The Case for QB at 3

I know this may be an unpopular sentiment, but I really am starting to believe that QB is the way to go at number 3.  If Chix believes there is a franchise QB avaiable(and it certainly appears that they are high on both Newton and Gabbert), then that should be the play.  In support of my position consider the following:

As our braintrust stated, it is not often that you pick this high in the draft (hopefully the Bills don't pick this high again for a very long time).  I understand picking a QB high does not ensure he will not be go bust (see:  JaMarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf), however it gives you the opportunity to select a QB that you confidently feel can lead you to a title and be the fact of your franchise for a decade.  That is not an opportunity that comes around very often.  There is always going to be risk at taking a QB this high, but the rewards is just as high if not higher.  Petyon Manning, Philip Rivers, Donvan McNabb all turned their teams into perennial contenders that have a chance to win a title year in and year out.  If Chix believes that either Newton or Gabbert can do the same, they almost certainly have to pull the trigger.

Another common argument against drafting a QB high is that if you "miss," you set your franchise back a number of years.  Well at this point the Bills organization has been irrelevant for about 10 years.  What is another three years if we miss. A number of teams have "missed" in recent years (SF: Alex Smith, SD: Ryan Leaf, CIN: Akili Smith, HOU: David Carr) all of these teams have rebounded to respectability quicker than the Bills have been able to turn things around.  The Bills have missed numerous times on non QBs over th past decade and the consequences have been disastrous.  Nothing could right these wrongs quicker than "hitting" on a franchise QB.

In today's NFL you need a marquee QB to win a super bowl.  Over the past 15 years only 2 mediocre QB's have won a ring, Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer(who both had superb Ds). You could also include Eli Manning those the media seems to consider him an elite QB, which many don't fans don't agree with (he also had a top notch D).  Right now you would be hard pressed to argue that Fitz is a top 12 QB.  Sure, he gained folk hero status and brought a level of excitement to the team that it desperately craved, but the evidence that he is a big time QB just does not hold up.  He has a career record of 8-14-1 and a career passer rating of 73.  That is not championship QB caliber.  Fitz would serve as a great QB to groom a rookie though.  He is extremely intelligent and by all accounts seems to be a stellar teammate.  If Chix thinks either Newton or Gabbert can be elite, a year or two of seasoning behind Fitz would certainly help.

I understand that our D needs alot of help and Miller/Peterson/Dareus would all be a boost.  However adding one of these players wouldn't have the kid of franchise altering ramifications that adding a top flight QB would.  Anyone of these players would immensely improve the D, but the fact is that our D needs multiple pieces to become a strong unit.  Not to mention the young players such as Troup and Carrington who could potentially come on and add some teeth to the D moving forward.

I wouldn't be upset if we go D in round 1, I just feel that the future on the franchise is largely contingent upon finding the franchise QB we have been lacking since Kelly retired.  By adding a QB that they think could be that future, Chix would do alot towards steering this franchise back to relevance.