| Carl Setterlund. 9th May, 2006 - 5:41 am
 Picks:
1st Round: Donte Whitner, S, Ohio State (8); John McCargo, DT, North Carolina State (26)
2nd Round: none
3rd Round: Ashton Youboty, CB, Ohio State (70)
4th Round: Ko Simpson, S, South Carolina (105)
5th Round: Kyle Williams, DT, LSU (134); Brad Butler, OT, Virginia (143)
6th Round: Keith Ellison, OLB, Oregon State (178)
7th Round: Terrance Pennington, OT, New Mexico (216); Aaron Merz, OG, California (248)
Most fault the Bills for their first round picks, and I’ll admit even I agree that Marv Levy has lost little bit of the old magic. I think something has to be said though for the Bills going out and getting their guys early. I was spot on when I predicted that secretly Buffalo was targeting a safety in the first round, and it probably ended up that Oakland was unwilling to trade back out of Michael Huff territory. A lot of people don’t give Whitner enough credit and while he probably was deserving of a top 10 pick, he isn’t all too far behind Huff. I like his future and think he’s going to be a staple in that secondary and a borderline pro bowler, which is in the end what Buffalo wanted out of the pick.
I don’t want to take too much credit here, but I also predicted before the draft that the Bills would focus on that trademark defense, especially looking to fill a hole at tackle. Ngata and Brodrick Bunkley were in a class by themselves and Buffalo didn’t have much of a fighting chance at getting either after deciding to go with Whitner. Levy and company decided who they liked best out of the remaining group of defensive tackles (largely considered second round talents), and made sure they got their guy again.
McCargo is hardly the player with the biggest upside but he’s smart, works hard and ended up being overshadowed by his fellow NC State linemen. I love Buffalo’s third and fourth round picks who were both fringe first rounders leading up to the draft. I don’t see much that separates Ashton Youboty from the first and second round cornerbacks. Buffalo is going to let him develop and with his physical skills, Youboty could end up one of the best cornerbacks out of this deep draft.
Simpson is much like Youboty just at a different secondary position. The Bills think it’s going to be worth it to develop these two talented players and at the price they paid I can’t disagree.
Kyle Williams in the fifth round was another steal. He, like McCargo, doesn’t have the ideal physical gifts but he overachieves and you like that in defensive linemen. If McCargo doesn’t work out, Williams is a little bit of safety behind him, but both work hard and should be valuable additions.
Ellison, the linebacker out of Oregon State, could develop down the road and is going to be a good addition to the special teams.
Buffalo focused early on defense but took some nice offensive linemen late which was a smart, smart move. Marv Levy is getting heat for his first rounders but I think it’s exaggerated, and I love everything he did from the third round out. Some think this draft was a flop but I wholeheartedly disagree. |
