Buffalo Bills: Top 10 Worst Buffalo Bills Draft Picks of the 2000s
The Buffalo Bills have made some terrible picks in the NFL Draft in the last decade or so. These bad decisions are the biggest reason for the awful state that the Bills' franchise is in.
This list will detail the worst of the worst of those picks.
I looked at two main factors when creating the order of this list: how high the pick was and how bad the player turned out to be. Feel free to add your opinions in the comment section about who I may have left off or how you would change the order.
This is the first part of a two-part series. The next one will describe the best Bills picks of the 2000s.
10. Kyle Calloway, G. 7th Round
1 of 10
Why do I have a seventh-round draft pick from last year's draft on the list of the worst Bills draft picks already?
Because he was cut before the season started and wasn't even signed to the practice squad. He had an NFL contract for a grand total of two months. All this on a team hurting for offensive line depth? That hurts.
Kyle Calloway must have been something awful for the Bills' coaching staff to decide he wasn't even worth keeping an eye on.
9. Travares Tillman, S. 2nd Round
2 of 10
While not exactly terrible, Travares Tillman never lived up to the expectations of a second-round draft pick, either.
Tillman was drafted in 2000. He played only two years for the Bills before being released. He did have some quality years, but with Miami, not Buffalo. He made 10 starts out of the 27 games he played in and racked up 73 tackles. I do wonder why he was released so quickly after a fairly promising start.
The 2000 NFL Draft was not kind to the Bills. We will see that later on in the slideshow...
8. Donte Whitner, S. 1st Round
3 of 10
Donte Whitner is not a bad player. But there are certain expectations that come with being the eighth overall pick, and Whitner has not met them.
Whitner has been a solid player in the Bills' secondary since he was drafted in 2006. What he has not done has been to make the big plays that are expected of a top 10 pick. Whitner makes insane amounts of tackles for a safety including 140 in the past year, but only has five interceptions and 1.5 sacks in his entire career.
Even back when he was drafted, the pick was considered a reach. Whitner had a low first-round grade on him and there were other prospects still available that would have improved Buffalo immensely (ex. Haloti Ngata). If the Bills were so set on taking Whitner, they should have moved down a couple spots and just taken whatever else they could get.
It's doubtful Whitner will return to the team next year unless he substantially lowers his asking price.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
7. James Hardy, WR. 2nd Round
4 of 10
James Hardy was a major disappointment. Drafted in the second round out of Indiana, Hardy never made an impact for the Bills.
In two years with the team, he suffered two major injuries and caught a grand total of 10 passes. When Chan Gailey and his staff took over, they decided his potential was limited and he was released.
Hardy was supposed to be the complement to Lee Evans that the Bills desperately needed. Instead, it is Hardy's 2008 draft classmate, Steve Johnson, who now fills that role.
6. Aaron Maybin, DE/OLB. 1st Round
5 of 10
I know what you're thinking right now. How is Aaron Maybin only at No. 6?
Two reasons. One, the Bills' draft picks have been just that bad. And two, I'm not entirely ready to write him off just yet.
Sure, he's been terrible since he was drafted in 2009. He was inactive for multiple games last year, which is downright embarrassing for a first-round pick. Still, he only had one good year at Penn State. It is just barely possible that he's a late bloomer.
If or when Buffalo lets him go, he could easily move up several spots.
5. Erik Flowers, OLB. 1st Round
6 of 10
Quite possibly the most notorious bust on this list, Erik Flowers only comes in at No. 5.
Coming into the NFL, Flowers was expected to be a pass-rushing terror. Instead, he only lasted two years with the Bills, contributing only four sacks.
He isn't higher on this list because he was only the 26th overall selection in the fairly weak draft of 2000. Missing on a higher pick or on a pick that the Bills traded up for hurts much worse. Speaking of which...
4. J.P. Losman, QB. 1st Round
7 of 10
Oh J.P. Losman, what a tease you were.
I actually have more fond memories of J.P. than anyone else on this list. It was pretty to see him lob up bomb after bomb to Lee Evans during the 2006 season. Unfortunately, that was the only good year the "Loss-man" would have. The Bills' coaching staff never really trusted him, as he was benched twice in favor of aging veteran Kelly Holcomb and then rookie Trent Edwards.
Losman ranks this highly mainly because Buffalo had to trade up to get him. They ended up trading the 20th overall pick in the 2005 draft to Dallas. Guess who was sitting there at No. 20? A certain someone by the name of Aaron Rodgers.
3. John McCargo, DT. 1st Round
8 of 10
When Buffalo moved up to grab John McCargo in the first round of the 2006 draft, I grudgingly gave the front office the benefit of a doubt. A defensive tackle was certainly needed then and the class was very thin, but most experts had McCargo pegged as a late second-round pick. There was a very real chance that he would have been available when the Bills picked in the second.
McCargo has panned out to be a total bust though.
His numbers have gone down each year he has played. He is an awkward fit for the 3-4 system that Buffalo is trying to transition to. Buffalo has already tried to get rid of him once when they completed a trade with the Indianapolis Colts. But like a bad penny, he came right back to the Bills after he failed his physical. I would be surprised if he isn't let go sooner rather than later.
2. Willis McGahee, RB. 1st Round
9 of 10
Unlike the other picks on this list, I could never get behind this pick. It was stupid then and it is stupid now.
At the time, Buffalo already had a Pro Bowl running back in Travis Henry. Why would an 8-8 team on the verge of the playoffs waste a pick on a position already filled by a great player?
It's absolutely mind-boggling when you consider that McGahee was recovering from a career-threatening injury. He could contribute absolutely nothing his rookie year and there was no guarantee he would be anywhere near the player he was before the injury.
McGahee did have more production than most of the picks on this list, having two 1,000 yard seasons. That doesn't erase the fact that it was a terrible selection at the time. He was traded after only four seasons because of a decline in production, injuries and his attitude.
1. Mike Williams, OT. 1st Round
10 of 10
Congratulations, Mike Williams! You top this list of worst Bills' picks of the 2000s. Expectations for a top five pick are sky high, and Mike Williams has failed to meet every last one of them.
When Williams was drafted in 2002, it was expected that he would protect the blindside of Buffalo quarterbacks for years to come. Instead, he was part of an offensive line that allowed Drew Bledsoe to be sacked an outrageous 54 times in 2002. Williams lasted four years until he ate his way out of the NFL. He has actually managed to make a comeback with the Washington Redskins at guard, but it's still a far cry from being worthy of the fourth overall pick.
The Mike Williams pick hurts even more when you consider the context. Despite the horrendous sack total, the 2002 offense was probably the best Bills offense of the past decade, and the team was close to being a playoff contender. It would have only taken another player or two to nudge Buffalo into a playoff spot. That player was there with the No. 4 pick in Bryant McKinnie, the player most experts considered to be the best offensive tackle in the draft.
That's the end of this list. Here's to hoping that the front office has learned a thing or two from these mistakes.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")