The Buffalo Bills didn’t have a sexy draft because they didn’t take any offensive skill players, but they did a great job of reloading the defense and the offensive line! This draft is one that could go down as one of the best in team history if these players build on what they did as rookies. Here’s the breakdown:

With the Bills earlier first round pick they took safety Donte Whitner. Many thought that the Bills reached because of need, but Whitner quickly proved those critics wrong. Whitner played in 15 games and registered 104 tackles, 1 interception and he defensed 4 passes. He is very good in run support and should only get better as a player with experience.

The Bills other first round pick was DT James McCargo. He only played in 5 games and had 6 tackles and defensed one pass. He missed most of the season due to injury so the jury is still out on him.

In the 3rd round the Bills selected CB Ahston Youboty out of Ohio State and he didn’t do much. He played in 3 games and made 3 tackles.

With their 4th round pick the Bills chose S Ko Simpson. Simpson had a great rookie year and teamed with Whitner to give the Bills a solid set of safeties. He played in all 16 games and made 76 tackles, had 1 sack, intercepted 2 passes, defensed 2 passes and forced a fumble. The Bills look set at safety for a long time.

In the 5th round the Bills picked DT Kyle Williams. The Bills figured McCargo would be the man, but Williams played very solid when he got his chance to play. He played in all 16 games and made 53 tackles and defensed a pass.Â

With their second choice in the 5th round the Bills picked OT Brad Butler. Butler didn’t play very much as he only got into 2 games. But the 6’7″, 309 pounder will have a chance to make the team next year.

In the 6th round the Bills got another nice hit. OLB Keith Ellison was their choice and he got alot of playing time. He played in 14 games and made 65 tackles, had 1 sack, 1 interception, defensed 1 pass and recovered a fumble. He will be a future starter for the Bills.

In the 7th round the Bills hit a home run! Offensive Tackle Terrance Pennington was the pick and he played in 11 games and started 9 of them. The 6’7″, 325 mountain of a man will start next season at LT for the Bills!

The other 7th round pick was G/C Aaron Merz. Merz did a good job as a backup. He appeared in 7 games and made 1 start. He should stick around because he’s very versatile.

Last season was the first time that Willis McGahee didn’t rush for over 1,000 yards but that’s because he missed two games to injury. McGahee carried the ball 259 times last year for 990 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs. He also caught 18 passes for 156 yards (8.7 avg). For his career, McGahee has played in 46 games (40 starts) and has carried the ball 868 times for 3,365 yards (3.9 ypc) with 24 TD runs. He also has caught 68 passes for 503 yards (7.4 ypc) but has yet to catch a TD pass in his career.

Anthony “A-Train” Thomas started two games for the Bills and also gave McGahee a break here and there and actually played pretty well. He carried the ball 107 times for 378 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs. He also caught 22 passes for 139 yards (6.3 avg). For his career, Thomas has played in 76 games (41 starts) and has carried the football 1,008 times for 3,802 yards (3.8 ypc) with 23 TD runs. Twice in his career, Thomas has rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season. He also has caught 98 passes in his career for 661 yards (6.7 avg) and he also has never caught a TD pass.

Shaud Williams had a lost season as he appeared in 5 games and carried the ball 2 times for 2 yards. For his career, Williams has played in 25 games and has carried the ball 89 times for 330 yards (3.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs. He also has caught 20 passes for 137 yards (6.9 avg).

I know that alot of people think the Bills ran a boring offense, but it gave them a chance to win alot more games than they should have and Coach Jauron should get alot of credit for that. The Bills finished 7-9 (43.8%) in his first season on the job and they should be better next season, especially if they have another good draft. For his career, Jauron is 43-58 (42.6%) during the regular season and 0-1 in the playoffs.

The Bills decided to stick with Losman all season long, and that began to pay off in the second half of the season. Losman took every snap for the Bills on offense. Losman completed 268 of 429 passes (62.5%) for 3,051 yards with 19 TD passes and 14 interceptions. He compiled a QB rating of 84.9 this season. Losman also is a good runner as he carried the ball 38 times for 140 yards (3.7 ypc) and 1 TD run. JP has played in 29 games in his career (24 starts) and he has completed 384 of 662 passes (58.0%) for 4,423 yards with 27 TD passes and 23 interceptions. He has a career rating now of 77.4. For his career, Losman has carried the ball 71 times for 309 yards (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.