Da’Rick Rogers could have been a second-round draft pick. Hell, in a draft with little separation nearly three weeks ago, it wasn’t a reach to project him as a late first rounder.
But both of those projections neglect his shady past, which is something general managers don’t do. Rogers was once a Tennessee Volunteer alongside Cordarrelle Patterson and Justin Hunter, but he was given the boot last August after failing multiple drug tests.
That didn’t stop Tyrann Mathieu from being a mid-round pick, but Rogers’ luck was lacking. He fell, and then fell some more, and eventually he wasn’t drafted at all even though he’s only a season removed from being the SEC’s leading receiver (1,040 yards and nine touchdowns in 2011). With the risk associated with his behavior minimized, the Bills signed Rogers as an undrafted free agent, hoping he can do his best Vontaze Burfict imitation by doing the football things that led to his once high draft status, while drifting away from the drug things that could lead to his burnout status.
Early (really, really, stupid early) indications are that Rogers is big, and fast, and able to beat coverage deep. So he’s pretty much exactly what the Bills expected.






