By Jay Skurski
INDIANAPOLIS -- NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock is impressed with the depth of the 2013 draft class, but sees holes in a couple of key areas particulary of interest to the Buffalo Bills.
“The top end of the draft, the top 10 picks, I don’t see the difference makers like we’ve had the last several years,” Mayock said on a conference call. “I think the quick snapshot of this draft is more depth. Not quite the difference makers at the top end and a whole lot of holes in the quarterbacking class.”
With the eighth overall pick – and a stated desire by General Manager Buddy Nix to take a quarterback – Mayock’s beliefs don’t match up especially well with the Bills’ situation.
Here's what Mayock had to say when asked if the Bills should draft a quarterback at No. 8, or consider a linebacker.
"I'm a big believer in value. If you have a top-10 pick, you want an all-pro at some point. If you look at a Geno Smith, he could be a top 10 pick in some people's eyes. Now for me, he and Matt Barkley, to me, are more like 20 to 32. That’s where I feel more comfortable.
“However, the point I’d like to make is with the rookie wage scale, it’s a lot less expensive to take a flier on a top-10 quarterback than it used to be. And if you make a mistake on a JaMarcus Russell and it costs you $50 million, you have a problem. If you make a mistake on a kid today at No. 8 and it costs you $20 million, it's a little different.
"So even though I don’t subscribe to that, there are going to be people that say Buffalo should take a quarterback at 8, regardless of what the ‘quote’ value is. With Geno Smith, I see flashes of everything you want in a top-10 quarterback. I see a lot more inconsistency though than I see those flashes. So he, to me, there is a real risk-reward scenario there. So that’s kind of a long way of saying that a lot of people are going to be talking about quarterbacks.
"But if you get into that linebacker discussion at No. 8, there are a bunch of different names that are going to come up. One of them is going to be a polarizing figure, and that is Alec Ogletree out of Georgia. You want to talk about a kid that’s made for the NFL game with an ability to drop and cover, a former safety. He’s fun to watch on tape. He flies. He’s explosive. He’s not great against the run, but, boy, in today’s NFL spread offenses, he’s a great fit. But given the off-the-field issues and the DUI recently he’s going to be one of the more intriguing guys to follow throughout the draft."
tagged
2013 draft | 2013 NFL scouting combine | Mike Mayock
