Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley quadrupled down on his faith in EJ Manuel.
"We are committed. I want you to believe me when I say that," Whaley said of building around the second-year quarterback, per The Buffalo News. "I always tell you guys that I'll never say never because I don't want to paint myself in a corner, but when I do say something, I do it and I mean it and I try to fulfill it."
Schein: Round 1 winners and losers
Whaley's actions in the first two rounds of this weekend's NFL draft underscored his faith in Manuel. Whaley traded a future first-round pick for receiver Sammy Watkins.
"We believe the addition of Sammy is going to be instant impact, not only to our quarterback, but to what our offensive coordinator can come up with game-plan wise and how defenses attack us," Whaley said.
In the second round, he added offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio, who slid out of the first round due to injury issues, but could help keep Manuel off the turf. Whaley then added two more late-round offensive linemen, traded slot receiverStevie Johnson and swapped a future pick for running back Bryce Brown.
The trade for Watkins was the type of move a team makes when it believes it's one player away from contending. Thanks to instability at the quarterback position, the Bills haven't been one player away in more than a decade.
Whaley believes in Manuel, and the GM is willing to bet his 2015 future that his 2013 first-round pick can make the leap in 2014.
*The "Around The League Podcast" wrapped up the draft by picking our winners and losers. *
