Ed Oliver as a Buffalo Bill
Ed Oliver as a Buffalo Bill
Last time I spoke of Ed Oliver and the Bills, it was a question. Would he be available? Would the Bills take him? Both turned out to be “yesses” when Roger Goodell announced that ninth overall pick. The guy on the Sports Illustrated cover is now a Buffalo Bill. This leads me to ask…wasn’t Tony Mandarich on the cover of SI too? I believe he was.
Now, I’m not expecting Oliver to bust out as Mandarich did. In fact, my feeling is that the Bills have just upgraded over Kyle Williams. I know that sounds disrespectful and I mean no disrespect but Ed Oliver was thought to be (perhaps) the number one pick of the draft. I also love the NYup.com article written by Matt Parrino about how Williams and Oliver had ESP about calling each other.
It’s almost like a handing of the torch.
In fact, that’s exactly what it is. Oliver knows he has a long way to go before eclipsing Williams as the best ever Bills D-Tackle but the potential is there. In fact, one comparison I saw on ESPN was that of Aaron Donald. Are we really comparing a kid with a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and (quite possibly) a dominant Hall of Famer? That’s ESPN for you.
Of course, Aaron Donald is not the biggest guy in the NFL either but that hasn’t stopped him from achieving a 20-sack season. People love to nit-pick in this day and age and that kind of doubt has given Ed Oliver plenty of reason to prove his doubters wrong. He will have yet one more chance to do so on the world’s biggest stage.
Oliver is coming to a team that has achieved nothing but doubt for the last 20 years, a perfect marriage. Perhaps Oliver will be the Defensive force that finally puts Buffalo atop the NFL Mountain but I’m getting ahead of myself there. Ed Oliver is one inch taller and around ten-pounds heavier than Aaron Donald is. He also went four spots higher and finished as a three-time All American.
There I go, getting ahead of myself again.
Many around the area are looking at the Oliver-Buffalo connection as a perfect scenario. A player and a franchise who have come together at the right time. We all know the grind that both Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott put their player through and if someone like Ed Oliver can showcase the heart and soul to go along with the talent on every play…damn, this could be a lot of fun.
I’m not expecting Ed Oliver to come in here and turn the Bills into an 85 Bear-00 Ravenesque defense, though that would be terrific. What I am expecting is someone with a great love of animals to come into this town, those games and deliver the goods on every Sunday. There’s nothing about his statements or general persona that dictates anything I don’t like.
Of course, the kid now has all the pressure in the world to replace a Buffalo legend and perhaps even elevate that position to new heights but if there’s anyone who can do it, it’s Ed Oliver. There’s a reason he was so highly touted coming out of High School and why he made three All American teams. I have no issue whatsoever with this pick and I’m going to go as far as to say this.
The Bills selection of Oliver might be as perfect a choice as they’ve ever made.
-By: Thomas P. Braun Jr.