Mock Draft 2.0: Bills fill their biggest need in the secondary
Here is The Buffalo News' second mock draft of the season, with our projection of how the first round will play out.
Decision time is nearing.
Less than two weeks remain until the start of the 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay. For Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane and his scouting staff, much of the work has been done. What remains is finalizing the draft board, then trying to project what teams in front of them will do. Yes, even NFL teams do their own mock drafts, trying to get a feel for which players might be available when they go on the clock. Beane probably doesn’t need our help, but we’ll offer it up anyway.
Kentucky defensive back Maxwell Hairston could be the Bills’ No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Associated Press file photo
Here is The Buffalo News’ second mock draft of the season, with our projection of how the first round will play out:
1. Tennessee Titans. Cam Ward, QB, Miami (Fla). The Titans canceled a workout with Shedeur Sanders, the other quarterback thought to be in the running to be a top-five pick, further cementing the belief they’ve settled on Ward as the No. 1 pick.
2. Cleveland Browns. Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado. A report in recent days from ESPN’s Adam Schefter – the most plugged-in journalist covering the NFL – suggested Hunter is the favorite to go to Cleveland. It’s a logical pick given Hunter’s rare ability to play both sides of the ball.
3. New York Giants. Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State. Giants coach Brian Daboll was at Colorado’s pro day and got a good look at Sanders. The Giants are desperate for a quarterback. Nevertheless, Carter might be the best overall player in the draft, and that’s tough to pass on.
4. Las Vegas Raiders (projected trade with New England). Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado. The Raiders, with minority owner Tom Brady pulling plenty of strings, need to make a splash. Trading up with Brady’s former team to select Sanders would certainly do that.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars. Mason Graham, DL, Michigan. He battled injuries for much of the 2024 season, but Graham is still considered the consensus top defensive tackle in a deep class.
6. New England Patriots (projected trade with Las Vegas). Armand Membou, OT, Missouri. With Hunter and Carter off the board by No. 4, it makes sense for the Patriots to move down a couple of spots and add draft capital as they continue rebuilding. It also makes sense to give Drake Maye some more protection.
7. New York Jets. Will Campbell, OT, LSU. Keep an eye on the Jets as a team that could move up for Sanders. With that option off the table in this scenario, they go the fairly conservative route with an offensive lineman in Campbell, who may eventually move inside at the NFL level.
8. Carolina Panthers. Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia. The Panthers had the worst defense in the NFL last season. Walker had 6.5 sacks last year, so he can get after the quarterback, but also play off-ball linebacker, too.
9. New Orleans Saints. Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss. This is the second mock in a row with Dart going in the top 10. Remember: It’s never too soon to draft a quarterback if a team believes he’s got franchise potential. The Saints have a big need at the position.
10. Chicago Bears. Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas. The Bears can’t stop, won’t stop adding offensive linemen this offseason. Given new coach Ben Johnson’s background as offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions, it’s not a bad strategy. Johnson knows from his time with Detroit what a good offensive line can do for the offense as a whole.
11. San Francisco 49ers. Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas. The 49ers have gone through a pretty significant roster purge this offseason. That includes the loss of cornerback Charvarius Ward. Barron could help make up for that loss.
12. Dallas Cowboys. Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State. The Bills’ experience thus far with Dalton Kincaid has soured me a bit on drafting a tight end in the first round, but Warren is universally thought of as a first-round prospect. In fact, several mock drafts have him going in the top 10. He falls just short of that here.
13. Miami Dolphins. Will Johnson, CB, Michigan. The Dolphins have an annual need along the offensive line, but also have a competing need at cornerback.
14. Indianapolis Colts. Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan. A little run on Wolverines starts with the second tight end off the board in three picks. Colston to the Colts just sounds right, doesn’t it?
15. Atlanta Falcons. Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M. The Falcons and needing to upgrade their pass rush in April go together like pimento cheese and Augusta National. Stewart is a bit of a projection, but has the traits to get him drafted early.
16. Arizona Cardinals. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State. Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jeanty would give the Cardinals a really nice trio on offense.
17. Cincinnati Bengals. Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia. It remains to be seen what the Bengals do with Trey Hendrickson, but adding another edge rusher to what was a terrible defense last season needs to be a priority.
18. Seattle Seahawks. Tyler Booker, OL, Texas A&M. The Seahawks have needs across the offensive line and new quarterback Sam Darnold operates best from a clean pocket. That’s true for most quarterbacks, but it’s imperative for Darnold.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama. The Buccaneers have an all-time great at the position with Lavonte David. It would be an ideal situation for Campbell to learn from David before eventually taking over for him.
20. Denver Broncos. Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina. It’s a good year for running backs in the draft, and Hampton becomes the second one to go in the first round.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona. The Steelers have perhaps the biggest need at quarterback as any team in the NFL with Aaron Rodgers predictably dragging his feet, but there isn’t an obvious quarterback available at this point. So let’s give them a receiver with the understanding they’re likely to sign Rodgers at some point.
22. Los Angeles Chargers. Matthew Golden, WR, Texas. The Chargers lost Joshua Palmer in free agency to the Bills, so adding another receiver for Justin Herbert should be a priority.
23. Green Bay Packers. Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri. Let’s make it three straight wide receivers off the board.
24. Minnesota Vikings. Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina. The Vikings have been connected to a safety – either Emmanwori or Georgia’s Malaki Starks – heavily in the pre-draft process. We’ll go with Emmawori here.
25. Houston Texans. Grey Zabel, OL, North Dakota State. The Texans drafting an offensive lineman in the first round feels almost like a sure thing.
26. Los Angeles Rams. Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss. The Rams have done a nice job rebuilding their defensive line since Aaron Donald retired, and Nolen continues that plan.
27. Baltimore Ravens. Malaki Starks, S, Georgia. This would make for a nice pairing with Kyle Hamilton in the Baltimore secondary.
28. Detroit Lions. Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College. The Lions will get Aidan Hutchinson back from injury in 2025, and Ezeiruaku provides a nice secondary rushing option from the other side.
29. Washington Commanders. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State. It would be wise for the Commanders to continue building around promising quarterback Jayden Daniels.
30. Buffalo Bills. Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky. Our first mock draft of the season had the Bills going with Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, who is still on the board here. So why the change? Depth of the defensive tackle class. The Bills should be able to address that position with one of their two second-round draft picks. The depth at cornerback isn’t as great, so grabbing Hairston here fills the team’s biggest positional need heading into the draft. Hairston has blazing speed – his 4.28-second 40-yard dash was the fastest time at the NFL scouting combine – and good production, with six interceptions over the past two seasons. Hairston did have a shoulder injury that limited him to just seven games in 2024, so his durability at 5-foot-11, 183 pounds is a concern. The Bills believe in their sports science department and also made a change at head strength coach this offseason, so they should be able to develop Hairston in that regard.
31. Kansas City Chiefs. Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon. The Super Bowl showed that the Chiefs need help in front of Patrick Mahomes.
32. Philadelphia Eagles. James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee. The Eagles lost Josh Sweat to the Cardinals in free agency after their Super Bowl win, so they need to add to the pass rush