AP

After analyzing the draft needs of all 32 teams, PFT will review how well each team addressed those needs. Up next: The Buffalo Bills.

What they needed: Quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker, guard

Who they got:
Round 1: E.J. Manuel, QB, Florida State
Round 2: Robert Woods, WR, USC; Kiko Alonso, LB, Oregon
Round 3: Marquise Goodwin, WR, Texas
Round 4: Duke Williams, S, Nevada
Round 5: Jonathan Meeks, S, Clemson
Round 6: Dustin Hopkins, K, Florida State
Round 7: Chris Gragg, TE, Arkansas

Where they hit: General Manager Buddy Nix wasn’t lying when he said he liked the makeup of this year’s quarterback class more than most observers. Manuel was the first and only quarterback to go in the first round and the Bills were able to add two extra picks while moving down the draft board to pick him. Woods and Alonso both have good shots at being in the starting lineup from day one and Goodwin should be a factor out of the slot right away, which makes this a good job by the Bills of recognizing and addressing their biggest needs.

Where they missed: The offensive line need wasn’t great, although it would have been nice to see the Bills grab some depth there instead of doubling up at safety. Even with Jairus Byrd likely to stay away for a while because of the franchise tag, Williams would have been enough. When only three quarterbacks went in the first three rounds, you have to wonder if the Bills needed to pull the trigger on Manuel with the 16th overall pick. Another trade down would have been ideal from a value standpoint.

Impact rookies: The Bills have needed an outside receiver other than Stevie Johnson for a long time and Woods is the best option they’ve come up with yet. His arrival gives Manuel (or Kevin Kolb or Tarvaris Jackson) a much better chance at succeeding next season. Williams is a good bet to replace George Wilson at strong safety. Hopkins will get every opportunity to unseat Rian Lindell.

Long-term prospects: They all pretty much begin and end with Manuel. If he’s a hit, no one will care about whether the Bills took him higher than they needed to take him because Buffalo will finally have a post-Jim Kelly answer at quarterback. His varied skill set certainly opens the door to some creativity from new coach Doug Marrone. They hit their other needs pretty well, but the final word on this draft will have everything to do with how Manuel progresses.

AP

When former LSU cornerback Tharold Simon was arrested on Thursday night, we wondered if it would wind up causing him to slip in the draft.

If it did, it didn’t cause him to slip that much. Simon was pegged as a mid-round pick during the pre-draft scouting process and that’s just where he wound up going. The Seahawks selected Simon with the fifth pick of the fifth round on Saturday afternoon.

Simon was charged with public intimidation, resisting an officer and unnecessary noise violation by police in Eunice, Louisiana on Thursday. His agent told PFT that there were “20 witnesses” who say Simon did nothing wrong during the incident with police that led to his arrest and said that Simon is contemplating a lawsuit against the Eunice police department for violating his civil rights.

Simon won’t be called on to play much right away in a secondary that already has Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner and Antoine Winfield at corner. The Seahawks have had good luck with recent fifth-round defensive backs, selecting both Sherman and safety Kam Chancellor in that round since Pete Carroll became the team’s coach in 2010.

Reuters

The first 32 picks are in the books and Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network will bring you everything you need to know about them on Friday afternoon.

Mike Florio, Erik Kuselias, Shaun King and former Cardinals General Manager Rod Graves will give their thoughts on everything that went down during the first round on Thursday night. They’ll pay special attention to the Dolphins’ move up the draft board to get Dion Jordan, the two first-round picks used by the Jets and a busy night for the Vikings. They’ll also share their thoughts on who were the best value picks of the evening.

The crew will also spend some time setting the stage for the second and third rounds. They’ll look at teams like the Patriots and Redskins who have yet to make a selection and run down the list of the best available players available to teams when the second round gets underway on Friday night.

It all gets started at 5 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

AP

Cornerback Tharold Simon expected to hear his name called from the Radio City Music Hall podium sometime on Saturday, but having it called by police on Thursday could get in the way of that.

