In 2009's first round, the Bills picked the right position (defensive line) but picked the wrong guy (Aaron Maybin) It 2010, they got the right buy (CJ Spiller) at the wrong position (running back). Last year, they got it right in both couts with Marcel Dareus in the position of need (defensive line). I think on Thursday night they absolutely went for the right position on the field (cornerback). We just have to wait to see if they got the right guy in Stephon Gilmore.
This isn't a cop out saying that I don't know if he is the right pick. No one knows. Not the scouts who watched him 10 times and gave him the soaring grades. Not the Mel Kiper's and Mike Mayock's of the world who gave the Bills two thumbs up for the selection. Not even Buddy Nix who smiled and said Gilmore was the highest guy they had graded for their time on the clock. We all see, we study, we think and we guess. But we don't know until that young man puts on the pads and plays against men in the NFL.
It's not a total guess. That would be unfair to the process and the work that goes into trying to minimize the bust factor in staking a team's future on these young men. The biggest things I like about Stephon Gilmore is that he started 38 games on a college level and that he played against top end competition. Add into the fact that the young man has the measurables of size and speed that fit the potion well and you have taken out some of the risk that goes with this game of chance.
On friday the Bills have the 9th and 39th picks in the second and third rounds. By midnight tonight I would like to see them bring a young wide receiver and an offensive tackle to Orchard Park. Names like Alshon Jeffery (Gilmore's teammate at South Carolina) , Rueben Randall (LSU) and one of the most intriguing guys not picked, Georgia Tech 6'4" wide out Stephen Hill are still on the board. They might all be scooped up in the 8 picks before the Bills. They could also just sit still and wait to see if Stanford's Jonathan Martin or one of the other top tackles are still on the board.
So go ahead, watch the next few days and give the Bills your own grade on the draft. Heck, give them an A. Give them an F if you were really dying for them to take Michael Floyd of Notre Dame. But the only grades that matter will be handed out when these guys line up against Tom Brady and the Patriots over the next few years.
