If you recall the 2003 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills and a running back sounds familiar, but in Bleacher Report‘s re-draft of that year’s rookie selections, the Bills change their running back picked.
That draft, the Bills made a surprising selection, taking Miami’s Willis McGahee. Once an electric player, McGahee suffered a gruesome knee injury in college. Because of that, the Bills selecting him No. 23 overall was head-turner.
Now instead of McGahee, the pick is running back Larry Johnson, who was selected No. 27 overall by the Chiefs.
The explanation of the change also has to do with both of their career trajectories:
We’re mixing it up because the impact Johnson made was similar to that of McGahee, but McGahee was coming off a major knee injury early and never fully took off. The Bills never made the playoffs with him on the roster.
Why not try Johnson instead? The Penn State product peaked in a massive way in late 2004 and all of 2005 and 2006, but it’s entirely possible that explosion would have come sooner if the opportunity presented itself.
That might have been the case in Buffalo, where Drew Bledsoe and Co. could have been pushed over the top by a player who compiled over 4,000 scrimmage yards and scored 40 touchdowns in a two-season span with the Chiefs.
But while the Bills might’ve missed with their decision in McGahee, B/R does think the Bills got a first-round talent, of sorts.
At the No. 30 pick, the re-draft has the Eagles have the Bills selecting defensive end Chris Kelsay, the Bills’ second-round pick that year.
So with the re-drafting bad, we’ll take the good, too.
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