(WGR 550) -- The picks rattled off the board after Buffalo chose Leodis McKelvin with their first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Some Bills fans who wanted wide receiver help for Trent Edwards were salivating as team-after-team passed on the "big" names: Malcolm Kelly, Limas Sweed, Devin Thomas... all still available as Round Two began.
Ten wide-outs were selected in that round, beginning with the University of Houston's Donnie Avery, who became a St. Louis Ram at slot No. 33 overall. Two more were chosen before the Bills were up. With Thomas and Jordy Nelson gone, the Bills had plenty of options at No. 41, and chose Indiana University's James Hardy.
The 6'5" junior had 36 touchdowns and almost 2,700 yards as a Hoosier, where he also spent two years on the hallowed Indiana basketball team. Hardy was a Buffalo Bill, and hopes were high that he could bring size and air to the passing game.
He stumbled out of the gate, and an off-field issue helped set the tone for a disappointing rookie season. Hardy grabbed just nine balls, two for touchdowns, before being lost for the season with a December knee injury, and losing his No. 81 to a certain free agent signing.
Now No. 84, Hardy is back on the active roster, and could make his return Sunday in Tennessee, especially considering that Terrell Owens may be unavailable with a hip injury, and John Clayton told Schopp and The Bulldog there's a chance he could not play, though Dick Jauron didn't seem all that pessimistic after Thursday's practice.
So, where does Hardy stand in relation to his peers, even after an injury set him back? Well...
33. Rams - Avery (2008- 53 rec., 674 yds, 3 TD --- 2009- 22, 286, 2)
34. Redskins- Thomas (2008- 15 rec., 120 yds, 0 TD --- 2009- 7, 71, 1)
36. Packers- Nelson (33 rec., 366 yds, 2 TD --- 2009- 7, 104, 1)
41. Bills- Hardy (41) (9 rec., 87 yds, 2 TD--- 2009- N/A)
42. Broncos- Eddie Royal (91 rec., 980 yds, 5 TD --- 2009- 25, 232, 0)
46. Bengals- Jerome Simpson (1 rec., 2 yds, 0 TD --- 2009- N/A)
49. Eagles- DeSean Jackson (62 rec., 912 yds, 2 TD --- 2009- 26, 530, 4 --- punt return TD each year)
51. Redskins- Kelly (3 rec., 18 yds, 0 TD --- 2009- 8, 77, 0)
53. Steelers- Sweed (6 rec., 64 yds, 0 TD --- 2009- 1, 5, 0)
58. Bucs- Dexter Jackson (2008 -- KR/PR, now with Carolina)
Wide receivers traditionally take time to develop, and that's indicated in the relative struggles of all but three of the picks. In terms of sophomore slumps, only DeSean Jackson and Kelly are on pace to match or pass their freshman numbers. Coincidentally or not, the players who've hadbetter quarterbacks are generally having better careers, and only Royal, Avery and DeSean Jackson could fairly be considered a Top-Two receiver.
So, the good news for Bills fans is that Hardy doesn't have a long sojourn to meet most of his second-round peers. All he needs is one eight or nine catch game with Trent Edwards and he's back to the upper half of his class.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
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