Countdown to the 2010 NFL Draft: Buffalo Bills Edition

QB: Who will be the starting quarterback in 2010? Right now I think the Bills don’t know.  A couple of years ago when the Bills drafted Trent Edwards they thought he was going to be the next Jim Kelly, but his production has been more like the martial arts actor Jim Kelly who was a one hit wonder in the filming industry (remember his only good film Enter The Dragon). For the life of me I and Bills fans don’t understand why Edwards refused to throw the ball to his weapons (Lee Evans & Terrell Owens) last season. Edwards seem not to have any confidence in throwing to his WR’s. In the middle of the season last year the Bills coaching staff started to lose confidence in Edwards and benched him. Backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick came on and help ignite the Bills offense to a couple of victories. Fitzpatrick is a backup for a reason. He doesn’t have the arm strength and accuracy to be a productive starting QB in this league. Bills need to draft a QB in this years draft or hope they can find a free agent QB who has starting potential. Edwards is not consistent and hasn’t shown he can be a productive QB in this league. Could Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen be the Bill’s first round pick?

RB: What’s happen to Marshawn Lynch? Bills fans and organization wants to know if they will ever see Lynch produce like he did his rookie season in 2007 where he became the Bills’ first 1,000 yard rookie rusher since Greg Bell in 1984. Lynch has been inconsistent and has had more production off the field then on the field. He has been involved in all types of legal issues such as domestic, weapons and vehicular. I think this is a make or break year for Lynch, he needs to show that football is still his No.1 passion. Fred Jackson took over the starting job from Lynch in Week 12 of last season and finished the season with 1062 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jackson is very versatile player. He is a very good pass catcher out of the backfield and returns kickoffs. Jackson had 1014 kickoff return yards making him the first player in NFL history to compile 1000 rushing and kickoff return yards. Lynch and Jackson can make a nice duo at the running back position if Lynch can stay out of trouble.

WR/TE: Heading into last season the WR position looked to be the position of strength on this team. On paper the list sounds good with Terrell Owens, Lee Evans, James Hardy, Josh Reed, and Roscoe Parrish. But this group underachieved in the worst way. Terrell Owens was the team’s leading receiver last season with just 55 catches for 829 yards. The Bills have already announced that they will not bring Owens and Josh Reed back. Reeds NFL career hasn’t been as productive as his college career where he once caught 23 balls in one game. Parrish is more of a slot receiver but only had a dismal 3 receptions last season. Hardy has had a hard time getting on the field and learning the playbook. The Bills clearly need an upgrade at the WR position. If the Bills don’t draft a QB or T with their first round pick look for them to draft Oklahoma State’s WR Dez Bryant. The Bills need more production from their TE’s. Shawn Nelson has a lot of talent and athleticism but needs to produce more on the field. He finished his rookie season leading all Bills TE’s with 17 catches for 156 yards and a TD. Joe Klopfenstein needs to step whatever game he has left up or will soon be out of the league. Klopfenstein is a former second round pick of the 2006 NFL Draft. So far in his career he has a dismal 34 receptions for 397 yards and 2 TD’s.

OL: The Bills have one of the worst offensive lines in the league. You know its bad when their RG Brad Butler decides to retire at the young age of 26. Butler was the Bill’s best offensive lineman last season. This off-season the Bills signed RT Cornell “Always Offsides” Green to a three year deal. Why? He couldn’t block in Oakland and was known for being a one man drive killer by getting penalties for being offside. The Bills need to desperately draft tackles in this year’s NFL Draft. The guard position isn’t that bad as they drafted Eric Wood in the first round of last year’s draft and Andy Levitre who they drafted in the second round of last year’s draft.

DL: This upcoming season the Bills plan to switch to a 3-4 defense. They need to add some bigger defensive tackles to their roster. Marcus Stroud is still a mammoth in the middle, but Kyle Williams is undersized. The addition of versatile end Dwan Edwards will add quality depth. This is an important year for second year player Aaron Maybin to impress and show his athleticism on the field.  He contributed little last season as he finished the season with 18 tackles and no sacks. The Bills need to drat some defensive ends in this years draft as Pro Bowl end Aaron Schobel’s future is still up in the air as he is debating retirement.

LB: The Bills have a nice quality of LB’s on their roster. This position was already the strongest position on the roster and got even better with the addition of MLB Andra Davis who had  90 tackles and 3.5 sacks last season with the Broncos. Davis will team with Paul Posluszny (110 tackles in2009) in the middle to form a nice MLB tandem. Kawika Mitchell is coming off a serious thigh/knee injury that caused him to miss the last two months of the season. Look for Mitchell to be the starting OLB. The main question is who is going to play the other OLB position. Look for Keith Ellison (68 tackles in 2009) to be the front runner for OLB position.

CB’s/S: The Bills are set for the next few years at the corner-back position. Terrence McGee and Leodis McKelvin form a solid CB tandem. The question is can they both stay healthy for a full season. McKelvin’s 2009 season ended in the fourth week when he broke his fibula and McGee’s 2009 season ended towards the end of the season when he broke his shoulder. Taking McKelvin’s place was rookie corner Reggie Corner who had solid 2009 season with 67 tackles and a interception. The Bills best draft selection last season was FS Jairus Byrd whose 9 interceptions were tied for the league lead and was five more than any other rookie had. Byrd became the first Bills rookie to be selected to play in a Pro Bowl since Greg Bell in 1984. SS Donte Whitner needs to step his game up. His play has been inconsistent and whiffs too much on tackles. Whitner needs to get stronger this off-season.