April 25, 2005

Commentary on Raymond "Duke" Preston
Bills Scout Doug Majeski

compliments of the Buffalo Bills Media Relations Office

On his background: He's been a three-year starter (center) at Illinois. He has top character and is very smart. We like his athletic ability. We think he's very athletic. He's got good movement, he's got very good size, which gives you some flexibility to try him at guard because of his size and his ability to play versus strength.

On his size: Very big lower body, very strong. He can get some gains in his upper body a little bit, but by no means is it a weakness.

On Preston being regarded as not very athletic: To us he was a very athletic center. He has good feet and good movement. He can pass block and his ability to move and pull in some of our blocking schemes I think was a big factor for us. He's got good movement; he does a good job in the second level. He's the type of guy that can play his space and run down field and get an extra block. We like a lot of things about him. We like his temperament, his toughness, his size, and his athletic ability.

On selecting Preston in a large pool of potential centers: This is a guy that we've liked for a long time. We brought him in here to meet with our coaches after the combine and his personality and intelligence really impressed them.

On his fit within the team: You want to get guys that fit what we're trying to do on offense. If you get a smaller player playing guard or center, he's not going to be able to do some of the things that we ask our players to do right now. He's obviously a better fit in that way.

On drawing comparisons to Trey Teague: It's hard to compare him to Trey who's a nine-year veteran. He's 6'5", he's about the same size as Trey, but probably a little thicker than Trey. He's a 315 lb. guy so he's probably a little bigger than Trey but other than that he has a lot of the same characteristics as far as smarts and toughness.

On his readiness for NFL level competition: He's ready to come in here and compete. He's not a developmental type guy. He started three years in the Big Ten and played well. He's going to come in here and try to win a spot on the team.

On intelligence being important in the selection of Preston: Intelligence is very important because he has to call the front and change and adjust the blocking schemes. That's important for any center. This is a kid who's very intelligent and that's probably one of his strong points. Losman is still going to change plays and do whatever Mike (Mularkey) wants him to do in that way, but as far as the blocking schemes, this kid has the intelligence to handle all of that.

On the increasing size of the offensive line: We've got some big people and that is a factor. We have to get people who can block the big strong nose and defensive tackles. It's a trend I think.