to early to talk draft?

Saw another site - scout.com, I believe, that projected Bills taking Rey Maualuga (MLB) at pick 23, and then moving Posluszny to the outside. Unlikely, since he said he's staying at USC for his senior season. And I can't see the Bills taking a MLB when they could as easily start DiGiorgio there if they really wanted to move Posluszny...
Note: that has the Bills making the playoffs, as picks 21-31 next year are the 11 playoff teams.

I agree - Schmidt might be good in the second round, and a WR or DL in the first round. I think a really good recieving TE would help a lot, but there isn't a Kellen Winslow or Antonio Gates out there this year.

hey lets not forget Gates wasn't drafted, so you can never tell.

We need 2 WR's, 2 CB's, a DT, a TE, a LB, OL depth and a pass rusher.  

I'm not sure we can even go after a pass rusher, unfortunately.  With so much money tied up in the DE position, can we even afford to use a high pick on that position?  What a waste of money from Marv on those 3 bums. Hargrove is probably the best rusher of the DE's and I doubt he'll be back next year.

I'd love to see us go after Malcolm Kelly from Oklahoma in round 1 and a CB in round 2 (Aqib Talib, Kansas or Antoine Cason, Arizona would be nice). With our 2 3rd's I'd like to see a pass catching TE and a DT. With our likely 2 4th's I'd like to see another WR and a LB/OL. The rest of the draft can be depth at needed positions.

her we go
1st pick- Malcom Kelly wr he's 6-4 217 best receiver with that kind of size in the draft. This team needs big wide outs and he's one to build on. I still would look for a strong veteran to start, but this kid could team with Lee and Roscoe for a long time.
2nd pick- Best DT on the board this my mean Marv has to do one of his patented trade ups at the end of the first, or start of the 2nd. He's got the extra picks to trade. I'm thinking either Okam or Ellis
3rd pick- This is they take some OL depth Steve Justice C from Purdue I think is a nice pick, but really I could list about 10 O-Linemen I would love to see picked here.
Late Round Sleepers- Once J.P. gets traded (as I believe he will) the Bills need to add some more QB depth I like Chad Henne in the 5th or 6th round
this guy is used to playing in bad weather and has good intangibles. He's also over shadowed by the big name guys like Brohm and Ryan.

Bottom line is the most pressing needs is....

1. Hybrid DE/LB that is athletic and can get to the QB
2. Tall, athletic TE
3. Tall, athletic WR
3. DT
4. CB

WE need skill players.  Situational guys.  Someone to chuck it up to on a fade route in the end zone, and some freak to come in and rush the passer.  We need to get after people.  Not sit back in cover 2 and watch Brady throw darts all over the field.

You miss the 3-4 D this team thrived with. Is it any coincidence the last time this team made the playoffs they were running the 3-4, the next year in comes Gregg Williams, and his 4-3 D and they haven't been back since? In fact can you name a bad 3-4 defense currently in place? I say lets make the switch.

I think we need to fix the offense with free agents and the defense with the draft.  Perhaps sign Bryant Johnson for WR from Arizona and LJ Smith from Philly for TE.  Draft Dan Conner from Penn State for WLB, a CB, DE, and DT on the first day.  This could be a very harsh offseaon.

Dan Conner teamed with Poz in the Buffalo Lb corp. I like it.

To me the posititions of need rank like this:

Teir 1 (new starter at each position):  WR, TE, DT (no specific order -all priority needs)

Tier 2 (someone to push for/maybe take over the starting job):  CB, LB, S (in  that order)

Tier 3 (depth - potential future starter):  C, G, DE

note:  I rate DE so low, not because I like our DE's but the Bills just have too much money already locked up in that position to add anything of significant value there IMO.

note:  All rankings and player stats and descriptions below come from Rivals.com (http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1144&CID=719772)

Arlight starting with the tier one positions:  WR, TE, DT

WR: Haven't done too much research on this position yet so don't have too much to add, except that it is very rare for a rookie WR to make an impact in his first season - for this reason Free agency may be the best way to go at this position.  That said, here's a name to look out for:  

Limas Sweed. The 6'4" - 220 pound WR from Texas who was projected for a HUGE season before he hurt his wrist early on. Listed at 46 here, he will probably climb the boards before the draft in April, but IMO would be a heck of a steal in the second round if he were still there, regardless of what the Bills do in free agency.

here are the other WR's I like in the draft:

13. Malcolm Kelly* - WR - 6'3" 210 lbs. - Oklahoma
Athletic junior receiver has been unstoppable in the Big 12. He will consider entering the draft.

21. Early Doucet - WR - 6' 200 lbs. - LSU
Fast senior wideout has come on of late after being slowed by a minor leg injury this season.

36. James Hardy* - WR - 6'6" 220 lbs.- Indiana
Big junior wideout has been a force over the '07 season, beating some of the nation's best cover men.

42. Devin Thomas* - WR - 6'1" 210 lbs. - Michigan St.
Fast junior receiver has come on nicely this season, showing the ability to consistently make big plays.

46. Limas Sweed - WR - 6'4" 220 lbs. - Texas
Physical wideout finished his career with a wrist injury and is preparing for big postseason this winter.

DT:  Quality not quantaty at this position.  Only two real first round prospects and both are near the top.  The first is of course, Glen Dorsey, who will likely be a top 5 pick and long gone before the Bills even sniff the clock.  The other is a guy a really like, Sedrick Ellis from USC. Ellis is actually listed at seventh overall on rivals.com, far higher then I have seen him rated thus far - but definitley could still be there in the mid-first round where the Bills are likely to pick.

