By Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page Columnist
Ryan Denney of the Bills
Taken in Round 2 in 2002
Other picks in that round: The player taken after Denney was Antwaan Randle El of the Steelers, who caught 370 passes in his career. The next player was Antonio Bryant of the Cowboys, who had two more catches. Two picks later, Deion Branch (6,644 yards) went to the Patriots. Running back Clinton Portis of the Broncos ran for almost 10,000 yards. Wide receiver Andre’ Davis spent a year in Buffalo after starting with the Browns, while Larry Tripplett went from the Colts to the Bills.
The details: Denney wasn’t a starter very often during his eight years in Buffalo, but he played in 113 games during that era (2002 to 2009). In six of those seasons, he played in all 16 games. Ryan was released after the 2009 season, and played two games with Houston in 2010.
Other 61s: Lonnie Johnson (1994) is a very underrated tight end from the 1990s. He had at least 40 catches in 1995, 1996 and 1997 for Buffalo, and he started for four of his five seasons here. Lonnie finished up his career in 1999 as a reserve for the Chiefs. Jonas Johansson (2014) popped up on the radar during the 2019-20 season of the Sabres. The goal went 1-3-1 in six games here. Then in 2021, he played in seven more games for the Sabres (0-5-1) before he was traded to Colorado for a draft choice. Speaking of goalies, Scott Komer (1998) played 157 minutes for the Bandits in 2001. Then 12 years later, he served as something of an emergency backup goalie for a Bandits’ game in Rochester.
(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB)
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