Buffalo Bills: Aaron Maybin one of the worst draft picks since 2006 per PFF

Prior to the Buffalo Bills adding Sean McDermott as their head coach and Brandon Beane as their general manager, it is fair to say they struggled to find talent during the NFL Draft. One of the key drivers of their 18-year playoff drought was their inability to add impact players even though they were regularly selecting near the top of the first round.

One of those big misses came in 2009 when the team selected Aaron Maybin with the 11th overall pick. Pro Football Focus recently named this selection the worst pick at that draft slot since 2006. Michael Renner wrote about that pick:

"11. 2009 BUFFALO BILLS: EDGE AARON MAYBIN, PENN STATEMaybin lasted all of two seasons in a Bills uniform before he was cut outright. Over that span, he played all of 319 snaps while generating 10 total pressures. He actually had one productive season with the Jets in 2011, racking up six sacks and 24 pressures in a sub-role, but that success was short-lived, and he was released the next season."

The decision to select a pass rusher wasn’t necessarily a bad one on the Buffalo Bills part. The defensive end position wasn’t very productive with Aaron Schobel missing a majority of the season due to injury and nearing the end of his career. The other pass rushers included Chris Kelsay and Ryan Denney, who was tied for the team lead with only four sacks.

This was a big need for this defense however the decision to select Maybin was surprising, especially considering Brian Orakpo was still available when they were on the clock. In 2008, Maybin had a breakout season at Penn State with 12 sacks and 20 tackles for a loss. He was able to have that kind of production due to tremendous speed and athleticism.

However, the concern was his size and whether or not he could be that productive against bigger offensive linemen in the NFL. That concern quickly was validated as Maybin played only two seasons with the Bills and finishing with only 10 pressures as Renner notes.

The Bills would end up releasing Maybin prior to the 2011 season and he would go on to play two more seasons with the New York Jets before calling it a career.