Okay, now that we know a little more about the coaching staff and coordinators... The next major decision for Whaley and the Bills will be shopping for at the QB position. If you asked me last year at this time if I thought Kyle Orton would be our QB for 12 games last year, I would have laughed in your face. So I guess anything is possible at this point of the year. Certain the trade market is wide open beyond the free agent market, (maybe the retirement market is open again if Marino or anyone else still has it in them to return.. no not Brett Farve). My choice would be Locker, Mallet, Hoyer, Sanchez, Ponder.
Option #1 Free Agent Quarterbacks
1. Mark Sanchez
2. Jake Locker
3. Brian Hoyer
4. Matt Moore
5. Ryan Mallett
6. Christian Ponder
7. Tarvaris Jackson
8. Shaun Hill
9. Michael Vick
10. Matt Hasselbeck
11. Colt McCoy
12. Jimmy Clausen
13. Jason Campbell
14. Dan Orlovsky
15. Blaine Gabbert
16. Josh Johnson
17. T.J. Yates
18. Tyrod Taylor
19. Luke McCown
20. Matt Flynn
I think the top 6 guys "could" be starting QB's in our league on the "right team" as long as they stay healthy and have a good system and support structure around them. I am not sure if any of them have experience in a Greg Roman type of system from their prior training or development? That might be telling if someone could connect the dots to see if there are any clues who might be selected from this list.
Option #2 Trade for a QB: There are a number of QB's that are potentially eligible for the trade market. While the Bills don't have a ton of leverage here, they do have some players to consider here including Spiller, Kuandjo, Wood, Hughes, if they feel the right guy is there for the taking. Whaley did trade for Hughes with a higher draft pick middle LB that didn't work out in Indy, so he can do player for player trades. My choice would be Mike Glennon, Kirk Cousins or Aaron Murray. (Don't think we'll touch Folk, Kaep, Bradford, Palmer, Manning)
List of QB's for trade that are not in any particular order: 1. Folk 2. Kaepernick 3. Mike Glennon (particularly if TB is looking to draft Marriota) 4. RG3 5. Bradford 6. Carson Palmer 7. Peyton Manning 8. Kirk Cousins 9. Aaron Murray/Tyler Bray (KC 3rd and 4th stringers)
Option #3 Draft a QB Obviously we are not getting one of the top 2 guys... what diamonds in the rough are out there left over??? This draft pick or UDFA will battle with Jeff Tuel for the practice squad QB. Brandon Bridge would be my choice here...
Rank | Player | Pos. | Pos. Rank | School | Class | Ht. | Wt. | Proj. Round |
1 | *Marcus Mariota | QB | 1 | Oregon | rJr | 6-4 | 215 | 1 |
3 | *Jameis Winston | QB | 2 | Florida State | rSo | 6-4 | 232 | 1 |
28 | *Brett Hundley | QB | 3 | UCLA | rJr | 6-3 | 227 | 1-2 |
92 | Bryce Petty | QB | 4 | Baylor | rSr | 6-3 | 230 | 3 |
116 | Garrett Grayson | QB | 5 | Colorado State | rSr | 6-2 | 220 | 3-4 |
156 | Shane Carden | QB | 6 | East Carolina | Sr | 6-2 | 221 | 4-5 |
171 | Brandon Bridge | QB | 7 | South Alabama | rSr | 6-5 | 235 | 5 |
185 | Cody Fajardo | QB | 8 | Nevada | rSr | 6-2 | 215 | 5-6 |
191 | Sean Mannion | QB | 9 | Oregon State | rSr | 6-5 | 220 | 5-6 |
207 | Bo Wallace | QB | 10 | Ole Miss | Sr | 6-4 | 217 | 6 |
227 | Blake Sims | QB | 11 | Alabama | rSr | 6-0 | 208 | 6-7 |
240 | Jake Waters | QB | 12 | Kansas State | Sr | 6-1 | 210 | 7 |
259 | Tyler Heinicke | QB | 13 | Old Dominion | Sr | 6-1 | 213 | 7-FA |
271 | Taylor Kelly | QB | 14 | Arizona State | rSr | 6-2 | 210 | 7-FA |
276 | Bryan Bennett | QB | 15 | Southeastern Louisiana | rSr | 6-2 | 215 | 7-FA |
286 | Connor Halliday | QB | 16 | Washington State | rSr | 6-4 | 198 | 7-FA |
307 | Chuckie Keeton | QB | 17 | Utah State | Sr | 6-1 | 200 | 7-FA |
319 | Nick Marshall | QB | 18 | Auburn | Sr | 6-1 | 210 | 7-FA |
378 | Hutson Mason | QB | 19 | Georgia | rSr | 6-2 | 209 | –– |
386 | Ryan Williams | QB | 20 | Miami (Fla.) | rSr | 6-5 | 222 | –– |
411 | Jerry Lovelocke | QB | 21 | Prairie View A&M | rSr | 6-5 | 242 | –– |
BRANDON BRIDGE:
STRENGTHS: Tall, narrow body type with athletic footwork and long-striding speed to pick up yards with his legs. Elite-level arm strength and release quickness with the ability to add velocity and extra RPM's on his throws with ease. Not shy about testing tight windows and trusts his arm to make frozen rope throws and put the ball anywhere he wants on the field. He has mobility to keep the play alive when the pocket breaks down, shaking off arm tackles and stepping up with his eyes downfield. Shows the ability to work through his reads and is a quick thinker to make snap decisions. Displayed outstanding toughness playing through an ankle injury most of November 2014. WEAKNESSES: Bridge has improved field vision, but needs to develop his eye use and tends to stare down receivers, often leading defenders to his intended target. His receivers will struggle to handle his fastball at times and Bridge needs to develop a change-up and overall better touch to all levels. His mechanics and accuracy need refined, but neither needs an overhaul. With only a dozen collegiate games under his belt, Bridge doesn't have the ideal experience and might need a season or two to develop before he's ready for consistent game reps, requiring a patient NFL team. COMPARES TO: Colin Kaepernick, 49ers -- Bridge is tall and lean with a rocket launcher on his right shoulder like the 49ers quarterback and has more than enough velocity on his passes to toss ropes to all levels of the field. --Dane Brugler (12/4/14)