The Athletic: Buffalo Bills draft big board 2.0: Who could be a priority for a first-round selection?


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The NFL Draft is under four weeks away, and the intrigue on the Bills’ top selection is building. With all of their free agency moves now on their roster, it’s time to recalibrate and see what their board could look like.

Based on their current roster, there are some primary needs at wide receiver, edge rusher, defensive tackle and cornerback, and some secondary needs at safety, interior offensive line, running back and linebacker. How might their priority list look?

The Bills pick at No. 30, so with a month to go, here is an educated guess at their draft board of the top 30 players who carry first-round value and who the team could be interested in selecting.

1a. Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State​

It would be a difficult choice for the Bills between Carter and Hunter, two players at two — well, three — primary positions of need. Fortunately for them, they won’t have to make that decision.

3. Mason Graham, DT, Michigan​

A lock for the top 10, Graham requires the Bills to make a massive move up the board if they want to add him. Considering the position he plays and his ability, he’d be a slam dunk pick if the Bills were in range.

4. Jalon Walker, Edge, Georgia​

A chess-piece type of defender, Walker seems to have untapped potential as an edge rusher while also being able to play outside linebacker. The Bills haven’t had anyone like this under Sean McDermott, but that doesn’t mean they’d be against it. The Bills often veer toward versatility.

5. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State​

They likely will be long gone by the time the Bills pick and aren’t at positions of immediate 2025 need. But if all of Buffalo’s other options are gone, you take the best player and figure the rest out. The case can be made for either Jeanty and Warren. Running back James Cook is a free agent after 2025. Meanwhile, the Bills could cut tight end Dawson Knox to save almost $10 million in cap space in 2026. Warren’s game is closer to Knox’s than to Dalton Kincaid’s game. If you’re wondering about Colston Loveland, he’s too similar to Kincaid, which likely pushes him out of serious consideration.

7. Will Johnson, CB, Michigan

Johnson has the prototypical size (nearly 6-foot-2, 194 pounds) and a game that could help in zone and man coverage. When combined with top cornerback Christian Benford, Johnson would allow the Bills to play more man coverage if they desired. Drafting Johnson also would give them the insurance of having a new potential No. 1 cornerback if they can’t re-sign Benford after 2025. If Buffalo is within range of a logical trade-up, this would definitely be an option for the Bills.

8. Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia​

While it would take an unexpected fall down the board for the Bills to land Williams, he’s a fantastic fit for what the team usually covets in an edge rusher. If the Bills could land him, he would be the long-term starter opposite Greg Rousseau in 2026 and beyond.

9. Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas​

Barron isn’t the usual type of height-weight-length combination at boundary cornerback that the Bills invest premium offseason resources into, but Barron isn’t a typical case. His game is extremely translatable to the team’s zone-heavy scheme with his instincts and tackling ability. The Bills have been willing to make an exception on prototype if the player’s abilities and potential fit with the team warrant it, and Barron’s skills do just that.

10. Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon​

Although the one-technique defensive tackle job is one that usually remains an early down run-stuffing role, Harmon brings some instant passing-down capabilities to make him more valuable than some of the others at his position. He’d be a great option at No. 30 or in a minor move up the board.

11. Matthew Golden, WR, Texas​

Most of the top wide receivers are an inexact fit for the Bills’ receiver room, but Golden is the exception to the rule. He’s a speedy separator who can instantly improve their top four and, eventually, take over as the long-term starting Z receiver. However, his draft stock is clearly rising and he might be long gone before the Bills are on the clock.

12. Donovan Ezeiruaku, Edge, Boston College​

Ezeiruaku is a highly productive and explosive edge rusher. Although he weighed in at 248 pounds, the Bills have made multiple investments into edge rushers around that weight range. The highly valued trait has been above-average arm length, which Ezeiruaku has. If he’s on the board at No. 30, he would likely be in consideration for the Bills as a potential long-term running mate to Rousseau.

13. Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina​

Revel is the wildcard of this big board, and it’s totally dependent on how the Bills feel about his recovery from a torn ACL in September. If they feel good about it, he’s very much in play at No. 30 as an on-paper home run fit for what they usually value at the position. But if they’re uncomfortable with it, he could be well down this list for first-round consideration, and perhaps off the first-round board completely.

14. Trey Amos, CB, Mississippi​

Although he’s slightly smaller than Revel, Amos has a similar ability to flip between zone and man coverage schemes without the injury concerns. Amos has solid ball skills and is a willing tackler who can hold his own on the edge. He could be an instant starter for the Bills in 2025.

15. Mike Green, Edge, Marshall​

Green is an explosive edge rusher who put up a 17-sack season in 2024 but has a couple of things that could stand in the way of this pairing. Green’s 32-inch arm length is well below the usual threshold the Bills look for at the position. More seriously, the Bills have to feel good about the character evaluation, as there have been two allegations of sexual assault against Green, both of which he’s denied. If the Bills aren’t comfortable, he could be off the board entirely. On the field, though, Green would be a strong fit.

