For the third straight day, the Buffalo Bills showed off their complex to draft eligible rookies. And this time, they had some of the biggest names in the draft class of 2013 in Orchard Park for a visit.
COMPLETE LIST: Bills pre-draft visitors
The team announced that West Virginia Quarterback Geno Smith was one of four rookies in Thursday for a pre-draft visit. Also at One Bills Drive: Linebacker Kevin Minter of LSU, Safety Kenny Vaccaro of Texas, and Wide Receiver Ryan Swope of Texas A&M.
Smith is widely expected to be the first quarterback picked in the draft later this month. The 6-3, 218-pound West Virginia product had an outstanding showing at the combine in February where he had the best time among quarterbacks in the 40-yard dash (4.59) and the highest broad jump among QBs (10' 9'). He held a private workout session for the Bills brain trust two weeks ago in Morgantown.
Linebacker Kevin Minter is regarded as one of the top inside linebacker prospects in the draft. He's a former teammate of Bills LB Kelvin Sheppard at LSU. Minter is 6-0 240 pounder who played behind Sheppard in his redshirt freshman year, seeing action in 11-games. But over the last two seasons, Minter started every one of the Bayou Bengals 27-games.
He was a consensus First Team ALL SEC performer last year, and a finalist for the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in college football. He ended last season with 111 tackles, 13.5 for losses, and three sacks. Minter told BuffaloBills.com at the combine that he met with the Bills in Indianapolis and he would love to play in Buffalo.
Most draft experts regard Texas Safety Kenny Vaccaro as a sure fire first round pick and the top safety prospect in this year's class. He's been a starter the last two years for the Longhorns and was regarded as the top safety in the Big 12 in each of the last two seasons.
Vaccaro finished with 107-tackles last year for Texas, and also came up with two interceptions, two forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He's listed as 6-0, 214 pounds.
The fourth rookie visitor at One Bills Drive was WR Ryan Swope of Texas A-and-M. Swope opened eyes at the combine in Indy in late February by clocking a 4.34 in the 40-yard dash. He was very productive at A-and-M, averaging 74-catches in each of the last three seasons when he became a starter for the Aggies.
The four visits Thursday mean the Bills have hosted 11 draft-eligible rookies so far this spring. Each NFL team is allowed to host a maximum of 30 players.
