(WGR 550) -- There had been much discussion as to whether the Bills would take a cornerback or a wide receiver in the first round of Saturday's NFL draft. In the end, they took a defensive back with the 11th overall pick, Troy's Leodis McKelvin, however ended up with a big WR in the second round when Indiana's James Hardy fell to Buffalo at number 41.
McKelvin is a 5'10", 190-pound cornerback who started three years for the Trojans. Bills chief operating officer Russ Brandon said the team was delighted with the opportunity to draft the corner.
"We felt there was a good chance he was not going to be there at eleven," Brandon said.
McKelvin is excited to be a member of the Bills.
"Buffalo's got a great team, and I'm going to give the fans what they're looking for, a great player," McKelvin said. "I think of myself as a corner and a returner."
McKelvin's speed is considered elite, and he set the NCAA record for return touchdowns in a year on special teams. He's considered a good tackler and a competitor.
"His explosion is excellent," said Tom Modrak, the Bills vice president of college scouting. "From a talent standpoint, he's a terrific athlete who gives you corner support."
Bills head coach Dick Jauron wouldn't hand the starting job to McKelvin, even at cornerback.
"He's certainly a candidate to play, and William James is certainly a candidate to play, and Jabari (Greer's) played a little, too."
Jauron wasn't concerned about McKelvin's lack of interceptions at the collegiate level.
"To be perfectly honest about it, when a defensive back catches the ball, that's a great play, but if he knocks it down, that's fine," Jauron said. "He defends a lot of passes, he does, and that's what we need."
McKelvin was asked whether the criticism of his "small school" experience concerns him.
"There's the small school thing, but you guys see right on TV, another small school (cornerback, Tennessee State's Dominique Rodgers- Cromartie) went after me," McKelvin said. "Small schools don't have nothing to do with it."
As for Hardy, he may be the big receiver that Buffalo has been missing over the past few years.
"He's an unusually tall receiver, but he has really good bend and flexibility," said Modrak. "He's got real good timing down the field where he can come up over top of DB's, which is a plus. He's a talented guy and he does give you some mismatch situations."
"We made no bones about it, we were looking for a big reciever," said Jauron. "We've got a nice group, but now we've added what we thought was a missing piece, which was a big receiver. Reach is a big thing in our game, and he's got reach."
"When it's the red zone, it's like another light comes in my mind, I have to get into that end zone," Hardy said when addressing the Buffalo media for the first time. "I'm very glad to be in Buffalo, and I just want to make the Buffalo nation proud."
Regarding some of Hardy's past legal trouble, the wide receiver said that's all behind him. "I'm not going to lie to you about the situation. It was a situation that was blown out of propration. It's in the past. It's something I had to deal with two years ago, it hasn't been a problem and it won't be a problem."
"It's a great feeling," Hardy said of being selected in the NFL Draft. "Now that it's actually happening, seeing my name...I couldn't stop crying. It's something that's surreal...but at the same time, I'm ready to go to work tomorrow."
Here's a run-down of LIVE picks from the 2008 NFL Draft:
1) Miami- Jake Long, T, Michigan
2) St. Louis- Chris Long, DE, Virginia
3) Atlanta- Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
4) Oakland- Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
5) Kansas City- Glenn Dorsey, DT, Louisiana State
6) New York Jets- Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, Ohio State
7) New Orleans (from New England)- Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC
8) Jacksonville (from Baltimore)- Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida
9) Cincinnati- Keith Rivers, LB, USC
10) New England (from New Orleans)- Jerod Mayo, LB, Tenn.
11) Buffalo- Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy State
12) Denver- Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State
13) Carolina- Jonathan Stewart, RB, Oregon
14) Chicago- Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt
15) Kansas City (from Detroit)- Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
16) Arizona- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, Tenn. St.
17) Detroit (from KC)- Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College
18) Baltimore (from Houston)- Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware
19) Carolina (from Philadelphia)- Jeff Otah, OT, Pittsburgh
20) Tampa Bay- Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
21) Atlanta (from Washington)- Sam Baker, OT, USC
22) Dallas- Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas
23) Pittsburgh- Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
24) Tennessee- Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina
25) Dallas (from SEA)- Mike Jenkins, CB, South Fla.
26) Houston (from Balt. from Jax.)- Duane Brown, OT, VT
27) San Diego- Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona
28) Seattle (from Dallas)- Lawrence Jackson, DE, USC
29) San Francisco- Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina
30) N.Y. Jets (from Green Bay)- Dustin Keller, TE, Purdue
31*) New England- FORFEITED
31) N.Y. Giants- Kenny Phillips, S, Miami
Second round
32) Miami - Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson
33) St. Louis- Donnie Avery, WR, Houston
34) Washington- Devin Thomas, WR, Michigan State
35) Kansas City- Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech
36) Green Bay- Jordy Nelson, WR, Kansas State
37) Atlanta- Curtis Lofton, LB, Oklahoma
38) Seattle- John Carlson, TE, Notre Dame
39) San Francisco- Chilo Rachal, OG, USC
40) New Orleans- Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana
41) Buffalo- James Hardy, WR, Indiana
42) Denver- Eddie Royal, WR, Virginia Tech
43) Minnesota- Tyrell Johnson, S, Arkansas State
44) Chicago- Matt Forte, RB, Tulane
45) Detroit- Jordon Dizon, LB, Colorado
46) Cincinnati- Jerome Simpson, WR, Coastal Carolina
47) Philadelphia- Trevor Laws, DT, Notre Dame
48) Washington- Fred Davis, TE, USC
49) Philadelphia- DeSean Jackson, WR, California
50) Arizona- Calais Campbell, DE, Miami
51) Washington- Malcom Kelly, WR, Oklahoma
52) Jacksonville- Quentin Groves, DE, Auburn
53) Pittsburgh- Limas Sweed, WR, Texas
54) Tennessee- Jason Jones, DE, Eastern Michigan
55) Baltimore- Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers
56) Green Bay- Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
57) Miami- Chad Henne, QB, Michigan
58) Tampa Bay- Dexter Jackson, WR, App St.
59) Indianapolis- Mike Pollak, C, Arizona St.
60) Green Bay- Patrick Lee, CB, Auburn
61) Dallas- Martellus Bennett, TE, Texas A&M
62) New England- Terrence Wheatley, CB, Colorado
63) New York Giants- Terrell Thomas, CB, USC
*New England trades No. 7 overall pick and 5th round pick to New Orleans for No. 10 overall pick and third round pick
*Baltimore trades No. 8 overall pick to Jacksonville for No. 26 overall pick, plus two third-rounders and a fourth.
*Detroit trades No. 15 overall pick and third round pick to Kansas City for No. 17 overall pick and third & fifth round picks.
*Houston trades No. 18 pick to Baltimore for No. 26 pick, third-round pick and sixth-round pick.
*Philadelphia trades No. 19 pick to Carolina for second round pick, fourth round pick and No. 1 pick in 2009
*Washington trades No. 21 pick to Atlanta for two second round picks and a fourth rounder.
*Seattle trades No. 25 pick to Dallas for No. 28 pick
*Green Bay trades No. 30 pick for N.Y. Jets for a second rounder and fourth rounder.
*Baltimore trades No. 38 pick to Seattle
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