It's no secret that the current iteration of the Buffalo Bills needs a ton of work. In fact, that's probably understating where this team is at right now. Starters and depth are needed across the board at nearly every position. Heading into the NFL Draft later this month, the Bills have their work cut out for them as they look to address major need areas such as QB, LT, NT, OLB and WR, as well as depth at the interior OL, OLB, and RB.
The question isn't really what positions the Bills need to address, but who the Bills should and could be interested in. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to take a look at all the players the Bills have shown interest in, worked out, or plan to visit with. The following list includes all the players that I was able to find with confirmed or rumored interest from the Bills.
Well, we all know that the Bills had early interest in Tim Tebow. It was confirmed that he was in town over the past week and met with Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, who was more than willing to recommend Tebow to the team as a potential pick:After a recent dinner with Tim Tebow, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly said he’d be comfortable recommending to the Bills’ decision-makers that they take the ex-Florida Gator with their second-round pick (41st overall).
Buddy Nix apparently really likes him, and Vic Carucci sees Buffalo as a great opportunity for Tebow. Tebow has also met with the dark side in New England.
The Bills also have plans to meet with Jimmy Clausen. The two sides met during the Scouting Combine, but it's unclear whether or not the private workout will occur prior to Clausen's scheduled April 9 Pro Day.
In addition, the team will be meeting with Colt McCoy on April 11-12. McCoy is also scheduled to meet with the Redskins, Rams and Browns.
Fordham QB John Skelton apparently visited the Bills recently.
The Bills have already met with Troy QB Levi Brown.
West Virginia QB Jarrett Brown was scheduled to meet with the Bills.
Buddy Nix attended Sam Bradford's workout, which isn't exactly surprising, as well as Oklahoma State's, presumably to see Russell Okung (but perhaps also QB Zac Robinson). And Dez Bryant perhaps?
The Bills were scheduled to meet with Clemson RB CJ Spiller in mid-March.
Anthony Davis, OT from Rutgers, believes he is the best tackle in the draft, hands-down, and has already visited Buffalo:
"I can only control what I can control," said Davis, who said he has visited the Bills and will visit the 49ers Thursday. "I know I’m a good kid. All I can do is be myself — and pray."
According to Scout.com, the Bills have shown strong interest in Central Florida NT Torrell Troup and New Mexico C Erik Cook.
The Bills have already met with former Tennessee RB, Montario Hardesty:
Hardesty has previously visited the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills.
Hardesty is a 6-foot, 225-pounder with 4.49 speed in the 40-yard dash.
He turned in an impressive 41-inch vertical leap and a 10-04 broad jump at the NFL scouting combine, also bench pressing 225 pounds 21 times.
Apparently both Nix and Chan Gailey attended the Alabama Pro Day on March 10. I don't know how often both the GM and head coach attend one of these, so I'll take it as an indication they are very interested in some Crimson Tide players. Rolando McClain, Terrence Cody and OG Mike Johnson are the likely targets.
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What does all this mean? Pretty much nothing. We can assume the Bills had some interest in all of these guys at some point, but without knowledge of how these visits and workouts went, it's unclear how strong the interest in any of them currently is. Be prepared to see the Bills go elsewhere come draft day, but don't be surprised to see any of these guys selected by the Bills in a few weeks. Keep in mind, many of these visits and workouts are under the radar and we never find out who visited where.
(If you have come across any visits that I missed, please include them in the replies section)