2011 NFL Draft: Buffalo Bills GM Buddy Nix Gives a Big Hint of His Direction

This evening, ESPN aired a special titled On The Clock.  It was essentially a draft overview program with the usual suspects in John Clayton, Mel Kiper and Todd McShay.  There were also a few guests from around the NFL, which helped make the program more interesting, as it gave an opportunity to see if hints were going to be dropped.

As it happened, possibly the biggest hint of the night came from One Bills Drive!

Buffalo Bills GM Buddy Nix came on in a telephone interview, and when the talk turned quickly to Ryan Fitzpatrick and the quarterback position, he said, "We like Ryan a lot. We think he can win for us if we put some more talent around him and give him some more help." 

About the high-profile quarterbacks available in the draft who have visited the Bills, Nix described it as "...doing our due diligence, as we are with all the players who visit."

When Trey Wingo asked him what position he felt the biggest need was, Nix did not hesitate a bit. He said, "We were 27th in getting to the quarterback last year.  We've got to find a way to improve on that."

He then expanded upon it by saying, "What we need out of the No. 3 pick is a starter."

It would of course be easy to pass it off as Nix stating the obvious and not really saying much of anything but the standard company line prior to the draft. Indeed, it is possible that he was doing just that and nothing else. There was, however, something else.

Way back in college, in one of my journalism classes, the professor taught me something that has never left me. She made it clear that it was sometimes more about the way something is said as opposed to just what was said, so you always need to listen interpretively.

Now, I wasn't real sure that was a word then, and I'm no more certain today, but I sure understood her meaning, and I've always strove to do exactly what she taught in everyday life as well.

As a result, I feel like Nix was giving us a real glimpse. This was not Buddy speaking in his classic "Buddyisms," where he goes around in circles and says a whole lot of stuff, none of which amounts to a hill of beans, provided you can figure out exactly what it is he's saying. 

No, this felt more like something closer to the truth, just from the way he said it, without dancing around like he usually does. That made me hit rewind on the DVR to hear him once again. Once I listened again, I felt almost certain of something.

Buffalo is going to go defense with the No. 3 pick. Most likely, it's going to be someone in the front seven who can add some juice to the pass rush.

I'm going to call it, so mark it down. It will definitely be defense.

I believe it depends upon who is there, but I predict either Marcell Dareus or Von Miller is going to be wearing a Bills uniform in 2011.