Buffalo Bills GM Buddy Nix and VP of College Scouting Tom Modrak just wrapped up a press conference from the Bills draft luncheon. Naturally, there's a lot of fluff to wade through, but there were some interesting nuggets that Nix dropped that can be viewed as newsworthy. We'll run those down point by point.
- WGR 550's Joe Buscaglia got the only philosophically-meaningful quote out of Nix regarding his defense: "More important to us is probably to stop the run," Nix said. "You won’t get where you want to be unless you stop the run. Then rush the passer."
- Nix was also asked about the idea of passing on Von Miller because of the monetary investments at OLB: "I don't think there's any merit to that. If the best guy is there at that time, we wouldn't - you can't have too many good players. Obviously if you go into a year, I've had this happen a lot of times, where you think this is a strong position, we don't need anybody here, and you end up with two or three injuries and you're glad you got the guy."
Just a few more bullet points (sans quotes in some cases) on this presser.
- Nix said that there has been no "rising stock" regarding Blaine Gabbert, and that his stock has "always been high" with the Bills
- Nix has said in the past that he'd like two more five-tech ends; he sort of confirmed that again today by saying he thought the team had three DEs worth playing (presumably Dwan Edwards, Alex Carrington and Spencer Johnson)
- Nix also confirmed that 2010 sixth-round pick Danny Batten will be moving to inside linebacker, tutored by Dave Wannstedt
- Nix on Kyle Williams: "Kyle, no matter how many (defensive linemen) we get, Kyle will find a place. He'll be in a three-technique, he'll be shaded on the nose sometimes, he'll be in on the nickel. He won't get out much."
- Regarding the No. 3 pick, Nix would only say that he hoped the player could come in and start and/or contribute immediately.
- Nix talked about his personal belief that there are three phases to a successful draft pick: proper evaluation (athleticism/intelligence/production), proper coaching and strength training, and the professional responsibility (willingness to "do whatever it takes") to achieve greatness, which he also said is hard to evaluate.
Much more was said. None of it's really worth bringing up again, either because we've heard it all before, or because it's just discussing the general depth of a position or merits of a player. If you're choosing to read into any of this, these are the important points to keep in mind.