16a. Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan​

I grouped Grant and Hairston together as a true coin-flip scenario at this point in the draft process. Grant would fill an immediate need to be their long-term one-technique defensive tackle starter due to his run-stuffing abilities, though you do wonder about his three-down potential. Hairston is a slightly undersized cornerback with great speed and ball skills, while also with some questions about his tackling ability on the edge, but he would have a genuine starting appeal. It would really depend on who the Bills like more between the two.

18. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona​

McMillan is a great talent at receiver, though his skills and potential role overlap a bit too much with Keon Coleman, the player the Bills used their top draft selection on last season. The Bills should be looking for a versatile Z receiver rather than an X receiver who would complicate Coleman’s playing time.

19a. Azareye’h Thomas, CB, Florida State​

Thomas and Burden get lumped together as perhaps an imperfect fit to the Bills’ immediate needs, but one the team could easily look past due to the potential of both players. Thomas has the size and length the Bills love in their cornerbacks, and is only 20. Though his ball skills are lacking a bit, and in a zone defense that wants its cornerbacks to read the quarterback, anticipate and make a game-changing play, it could take a bit of projection for him to get there.

Burden is likely best suited to a slot role in most offenses, which isn’t a great fit for the Bills in terms of need, but there also seems like some untapped potential with a creative offensive playcaller. You could make the case that Burden’s versatility could be everything the Bills wanted Curtis Samuel to be but with a higher ceiling, and an asset to the offense. In both cases, you have to squint a bit to make it work, but you can easily see the Bills being compelled by either idea in the first round.

21. James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee​

Pearce and Stewart figure to be high-risk, high-reward rushers with questionable college production. Pearce is an explosive, though undersized edge rusher with shorter arms than the Bills usually go for, and there is some concern over his three-down potential as a run defender. Stewart seems to have all the athletic traits teams look for in a prototypical package, though his production in college (1.5 sacks in 2024) is severely lacking. But each plays a position of need, so you can’t rule them out.

23. Walter Nolen, DT, Mississippi​

Nolen appears to be a good pass-rushing prospect from the interior, but the question about a potential Bills pairing is if he can be a consistent enough run defender to be their long-term one-technique defensive tackle. The Bills may view him more as a three-technique in their defense. Pass-rushing talent along the defensive line should never be ruled out for the Bills.

24. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State​

Egbuka is a talented, steady player who can play both inside and the outside, though there is some concern that his skills duplicate Khalil Shakir’s a bit too much. Their long-term investment in Shakir could have the Bills favoring another player. However, if he’s the best player on the board, to ignore Egbuka’s potential to play on the boundary wouldn’t be wise.

25. Malaki Starks, S, Georgia​

Safety is a popular pick by the Bills among mock drafters, though with two starters in place in Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop, and two experienced depth players in Damar Hamlin and Darrick Forrest, it may not be viewed as a significant need inside the building. Regardless, if the Bills miss out on their more pressing needs, you can’t rule out the top two safeties available, and in this case, it would be Starks and Emmanwori.

27. Will Campbell, OL, LSU​

Interior offensive line is a sneaky draft need for the Bills, with all three of their starters due to become free agents in the next two seasons. Center Connor McGovern and left guard David Edwards are due after 2025, and with all the contract extensions they already handed out, bringing both back may not be practical. Campbell is a tackle prospect but could move inside to guard until Dion Dawkins’ time in Buffalo is over.

30. Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama​

The Bills have their starting linebacker duo taken care of for the next two years, at least, as Terrel Bernard signed a contract extension through 2029, Matt Milano is signed for this season, and Dorian Williams is under contract through 2026. But Campbell is a unique blend of skills who could be under consideration at No. 30 if all else fails with their board.
 

I have been saying for a few years now that if we want to get the most out of Ed Oliver and get the play out of him that we saw in college and why he was drafted so high, we really have to get a true 1DT slotted next to him to soak up 2 OL and enable Ed Oliver to penetrate.​


I like this guy however I doubt he is still there when the Bills draft at #30....

10. Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon​

Although the one-technique defensive tackle job is one that usually remains an early down run-stuffing role, Harmon brings some instant passing-down capabilities to make him more valuable than some of the others at his position. He’d be a great option at No. 30 or in a minor move up the board.
 

I have been saying for a few years now that if we want to get the most out of Ed Oliver and get the play out of him that we saw in college and why he was drafted so high, we really have to get a true 1DT slotted next to him to soak up 2 OL and enable Ed Oliver to penetrate.​


I like this guy however I doubt he is still there when the Bills draft at #30....

10. Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon​

Although the one-technique defensive tackle job is one that usually remains an early down run-stuffing role, Harmon brings some instant passing-down capabilities to make him more valuable than some of the others at his position. He’d be a great option at No. 30 or in a minor move up the board.
I'm with you on that
 
I'm with you on that
I just don't think we are getting all that we can get from Ed Oliver until we give him the players he needs around him.

Can you imagine a big ass 1DT disruptor next to Ed Oliver and then Groot coming from his better side on the left now that Con Miller is gone?

That is a lot of energetic players in their prime bringing it on every play.

If we had that talent, I think Sean needs to rotate the DL less.
 
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