Bills fan Wesley Nichols, 40, of Florence, Wisconsin was randomly selected to share his Buffalo Bills All-Time Draft Picks on buffalobills.com. In addition, he will receive a gift certificate to the Bills Store and will be entered in the random selection process to possibly win the grand prize of a meet and greet with one of the Bills All-Time Draft Picks as voted by the fans.
Though it is difficult to choose between so many great Bills players, fans are asked to provide their top ten most valuable draft picks in the popular contest on buffalobills.com. Here are Nichols's top ten Bills All-Time Draft Picks presented by Bud Light:
1. Jim Kelly
2. Thurman Thomas
3. Andre Reed
4. Terrence McGee
5. Howard Ballard
6. Bruce Smith
7. O.J. Simpson
8. Daryl Talley
9. Don Beebe
10. Frank Reich
In addition to Nichols balancing the value of standout draft picks like Kelly (1st round, 14th pick), Thomas (2nd round, 40th pick) and Reed (4th round, 86th pick), he saw the value in selecting players that were drafted in later rounds such as Terrence McGee (4th round, 111th pick) and Howard Ballard (11th round, 283rd pick). Rounding out Nichols' picks were Smith (1st round, 1st pick), Simpson (1st round, 1st pick), Talley (2nd round, 39th pick), Beebe (3rd round, 82nd pick) and Reich (3rd round, 57th pick).
Nichols watches the Bills from his Wisconsin home every week on television, but when he does make it to a Bills game it is with friends. One of his most memorable experiences was in 1994 when the Bills played the Colts in Indianapolis.
"The first quarter Thurman Thomas fumbled the ball," said Nichols. "I was sitting right behind the Bills bench. When Thurman came over to the sidelines I was yelling at him, 'Squeeze the ball Thurman, squeeze it son, shake that last one off.' He didn't fumble again!"
He also remembers the Bills season of 1991 and how it helped him get through the Gulf War.
"I remember sitting around the radio when the Bills played the Giants in the Super Bowl," said Nichols. "I had to be ready for a mission early the next morning, but I still stayed up to listen to the heartbreaker."
Self described as a rabid Bills fan, Nichols thinks the Bills will be looking for an offensive tackle as the most needed position for 2010.
The voting for the Bills All-Time Draft Picks presented by Bud Light continues on buffalobills.com along with voting for the M&T Bank Draft Challenge where fans select the player they think will be the first player drafted by the Bills in the upcoming 2010 Draft. Voting for both promotions ends on Thursday, April 22nd, at 12 noon.
