The Samuelson Slant: 2014 NFL Draft Wish List

A wise man once said “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes well you might find… you get what you need.” That man was Mick Jagger of course, in one of “The Rolling Stones” more popular songs. Although it certainly is not what he was talking about, that famous turn-of-phrase is a perfect description of the NFL Draft.

Each year fans and teams alike make a wish list of players they want to draft, especially after the NFL combine when names come out of nowhere for running blazing fast 40s or doing an insane number of reps on the bench press. However, these players are often vaulted up everyone’s draft board or simply not good enough to be taken with where the team is picking and that’s when you get what you need instead.

Hardcore fans even like to play the role of GM and try to find that diamond in the rough or map out a whole draft strategy for their team. With the 2014 NFL combine coming to a close last week, I guess it is time for me to do something similar.

As I see them, the Bills’ biggest needs heading into the draft are at OT, LB, WR, OG and TE. With the ninth pick overall and some quarterback needy teams ahead of them, the Bills are in a strong position to address any one of their needs. So rather than just mock one player each round and be done with it, I’m going to give you my 2014 NFL Draft Wish List – A list of players for each of the first three rounds that I think are perfect fits for the Bills or best address their needs.

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

I know everything changes with free agency, so I’ll be reevaluating my list as needed. Some of these players project to different rounds than I have them, so I don’t expect everyone to agree with my list or even with the Bills needs as I see them. In the next few Samuelson Slants I’ll make the case for addressing each position and my top choice to do so.