This is part of our countdown of the 25 worst moments in Buffalo Bills History. Check out the complete list, as well as the 25 best moments in team history, right here.
The Buffalo Bills made Mike Williams the fourth overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. Tom Donahoe made him the centerpiece of his second draft class, and Williams was supposed to lock down a spot on the left side of Buffalo's offensive line for a decade. That didn't happen.
Let me be clear from the beginning: no Bills draft choice has hurt the team more in the last 25 years than Mike Williams. What about the terrible quarterbacks or a pass rusher that doesn't work out like Aaron Maybin or Erik Flowers, you say? That happens. Those guys bust. Selecting an offensive lineman near the top of the draft is supposed to be a safe bet. If he doesn't become the left tackle of the future, he should be able to play right tackle or guard or somewhere along that line (pun intended). Williams is the only draft choice to make the list of worst moments for that reason.
Williams began his career at right tackle and never made the transition to the left side. He lost his starting spot in 2005, then GM Marv Levy cut the big tackle soon thereafter when he took over the football operations. Williams never lacked the talent. He lacked the desire. When he signed his contract, his waistline ballooned and his effort went the opposite direction.
I hate playing the "what if" game, but three spots later, Pro Bowl left tackle Bryant McKinnie came off the board to the Minnesota Vikings. He's started 131 games at left tackle for the Vikings, and is scheduled to be their opening day left tackle this season.
Williams was cut in the pre-season of the 2006 campaign by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and briefly re-surfaced with the Washington Redskins in 2009. But he's once again out of football.
The Bills have spent the last nine years trying to find an offensive tackle. Until Chris Hairston was drafted in the fourth round in 2011, the team has not spent a pick before the fifth round on an offensive tackle.