Mock Draft I: Bills get bigger on the defensive line

Mock Draft I: Bills get bigger on the defensive line

With about one month to go before the NFL world gathers in Green Bay for the draft, here is The Buffalo News’ first projection of 2025 on how the first round may play out.

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Brandon Beane was back on the scouting trail last week.

The Buffalo Bills general manager was busy making the pro day rounds as his attention shifted back to next month’s NFL draft. That’s what happens after the flood of free agency opening days slows to a trickle.


Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant would give the Bills a big body in the middle of their defense. Godofredo A. Vasquez, Associated Press

Beane still has work to do in free agency. A No. 2 cornerback looks to be the biggest hole in the projected starting lineup. A vertical threat at wide receiver and more depth along the defensive line – both at tackle and end – also are needs.

With about one month to go before the NFL world gathers in Green Bay for the draft, here is The Buffalo News’ first projection of 2025 on how the first round may play out. For this mock draft, no trades were made. Interestingly enough, all teams still maintain their own first-round pick heading into the draft.

• 1. Tennessee Titans. Cam Ward, QB, Miami (Fla). Message to the Titans: Don’t overthink this. You’ve got a chance to draft a potential franchise quarterback. Take it.

• 2. Cleveland Browns. Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado. The Browns should draft a quarterback, but should and do rarely go together with the Browns, who deserve every bad thing they get for the ridiculous contract they gave to Deshaun Watson. Hunter is a fun player, though.

• 3. New York Giants. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado. The Giants finally do what they should have done the past few offseasons and draft a quarterback in the first round. General manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll are firmly on the hot seat, so they’ll need to hope that Sanders shows early promise.

• 4. New England Patriots. Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State. Two quarterbacks in the first four picks would be a dream scenario for the Patriots, who have their quarterback of the future in last year’s first-round pick, Drake Maye. The addition of coach Mike Vrabel this offseason has created a buzz in New England, and getting Carter – perhaps the draft’s best player – at this point would be a home run.

• 5. Jacksonville Jaguars. Will Campbell, OT, LSU. The Jaguars have got to get quarterback Trevor Lawrence going in the right direction, and with Liam Cohen, a new, offensive-minded head coach, in charge, it makes sense to build up front.

• 6. Las Vegas Raiders. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State. The trade for Geno Smith likely took the Raiders out of the market for a quarterback in the first round. Jeanty would pair with last year’s first-round pick, tight end Brock Bowers, to give the Raiders two really nice offensive weapons.

• 7. New York Jets. Mason Graham, DT, Michigan. With a new head coach, it’s always wise to look to his side of the ball for the team’s initial first-round draft pick under the new regime. That leads the Jets, who hired former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as their new coach this offseason, to Graham.

• 8. Carolina Panthers. Jalon Walker, Edge, Georgia. The Panthers had the worst defense in the NFL in 2024, with the worst pressure rate. Walker should help.

• 9. New Orleans Saints. Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss. There has been a steady buzz that Dart will go not just in the first round, but could slide into the top 10. So let’s ride that wave.

• 10. Chicago Bears. Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas. New coach Ben Johnson had a great offensive line during his time as offensive coordinator of the Lions, and he’s worked to rebuild the Bears’ line during his short time in Chicago. That continues with the addition of Banks.

• 11. San Francisco 49ers. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona. His 40 time at his pro day, which was measured between 4.46 and 4.53 seconds, depending on the stopwatch, likely cemented McMillan’s status as the top receiver off the board.

• 12. Dallas Cowboys. Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina. Two running backs in the top 12 picks? What year is it? Why not, though? The position has enjoyed a resurgence of late.

• 13. Miami Dolphins. Armand Membou, OT, Missouri. The Dolphins are a soft team that needs to get better in the trenches. Left tackle Terron Armstead is mulling retirement, increasing the urgency to add up front.

• 14. Indianapolis Colts. Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State. Warren is NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s No. 5 overall prospect in the class. Bowers showed last year that a tight end can be good value, even this early in the draft.

• 15. Atlanta Falcons. Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia. Just like the azaleas blooming at Augusta, the Falcons needing a pass rusher is a Georgia spring tradition. They stay in state to address that need.

• 16. Arizona Cardinals. Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas. The Cardinals allowed 69% of passes to be completed against them last year, so adding to the secondary should be a priority.

• 17. Cincinnati Bengals. Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan. The Bengals’ plan next year might be to win games 40-38 every week. It just might work with quarterback Joe Burrow leading the way. Loveland would give Burrow another weapon.

• 18. Seattle Seahawks. Matthew Golden, WR, Texas. After trading away DK Metcalf, the Seahawks need to find a replacement early in the draft.

• 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama. One of the more popular player-team pairings in mock drafts, Campbell had 112 tackles and five sacks last season. He can learn from Lavonte David before eventually taking over for the Buccaneers’ great linebacker.

• 20. Denver Broncos. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State. Quarterback Bo Nix had a promising rookie season for the Broncos, and with an offensive-minded head coach leading the way, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Sean Payton wanted to continue building that side of the ball.

• 21. Pittsburgh Steelers. Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon. Cameron Heyward, who will turn 36 this year, isn’t going to play forever, so getting an eventual replacement is a sound plan.

• 22. Los Angeles Chargers. Mike Green, Edge, Marshall. Joey Bosa is gone and Khalil Mack is on a one-year deal, so the Chargers need to get younger at pass rusher. Green led the FBS in sacks last year with 17.

• 23. Green Bay Packers. Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky. The Packers need to find a successor for Jaire Alexander at some point.

• 24. Minnesota Vikings. Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina. The Vikings haven’t re-signed old friend Stephon Gilmore – at least to this point – so they continue a small run at the position.

• 25. Houston Texans. Grey Zabel, OL, North Dakota State. He played four different positions along the offensive line in college, which is good news for the Texans, who need four new starters along their offensive line.

• 26. Los Angeles Rams. Malaki Starks, S, Georgia. It still feels weird for the Rams to have a first-round pick after they traded them away multiple years in a row. A slot wide receiver could be a consideration, but Starks would bring some versatility to the defense.

• 27. Baltimore Ravens. Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina. One of my favorite players in this class, Emmanwori would team with Kyle Hamilton to give the Ravens a nice safety tandem. Baltimore needs to cut down on the number of big pass plays it gives up.

• 28. Detroit Lions. James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee. The Lions get an edge rusher to put opposite Aidan Hutchinson.

• 29. Washington Commanders. Trey Amos, CB, Ole Miss. Amos had a lot of production in 2024, with 13 passes defensed.

• 30. Buffalo Bills. Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan. A 6-foot-4, 331-pounder, Grant would be the big body the middle of the Bills’ defense could really use. He’s considered a dominant run defender who still is developing as a pass rusher. The Bills have Ed Oliver at the other defensive tackle, and his specialty is rushing the passer, so the team could deal with Grant growing as a pass rusher. He had 32 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks in being named a third-team All-American in 2024. Cornerback also would be a consideration at this point, but Grant’s fit in the middle of the Bills’ defense is too good to pass up.

• 31. Kansas City Chiefs. Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State. If you watched the Super Bowl, you know the Chiefs need to get better up front.

• 32. Philadelphia Eagles. Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss. The Eagles won the Super Bowl largely because of their dominant defensive line. Milton Williams left in free agency for a big deal from the Patriots, so the Eagles try to identify a replacement for him in Nolen.