The best players to play for the Buffalo Bills during their 17-year playoff drought

The Buffalo Bills mercifully ended their 17-year playoff drought in 2017. With the suffering over, it’s time to look back on the era and its memories - the one-sided rivalry with the Patriots, Dick Jauron’s 7-9 seasons, the underdog “Goon Squad” receivers of the early 2010s, and more. For the better part of two decades, the Bills failed to put together a complete competitive roster that was capable of qualifying for the playoffs. Some individual talents made those teams watchable, and they deserve to be recognized for their skill. We’re talking about an All-Drought Buffalo Bills roster.

Here are the rules we’re working with:

• To be eligible, a player must have played for the team during the years 2000-2017. That includes the players who were on the roster in the ‘90s and played into 2000, and it includes the players who were only on the roster in 2017 when the team finally ended the drought.
• The player should be chosen for the best performance during the drought. Whether you consider that a long period of sustained success or an awesome peak of production is up to you.
• If the player played for Buffalo before the year 2000, he should only be credited for his performance during the drought. Take Steve Christie for example. He owns many of Buffalo’s franchise kicking records, but during the drought period, he played one season and converted 26-of-35 kicks.
• If the player played for another team during the drought, he only earns credit for his time on the Bills. Consider Terrell Owens, who made five All-Pro teams during the drought era, but only played a single year in Buffalo. That’s the only season for consideration.

With those rules in mind, cast your vote!