The Pick - A.J. Green WR Georgia
It has been a long time since the glory days of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed.
The Bills are currently a team without an identity. The team ranked in the bottom half of the league in nearly every major team statistic (passing, rushing, rush defense). The only bright spot being the team ranked 3rd in the league in pass defense. Of course, when the more talented teams in the division are kicking your ass they usually don't need to pass the ball. They're running out the clock with run plays while you're desperately passing to get back into it. Volume is the problem. Opponents ran 571 run plays against the Bills while only throwing 473 times.
With all that said, the right move for a franchise this far down in the league is to draft the best player available. In this case that is A.J. Green. Green has been a star since he stepped foot on Georgia's campus. His impact on the Bulldogs season was apparent when he returned from one of the more ridiculous suspensions in modern history. (Reggie Bush's parents lived in a $250,000 paid for by agents/boosters and it took 5 years to investigate. Green sells something that belongs to him and the NCAA cracks down in a few months.) In any event, the Bulldogs were a completely different team with Green's athletic ability and incredible skill back in the lineup. Green dominated all comers and showed his superior talent during the second half of the season, while the Bulldogs went from also ran to bowl eligible status.
I've seen some mock drafts saying that the Bills are "okay" at wide receiver with the emergence of Stevie Johnson. Johnson is a good player. Lee Evans is definitely serviceable. However, the team needs an identity. Ryan Fitzpatrick can get the job done as a signal caller. The team should give him another year to develop while adding an uber-talented weapon to give this team a much needed identity. It is time for the team to be something other than simply "okay" or more accurately "mediocre" at every position. If Fitzpatrick doesn't get it done then they can draft another QB next year, a la the Cowboys drafting Michael Irvin just before getting Troy Aikman. At the least the new QB would have a ton of targets.
The Bills need to address issues with offensive line, pass rushing linebacker and perhaps tight end later in the draft.
A.J. Green definitely passes the smell test of an early first round pick, insanely dominate against every oppponent while playing against the best competiton in the nation. When you're as far down as the Bills you can't afford to whiff on a pick this high, and although reciever can be risky, A.J. Green is as safe a wide reciever pick as you'll see.
ReplyDeleteThough I don't know his personality, after all his Dad may be a pimp and his mom may work for his dad (in an administrative capacity of course) causing him to plumment in the draft.