If you thought day one of the 2010 NFL Draft was a confusing one for the Buffalo Bills, day two shed some light on the Bills' ultimate plans on draft weekend. Choosing to pass on highly-touted quarterbacks Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy twice each, the Bills instead grabbed RB C.J. Spiller last night, then addressed its porous run defense this evening with the selections of NT Torell Troup and DE Alex Carrington.
With nothing more than project quarterbacks available, it's conceivable that Buffalo will exit draft weekend without a drafted signal-caller. A late-round project, or perhaps a veteran such as Jason Campbell or Jeff Garcia, won't solve the team's biggest problem long-term, and as a result, the Bills are steeling themselves for a quarterback competition and one hell of a bumpy season.
Even in ambivalence, I liked the team's selection of Spiller on Thursday night; talents like him aren't available often. I liked today's selections if only for the fact that GM Buddy Nix is clearly intent on shoring up a Bills run defense that has been thoroughly terrible for the past four seasons. Troup was a slight reach at No. 41, but he's a role-specific player that immediately fills a niche need along the defensive line, and he'll see significant snaps at nose guard as a rookie in a complementary role to Kyle Williams. Carrington is a prototypical five-technique 3-4 defensive end, and solidifies an end depth chart that now includes Williams, Marcus Stroud and free agent addition Dwan Edwards, among others.
The Bills still have serious holes, even aside from quarterback. The porous offensive line still has not been addressed, and the team's depth in the pass rushing department is bleak. Receiver depth is a priority as well. But Nix had a plan - get a playmaker, then fix the run defense - and to this point, he's executed it. It's not going to help Buffalo win many games in 2010, but over a longer period of time, Nix's plan makes a little more sense.
Round 4 of the 2010 NFL Draft kicks off at 10AM EST Saturday. We'll see you then, folks, as the Bills have six more picks to make on the final day of the draft.