found only Butler was able to develop. They used late round picks on those guys. You CAN develop OL. However, DL is a different story. Buffalo has not shown the ability to develop Copeland Bryan, Jason Jefferson, etc, and as a result the DL has struggled mightily. I"D MUCH rather draft 2-3 OL in rounds 5-7 every year and hope 1 out of every 3 develop into a contributor than use high draft picks on these guys. the DL is where those picks should be spent. Sure, you have to use high picks on OL sometimes, but we’ve shown a good ability to mold Peters, Butler, and now hopefully Demetrius Bell. You can’t say that for the DL. So it’s time to start drafting DL in the top 3 rounds of the draft. John McCargo failed, Chris Ellis who knows, but they got to keep drafting these guys on the DL in the top 3-4 rounds instead of hoping that somehow Denny, Schobel, and Kelsay will all of a sudden become productive NFL DE’s

do people really feel DE shouldn’t be the top priority in the draft? By that, I don’t mean it HAS to be a round-1 pick. But it does mean to me that they might consider drafting 3 at the DE position. Something has to be done about this situation which has become both aged and unproductive.

Once a LT is secured, I think they need to stock up on ends.

In fact, I would rather see this team get their ducks in a row on offense, rather than defense, for I think our biggest area to improve, is in the TD scoring department…therefore, I would not be upset with a Pettigrew at 11, but if we can get any solid TE first year contributor, and a DE that rushes the passer, I really don’t give a wet Labatt-splat what round they come in, or if they are undrafted. Get some mo-fos in there that are good, regardless

When the Bills signed Schobel, Kelsay and Denny they were following the philosophy of signing their own up and coming players. Unfortunately, Denny and Kelsay never developed into anything more then average, Schobel at least made a couple of pro-bowls. Now age and injuries (all 3 have had foot or leg injuries over the past 3 years) have caught up to them.

 Would it be shocking to see 2 of them let go this summer with Denney $2.4M, Schobel $6.5M – $3.5M salary guaranteed and Kelsay $5.6M counting against the cap. That’s an awful lot of money tied up with an average injury prone unit.

The Bills need help on the defensive front 7, take the best player available whether it is a LB, DE or DT—-they need an impact player at no#11.