Buffalo Bills select linebacker in B/R 2004 NFL Draft re-draft

In a re-draft of the 2004 NFL Draft, Bleacher Report has the Buffalo Bills selecting a linebacker.

The 2004 NFL Draft is known for the QB class at the top with Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers and the Buffalo Bills did enter this NFL Draft in need of a quarterback. However, all three were gone by the time the Bills selected at 13th overall.

The Bills elected to go with wide receiver Lee Evans at 13th but then traded back into the first with Dallas Cowboys to get a quarterback, J.P. Losman. Unfortunately, Losman didn’t have the same success as the other quarterbacks drafted in the first round and cost the team multiple picks, including the first round pick next year.

Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report recently did a re-draft of the 2004 NFL Draft and this time around the Buffalo Bills elected to go with linebacker Karlos Dansby.

"What actually happened: Drafted WR Lee EvansWhere Dansby was actually picked: Second round by the CardinalsThe Buffalo Bills didn’t make the playoffs in any of the next four seasons and had a losing record in three of those campaigns. That’s the window in which Harris and Sanders were at their best, and at the time the Bills already had Sam Adams, Lawyer Milloy and Troy Vincent in those spots.So we’ll again focus on longevity over concentrated dominance by giving the Bills linebacker Karlos Dansby, who intercepted as many passes in 2015 as he did in 2005 (three in each campaign). The Auburn product never peaked to the same degree as Harris or Sanders, but he had 11 90-plus-tackle seasons.Dansby finished his career with at least 20 picks, sacks and forced fumbles, six defensive touchdowns, more than 1,400 tackles and 193 starts. That’s more valuable to the Bills than short-term success from better players."

Dansby played 13 seasons in the NFL, spending the first six with the Arizona Cardinals who originally drafted him in 2004 and then three years with the Miami Dolphins. He returned to Arizona for one season before playing two with the Cleveland Browns. He finished his career with one year stops with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals.

Is Karlos Dansby the right pick?

The selection of Karlos Dansby is an interesting one considering the Buffalo Bills roster at that time. The linebacker position was probably one of the strengths of this team with London Fletcher and Takeo Spikes already there.

The Bills could have plugged Dansby in at the other outside linebacker position and replace Jeff Posey but Dansby is a much better fit at inside linebacker.

Even though linebacker wasn’t a need, looking at the players selected in the first round after the Bills pick in Gagnon’s re-draft, it is hard to find a better fit. A majority of the players selected were on the defensive side of the ball and the Buffalo Bills didn’t have any glaring needs on that side of the ball.

One player that might make the most sense would be guard Chris Snee, who Gagnon had the Green Bay Packers selecting at 25th overall, as he could have stepped in at right guard immediately as a rookie and replaced Chris Villarrial.