The talk of the town since day one of THE MOCK has been about landing that true #1 WR. Well that, and of-course the possibility of adding the next Vernon Davis or giving the OL something more than what it already has. Other than the long shot of striking gold or picking Clowney, Bills fans can somewhat validate their #9 or 1st round selection as WR,TE or OT.
However, out of the 3...WR, TE, or OT, not all of them carry the weight of the BUFFALO BILLS NEEDS. These needs can very well be justified for the time being.
BUFFALO BILLS NEEDS:
DE- Jerry Hughes and Manny Lawson are not viable or at least proven yet as DE's in a 4-3 system. High risk.
S- Losing one of the highest paid safeties in the NFL and hoping Searcy, an unproven backup, or random CB transition to be a successful SS is simply not as satisfying as a Byrd/Williams combo. High risk.
ILB- We all want to feel safe with Spikes as the monster in the middle but if not then we have a serious hole in our defense. High risk.
Now... taking these needs and the risks we're left with not addressing them... HOW do they weigh next to drafting a WR, TE or OT in the earliest of rounds? Well, they simply DO NOT. Going off of the upcoming 2014 roster, Buffalo has 4 viable WR options if you include Goodwin/Williams who are very capable of being targets. Adding a 5th option in the draft early really doesn't make any sense. Similar story comes in at TE. Chandler is fairly good at being a target. And one would hope that Gragg/Moeoki/Smith will get some reps there as well. NOW KEEP IN MIND, this years draft class if one of the deepest it's ever been in WR/TE. Moving on... to OT. We have an extremely viable LT in Cordy Glenn. Do you invest in a top 3 tackle to play opposite side of Cordy? Maybe. In the recent NFL, it does seem wise to protect both ends of the line especially with the DE end talent around the league. The #9 OT pick in my opinion is the only of these picks that can be justified and thats if the the right guy is there.
So back to my point about weighing out our options. The defensive needs I listed above can end up being very useful. They certainly out weigh any of the offensive positions. Adding a WR/TE/OT early may only help the offense not hurt it so much if we don't. But neglecting the defensive needs EARLY could absolutely be a problem. Basically sticking with what we got on Offense will be more than enough to get by where as sticking with what we have on Defense could be devistating in some areas.
*We were stellar last year on Defense in more areas to none. But because we lacked one thing, (A run stuffer) we were extremely vulnerable and in jeopardy of losing most games. A Mike Evans or Ebron on Offense will not out weigh those kinds of issues.
*This draft is heavily loaded with Offensive weapons while a little thin with studs on Defense.
FILL THE HOLES ON DEFENSE BUFFALO! ALL OF THEM!. AND DO IT EARLY ;)