2011 NFL Draft: Could Be Buffalo Blues If Marcell Dareus and Von Miller Are Gone

We are now just 17 days away from the 2011 NFL Draft. While there appears to be a growing consensus that the Carolina Panthers are planning to draft Auburn quarterback Cam Newton with the first overall pick, teams that don't factor in any contingency or other alternative plans might be caught by surprise.

Sports Illustrated writer Peter King thinks it is a given that the Panthers will draft Newton, and shared that the Panthers have even started requesting tapes from his 2009 junior college days at Blinn College. What if those tapes reveal some other holes or concerns that weren't as obvious at Auburn?

Continuing on with King, he wrote that "Buffalo is a black hole of draft information. Von Miller's the odds-on-favorite there at number three."

What that suggests is that King is not finding anyone at One Bills Drive that is open to divulging what the Bills' intentions are. No loose lips in the Bills offices is a good thing, but it also means that everyone who closely follows the team can only speculate on what the team will do.

In most draft analyst mock drafts, the Buffalo Bills are typically being paired with either Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus or Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller.

NFL.com senior writer Vic Carucci thinks that there is some degree of risk even with Miller, as he allows for the possibility that the speed Miller demonstrated in college doesn't result in the same production at the NFL level, a la Aaron Maybin.

While on the surface it appears likely that the Bills will draft Miller or Dareus, what would the Bills do if both players went off the big board after the first two picks?

What are the odds that the above nightmare could actually happen? If, for some reason, Carolina decides at the 11th hour to not take Newton, who do you think it would draft? Miller, Dareus, Blaine Gabbert or Patrick Peterson? Suddenly, Miller or Dareus would probably look like the best bets.

If either one of them is selected instead of Newton by the Panthers, what then would the Broncos do with the second pick? Since the Broncos already have Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and Brady Quinn on their roster, it appears unlikely that they would take a quarterback with the second pick. So, from the group of Miller, Dareus, Peterson, A.J. Green and Nick Fairley, who do you think the Broncos would take?

After looking at both scenarios, I fear that the combination of Dareus and Miller could both be gone. Call it the Bills' worst case scenario, or a Bills nightmare, but Bills General Manager Buddy Nix has to allow that this distinct result could unfold on April 28.

So, if you can take a leap of faith with me, what would be the Bills' best course of action? You either select the third best player on the board, or you trade down to pick up additional draft picks. Clearly, with so many teams in need of a quarterback, of which the Bills are one, they would be holding a very valuable commodity.

Let's examine who would then be left on the big board. On the defensive side of the ball, the best options would appear to be defensive linemen like Auburn's Nick Fairley or North Carolina's Robert Quinn, or LSU corner Patrick Peterson. On the offensive side of the ball, you have quarterbacks Cam Newton or Missouri's Blaine Gabbert, or wide receivers in Georgia's A.J. Green or Alabama's Julio Jones.

It appears the Bills' pick would boil down to those seven options or trading down to acquire additional high picks. 

If you are Buddy Nix, you want to draft an impact player that will be on the field in his rookie year and be on the field for all three downs. Since both Newton and Gabbert appear to need time to learn the NFL game and make adjustments in how they read defenses and make the proper decisions, neither one would seem to fit the bill in making an impact as a rookie.

Keep in mind that both Buddy Nix and head coach Chan Gailey have shared that a franchise quarterback trumps everything else. That comment always troubles me because it means you throw all the rules out the window, and watch as Miller, Dareus, Peterson and Fairley make contributions for their teams while the Bills would have their top pick standing on the sidelines and watching.

If you did not happen to catch the video where Buddy Nix addressed Bills fans with his "State of Bills Address" heading into the draft, here is the link.

The vast majority of Bills fans are happy that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be returning as the Bills' starting quarterback. In fact, many fans would like to see the Bills sign Fitzpatrick to a longer contract and cement his status on the team.

But if the Bills do use that first-round pick on either Newton or Gabbert, the odds of securing Fitzpatrick for more than a year or two go down substantially.

Since the Bills' front seven is in need of a major upgrade in talent, the selection of Peterson would not really address the front seven needs. To be sure, Peterson would impact the secondary and upgrade the Bills' return game. Peterson is an elite athlete, and that is something the Bills do not have a surplus of.

Elite athletes would also include Green and Jones. But with the receiving corps of Lee Evans, Steve Johnson, Roscoe Parrish, David Nelson, Marcus Easley, Donald Jones and Naaman Roosevelt, the Bills don't appear to be needing a wideout.

With defensive linemen Fairley and Quinn, you have some question marks or red flags with both that give pause to their selection with the third overall pick. You really don't want to be seeing any red flags with a choice as lofty as the third pick, and Fairley and Quinn both have their share of issues.

So, there it is Bills fans. If neither Miller or Dareus are on the big board when the Bills are on the clock, is there a consensus pick among Bills faithful as to who the team should pick? I am looking forward to seeing what the final poll results reflect.