The Bills have picked OT Kyle Calloway with the 216th pick overall (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Calloway is 6’6″, 322 pounds so he looks the part but he will need to get into the weight room to improve the power he plays with.  He is a good pass blocker already as his game is based on finesse.  He played in 12 games (all starts) for Iowa and he has played in 39 games (37 starts) in his four years there.  Calloway was a nice prospect for the Bills to get with their last pick in the NFL Draft as he dropped a couple of rounds from where he was projected to be picked.

The Bills have selected QB Levi Brown out of Troy with the 209th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  The Bills caught a sliding prospect here as most experts had him graded out to go in the 4th or 5th round.  With the depth chart at QB that the Bills have right now Brown could work his way up the chart one step at a time.  He will start out #4 on the depth chart.  Brown is really good at throwing the short stuff but his long ball needs some work.  He is a big guy at 6’3″, 219 pounds and he is a good athlete.  He keeps his eyes downfield looking to make the big play which is a good trait to have.  Brown played in 13 games (all starts) for Troy last season and he completed 321 of 504 passes (63.7%) for 4,254 yards with 23 TD passes and 9 INTs.  He played in 34 games (24 starts) at Troy and Richmond in which he completed 588 of 962 passes (61.1%) for 6,968 yards with 43 TD passes and 19 INTs.  The Bills might have caught lightning in a bottle with Brown who could develop into a starting QB in the NFL down the road.

The Buffalo Bills have picked OLB Dan Batten out of South Dakota State with the 192nd overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Batten was a DE in college so he will have to learn a new position to win a job in the pros.  He is 6’2″, 250 pounds and he runs a 4.8 40 so he has the athletic ability to make it if he responds well to the Bills’ coaching staff.  Batten played in 12 games for S.Dakota St. last season and he had 85 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss and 9 sacks.  In his four years in college, Batten played in 46 games in which he had 273 tackles, 52.5 tackles for a loss and he had 23 sacks.  Batten will likely have to help out on special teams until he learns his new position.

The Bills have selected OLB Arthur Moats out of James Madison with the 178th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Moats is 6’0″, 246 pounds and he runs a 4.69 40 so he has the athletic ability to play OLB in the pros.  But he was a defensive end in college playing against inferior competition so he will likely need coached up to survive in the NFL.  Moats played in 11 games at James Madison last season and he had 90 tackles, 23.5 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks.  Moats played in 49 games in his four years at James Madison in which he had 218 tackles, 48.5 tackles for a loss and he had 29 sacks.  Initially I think that Moats will have to make the Bills on special teams while he learns how to play linebacker.

The Bills have picked OT Ed Wang out of Virginia Tech with the 140th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Wang is a converted TE at 6’4″, 315 pounds and he is a quick learner.  But, he will need coached up at the NFL level as he is a finesse blocker despite his size.  He’s good at pulling and trapping because of his athletic talent as he is light on his feet.  Wang played in 13 games (all starts) at Virginia Tech last season and he played in 49 games (37 starts) in his four years there.  Wang is a developmental prospect but he could help them down the road if he responds to the coaching he’s going to get from the Bills.

UPDATE:  (8/6/2010) – The Bills will be without Ed Wang for the next 4-8 weeks due to thumb surgery.

The Bills have selected WR Marcus Easley out of Connecticut with the 107th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Easley is a big guy at 6’2″, 207 pounds and he runs a 4.4 40.  He will likely need coached up at the NFL level as he was only a 1 year starter at UConn.  He played in 13 games (7 starts) for UConn last season and he caught 48 passes for 893 yards (18.6 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He played in 35 games (11 starts) in his three years in college and he caught 53 passes for 997 yards (18.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Easley could develop into a starting player down the road for the Bills and he will likely earn some of his cash on special teams at least early in his career.

The Buffalo Bills might have gotten themselves a steal in DE Alex Carrington out of Arkansas State who they selected with the 72nd pick overall (3rd round).  He is a big guy at 6’5″, 284 pounds for an end but he is also very quick off the edge as he can run a 4.8 40.  He lived in opposing backfields his last two seasons.  Carrington is a workout warrior who is only a mean streak away from being a truly solid DE in the NFL.  Carrington played in 12 games (all starts) for Arkansas State last season and he finished up with 41 tackles, 14.5 tackles for a loss, he had 9 sacks, 1 forced fumble and he recovered 1 fumble.  He played in 44 games (42 starts) in his four years at Arkansas State and he had 146 tackles, 40.5 tackles for a loss, he had 21.5 sacks, batted down 3 passes, he forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Carrington has a nice upside and the Bills could give him a chance to play right away.

The Bills have selected DT Torell Troup out of Central Florida with the 41st overall pick (2nd round) in the NFL Draft.  Troup is a big guy at 6’3″, 310 pounds and he plays to his size often demanding a double team.  His game is stuffing the run and occupying blockers to free up the linebackers to make plays.  Troup played in 13 games (all starts) for the Golden Knights last season and he had 35 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, he had 2 sacks, batted down 4 passes and he recovered a fumble.  He played in 48 games (36 starts) in his four years at Central Florida in which he made 108 tackles, had 24 tackles for a loss, had 6 sacks, batted down 7 passes, he forced 1 fumble and he recovered a fumble.  The Bills might have drafted Troup a round or two early but he should help out the run defense this season and it was a sieve last year.

The Bills had a bunch of glaring needs but they decided to select running back C.J. Spiller out of Clemson with the 9th pick of the first round.  Spiller is a tad small at 5’11″, 195 pounds but he has game breaking speed as he runs a 40 in about 4.35 seconds.  He has a NCAA record 7 kickoff returns for TDs in his career.  He played in 14 games (12 starts) for Clemson last season in which he carried the ball 216 times for 1,212 yards (5.6 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He also caught 36 passes for 503 yards (14.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs last season.  Spiller proved last season that he can be a everydown back after sharing the load his first three years at Clemson.  He reminds me a lot of Reggie Bush as he is a outstanding receiver and he has the speed to get to the corner of the D.  He is a threat to score a TD every time he touches the football.  Spiller played in 52 games (19 starts) at Clemson in which he carried the ball 606 times for 3,547 yards (5.9 ypc) with 32 TD runs and he also caught 123 passes for 1,420 yards (11.5 avg) with 11 TD receptions.  I see Spiller sharing the load in the running game with Fred Jackson.  The selection of Spiller almost guarantees that the Bills will trade RB Marshawn Lynch over the weekend.

The Buffalo Bills have filled some holes in free agency which has left them with four big needs in this weekend’s NFL Draft.  1.) They need a QB to build the franchise around.  2.)  They need another offensive tackle despite signing free agent Cornell Green as a free agent.  3.) The Bills gave up 156.3 rushing yards per game last season so they need some help at DT.  4.) The Bills need a legit WR to pair with Lee Evans.  Now the Bills have three of the first 72 picks in the NFL Draft and I fully expect them to pick three players in those 4 need areas.  As of right now the Bills have at least one pick in every round and nine picks overall.  Here are some of the players I expect the Bills to consider with their first round pick:  QB Jimmy Clausen, OT Bryan Bulaga, OT Trent Williams and DT Dan Williams. 

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame