In celebration of what is hopefully Doug Whaley’s last draft, I wanted to take a look at his best and worst picks by round. I am giving Whaley credit for the draft of 2013, because depending on who you ask, either Whaley or Buddy Nix were making the picks. I just have a hard time thinking the Bills would let Nix pick the draft class, and then walk out the door. Unless Russ Brandon was calling the shots, but that’s an article Joe has written 100 times before. So let’s go round by round and look at his best and worst picks in the 4 drafts soon to be gone Doug has presided over.
1st Round
Best Pick
Sammy Watkins – This is basically by default because the first round has been terrible for Whaley. The only other picks were EJ Manuel and Shaq Lawson because we traded our 2015 pick for Sammy. For a guy drafted in the top 5, he only has 1 1,000 yard season, has never caught over 65 passes, and has only played a full season once.
I fully support the theory that it’s not all on Sammy, but when one considers that OBJ could’ve been had without giving up an additional first for, this is a tough one to digest. I also hate trading future firsts, unless it’s for a QB. When this pick is your best first, you don’t have a good track record.
Worst Pick
EJ Manuel – In a QB class that has drawn lots of comparisons to this seasons QB class, Buffalo selected the first one after trading down at pick 16. To be fair, it’s not like Buffalo passed on anyone good, as Mike Glennon is far and away the best QB from the class if that tells you anything. However, when you spend a first round pick on a QB, and he fails, and fails miserably, your time employed is likely not long.
2nd Round
Best Pick
Robert Woods – Whaley has been effective in round 2. In addition to Woods, Kiko Alonso (who turned into Shady), and Ronald Darby were drafted in the second round. Woods was a serviceable WR who you could basically count on for 50 some catches and 600 some yards a year. He also played at least 13 games in every season with the Bills. A competent 2nd or 3rd WR. Unfortunately, the Bills lost him for absolutely nothing this offseason.
Worst Pick
Cyrus Kouandjio – Coming out of Bama, many had him with a first round grade, had it not been for some knee issues. He has only started 7 games in three seasons, and was recently found half-naked in a field by police. I think it’s realistic to expect your first three rounds worth of picks to be regular starters/contributors, and he hasn’t fit the Bill.
3rd Round
Best Pick
I’m giving Preston Brown the nod here. He has been a solid contributor all three seasons in Buffalo, averaging over 100 tackles a season, and most importantly, playing in all 16 games each and every season. You get that from all your third round picks, you are doing quite well. You could certainly make a case for John Miller as well.
Worst Pick
Marquise Goodwin – A speedster to replace fellow reach T.J. Graham, Goodwin never caught over 29 passes in a season, and his 431 yards this past season were a career high. The previous 2 seasons he had 66 yards combined, yes combined. He signed with the 49ers this offseason, ensuring that zero players from the 2013 draft remained on the Bills.
4th Round
Best Pick
Cardale Jones – I’m giving him the slight nod over Duke Williams. Williams is on te Colts now, and still in the NFL, but Jones was drafted as a project at a position of need. I’m willing to let this play out a bit. This one is purely based on potential.
Worst Pick
Ross Cockrell – This pick is here, despite him being the most productive of the 4th round Whaley picks because in his career, he registered one total tackle for Buffalo. Somehow he managed to start all 16 games for the Steelers last season at CB, a position Buffalo has a huge need for depth at.
5th Round
Best Pick
Karlos Williams – At this point in the draft you are just hoping to get a guy who contributes. Williams looked well on his way to being a solid player being the thunder to Shady’s lightning. In just 93 attempts, he ran for over 500 yards, had 7 TDs, and averaged 5.6 per carry. I’ll take that from a fifth every day of the week. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay out of his own way. He reported to camp in 2016 overweight and was then suspended for drugs.
Worst Pick
Cyril Richardson – The Bills got 4 starts and 12 games out of him in 2014. The Bills cut him prior to the 2015 season, where he spent the season on the practice squad. He was on the practice squad of the Chicago Bears last season.
6th Round
Best Pick
Kevon Seymour – To be fair to Whaley, if you get a guy in the sixth round who is a contributor, you did quite well. He started 3 games last season, and depending on how the draft shakes out, could very well be a starting CB in 2017.
Worst Pick
Dustin Hopkins – When you draft a K, you are fully expecting him to be your starting K. He couldn’t beat out Dan Carpenter in camp, and never kicked for the Bills. He has been an average kicker the last 2 seasons for the Redskins, hitting 85% of his FG attempts, and having 43% of his kickoffs as touchbacks. Decent numbers, but none for the Bills.
7th Round
Best Pick
Seantrel Henderson – If you find a guy who has basically started at tackle for you for 2 full seasons in the seventh round, you call that a win. He did miss the entire 2016 season with an illness and suspension, and he may never play another game, but this is still a really good value here.
Worst Pick
Dezmin Lewis – In 2 seasons on the roster, he has played in 2 games, and has yet to record a statistic of record. He was on the practice squad to start last season, and spent most of the season there to be fair.
I hope that gets you ready for the 2017 draft, and I also hope that Whaley doesn’t get much say, because it’s a struggle to even say who his best pick is. It’s probably Sammy, but we all know his health issues, and what they gave up to get him. Whaley’s track record is not one I want repeated.
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