Bills mock draft: New coaching staff can reshape roster for scheme changes
New head coach Joe Brady and his staff have their first chance to change the makeup of the team.
www.nytimes.com
R Mason Thomas could be a dynamic fit in Jim Leonhard's defense. Brian Bahr / Getty Images
As the 2026 NFL offseason begins to take shape, next week’s NFL Combine will serve as the first major roster-shaping event for the league’s teams.
The Buffalo Bills will get a good look at all the top available draft prospects, which will be extremely important this year as the team overhauls its defensive scheme. The Bills also need to make improvements on offense, with a couple of key areas of immediate need.
President of football operations and general manager Brandon Beane will be working to shape the roster in new head coach Joe Brady’s vision. With so many changes, the Bills have a number of paths they can travel in this year’s draft and in building their roster.
In the spirit of the quickly approaching NFL Combine, here’s our first Bills seven-round mock draft.
Round 1, Pick 26, R Mason Thomas, Edge/OLB, Oklahoma
The Bills have several players who can find a home somewhere in defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s new scheme. The critical thing the team is lacking is an edge rusher who has the skill set they value at the position. That’s where Thomas comes in. Although he is undersized (6-foot-2, 249 pounds) by the Bills’ previous edge-rushing standards, the speed, explosiveness and fluidity with which he plays are what make him such a dynamic fit. In his Top 100, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote, “As a pass rusher, Thomas is an explosive athlete who can win on the high side with bend or treat blockers like practice sleds using leveraged speed to power.” Pairing Thomas with some stop-gap solutions would help smooth the transition to Leonhard’s scheme. The Bills also have an advanced scouting report on Thomas, both on and off the field. The team’s new cornerbacks coach, Jay Valai, served as Oklahoma’s co-defensive coordinator in 2025 and certainly knows all about Thomas.Round 2, Pick 60, Jake Golday, ILB, Cincinnati
As Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson head toward free agency, and questions surround incumbent starting inside linebacker Terrel Bernard, targeting a player best suited to Leonhard’s scheme is a priority. Golday appears to be a great fit as an inside linebacker in the Bills’ new defense, given his size (6-foot-4, 237 pounds), his toughness and the athletic ability to become a three-down player. There’s one other piece of his game that will certainly speak to the Bills — his ability to play in coverage. Golday was asked to operate in a ton of space in college (almost like a nickel defender), which helped showcase his gazelle-like speed to chase the ball anywhere on the field. “His mental processing took a clear jump in 2025, which was the hope in his second season as a full-time overhang linebacker,” Brugler said. The Bills have some decisions to make at inside linebacker, but Golday projects as a long-term fit as a starter.Round 3, Pick 91, Reggie Virgil, WR, Texas Tech
For as much as we’ve discussed the wide receiver position over the past year, taking one this late seems slightly hollow. In the case of the first-round pick, the player and the fit tipped the scales in the edge rushers’ favor over a player like Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion. It’s also far more difficult to find speed and pass-rushing like that outside of the first 45 picks. Past that, the type of receiver they target is just as important as bringing in another pass-catcher. Selecting a receiver who has some duplicate skills or roles with Keon Coleman may not be a way they want to go, and that’s what stood out about the group in Round 2. It would be a different story if the Bills traded for a receiver who could fit into the X-receiver role.That brings us to Virgil, who brings the Bills a specific skill set they lack. Virgil can win with speed over the top and in the deep areas of the field. Although he wouldn’t be an instant-impact player as a rookie, he could easily become a role player in his first year as he continues to develop his other skills. In the meantime, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound receiver also shows some ability as a blocker and on special teams, giving him several routes to make the pick work in the first year. However, it would not shock me if the Bills used one of these picks to trade for an established wide receiver who could help them immediately. Since this is an as-is Bills mock draft, Virgil is the pick for now.
Round 4, Billy Schrauth, IOL, Notre Dame
As it stands, the Bills are down two starting offensive linemen as both center Connor McGovern and left guard David Edwards are due to hit free agency in March. Even if the Bills believe in the duo of Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and Alec Anderson to step up and be the starters, they are still down two additional depth pieces and need to fill those spots. Using a mid-round pick on a guard like Schrauth, who has some starting potential, gives the Bills a few options to help replace Edwards’ role. I favored guard over center for this pick because Beane used a draft selection on Van Pran-Granger in 2024 and likely believes the now third-year player has the potential to take a step forward. Brugler said of Schrauth, “Injuries held Schrauth back the past two seasons, but his tape when healthy shows a future NFL starter. Built the way you want, he is a smooth mover off the ball and plays with the awareness and strength to keep defenders blocked.”Round 5, Jadon Canady, NCB, Oregon
The Bills haven’t invested heavily in a nickel corner since drafting Taron Johnson in 2018, and even that was only a fourth-round selection. I could easily see the team using a pick earlier than the fifth round, too, since they could have no one at the position if they move Johnson to safety. The Bills will likely look for a player who can win in man coverage against slot receivers, even if they lack the size. That’s the book on the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Canady. Even if he doesn’t have an immediate role, a highly competitive player like Canady could be a factor on special teams in his first year.Round 7, Keeshawn Silver, NT, USC
The Bills need some depth at nose tackle behind Deone Walker, and usually in the draft, the big-bodied, block-occupying players who can play zero technique tend to have less value on draft day because of their lack of versatility. That creates an opportunity late in the draft to find a potential long-term rotational piece. Silver is a former five-star recruit, and in 2024, played at Kentucky on the same defense as Walker and Maxwell Hairston. This late in the draft, the Bills prefer to draft a player with a potential clear path to a 53-man roster spot, and that opening exists at nose tackle.Round 7, Jeadyn Lukus, CB Clemson
The Bills need to configure their cornerback depth with players who are more capable of playing man coverage, as the previous regime favored a heavy zone scheme and scouted primarily for those skills. Lukus is a good-sized cornerback at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, but his man cover skills are what could get him in the door to try and build depth in the defensive backfield. The Bills might also view Lukus, a former 5-star recruit, as someone they can try to coach to a higher level. The Bills’ top three cornerbacks under contract are Christian Benford, Hairston, and Dane Jackson. Odds are they’ll look to replace Jackson, who is more suited to zone coverage, with a new No. 3 and No. 4 at the position.