Published: April 26, 2008 11:31 pm      

BILLS: First defense, then offense for Buffalo in NFL Draft

ORCHARD PARK — Coming into the 2008 NFL Draft, it was widely assumed the Buffalo Bills had two pressing needs: wide receiver and cornerback.

In Leodis McKelvin and James Hardy, the team believes it’s adequately filled those needs. Bypassing receiver in the first round, the Bills took McKelvin, a cornerback from Troy, with the 11th overall pick.

The team then watched as the rest of the first round passed without a wide receiver being taken. That meant there were plenty of options available at the position when the Bills came up in the second round. They decided to go with Hardy, a 6-foot-6 former basketball player who scored 36 career touchdowns on the gridiron for Indiana.

“We feel very good about our day,” Bills Chief Operating Officer Russ Brandon said.

It started in the afternoon when the Bills tabbed McKelvin, a two-year starter at Troy. He’s expected to compete for a starting job opposite Terrence McGee as the Bills attempt to improve a cornerback corps that was knocked for lacking experienced depth and size last season.

“The saying is you never have enough good corners, so we’re really happy we got him,” Bills coach Dick Jauron said.

The knock on McKelvin is his ball skills. Jauron, though, didn’t seem worried.

“He defends a lot of passes and that’s what we need,” the coach said. “He gets a chance to catch an easy one, I don’t think he’s going to drop it.”

A native of Waycross, Ga., McKelvin also excels on kick returns. He led the nation last year by returning three punts for touchdowns, giving him eight career touchdown returns (including one on a kickoff), tied for the NCAA Division I-A record.

“I think you’re going to like him,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said.

The Bills hope the same sentiment will be shared about Hardy, who caught 79 passes for 1,125 yards and 16 touchdowns last season as a junior. In only three seasons, he set school records with 36 career TDs — third-most in Big 10 Conference history — and 2,740 yards receiving.

The Bills hope Hardy will provide a red-zone target and help draw some attention away from No. 1 receiver Lee Evans.

“We made no bones about it, we’re looking for a bigger receiver,” Jauron said. “You can cover him, but he can still be open. He can out-reach you for the ball.”

Hardy doesn’t come without some character concerns. He pleaded not guilty in 2006 to domestic battery charges. The case was later settled in a pre-trial agreement. He was also suspended for two games in the same year for an unrelated incident.

Hardy didn’t try and hide from his past in a conference call with the Western New York media.

“I had a couple of bumps in the road, but I also didn’t have anyone to teach me things,” he said. “I learned a lot of things on my own. Now I am a man, and I admit to my mistakes.”

It was clear the Bills also felt the incident was behind him.

“I felt like, number one, the issue was dismissed,” Jauron said. “That was important to us that it was dismissed. Number two, the young man talked about it and had no more issues. There are no other issues with him. We take all of those things very seriously and we felt it was clear that he did also.”

The Bills conclude the draft with eight selections today, starting with a third-round pick (72nd overall).

Contact reporter Jay Skurski at 693-1000, ext. 117. The Associated Press contributed to this report.