Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550 has been on fire in the last couple of days, first with his coverage of the Buffalo Bills' draft luncheon on Tuesday, and now in his breakdown of the media availability of Bills scouts Doug Majeski and Brad Forsyth. You should read this article, as it features quotes and observations from the two talent evaluators on several prominent 2011 NFL Draft prospects, including guys like Colin Kaepernick, Cameron Heyward and Kyle Rudolph.
Here, I wanted to touch on a couple of interesting guys: Indiana offensive tackle James Brewer and Wisconsin tight end Lance Kendricks. We'll start with Brewer, a former teammate of Rams left tackle Rodger Saffold, and a former player for current Bills assistant offensive line coach Bobby Johnson.
Per Buscaglia, Majeski praised size and athleticism, but brought up a very interesting point: just like a quarterback out of the spread offense not being able to make pro reads, Brewer has similar concerns regarding his run blocking. Knowing that the Bills are definitely looking for another tackle, this is something to bear in mind for a prospect that already has Bills ties.
As for Kendricks - who, as Matt pointed out two weeks ago has been linked to the Bills by both Mel Kiper and Todd McShay (perhaps coincidentally) - Majeski talked up his toughness and solid blocking ability. Even though he's just 6'3" and 247 pounds, Kendricks - unlike another former Badger, Travis Beckum - is being viewed by many teams as a true in-line tight end that can line up anywhere. I'm not sure that's the case for the Bills, who seem to value size and run blocking much more than any other skill in their tight ends, but this bears watching.
I'd long considered Brewer a darkhorse candidate for the Bills in the third round, and solid value in the fourth. (He'd make a hell of a lot more sense than Ed Wang ever did, if you ask me.) Now I'm not so sure, knowing that the team has that concern about his run blocking. Meanwhile, I've bumped Kendricks up just a touch, though I still think the big-bodied guys like Rudolph and Luke Stocker will ultimately be considerably more appealing to the team.