The Buffalo Bills used their number 3 pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft to select Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus. As AP reported:
• Shortly after being drafted by the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, Marcell Dareus showed off his defensive skills by happily enveloping NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a giant bear-hug on the Radio City Music Hall stage.
The Bills are now counting on the Alabama defensive lineman to show how adept he is in wrapping up opponents in similar fashion on an even bigger platform next season.
With a big hole to fill on what’s been a porous defense, the Bills wasted little time in plugging it by selecting Dareus with the No. 3 pick in the draft. “I’ll accept that (challenge) with open arms,” Dareus said during a telephone conference call. “I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen.”
Listed at 6-foot-3, 308 pounds, he’s a versatile lineman who can play either on the end or tackle, and showed an ability of pressuring the quarterback as well as stopping the run. Dareus was the defensive MVP in helping the Crimson Tide defeat Texas in the 2010 national championship game.
Marcell Dareus was expected to go early in the first round, and scouting reports consistently touted his agility, rare for a player his size. The Washington Post scouting report explained:
• With uncanny agility for his size, Dareus is highly likely to be among the first players taken in this year’s draft and has a chance to end up as the No. 1 overall pick. The Birmingham, Ala., native caught the attention of NFL teams with a defensive MVP performance in the 2010 BCS championship game.
In Alabama’s 37-21 victory over Texas, he sent Longhorns star quarterback Colt McCoy out of the game early in the first quarter and returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown just before halftime. Dareus followed that up by earning third-team All-America and consensus all-SEC honors in as a junior in 2010. He had 34 tackles but ranked 11th in his conference with 11 for loss. Dareus also totaled 4 1/2 sacks and a team-best 10 quarterback hurries.
As a sophomore, he ranked eighth in the SEC with 6 1/2 sacks. Dareus’ production during that season was better that of his All-American teammate Terrence Cody, whom Baltimore selected in the second round of last year’s draft. If there are any concerns, it might be his two-game suspension to start his junior season for accepting nearly $2,000 in improper benefits during two trips to Miami.
Marcell Dareus was one of several players from Alabama schools drafted Thursday night, and his teammate Mark Ingram joined Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and Roger Goodell to lead a moment of silence for the victims of severe storms in the state before the draft began. As AP reported:
• Once NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell mentioned the devastating tornadoes that left a path of death and destruction across the Southeast, the horde of heckling fans fell silent.
Joined on stage by Auburn star Cam Newton, Alabama standout Mark Ingram and their college coaches, Goodell began the NFL draft Thursday night by asking for a moment of silence to remember the storm victims.
At least 297 people were killed in six states and hundreds more were injured. “I’ve challenged our players to get out and do something to help these people,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “Be a team.”
In Tuscaloosa, Ala., where the University of Alabama campus is located, 36 were killed and 800 were hurt. Among the injured was Crimson Tide longsnapper Carson Tinker — a school spokesman said Tinker was hospitalized in stable condition, without detailing what happened to him.
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