Simon, who went to LSU, was arrested in Eunice, Louisiana and charged with public intimidation, resisting an officer and unnecessary noise violation. KATC-TV reports that a police report alleges an officer asked Simon to move his car and Simon responded by telling the officer “I own Eunice” and “you are gonna be mine” before eventually moving. The report goes on to say Simon “backed the vehicle in an aggressive manner” and turned the radio up while moving his car. Finally, Simon is accused of telling the officer that the mayor of Eunice was on his side and that the officer would be fired for writing him a ticket.

KATC-TV also spoke to the aforementioned mayor and Rusty Moody said that the town would go ahead with a ceremony proclaiming today “Tharold Simon” day in Eunice.

“In the United States, our justice system says everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” Moody said.

Indeed it does, but the NFL Draft doesn’t work the same way. Simon was projected to be a middle-round pick in this year’s draft and we’ll see whether this incident, which seems to show poor judgment more than criminal intent, has any impact on that status.

Reuters

In the days leading up to the draft, there was a lot of talk about the Jets’ interest in wide receiver Tavon Austin.

According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, that was no smokescreen. Mehta reports the Jets would have taken Austin if he had been on the board with the ninth overall pick, but went with cornerback Dee Milliner instead after the Rams traded up to the eighth spot to nab the West Virginia product. The trade made the Jets’ interest a moot point while also confirming the Rams did exactly what they needed to do to get the player they wanted on Thursday night.

The Jets could have tried to trade up to assure themselves a chance at drafting Austin, but that might not have been the wisest course of action for a team with a need for as much young talent as possible right now. The only way to judge whether or not that was the right decision will be to see how things play out over the next few years.

Milliner and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson joined Austin and guard Chance Warmack as the top four players on the Jets’ board. Warmack went 10th overall to the Titans before the Jets nabbed Richardson with the 13th pick.

Plenty of people were surprised that the Jets didn’t try to help their dismal offense with either of their first round picks, but the offensive help could be coming on Friday. Mehta reports the Jets will “take a good, hard look” at quarterback Geno Smith, Austin’s college teammate, and that they are also interested in Alabama center Barrett Jones. With Nick Mangold already on the roster, Jones would likely be moved to guard if he wound up with the Jets. The Jets are slated to pick 39th and 72nd on Friday.

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Everyone expected the Dolphins to trade up and take one of the three left tackles at the top of the draft.

The Dolphins traded up , but not for a tackle. Dion Jordan of Oregon, one of the premier edge rushers in this year’s draft, was their target and the Dolphins took him with the third overall pick of the draft.

Jordan has drawn comparisons to former Dolphins pass rusher Jason Taylor and should look awfully good lining up on the opposite side of the line from Cameron Wake. In an AFC East where you’re chasing Tom Brady and the Patriots, getting after the quarterback is vital and the Dolphins just made a big move to improve their chances of doing it.

The Raiders received the 12th and 42nd overall picks from the Dolphins in the deal. That leaves a big question for Miami, namely whether or not they’ve used up their capital for a Branden Albert trade. The Chiefs were thought to be interested in that 42nd pick, the higher of two Dolphins picks in the second round, and if that deal falls by the wayside the Dolphins will be forced to look for tackle help elsewhere.

AP

We’ve been talking about it for months and now it’s finally here.

The NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday night and, as always, we’ve got you covered from every angle. That includes PFT Live, which comes to you from New York for the next two days.

Mike Florio made the trip up from West Virginia for all the fun and he’ll be joined Thursday by another refugee from the Mountaineer State. Wide receiver Tavon Austin’s exploits at the University of West Virginia have made him one of the most coveted commodities in the draft and he’ll talk to Florio about his expectations for Thursday. Austin’s been linked with several teams at the top of the draft and we’ll hear what offense he thinks suits him best during the conversation.

Florio will also speak to a man who went in the first round in 1990 before going on to three Super Bowl rings and the most rushing yards in NFL history. Emmitt Smith will share his memories of draft day and give some thoughts about what he thinks will happen over the next three days.

You can watch it all live at noon ET.

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For the last 49 years, there’s been a running back taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Based on buzz over the last month or so, it looks like there’s a fair chance of that streak coming to a halt this year. Eddie Lacy of Alabama and Johnathan Franklin of UCLA are regarded as the top two backs in this year’s class, but neither one has solidified himself as a surefire first-round pick in the eyes of the ever-proliferating group of draft pundits.

