Following a flurry of signings by the Bills the day before camp opened top pick Leodis McKelvin was the only player not under contract. That changed Saturday as the club came to an agreement with the first cornerback taken in the draft.
"I'm really happy," McKelvin told Buffalobills.com. "I'm ready to come to camp and get things started with the team and compete and help the team out."
McKelvin's signing seemed close at hand as several of the draft picks selected immediately before or after him in round one had signed contracts earlier in the week providing solid numbers for both sides to work with.
The Bills top pick was staying in Buffalo waiting to sign as quickly as possible and get to the St. John Fisher campus. McKelvin said he was very anxious to get to work and get his rookie season underway.
"I've been ready," said McKelvin. "I just want to get out there and help the defense out and just play football.
Even though head coach Dick Jauron has some veterans at cornerback he is expecting a lot from McKelvin in year one.
"We know that Leodis is an outstanding athlete, so you kind of expect it from him and he will make athletic plays," Jauron said. "The big thing about Leodis off his college tape is how much he likes to play the game. He likes to mix it up and he'll play all aspects of it run or pass."
The multi-talented defensive back is expected to compete with Ashton Youboty as they challenge veteran incumbent Jabari Greer for the starting right cornerback job.
But McKelvin's first job will be to quickly make up for lost time.
"It's hard to catch up," said Jauron. "Every practice is significant and it's just hard to make it up. But we can spend extra time with him, extra time after practice."
Having set an NCAA record for most returns for touchdowns in a career with eight, McKelvin is also expected to provide good competition for Buffalo return men Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish on kickoffs and punts respectively.
McKelvin knows the intensity of training camp practices will be greater than what he experienced in the spring, but he's preparing to raise his game accordingly.
"Things will go up another notch for me," said McKelvin. "I want to play so for things to go well for me I'm just going to come out here and work very hard and try to get the team to the playoffs. That's everybody's goal right now, try to get to the playoffs and try to win a Super Bowl. So we haven't been to the playoffs since '99 so we're going to try to get to the playoffs. That's the first step."
