Apr 26, 2013; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone (left), first round draft pick quarterback E.J. Manuel (middle) and general manager Buddy Nix pose for a photo at the press conference at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Say what you will about Buddy Nix, but he is a straight shooter. Months ago Buddy said he really admired the job that the Bengals organization did in the 2011 NFL Draft. The Bengals chose WR A.J. Green with their first round selection and then in the second round, they chose QB Andy Dalton. Nix stated, if you get a quarterback, you better get a wide receiver to go along with him because they have a chance to grow together.
This is exactly what Buffalo has done in the 2013 version of the NFL Draft. Nix didn’t sway from what the team wanted and picked up exactly what the team needed. He just did it in reverse order. The Bills move back to take E.J. Manuel in the first round with the 16th overall pick (a guy they wanted) and picked up an extra 2nd round pick and 7th round pick in the process. Then with their first pick in the 2nd round they go Wideout and pick USC’s Robert Woods.
Robert Woods is as polished a receiver you can get in the second round. He’ll be faster than Stevie Johnson and he knows how to set up his routes. The Bills have to be wary though, because the last 2nd round wide receiver taken by the Bills was the lanky and unpolished James Hardy. However, Hardy was billed as a project whereas Woods should be able to come in right away and make a difference. Woods should be wanting to show the NFL that it doesn’t matter what school you went to if you’re a wideout, because USC has a bad reputation for sending out inferior receivers. There has been a career total of 27 COMBINED touchdown passes caught by ALL wide receivers from USC, so hopefully Woods can be productive for the Bills.
With Woods being able to grow with Manuel at the helm, there should be great chemistry going into year 2 and 3. Lets see if the Bengals model has been adapted the right way by the Bills. The last time the Bills took over a Bengals model, it was the start of the K-Gun offense. At least Buddy never lied about the Bills intentions this year.
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