BLEAV in Bills: The NFL Draft is a week away and Buffalo’s needs are clear
Sal Maiorana and Adam Benigni are joined by NFL draft analyst Joe DeLeone to preview some of the players who would fit the Bills.
Draft analysts and Buffalo Bills reporters have spent the last two months trying to figure out what general manager Brandon Beane will do in the first round with pick No. 30 Thursday night.
There’s no way he has 30 first-round grades in this draft class, and that’s the case almost every year; rarely is there a draft where there’s enough true first-round picks to cover all 32 teams.
This is why in 2024, Beane traded twice to get out of the bottom of the first round, though he only went down to the first pick of the second round where he felt the best value was wide receiver Keon Coleman.
Nothing should surprise Bills fans when the draft commences Thursday. It’s possible that Beane will use some of his draft capital (he has 10 picks) to move up in the first round to get a player he covets with a first-round grade. He could stick and pick the best player available at 30. Or he could trade out of the round, get better value in the second round, and possibly pick up a much-needed third-round pick in the process.
Here are my best guesses as to what could happen in all three scenarios.
Who should the Bills pick at No. 30?
If the Bills decide to make their own pick, there are four players who I think would be ideal in that spot: Defensive tackles Kenneth Grant of Michigan and Oregon’s Derrick Harmon, and cornerbacks Maxwell Hairston of Kentucky and Trey Amos of Mississippi.
It’s also entirely possible that none of those four players are available at 30 because there are many mock drafts that have all of them gone before the Bills go on the clock.
Grant seems like a perfect fit for Buffalo because he brings 331 pounds of much-needed girth to the middle of the defensive line. If the evaluations on him are correct, he will be plug-and-play as a rotational player behind DaQuan Jones at one-technique who will then assume the starting role, maybe this year but certainly in 2026 when Jones is gone.
Harmon isn’t quite as big at 317 pounds, but he’s every bit the player Grant is and some draft analysts believe he’s better because he can bring a little more to the pass rush. Either player would be immediate upgrades for the Bills who are woefully thin at tackle, especially with newly-signed free agent Larry Ogunjobi missing the first six games due to a suspension.
Of course, Jones and Ed Oliver are already locked into starting roles entering the season, but at cornerback, the Bills do not have a sure-fire starter opposite Christian Benford. The recent free agent reunions with Tre’Davious White and Dane Jackson should not lead anyone to believe they’re legitimate starting options. Ideally, the Bills will draft a corner who can come right in and start, similar to what White did way back in 2017 as a first-round pick, or even Benford did in 2022 as a sixth-rounder.
The top three corners will likely be long gone, but Hairston could be there and as the fastest player at the scouting combine with a 4.28 time in the 40, plus lengthy 31.5-inch arms at 5-foot-11 and a passion for tackling, he has a delectable skill set that would fit the Bills very well.
Another possibility would be Trey Amos, a 6-foot, 195-pounder who exploded on the scene after he transferred to Mississippi for his final college season in 2024 after three years at Louisiana Tech and one at Alabama.
He is an impressive size/speed athlete who showed great ball production with three interceptions and 16 passes defensed last year when he earned All-SEC first-team honors, and he was at his best playing zone when he relied on his athleticism and instincts.
Bills should explore trade up for a cornerback
The consensus among draft analysts is that there is good value at defensive tackle in the second round, and armed with two second-round picks, that could prove to be important for the Bills who need to pick one somewhere among their first three picks.
However, the dropoff at cornerback from the top three – Travis Hunter of Colorado, Will Johnson of Michigan and Jahdae Barron of Texas – is fairly sizable if the next man off the board is Hairston or Amos.
Hunter could very well go No. 2 overall to Cleveland because he’s also a star receiver looking to become a two-way player. But there is at least a slight chance that Johnson or Barron could slip a bit from their projected target areas somewhere in the low to mid teens.
If the Bills are in love with either player, it would be worth it to try to package some of their draft capital (which would cost one of the second-round picks plus more) to get one of these players. Barron was an early mock darling to the Bills, but his status – at least among the analysts – has steadily risen since the combine and his pro day.
That doesn’t mean teams – who have vastly more information on all prospects – believe he’s on the rise, so maybe the consensus among scouts and personnel chiefs is somewhere in the 20s and if that’s the case, it would behoove the Bills to explore a deal. Last season Barron had five interceptions, 16 passes defensed, was a first-team All-SEC, a consensus All-American, and he won the Jim Thorpe award as the nation’s best defensive back.
He may actually be a better overall player than Johnson, even though Johnson has remained the higher-rated evaluation, but both players would be awesome gets for Buffalo. It is believed that the Dolphins (No. 13), Bengals (17), Packers (23) and Rams (26) could be leaning cornerback in the first round, so there are several land mines the Bills would have to avoid to get either Johnson or Barron and it makes procuring one probably out of the question.
What if the Bills trade out of the first round?
Going back to the lack of first-round grades theory, no one would blink if Beane trades out because he will find better value in doing so by avoiding the price of a first-round pick.
They play different positions, but last year’s 30th pick was cornerback Nate Wiggins of the Ravens who signed a four-year deal worth $12.8 million, all of which is guaranteed. Coleman, chosen just three slots later, signed a four-year, $10 million contract with Buffalo for $9.6 million guaranteed. That $3 million difference is not pocket change, especially for a team like the Bills that is always fighting a tight salary cap.
If the Bills were to trade down, they could potentially have three picks in the second round. They already have Nos. 56 and 62, but they could end up somewhere in the 30s to make their initial choice and they would have a plethora of options.
It’s possible that any of the players mentioned above from the group of Harmon, Grant, Hairston and Amos slip out of the first round and are available at the top of the second.
Moving down, even if it was into the late 30s or early 40s, opens the door to players such as cornerbacks Azareye’h Thomas of Florida State and Shavon Revel of East Carolina, tackles Tyleik Williams of Ohio State and Shemar Turner of Texas A&M, and edge rushers Donovan Ezeiruaku of Boston College, Nic Scourton of Texas A&M, and Landon Jackson of Arkansas.
In the unlikely event the Bills want to go wide receiver with their first pick, it’s possible Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State and/or Luther Burden III of Missouri is there in the early 30s, and the Iowa State duo of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, or Utah State’s Jaylen Royals are there in the late 30s and early 40s.
Who would Sal Maiorana pick?
The Bills should first explore the trade up option if Barron or Johnson drops into a reasonably-priced range. Assuming they won’t be, I’d stick move up a couple spots if it was necessary to pick Grant or Harmon. If no move is possible, obviously I’d take Grant or Harmon if they were there, but if they aren’t, then Beane should look to trade out of the first round and he would presumably have several teams willing to listen.
The Browns have the first pick in the second round at No. 33 and they are definitely a team that could use more draft picks. Same goes for the Giants at No. 34 and given that Beane’s buddy, Joe Schoen, is running the show in New York, you would think they’d be able to help each other out.
If he can’t make a deal with either of those teams, the Titans at 35 or Jaguars at 36 could be options. If he can get any of those four teams to bite, he will have so many great options but the guy I would hone in on – again if Grant and Harmon are off the board – is Hairston.
As I said, the Bills need to find a starting corner and Hairston has a great chance to be that player, and if they get him in the fold, they can concentrate on upgrading the defensive line at either 56 or 62.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social. Sign up for his Bills Blast newsletter here: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
