Inside the Bills' pre-draft scouting report on Doug Flutie in year Bruce Smith was No. 1 pick

Apr. 23—Future Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith or undersized quarterback Doug Flutie?

Those were two of the options the Buffalo Bills were looking at in the months leading up to the 1985 National Football League draft.

It sounds incredible now, but late in the 1984 season and a few weeks into 1985, there was growing sentiment in the media and among Buffalo fans to draft Flutie.

The Bills needed a quarterback. Joe Ferguson was nearing the end of the line and would be traded to the Detroit Lions during the 1985 draft weekend.

Jim Kelly was drafted in the first round in 1983, but he was playing for the Houston Gamblers in the USFL.

Joe Dufek, who made the team as an undrafted free agent out of Yale in 1983, suffered a serious knee injury in his first NFL start. Another draftee from 1981, Matt Kofler, did not pan out, either.

Flutie, the 1984 Heisman Trophy winner, had excited a lot of fans with his heroics at Boston College. There was so much interest in Western New York about him that The Buffalo News sent a reporter to cover his USFL debut for the New Jersey Generals against the Birmingham Stallions in Alabama.

Of course, by draft time, Flutie had signed and was already playing in the USFL and the Bills were negotiating a contract with Smith to be the No. 1 overall pick so it was a moot issue.

Still, it was interesting how Flutie hysteria developed. Since he wasn't available, he wasn't drafted until the 11th round in the NFL by the Los Angeles Rams. As it played out, after starring with Toronto in the Canadian Football League, Flutie played in the NFL and made it to the Bills in 1998, 1999 and 2000 after Kelly retired.

Bruce Nicholas, who was the Bills' assistant under Norm Pollom, the team's director of player personnel, scouted Flutie in the fall of 1984 and turned in a glowing report on the quarterback.

Nicholas recently provided The Buffalo News with a copy of his report, citing just one major drawback in the prospect: a lack of height. Flutie measured 5 feet, 9 1/4 inches and weighed 177 pounds.

In his summation, Nicholas wrote, "Can do things other QBs can't do. Super awareness and field vision, especially out of pocket. A winner. Very good arm despite unorthodox style. Clutch. ... Superior accuracy. Height is ONLY problem, and a major one unless offense is built around him. Back-up ... Can play in NFL for club willing to take him." He said if Flutie were 6-foot, he would be the No. 1 overall pick.

Nicholas noted in an interview that there was no discussion that he was involved in that had Flutie as a consideration.

"To my knowledge and recollection, there was never any serious discussion of anything other than whether it would be Bruce Smith or Ray Childress (defensive end from Texas A&M)," Nicholas says now. "Norm felt that the ceiling for Bruce was higher. Also, my memory is that Hank Bullough (who had been hired to be the Bills defensive coordinator earlier in 1985) loved Bruce."

Nicholas had resigned but agreed to stay on through the draft. He said he did not want to spend most of his working time away from family and on the road as a college scout.

With no assurance that he would have a role at One Bills Drive, he accepted a job in private business. Eventually, he would work for Riddell, the football helmet and equipment manufacturer, when former Bills center Tim Vogler was promoted to regional manager. After 14 years with Riddell, Nichols retired in 2020. He still lives in Hamburg and one of his pastimes is coaching a youth baseball team.

Nicholas, a Boston College graduate, had been with the Bills since 1978 working under Pollom, who came to Buffalo along with head coach Chuck Knox from the Los Angeles Rams. The first draft he participated in was the ill-fated 1979 selection of Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau, who signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian League. That same draft, though, brought Jerry Butler, Fred Smerlas, Jim Haslett, Jon Borchardt, Ken "Baby" Johnson and Jeff Nixon to the Bills.

In a meeting with Ralph Wilson, Nicholas said he was advised to be patient, that he had a bright future, but he wanted to come in off the road while his three young children were growing up.

