The Buffalo Bills picked 21-year old cornerback Aaron Williams out of Texas with the 34th overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Williams is 6’0″, 195 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  He played in 11 games (9 starts) for Texas last year and he had 46 tackles, 13 passes broken up and three forced fumbles.  Williams played in 37 games (23 starts) in his three years with the Longhorns and he had 106 tackles, he broke up 24 passes, had 4 interceptions, forced 6 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Williams will likely need help over the top as he learns on the job at the NFL level.  He has good hands and he’s solid in run support, so the Bills should be able to get him onto the field right away.  This was another good pick by the Bills who are trying to rebuild the defense.

The Buffalo Bills got pushed around in the running game last season but that could be about to change.  That’s because the Bills took 21-year old DT Marcell Dareus with the third overall pick in the NFL Draft.  The 6’3″, 305 pound Dareus is a  load against the running game and he will demand double teams which will free up the Bills’ linebackers to make plays from sideline to sideline.  Dareus played in 11 games (all starts) for Alabama last year and he had 34 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks and he batted down 4 balls.  He played in 33 games (15 starts) in his three years with the Crimson Tide and he had 71 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks and he batted down 6 balls.  Dareus was a great pick by the Bills who have to feel lucky that he dropped to them.

With the NFL currently under a lockout, it’s possible that teams like the Bills will be drafting for need and it’s probably a smart move this year.  The Bills need a QB for the future but they have big needs all over the defense, so I expect them to pass on Blaine Gabbert and Cameron Newton.  I did a mock draft of every pick for every team, without considering trades which are sure to alter the landscape of the draft.  Here is who I see the Bills picking:

1st round (#3 overall) – Von Miller, OLB, Texas A&M

2nd round (#34 overall) – Colin Kaepernick, QB, Nevada

3rd round (#68 overall) – Marcus Gilbert, OT, Florida

4th round (#100 overall) – Pernell McPhee, DE, Mississippi State

4th round (#122 overall) – Da’Norris Searcy, SS, North Carolina

5th round (#133 overall) – Colin McCarthy, OLB, Miami (FL)

6th round (#169 overall) – Darvin Adams, WR, Auburn

7th round (#206 overall) – Andrew Jackson, OG, Frenso State

7th round (#245 overall) – Weslye Saunders, TE, South Carolina

This would be a solid class for the Bills as they would get a big time pass rusher (Von Miller), a QB for the future (Kaepernick) and some help on the O-Line and the defense.

The Buffalo Bills didn’t hit any homers in the NFL Draft last April, but RB C.J. Spiller & LB Arthur Moats had decent showings as rookies in 2010.  Here is a look at each pick of the Bills last April and how they did as rookies:

C.J. Spiller:  23-year old RB C.J. Spiller was the 9th overall pick (1st round) of the NFL Draft out of Clemson.  This was a surprise pick because the Bills appeared well set at RB with Fred Jackson & Marshawn Lynch.  The Bills liked what they saw out of Spiller which allowed them to deal Lynch to the Seahawks.  Spiller played in 14 games for the Bills last season in which he carried the ball 74 times for 283 yards (3.8 ypc) and he also caught 24 passes for 157 yards (6.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Spiller also returned 12 punts for 175 yards (14.6 avg) and 44 kickoffs for 1,044 yards (23.7 avg) with 1 TD return last season.  Spiller touched the ball 154 times for 1,659 all-purpose yards (10.8 yards per touch) with 2 TDs as a rookie for the Bills last year.  That was good for an average of 118.5 total yards per game.  Spiller will likely eventually bump Fred Jackson from the starting lineup at RB in the near future.

Torell Troup:  The Bills used the 41st overall pick (2nd round) on DT Torell Troup out of Central Florida.  The 23-year old Troup played in 15 games for the Bills last season and he had 23 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  The Bills expected a lot more out of Troup in 2010 but they will be patient with him and try to coach him up for 2011 and beyond.

Alex Carrington:  With the 72nd overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft the Bills took DE Alex Carrington out of Arkansas State.  Carrington played in 9 games for the Bills last season and he had 8 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  The Bills have had bad luck in drafting DEs lately but they will give Carrington another season to show what he can do.

Marcus Easley:  The Bills used the 107th overall pick (4th round) on 23-year old WR Marcus Easley.  He spent his rookie season on I.R. but the Bills have high hopes for him and they need the help at WR so look for Easley to get a legit shot to earn P.T. in 2011.

Ed Wang:  The Bills used the 140th overall pick (5th round) on OT Ed Wang out of Virginia Tech.  The 23-year old Wang played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Bills last season.  The Bills desperately need help along the O-Line, so look for Wang to get another chance to show what he can do in 2011.

Arthur Moats:  The Bills picked 22-year old LB Arthur Moats in the 6th round (#178 overall pick) out of James Madison last April.  Moats played in all 16 games (4 starts) for the Bills last season and he had 33 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 1 forced fumble.  The Bills think that Moats has the potential to be a starter as early as next season as he shows gimpses of being a playmaker.

Danny Batten:  The Bills used the 192nd overall pick (6th round) on 23-year old OLB Danny Batten out of South Dakota State.  Batten didn’t get on the field as a rookie but he’ll get another shot to make the Bills next season.

Levi Brown:  The Bills drafted 23-year old QB Levi Brown with the #209 overall pick (7th round) out of  Troy State.  Brown didn’t get onto the field until the last game of the season when he completed 2 of 3 (66.7%) passes for 24 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (51.4 QB Rating).  Brown looks like a pretty solid developmental project at QB but the Bills are likely going to take it slow with him.

Kyle Calloway:  The Bills used the #216 pick (7th round) on OG Kyle Calloway out of Iowa.  He was cut early on by the Bills which says a lot about him as they had and still have huge needs on the O-Line.

GRADE FOR 2010:  D

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C+

When the Buffalo Bills used the #9 overall pick of last April’s NFL Draft on RB C.J. Spiller out of Clemson the plan was for him to return kicks while backing up Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.  After the trade of Lynch to Seattle, Spiller started to see more work on offense but he’s still behind Fred Jackson on the depth chart….and he should be.  Spiller has played in 11 games for the Bills so far this year and he has carried the ball 56 times for 232 yards (4.1 ypc).  He has also caught 20 passes for 82 yards (4.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Spiller has remained effective on special teams the whole year long.  He has returned 34 kickoffs for 835 yards (24.6 avg) with a TD and he has also returned 8 punts for 97 yards (12.1 avg).  Spiller has touched the ball 118 times so far this year and he has a combined 1,246 yards (10.6 yards per touch) which averages out to 95.8 total yards per game.  He has also scored 2 TDs so far this year.  Spiller has a nice upside and he might eventually bump Fred Jackson from the starting lineup some time in the near future.

Rookie RB C.J. Spiller is off to a rough start for the Bills this year.  He has carried the ball 8 times for 9 yards (1.1 ypc) and he has caught 8 passes for 31 yards (3.9 avg) in his first two NFL games.  Spiller has had success returning kickoffs though as he has 185 yards on 7 of them (26.4 avg).  The problem that Spiller is facing right now is that Chan Gailey wants to win right now and he feels better going with the veterans he has at running back in Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch. 

The Bills will be without 4th round pick Marcus Easley (WR) and 6th round pick Danny Batten (OLB) for the entire 2010 season.  Easley had surgery on his left knee and this is a big blow to the Bills who were hoping that he would help out their depleted WR corps in 2010.  Batten needed shoulder surgery.  His loss won’t be as big as the Bills weren’t expecting much more than special teams work out of Batten in 2010.

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.