Lacy’s heard the criticisms his performance at his pro day, telling 790 the Zone in Atlanta, via SportsRadioInterviews.com, that it’s tough to hear people knocking him when he wasn’t 100 percent because of a hamstring injury. He told Mike Garafolo of USA Today that he believes tape from his on-field work at Alabama tells a truer story of his abilities, a story that he hopes includes a chapter about how he kept the streak of first-round running backs going for at least one more year.

“Knowing I could keep it going would be a load off my shoulders,” Lacy said. “It’s good for me, like, ‘Whew, I survived, I made it. Good luck to those next year.”

The drop in perceived value of running backs in the draft and elsewhere in the NFL isn’t a new story, but Garafolo provides some numbers that make it impossible to ignore. In the 1980′s, 48 running backs went in the first round of drafts for an average of 4.8 per year. Things have steadily declined from there and only seven have been taken in the first round of the last three drafts.

Lacy isn’t responsible for the larger trends at running back, but he may be the guy standing between them and a draft affirming the reorganization of priorities across the football world.

AP

West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin’s playmaking ability has intrigued several teams as he’s made the rounds heading into the draft.

To no one’s surprise, the offense-starved Jets are on that list. Austin said that his visit with the Jets went well and that the team told him they were hopeful things worked out so Austin landed on their roster. What’s more, coach Rex Ryan told the wideout that the team already has plans about how they would use him in 2013.

“He made a little joke, ‘We might throw you on the defensive side, a couple plays,’ but it was everything good,” Austin said, via Jenny Vrentas of the Newark Star-Ledger. “He said he had a plan for me. I talked to the offensive coordinator (Marty Mornhinweg), and they said they like players like me who can bring big-play ability there.”

Unless the plan the Jets outlined for Austin was similar to the one they outlined for Tim Tebow at this time last year, it’s a safe bet that Austin heard the same thing from other teams in the last few weeks. In a draft that’s been maligned far and wide for its lack of top-shelf talent, Austin stands out on the offensive side of the ball as a player who could change games if used correctly.

That explains why he’s rocketed up draft boards and why he’s likely to hear his name called sometime in the first half of the first round on Thursday night. With two picks in the top 13 and an offense that counted Jeremy Kerley as its top weapon for most of last season, the Jets are certainly a team to watch when it comes to Austin’s eventual landing spot.

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We’ve reached the end of the PFT Live mock draft.

Mike Florio will reveal the final six picks during Wednesday’s show, setting the stage once and for all for Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall. As with most mock drafts, much of the exercise will likely be proven moot the moment NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces the first trade but there’s no better way to spend the last hours before things get underway than debating who should go where.

Shaun King of NBC Sports Network will join Florio to do just that as they get you caught up on everything you need to know before things get rolling in New York. They’ll talk about this year’s crop of quarterbacks, players making a late move up the draft board and more.

You can watch it all live at noon ET.

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On Tuesday, there was a report that five teams among the top 12 picks were interested in trading their picks and moving down in the draft order.

Two more reports on Wednesday morning have pushed that total up to eight teams. Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports that the Jets have made calls to teams in hopes of moving the ninth and/or 13th picks that they currently hold in the first round.

Adam Schefter of ESPN, meanwhile, adds the Raiders (currently holding the third pick and not actively shopping the pick according to General Manager Reggie McKenzie) and the Cardinals (seventh overall pick) to the list. Schefter also mentions “others” as interested in moving down, which suggests that it might just be easier to make a list of every team in the league and report that they are willing to consider trading their pick if the right offer should come along.

Obviously, there’s no way all of these teams interested in moving down are going to be able to realize their goal. There’s also no reason to believe that some of these teams are simply seeing what’s out there while making plans to stay put if they aren’t bowled over by a trade proposal. Given the amount of teams thought to be interested in a move, the chances of such a trade proposal being made wouldn’t seem to be all that great.