Here's the (small) run down:

2. Glenn Dorsey - DT - 6'2" 300 lbs. - LSU
Quick defensive tackle is an explosive performer from the inside.

7. Sedrick Ellis - DT - 6'2" 295 lbs. - USC
Explosive senior tackle has been a dominant performer during his Trojans career.

TE:  - Forget about it - At least in the first round, the talent is just not there. That's unfortunate too, becuase I truly believe this is going to be Levy's priority one this offseason. The bills are either going to have to find a mid/late round gem in the draft or take a flyer on a guy like LJ Smith from Philly in free agency. I prefer the latter.  Heres a few names/possibilities though:

56. Martin Rucker - TE - 6'5" 255 lbs. - Missouri
Athletic senior tight end is one of the most complete prospects at the position over recent years.

58. Martellus Bennett* - TE - 6'6" 255 lbs. - Texas A&M
Athletic tight end has the physical package to develop further, but had a frustrating 2007 season.

62. John Carlson -TE - 6'5" 255 lbs. - Notre Dame
Athletic tight end is a talented receiver who has been lost in the horrible season for the Irish.

69. Travis Beckum* - TE - 6'3" 225 lbs.- Wisconsin
Fluid receiving tight end has been unstoppable in the passing game over his fine Big Ten career.

76. Fred Davis - TE - 6'4" 255 lbs. - Southern Cal
Athletic senior tight end has shown top receiving skills over his final season.

That's it for tier 1 guys.  Here's a quick synopsis of the other positions:

• I don't like any of the CB's out of this year draft...at least as first rounder's. Rivals seem to rate a few of them A LOT higher then others have. Earlier in the year, ESPN's insider/scout's inc. did not even give one senior CB a first round grade!. Even with the juniors, the fact that Justin King is listed as one of the top junior CB scares the heck out of me (I'm a self-proclamed PSU homer and although I think he's a good person and I like him - he is one of the most over-hyped players I have ever seen, somehow he got the tag "lock-down" without ever deserving it and for one reason or another, it stuck).
• I really like some of the first round linebackers, such as James Laurinaitis from OSU, Keith Rivers from USC, Dan Connor from PSU. Laurinatis is an inside LB, while connor moved inside from WLB after his junior year at PSU - just like Poz did, and Rivers is projected as a WLB in the NFL. I love this group - but as of right now- and it's obviously really early, there seems to be too many other needs to take another early round linebacker, especially with how well Pizza boy played in place of Poz this season. But if the Bills do decide to go with one of these guys becuase of value, I would be stoked!
• haven't really taken a look at safety or O-line yet, will have to get on that!

I love the draft and as such i have compiled a short list of rules, generated from some of the great drafters in league history, which are great guidelines for a successful draft. please keep these in mind when making draft predictions.

1. THE MORE PICKS THE BETTER: this may sound like a no-brainer but it is often ignored (see the Jets draft.) This is Jimmy Johnson's rule and though I think little of the man, he was a great drafter. Think about it, the league average states that 3-4 of the players you draft will NOT be on your team 2 years removed from their draft. so if you have 5 picks, two years later you might not have much to show for it were as if you have 10 picks you will get more return on your draft.
2. DRAFT AT LEAST 1 O-LINEMAN AND 1 D-LINEMAN EVERY YEAR: Plain and simple, other than QB the trenches are the most important positions on the field, and depth needs to be kept fresh. As bills fans how often in the last few years have we seen quality lineman passed over so we can have another average at best receiver, or a running back with a bad attitude. you can never go wrong with a lineman, and one thing all great lines, either offensive or defensive, have is depth.

3.TRY TO DRAFT A QB EVERY YEAR: This one comes straight from the great Ron Wolf. He kept Green Bay a power house for years with his great drafting using this philosophy. He took Mark Brunell with a 5th rounder then traded him to Jacksonville for a 3rd and 5th, he drafted Aaron Brooks with a 6th and traded him to the Saints for a 3rd, then he drafted Matt Hasslebeck in the 6th and traded him to the Seahawks swapping his 1st(17) and a 7th (along with MH) and getting Seattles 1st(10) and a 3rd.(of course with the 10th pick he took Jamal Reynolds who was a huge flop, and at 17 Seattle took Steve Hutchinson, but the idea was there.) When you have a surplus of good QBs you can deal from strength. teams are always looking for a QB and are always willing to overspend to get him, even if all they have is a brief look at what he can do. The Bills did it with Rob Johnson, an unproven guy shows a little something (in Rob's case a very little something) and Jacksonville who used a 4th to get him turns him into a 1st and 3rd,and by the way, with the 1st rounder they got from the Bills the Jags took Fred Taylor, 'nuff said.

This team obviously can't afford to pass on a good looking linebacker prospect just because they have to follow my rules. However it is worth stating that if this team ever plans on stopping the rebuilding process which has been going on since the late John Butler left, they are going to have to build a great core to this team. And since we all know thats going to have to be done through the draft, I thought this was a good place to start. Maybe Brian can use some of his considerable clout and e-mail this directly to Marv for me.

of course you can go wrong with any pick, i can name a bum picked for every position, by every team. And the point is that you pick players than keep the best ones no matter who they are. If the guy you pick in the 6th round isn't any better than what you've already got then you cut him. you're welcome for the memories.