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 Profile: NFL Draft Countdown John Wendling |
Finally addressing a need for depth in their defensive backfield, the Buffalo Bills have selected safety John Wendling out of Wyoming in the sixth round of the Draft. This is a guy who TheSportsGuru at Mile High Report took in the third round of the SB Nation Mock Draft, and most scouts felt he'd be a 4th or 5th round pick. Getting him in the sixth round is yet another great value pick for the Bills.
Simply put, this guy has "Marv Levy" written all over him. Wendling is an extremely smart guy with top-flight intangibles and he works just as hard as any other guy in the locker room. He has fantastic size for a safety (6'1", 222) and he times very well, running a 4.48 at the Combine. He is a spectacular athlete, with over a 40-inch vertical jump. He is a bit tightly wound and isn't as fluid as some other safeties, which is a likely cause for his slide into Round 6. His size is very important to Buffalo, however, because both Donte Whitner and reserve Jim Leonhard are not the biggest of guys. Wendling's addition gives us a safety who can lay the lumber and match up better physically than some of the other guys on our roster.
More important than a reserve safety is Wendling's potential as a special teamer. I see him playing a lot like Coy Wire - he's fast, strong and athletic and he should be a force to be reckoned with on kick and punt return units. This guy is a great value, a great locker room personality and he has upside as a safety in this scheme as well. I absolutely love this pick - how good has the value been in all of the Bills' picks?
Leave your comments on Wendling below. We've got two more picks to go!
For those of you interested, here is a video of Wendling clearing a 66" hurdle with just a three-step approach. Yes... that's 5'6".