Cam Newton is being compared to a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL, and almost none of those are promising. Despite the parallel having been the likes of Michael Vick or Vince Young or Akili Smith,
Chan Gailey and Buddy Nix admitted quarterback isn’t the Bills’ biggest need because they believe veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick is a reliable starter. But both men made it clear they have to strongly consider taking a potentially great signal caller if he’s available with the third overall pick in the draft.[..]
“If you wait until you do not have a quarterback to draft one, you’re too late,” Nix said. “Now our greatest need is not quarterback. It’s definitely not quarterback. Invariably, if there’s going to be a franchise guy there and one we deem as a guy that can go eight or 10 years, be the face of the organization and take us to the playoffs and win every year, you can’t pass him up.”
The fact is that the Bills have not only struggled on the field (one winning season since 1999), but at the box office. And in a league where fans spend a fair amount of time following all of the teams, one doesn’t miss much by ignoring the Bills. Buffalo will have a hard time ignoring Newton if he falls to No. 3, because he’s tall and has a strong arm and all that other crap that has NFL scouts in a circle jerk. While someone like Julio Jones or Von Miller might address a greater need (and see the field a lot sooner), drafting Newton comes at a huge short-term cost, even if he eventually becomes successful.
It’ll be interesting if their first player to put on a white helmet happens to be an African-American quarterback who shows up in Orchard Park bringing more questions than answers. It would not surprise me, because it would be a stupid move, and the Bills are very fluent in stupid.