"I had already signed maybe 75 or so street/non-drafted free agents," Nicholas explained in an email to The News. "I was asked to be the director of player personnel for the Michigan Panthers and Washington Federals, in the USFL, but was under contract to the Bills. ... After those interviews, which Chuck Knox permitted me to do, he modified my existing contracts both times, in my favor.

"Ralph asked me to stay, and would have given me more money to stay, but I made up my mind to assume a more normal lifestyle."

Here are excerpts from Nicholas' comprehensive scouting report on Flutie after watching film of five games in 1983 and 1984 and scouting the quarterback live in a 1984 game against Rutgers. The report was filed Oct. 30, 1984, three weeks before Flutie's famous desperation 48-yard pass to Gerard Phelan against Miami that produced a 47-45 Boston College victory at the Orange Bowl.

On a scale of 9.0, Nicholas graded Flutie in these areas: Character 7.0; Agility 8.0; Competitiveness 9.0; Mental alertness 7; Strength and explosion 6.

For football skills, he turned in these grades on the same scale: Leadership 9.0; Set-up quickness 7.0; Quickness of delivery 6.7; Time pass 8.0; Arm strength 6.6; Ability to throw short 7.5; Ability to throw long 7.5; Touch 8.5; Find second receiver 7.0; Ability to scramble 8.5; Running ability 6.8; Poise 8.0.

The commentary portion of the report:

Rt. arm QB. Very short, that only negative. Outstanding leadership competitiveness, touch, clutch ability. Productivity and field vision (out of pocket). Sets up quickly, quick release. Throws off front foot, yet real good arm strength. Can zip 15 yards. Saw 3 balls thrown accurately almost 60 yards in air. While running to left, threw strong strike 40 yards back over to middle to his right. Very good accuracy, rarely misses. Can lay it out long, drill the crossing pattern and outs and lure a LB up on scramble & dump it with great touch over his head.

Some incredible plays vs. Western Carolina, No. Car. and others. Brings club back from behind all career, will almost never miss open receiver. Good ball handler & play fakes. Gutsy. Threw 2 blocks to spring back for 20-yard gain when he reversed field, showing great alertness. Will bait LB & DBs when on run and hit open man. Like a basketball player, will look right and send flow (def.) that way and hit man to left while looking & facing or rolling right. Makes great use of clock. Has beautiful touch. Knows when to drill & when to lay it up. Had many drops vs. W. Va., only loss. Will on (Boston College coach Jack) Bicknell's orders, pull up short on roll or scramble & find open man rather run even with open field ahead.

Had little trouble SOMETIMES in pocket seeing things downfield, but still productive while rolling out and lanes open up, can be unstoppable. Sees it all ... Rarely has passes batted down at all, despite height. Not fast, but super quick.

Strong Points: Speed, productivity, character,

Weak points: Height some trouble seeing LBs underneath when throwing from pocket.

Character: Not changed at all despite all his success. Still tries to personally answer every letter he gets. Intense kid. Emotional. Still coachable.

Quickness, agility, balance: Super quickness, Amazes me with his body control and feet.

Competitiveness: Top of the shelf. Very tough mentally. Handling all Heisman stuff plus football, plus a 3.0 average.

Mental alertness: Knows the offense cold. Can learn & retain — few mental errors.

Strength & explosion: Quite durable and good natural strength but not a lifter at all.

Statistics: Career till 1984: 444 of 885, 7,125 yards, 50.2 percent, 43 int. 40 TD

First five games of 1984: 107-182, 1,494 yards, 58.8 percent, 4 int., 14 TD, LG 51.

Additional information — Comments: All the superlatives you can use cannot do Flutie justice. Incredible player. If 6'0", would be top pick in nation. Really believes that unless money differential is tremendous, he'll opt for NFL over other leagues just to prove things.

Wants to play baseball this spring at BC. Shortstop a few summers ago in (Boston) Park League and a wizard there, too.

Nice kid to talk to. Looks you in the eye. Pays attention to no one else.

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