Especially since no one seems to want any of the players available in this year’s draft. We’ve already heard this called the worst draft in 10 years and the reports about the growing list of teams trying to trade away their picks underscores that belief. It’s not the best advertisement for Thursday night’s festivities and we’ll see if the feeling that NFL teams would rather spend the evening playing cribbage winds up impacting the television ratings.

AP

Based on his performance alone, Houston cornerback D.J. Hayden was going to be a name to watch in the 2013 draft.

The fact that he survived a freak injury during a Cougars practice last season that could have ended his life has made people pay even closer attention. Hayden severed his inferior vena cava, the vein that carries blood from the lower half of the body to the heart, when he took an otherwise unremarkable hit at practice and survived thanks to quick attention from trainers and doctors.

Hayden is fully healed now and Adam Schefter reports that he held a workout for NFL teams in Houston on Monday. If Hayden does well, he could wind up hearing his names called fairly early on Thursday. Mike Mayock of the NFL Network ranks him as the best cornerback in the draft, ahead of Alabama’s Dee Milliner, and there’s been increasing buzz that he’ll be off the board sooner rather than later.

Schefter didn’t have details on which teams were in attendance, though Randy McIlvoy of KPRC reports 10 teams were in attendance. The one observer that both men mention by name is Jets coach Rex Ryan. As you’ve likely heard by now, Ryan’s club just lost a pretty decent cornerback and they could look to use the first-round pick they got from Tampa for Darrelle Revis to bring in his replacement.

AP

Draft week is officially here and PFT Live will be here for all of it, kicking things off on Monday with a visit from a player expected to be one of the first players off the board on Thursday night.

Mike Florio will speak to tackle Eric Fisher from Central Michigan, who has been projected to go as high as first overall by some of the ever-proliferating number of people giving their opinions on who will go where in the first round of the draft. We’ll ask Fisher how much he cares about being the first player picked, what he’s enjoyed about the visits to teams evaluating him and what he plans to do on the field as a rookie when he joins us on Monday.

Since we’re part of that group offering takes on how the draft will shake out, we’ll also unveil picks 17-21 in the PFT Live mock draft that’s been unfolding for the last few episodes of the program. The Steelers, Cowboys and Giants will be the next three teams to pick as we get closer to the moment when we can stop preparing mock drafts and start mocking the actual draft picks.

You can watch it all live at noon ET.

AP

Before the Rams selected wide receiver Brian Quick with the first pick in the second round after meeting with him twice in the days before the draft.

If history continues to repeat itself, you should prepare to see wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins trade in his Clemson uniform for a Rams one. Aaron Wilson of Scout.com reports that Hopkins will be having a private workout for the Rams on Monday, which comes four days after Hopkins closed out last week by working out for the Rams the first time. Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reported over the weekend that the Rams are likely to take Hopkins or Tavon Austin of West Virginia with the 16th overall selection.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and other Rams coaches will put Hopkins through his paces on Monday. The dual meetings should also give the Rams plenty of time to address any concerns they might have about the trashing of the combine hotel room Hopkins shared with Rutgers wideout Mark Harrison in February.

If those questions are answered to their satisfaction and they like what they see on the field, Hopkins could be the pick as the Rams try to give Sam Bradford some more weapons after the departures of Danny Amendola and Steven Jackson.

AP

Cornerback Dee Milliner said that a late March recheck of his surgically repaired shoulder went “very well,” but the injury may still impact his readiness for training camp this summer.

Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Milliner may not be ready for the start of camp after having an operation to fix a torn labrum. If that winds up being true, Milliner’s busy schedule of meetings with teams ahead of the draft may be part of the reason for the delayed start to his NFL career.

“We haven’t been able to do the rehab like I want to because I’ve been going to different teams,” Milliner said. “But once the draft is over, I’ll be able to start to rehab it and try to get back on track.”

The Alabama product was installed as the draft’s top cornerback early in the process, but his perch on the top got a little shakier when Mike Mayock of the NFL Network ranked D.J. Hayden of Houston ahead of him in his final list of prospects. In his Monday Morning Quarterback column this week, Peter King also mentions hearing of teams starting to have some doubts about Milliner related to his shoulder.

This is a time for disinformation and misdirection, so one must take everything with a grain of salt until we see whether or not these whispers add up to a draft day drop for Milliner.