Despite not having a first round pick in this year’s NFL Draft because of last year’s Sammy Watkins trade, Bills GM Doug Whaley was pleased with how Buffalo drafted this time around. Buffalo’s front office knew they wouldn’t have a lot of “ammunition” for this year’s draft, but Whaley believes they made the most of it. The Bills had six picks in the 2015 edition of the NFL Draft, three of them coming out of Florida State.
The Bills first selection in the 2015 NFL Draft came midway through the second round when the herd was on the clock with the 50th pick. The Bills were looking to draft the best player available and it just so happened that their selection played in a department where the Bills need reinforcements, the secondary.
The Bills selected Florida State cornerback Ronald Darby, and Whaley had high praises for the Seminole. When asked what qualities Darby has that makes him a good fit with this defense, Bills GM predictably answered “[He’s] Physical, not only with the ball, against ball carriers, and as a press guy. Rex is a big press guy. His physical attributes–height, weight, and obviously blazing speed.”
Ronald Darby relishes the opportunity to play for defensive guru Rex Ryan and when asked how excited he was that he was a Bill and coming to play for Rex, Darby said “It’s a blessing. I couldn’t ask for much more.” When asked if Darby will make an immediate impact with the team, Whaley simply said “We’ll see, like I’ve always said, bring competition in and competition brings out the best in everybody. It will hopefully elevate their play, elevate his play.” Darby will have to compete against veteran corners like Stephan Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin for playing time.
With the 81st pick in the draft. the Bills went in a less flashy direction and drafted former Louisville guard John Miller. With a need at guard, Miller has a chance to compete for a starting spot right away. “For me, it’s a dream come true just being drafted into the NFL” Miller explained, “but being able to come in and compete for a starting position with the Buffalo Bills is great.” Being drafted to the Bills also reunites Miller with former Cardinals star Eric Wood.
Miller was asked what it meant to be drafted to a team featuring a familiar face saying “it’s awesome. I got a chance to train, not train, but workout with Eric Wood at Louisville actually so it’s a great opportunity. I know that Eric Wood’s a great pro, so I look forward to picking his brain and learning from him as we go along.” Whaley referred to Miller as a “physical mauler” a making him a perfect fit in Buffalo being a guard who loves to get down field in the running game.
The Bills made their most surprising move of the draft in the fifth round when they selected FSU running back Karlos Williams with the 155th pick. Reason for the shock is that the Bills are one of the deepest teams in the NFL at running back led by the league’s third best runner in 2014 LeSean McCoy. Veterans Fred Jackson and Bryce Brown will also present challenges for Williams to get playing time. However the Bills aren’t just taking the FSU product at face value. Director of player personnel Jim Monos thinks that Williams’ downhill style of running could make him lethal on special teams. When asked about what Williams can provide on special teams, Monos showed enthusiasm saying “that’s what’s exciting about him right away because he is so fast and he is physical. He’s 230 pounds, ran 4.46 and he used to play defense. That’s his whole mentality even as a runner so he will find a way.”
However Williams’ off the field issues have not been overlooked by GM Doug Whaley. When asked whether or not he’s worried about Williams even though he hasn’t been convicted he responded “We do take it in serious consideration, but like everybody we talked to before and everybody we talk to from now on, we do our research and get as much information as possible and we let the information make the decision.” Despite the fact the Bills are obviously playing favorites with the FSU pipeline, it sounds like members of Bills management are truly confident that Williams is moving in the right direction and can make a positive impact on the team.
The Bills went back to the defensive side of the ball with their first of two picks in the sixth round of the draft. The Bills also stayed in the ACC as they drafted Clemson linebacker Tony Steward. Steward has several ties to the Bills having played with Sammy Watkins and Rex Ryan’s son down in Death Valley. When asked for his initial reactions on being drafted by the Bills Steward said “…I was pretty shocked, honestly. I didn’t really talk to the Bills. I talked to Rex Ryan a little bit. It was just a big surprise and it’s a dream come true. It’s exciting.”
Nevertheless, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Steward to make the Bills roster this season with the veterans the Bills have at the linebacker position. Steward has also fought through two ACL injuries which could be a huge setback for the former Tiger. Yet Steward spoke out about his knees saying they were “100 percent” and put a positive spin on his ACL tears saying “Honestly…I just looked at it as a bump in the road. Things happen. You have to go through some hardships but I’m just one of those guys who just put their head down and keep working. Doing what I have to do to get back.”
Jim Monos seems ready to see what Steward can do saying “We were all at the Pro Day, myself, Doug Whaley, Coach Ryan. He was awesome at the Pro Day, he’s 240 pounds and runs 4.64 all day, loves football, tough, productive, we’re excited about him.” If he stays healthy, Steward has the upside to become an impact player for the Bills down the road.
The Bills chose to select yet another weapon for offensive coordinator Greg Roman with their second pick of the sixth round. With this selection they also they got their third and final Seminole of the draft. Despite inking star tight end Charles Clay earlier in the off season, the Bills selected Mackey award winning tight end Nick O’Leary with the 194th pick. Even though O’Leary won the award for being the nation’s top tight end, O’Leary slipped way down the draft board. Yet the FSU star plans on using his fall as motivation and when asked if his fall in the draft was going to put a chip on his shoulder, he responded by saying “Oh yeah. Big time. I’m going to go in there and show all these teams what they missed out on.”
Though O’Leary isn’t as flashy as Clay, Julius Thomas, or Jimmy Graham, he’s a ball player and a three down grinder who can catch the football downfield and run block in the trenches. When Monos was asked if O’Leary will compliment Clay, Monos seemed to be a believer in the Golden Bears grandson saying “Yeah, we like that. That’s what we talked about. We thought that was an ideal complement because he’s still going to give you the effort blocker but he can obviously be a receiver too. So now we have so many weapons.” When jokingly asked if he’ll actually wear gloves in the Buffalo cold, O’Leary simply smiled and said “I don’t know. I haven’t been in that cold weather yet.”
In the seventh and final round of the 2015 NFL Draft the Bills drafted Dezmin Lewis out of Central Arkansas. Coming from a small school, Lewis hasn’t gotten the publicity the other draftees were given, but Lewis has significant upside. At 6’4” 212 pounds Lewis has plenty of size to be a red zone threat and catch the ball at its high point. Lewis considers himself to have “deceptive speed” and that he can be more than just a big target. Buffalo was Lewis’ only visit before the draft so he had a hunch that he would end up in western New York. During his visit there was no guarantee of getting playing time or even making the roster, but Lewis isn’t going to let that detour him from trying to make his NFL dream come true. “I mean they just told me to come in and work hard” Lewis said of his visit. He went on and explained “I’m coming to compete, nothing is going to be given to you so my mindset is to come in, learn from the best…”
With training camp quickly approaching, Whaley likes the players drafted reiterating his excitement saying “All in all, we think we accomplished our goal, obviously time will tell of adding two contributors/starters early and a lot of depth/special teams guys in the later rounds.” With a lot of rousing changes made in Buffalo this offseason, the future looks bright at the Ralph as the Bills and Rex Ryan try to stay relevant in a much improved AFC East division.
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