Sal Maiorana

@salmaiorana

Say what you want about EPSN's Mel Kiper, mock his helmet of hair if you like, but give him credit for one thing: The guy works incredibly hard on the NFL Draft, and he generally knows what he's talking about.

I don't pretend to know nearly as much as Kiper does about any of the college players who are eligible each year for the draft, but I consider myself pretty well learned on the business of the Buffalo Bills, and know what they do and don't need in a draft. That's why I'm in complete agreement with Kiper on this point: This was not a very good draft for the Bills.

Poll: How would you grade the Bills?

Kiper gave the Bills his lowest grade of the 32 teams, a C-minus. I never grade a draft because it's a pretty dumb exercise. But since I have to give one Monday night during my weekly appearance on Time Warner Cable's Thruway Sports Talk (channel 26, 6 p.m.), I'm going C-minus as well.

I'm not sure what Kiper's expectations for the Bills were going into the three-day selection process, but mine were pretty low and I didn't expect this to be a fruitful draft. How could it be with no first- or fourth-round pick and just six choices overall? Sure enough, it wasn't, unless some of these kids really surprise us all.

Kiper explained on a conference call that the reason for his low grade was due mostly to the Bills not picking a quarterback.

"It wasn't an awful grade," Kiper said. "It was just based on the fact that I thought they had to take a quarterback. Tyrod Taylor's there, and Matt Cassel's there, and EJ Manuel's there. Maybe Cassel will be the starter, who knows? I thought Bryce Petty was a guy, maybe you bring him into the fold. He's got the arm to deal with the weather conditions up in Buffalo, in New York, in New England, when you're in that division. But they didn't."

I'm glad Buffalo didn't waste a pick on Petty. The only quarterback I thought worth a sniff was Garrett Grayson, and I would have taken him in the third round if I was general manager Doug Whaley. Unfortunately, the Saints grabbed him in the third round, six picks before the Bills were on the clock. It would have been interesting to see what Whaley would have done if Grayson was still there.

Beyond Grayson, I didn't think any of the quarterbacks were viable in the second or third round, so I was fine with Buffalo passing. My grade isn't low because of the failure to take a quarterback. Mine stems from these factors:

- Even though I felt cornerback was the way to go for the Bills in the second round, I thought they seemed to reach a little bit for Ronald Darby at No. 50.

This is what Kiper said about Darby: "You think about Darby — great speed, great overall athletic ability, but he's frustrating because he does allow completions when he's in the area. Not taking the quarterback, and reaching for Darby, who I didn't give nearly that type of grade to; I thought fourth-fifth round."

- Whaley was unable to swing a trade that would have enabled the Bills to obtain additional picks, either for this draft or next year. He said he tried, but there were no takers. Too bad because the Bills sure could have used picks.

- Taking Florida State running back Karlos Williams in the fifth round made absolutely no sense, especially when you consider the kid had some off-field problems, plus he played running back only two years for the Seminoles after switching over from defense.

The Williams pick had all of us in the media room scratching our heads. The Bills are well-stocked at running back with LeSean McCoy, Fred Jackson, Bryce Brown, and Boobie Dixon. That may be the deepest running back group in the NFL. And even if Brown were to get cut, which seems possible because Rex Ryan doesn't appear to be enamored with him, the Bills still don't need Williams. It just made no sense.

- The first of the two sixth-round picks, linebacker Tony Steward, wasn't even considered draft-worthy by several media outlets, primarily because he had major injury woes at Clemson.

Steward plays inside linebacker, an area where the Bills need depth, but is this guy going to be able to provide it? Whaley said Steward is great on special teams. I don't ever want to hear that from a GM on draft day. My philosophy is you never draft a kid because you think he'll be good on special teams. He has to be able to help on offense or defense, and then special teams play is a bonus.





As for the rest of the draft, I was fine with the selection of offensive guard John Miller in the third round. They need competition, and maybe he can come in and win the job. Let's face it, with Chris Williams, Cyril Richardson, and Kraig Urbik as his obstacles, he might have a chance.

The second sixth-round pick, tight end Nick O'Leary, wasn't bad. He set Florida State records for most catches, yards, and touchdowns by a tight end, and he did it on a big stage, in big games. He's not very fast, and he's a weak blocker who will have to be taught, but given the Bills' lack of depth at tight end, this pick made a lot of sense.

Finally, in the seventh round, wide receiver Dezmin Lewis was a curious pick. OK, at 6-foot-4 he has height no other Bills receiver has. But again, like running back, wide receiver is a pretty solid group for Buffalo with Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Percy Harvin, Marquise Goodwin, and Chris Hogan. What are they going to do with Lewis?

Here's what Kiper said about O'Leary and Lewis: "O'Leary, if he would have run better than a 4.93, probably would have gone a little earlier. Now, I did like Dez Lewis, the wide receiver out of Central Arkansas. He was a guy I thought could have been maybe a fourth- or fifth-round pick, and I don't think anybody would have argued with that."