The Buffalo Bills are trying to create some competition at quarterback heading into training camp, but they have little in the way of quality depth at the position. If camp started today, Kevin Kolb and Tarvaris Jackson would be battling for the starting job. Fortunately, the Bills still have an opportunity to address the position in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Buffalo currently holds the 8th overall pick in the draft, which begins on Thursday. There is a growing belief that the Bills will take a quarterback with that selection, and ESPN’s Todd McShay speculated in his most recent mock draft that former Syracuse signal-caller Ryan Nassib could be a logical choice.
Nassib, a three-year starter for the Orange, completed over 62% of his passes and threw for 3,749 yards and 26 touchdowns in his senior season last year. He is considered by most to be one of the top-five quarterbacks in the 2013 draft class, but there has been some disagreement about where players like West Virginia’s Geno Smith and USC’s Matt Barkley will be selected.
Kurt Warner seems to think taking Nassib at No. 8 would be a major stretch for Buffalo.
“Watching film of this guy — not overly impressive on film,” Warner told NFL AM on Tuesday morning, via Pro Football Talk. “If you’re drafting a quarterback in the first round, you’re drafting a franchise quarterback, a guy who you believe can win Super Bowls for you. Otherwise, why draft a guy that high? You need a guy that can do everything, and I didn’t see on film this guy having the ability to do everything. He didn’t wow me when I saw him on film.”
There is always a gamble any time a team selects a quarterback in the first round, but it should be noted that Nassib played for Bills coach Doug Marrone while at Syracuse. Buffalo could have a bias because of that, or Marrone may simply be confident Nassib is capable of becoming an NFL starter based on what he knows about him. Time will tell.
