Bills' Top Five Prospects Under Age 25

I like that you put Easily on this list. The other 4 were kind of “no-brainers” but Easily could be a helluva player for us in the next year or two. I dont know what to expect from him this year, but with the lack of experience/top end talent at WR… he got a chance to do some damage for us eventually.

I wouldn’t say Easley has more talent than the following:
Jairus Byrd
James Hardy
Steve Johnson
Andy Levitre
Shawn Nelson
Torell Troup
Donte Whitner
Eric Wood

well there arent any qbs because only brohm and levi brown are younger than 25….considering that, i’m not sure how not having one on this list under 25 shows the bills will be bad in 2010….i think its the fact that if you extended it to top 10 players under 30, there still might not be any on that list

and yea, i think nelson, wood, levitre and especially byrd could all be argued for ahead of easley….unless you are ranking guys that arent clear cut starters at their respective positions, then i think it could be a toss up between johnson and easley

I would define an NFL prospect as a player who has a realistic chance to develop into a perennial ALL-Pro contende (ie- prospecting for gold)r. Obviously, this is subjective, but I don’t see many players on this team’s roster that fit that description. Like any sport (or when you make a big purchase), prospects have more “value” before they are driven off the lot. Thus, I would submit my prospect list as:

1. CJ Spiller
2. Jairus Byrd
3. Andy Levitre
4. Eric Wood
5. Torrell Troup
6. Alex Carrington
7. Marcus Easley
8. Shawn Nelson

…I see no one else I’d call a “prospect” from my viewpoint.

Very good list and I’ll add Troup, who was a very unselfish bull of a player at UCF that didn’t mind doing the grunt work. As we all know the key to the 3-4 is a NT that can control the middle, Troup has the physical tools and the mental diligence to be the Bills next great NT——I look for great things from this player.

and Maybin would be down the list.

If we are talking about players with big time potential for beyond 2010, why is Lynch on here? It’s extremely hard to envision him on the roster in 2011 or being a guy the front office plans to have around as a building block. I also don’t think he’s a better prospect than a handful of guys not mentioned. And why do you think he has good vision? I think he has terrible vision and that’s one of the major reasons he’s been a seemingly average RB in the NFL. He just doesn’t spot the hole quickly at all. How many times have we seen Lynch completely miss the open cutback lanes? I think this is one area that has really held him back.

I’ve said it many times before, but I don’t see the potential in Maybin that others see. He looked overwhelmed physically last year, but more importantly just didn’t look good enough or quick enough to be a big time factor in this league. I’m just hoping I’m wrong. He wouldn’t crack my top 5.

Easley may have good athleticism, but he’s very raw, which would have me bump him down a bit. He’s a nice prospect, but with all the work that he needs to do, I’m not sure he’s a better one than other Bills.

I would have Wood and Levitre on here. I think both have Pro Bowl potential and can be anchors for this OL for a long time. They don’t play glamour positions, but they are both already good players with room to become great ones.

I think I’d put Byrd in the top 5 too. He’s already an elite ball hawk, but needs to really improve his run support and recognition skills, two areas that he can make adjustments. He’s not a great athlete and his ceiling is only so high, but if we’re talking about players who are going to be a big part of this team going forward, Byrd is definitely one of them.

Troup, Carrington and maybe Nelson are all worthy of discussion too.

One good thing is we’re seeing a bunch of names being thrown around. Let’s hope many of these guys can come close to reaching their potential, because a lot of these guys seem to have a bright future.

Thought you wrote 8 td’s per for a second there! (haven’t had coffee yet)I would love any of these players to break out this year, but I don’t know about Lynch. With this much of a loaded back field, how in the world do you distribute the ball?! What a great problem to have!

OK, so holy crap, I’ve had five different emails today asking why I didn’t put Jairus Byrd on this list. Might as well put it out there here, too (though I think I did it earlier in the comments, too).

Byrd is elite in one area: ball skills. He’s also got good range and above average instincts. He has the makings of a very fine coverage safety. But as a prospect, his size and abilities against the run leave me wanting just enough to leave him off the list. I do not think Byrd will ever be truly elite, but he’s got a shot at a very long, very productive, very good career. I just don’t think he’ll ever be considered one of the best safeties in the game. The five guys on this list? They have that type of potential.

Jeez people. We could get in a tizzy arguing about potentials we have no idea about yet, chances for this and chances for that, or we could just make our cases and then admit that we don’t yet know. I’ve got an opinion like anybody else, it just seems so silly to be so insistent about something like Levitre vs. Wood or Marcus Easley vs. Steve Johnson. But if you want to go back and forth, using up brain cells on this stuff, I guess you’re welcome to it.