The Buffalo Bills took seven defensive players and only two offensive players in last April’s NFL Draft.  The early returns are good on this bunch overall.  Here is a look at how they did as rookies in 2011:

The Bills took 22-year old DE Marcell Dareus in the 1st round of the NFL Draft last April.  He played in 16 games for the Bills last year and he had 43 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Dareus really started to excel after the Bills switched him back to DT after he started the season at DE.

21-year old CB Aaron Williams came to the Bills in the 2nd round.  He played in 9 games for the Bills last year and he had 32 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and 5 passes defensed.  Williams will likely earn his way into the starting lineup in the near future.

24-year old LB Kevin Sheppard was the Bills’ 3rd round pick last April.  He played in 16 games for the Bills last year and he had 70 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  Sheppard will likely have his P.T. increase in 2012 as he looked pretty solid for the Bills last year.

23-year old safety Da’Norris Searcy was solid as a rookie for the Bills last year.  He was picked in the 4th round.  Searcy played in all 16 games for the Bills last year and he had 34 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  He was a very solid #3 safety for the Bills last year, and he could develop into a starter in the very near future.

22-year old OT Chris Hairston was also pitched in the 4th round by the Bills last year.  Hairston played in 13 games (7 starts) for the Bills last year and he could be a full time starter in the very near future.

23-year old RB Johnny White was selected in the 5th round by the Bills last April.  He played in 12 games for the Bills last year and he carried the ball 12 times for 38 yards (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for -3 yards.  White also had five tackles last year for the Bills.  White is pretty far down the Bills’ depth chart at RB.

22-year old LB Chris White came to the Bills in the 6th round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He played in 7 games and he had 8 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  He will likely be back on special teams for the Bills in 2012.

23-year old CB Justin Rogers was a pretty good pickup for the Bills in the 7th round last April.  Rogers played in 13 games for the Bills last year and he had 16 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He also returned 13 kickoffs for 373 yards (28.7 avg) last year for the Bills.  He has a nice upside.

25-year old DT Michael Jasper came to the Bills in the 7th round.  The 6’4″, 394 pound Jasper didn’t get into any games as a rookie last year for the Bills.

GRADE FOR 2011:  B+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

29-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick came out like a ball of fire in 2011, but after the Bills gave him a contract extension…he stunk it up.  The Bills finished with a 6-10 (37.5%) record last year and Fitzpatrick was a big reason for that.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bills last year and he completed 353 of 569 passes (62%) for 3,832 yards with 24 TD passes and 23 INTs (79.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 56 times for 215 yards (3.8 ypc) last year.  Fitzpatrick has now played in 58 games (52 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 1,032 of 1,744 passes (59.2%) for 10,936 yards with 68 TD passes and 65 INTs (75.0 QB Rating).  Fitzpatrick also has carried the ball 204 times for 993 yards (4.9 ypc) with 5 TD carries so far in his career.  Fitzpatrick is now 18-33-1 (35.3%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

27-year old QB Tyler Thigpen is not much of a player.  He played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Bills last year and he completed 3 of 8 passes (37.5%) for 25 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (6.8 QB Rating).  Thigpen also carried the ball 1 time for 8 yards for the Bills last year.  He has now played in 25 games (12 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 272 of 504 passes (54.0%) for 3,192 yards with 21 TD passes and 18 INTs (72.5 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 78 times for 470 yards (6.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Thigpen is a woeful 1-11 (8.3%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

The Bills have signed 26-year old WR David Clowney to a reserve/future contract.  Clowney last played in the NFL in 2010 with the Jets & Panthers.  He has played in 28 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has caught 22 passes for 341 yards (15.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has also returned 3 kickoffs for 81 yards (27.0 avg) and he has carried the ball 3 times for 1 yard (0.3 ypc).  Clowney will have a good shot to make the Bills in 2012.

The Bills jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and that seemed to piss the Patriots off, as they scored the last 49 points in this game!  Ryan Fitzpatrick had one good quarter and three bad ones yesterday as he completed 29 of 46 passes for 307 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 INTs (0ne was returned 21 yards for a TD by Pats’ CB Sterling Moore).  Fitzpatrick also carried the ball 5 times for 36 yards (7.2 ypc) in this game.  C.J. Spiller led the way on the ground for the Bills with 60 yards rushing on 13 carries (4.6 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 40 yards (10.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Tashard Choice only carried the ball one time, but it went for a 4-yard TD.  WRs Derek Hagan (7 rec, 89 yards), Ruvell Martin (4 rec, 42 yards) and Steve Johnson (4 rec, 40 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bills.  The Bills finished up with 106 yards rushing on 20 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 46 passes (63%) for 296 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:22.

The defense was pretty awful yesterday for the Bills.  LB Nick Barnett (11 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception), safety George Wilson (10 tackles) and safety Bryan Scott (7 tackles) led the way for the Bills on D in this game.  DT Kellen Heard really stepped up with 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 QB hit in this game.  The Patriots finished up with 138 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 36 passes (66.7%) for 342 yards.  The Bills finish the 2011 season with a 6-10 record.