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Quick picks Bills get faster with selections of Winfield, Price, Bryson
Posted: Sunday April 18, 1999 08:59 PM
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- The Bills filled their greatest need with speed -- and more speed -- at the NFL draft, starting with 5-foot-8 cornerback Antonine Winfield from Ohio State. "He plays like his hair's on fire," Bills director of player personnel Dwight Adams said. The Bills took Tennessee wide receiver Peerless Price in the second round with the 53rd pick overall, giving Doug Flutie another target. Price helped the Volunteers win the national title last season with four catches for a Fiesta Bowl-record 199 yards and a 71-yard touchdown against Florida State. In the third round, by coincidence, the Bills signed on Price's college roommate and teammate -- 235-pound Shawn Bryson. The speedy and skilled fullback had a 57-yard touchdown run against Florida last season. Bryson said he and Price had been roommates since their junior year at the school. Winfield, a first-team All-American who won the Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back last year, was one of the top deep coverage defenders in college and a hard hitter who could help stop the run and also blitz. "I'm very excited to go to Buffalo and hopefully will make an impact, but I really haven't followed Buffalo the last few years," Winfield said during a conference call Saturday from his grandmother's home in Akron, Ohio. He was celebrating with about 200 friends and family members. Buffalo, which expects Winfield to step right into a starting role, will get to take the hard-nosed cornerback for a test run at the Bills' mini-camp next weekend. "We think he's going to help us this year," said Bills coach Wade Phillips, whose team faces some big passing threats in its own division in quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde, Drew Bledsoe, Dan Marino and Peyton Manning. "You've got to have enough corners." Buffalo's defensive backfield thinned out last year when the Bills lost Jeff Burris to free agency and Winfield's OSU pal Marlon Kerner to injury. Kerner is recovering from a second knee injury in two years and is unsigned. And the Browns took reserve cornerback Ray Jackson in the expansion draft. Price -- a 5-11, 177-pound All-Southeastern Conference second-team selection -- caught 61 passes for 920 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. "He's a good-sized receiver who can really run. He made a lot of big plays in big games," Phillips said. Price's drawbacks are a lack of blazing speed and great size. He lost some explosiveness after breaking his ankle the spring before the 1997 season and he has a tendency to drop passes. "I'm excited," Price said in a conference call. "It's a great opportunity and a great situation for me." Price said he could play in the slot or outside. He had no shortage of confidence. "Once I catch the ball I'm going to make something happen," he said. Bryson caught three passes for 34 yards and a 4-yard score in the Fiesta Bowl. The Tennessee captain started every game last season and gained 200 yards with four touchdowns on 21 carries. He caught 19 passes for 167 yards and one score. With Winfield, Price and Bryson in the fold, the Bills on Sunday grabbed North Carolina linebacker Keith Newman and tight end Bobby Collins of North Alabama with their two fourth-round picks. Buffalo selected Nebraska linebacker Jay Foreman, son of former Minnesota running back Chuck Foreman, in the fifth round, and strong safety Armon Hatcher of Oregon State in the sixth. The Bills took tight end Sheldon Jackson of Nebraska and defensive tackle Bryce Fisher of Air Force in the seventh and final round. "We got two of the fastest tight ends in the draft this year," said Bills coach Wade Phillips. Above all, he said, the Bills wanted to keep from falling behind the other teams in their division -- literally. "I get tired of hearing Miami has the fastest team and the fastest defense," Phillips said. Newman, the eighth North Carolina linebacker drafted in the 1990s, started every game for the Tar Heels last season and was second on the team with 132 tackles. He also had four sacks. The Bills say his size and speed will help them in the pass-happy AFC East. "He did a lot of man coverage, and he's a pursuit linebacker who runs all over the field to make plays," Bills scout Joe Haering said. "He has the size and speed to be a good outside linebacker." Newman becomes the 16th all-time Bills draft pick from North Carolina. Only Penn State (18) and Notre Dame (17) have produced more Bills draftees. "I think I can be a pass rusher, but I can also drop back in coverage," said Newman, who played three seasons at North Carolina with fullback Jonathan Linton, a fifth-round choice of the Bills last year. Three picks after Newman, the Bills took Collins, a 6-foot-4, 250-pounder with long arms and good open-field acceleration. He was considered a sleeper -- even by himself. Collins spent the last two seasons at Division II North Alabama, having played two seasons at East Mississippi Junior College. He caught 19 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns last year. Collins said he didn't think he'd be drafted at all when the 1998 season began, but now is hopeful he'll play for the Bills next season. Jay Riemersma, a seventh-round selection in 1996, is the only tight end returning who played last year for Buffalo. "I know they have just one tight end there, so it's possible," Collins said. The Bills consider Foreman a prospect at inside linebacker, the position he filled last year at Nebraska when he was second on the team with 97 tackles. Foreman started every game in 1997 at middle linebacker. Foreman, who wore his father's No. 44, decided long ago not to follow in his dad's footsteps -- not exactly. "People always tried to push me toward running back and that's really not my personality," Foreman said. Hatcher not only started at strong safety all year for Oregon State but also returned kickoffs. The Bills project Hatcher at free safety. "His main strength is run support and I can see this guy as a special teams player [in kick coverage]," Bills scout David Smith said. "He has great hands and range." Jackson is a fast, fluid and athletic receiver who improved in college. His blocking skills are limited, however. "He's one of the faster tight ends we got to see this year," Bills scout Doug Majeski said. Fisher, who made 70 tackles and had six sacks last season, was a compensatory pick in the seventh. He was named the Western Athletic Conference's Mountain Division Player of the Year and was the Falcons' MVP in the 1997 Las Vegas Bowl. Fisher will spend two seasons on military reserve.
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