By Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page Columnist
Kelvin Sheppard of the Bills
Taken in Round 3 in 2011
Other picks in the round: Justin Houston (No. 70) has had a solid career with the Chiefs and Colts. DeMarco Murray (No. 71) ran for 1,845 yards for Dallas in 2014.
The details: The linebacker got off to a good start in Buffalo, earning a starting job in his rookie year and holding it for another season. Then he was traded to the Colts for Jerry Hughes, a deal that worked out well for the Bills. Sheppard played six more seasons in the NFL with four different teams.
Other 68s: Robert Hicks had a three-year NFL career as an offensive tackle, and was a starter for the Bills in 1999. Bill Stewart was a regular for the Sabres in 1978-79, but spent the next seven years bouncing between the NHL and the minors when a parent team need someone to fill in on defense. Bill finished his playing career in 1996 in Italy. Timo Jutila (1982) played 10 games with the Sabres in 1984-85 after coming over from Finland. Apparently that was enough; he went back to Europe and played through 1999.
They got away: The Bills took Larry Stallings in the ninth round in 1963, but lost him to the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals. The linebacker was a regular for 14 seasons there. Bill Saul (1962) spent eight seasons in the NFL at middle linebacker.
(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB)
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