What happens if all the players the Buffalo Bills really want are gone by the 30th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft?
That scenario recently played out in a mock draft simulator on the NFL Mock Draft Database.
With DTs Kenneth Grant and Derrick Harmon and CBs Jahdae Barron, Trey Amos and Shavon Revel Jr. all off the board by the Bills’ 30th pick, the Bills were scrambling for options.
Buffalo could draft DT Walter Nolen, who veteran Bills reporter Sal Maiorana worries is undersized, or the team could grab CB Maxwell Hairston, who is considered more of a Day 2 draft option than a first-round pick. Neither choice felt right because it’s not smart for a small-market team to waste first-round money on what amounts to their sixth-best option at cornerback and defensive tackle.
It was time to do our best impression of Bills GM Brandon Beane and start wheeling and dealing. When the dust settled, by dropping back a few draft spots the Bills stockpiled three extra 2025 draft picks along with extra one in 2026.
The one wrinkle, the Bills had to violate an NFL taboo and make a deal with a division rival.
- Bills get: Second rounder (38th), fourth rounder (106th) and a fifth-round pick in the 2026 draft.
- Patriots get: First rounder (30th)
- Bills get: Fourth rounder (107th), fifth rounder (142nd) and a seventh-round pick (221).
- Jaguars get: Fourth rounder (106th).
Positions addressed in the draft by Buffalo Bills
- Cornerback: In 2024, the Bills mostly ran a base 4-2-5, or nickel, defense, that cycled through versions of Cover 3, Cover 2 and Cover 1. That puts a premium on developing a solid core of defensive backs. The Bills really need a CB2, and Buffalo has to address this early in the draft or risk having the team’s coverage exposed in the playoffs again when players are exhausted and/or injured.
- Defensive tackle: The Eagles showed in the Super Bowl that the best way to defend a pass play is pressuring the quarterback. It rattled Kansas City Chief’s QB Patrick Mahomes and forced him to make three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble). The Eagles didn’t blitz once, instead relying on four defenders to generate pressure, according to Next Gen Stats. This year’s draft class features depth at DT and Edge and could help the Bills in the second round.
- Edge: The signing of Joe Bosa is like putting wallpaper over a hole in the wall. The Bills should grab an insurance policy for the oft-injured Bosa.
- Linebacker: The Bills need a quality backup who, if need be, can play all three downs.
- Wide receiver: One of the few holes in an offense that could use a No. 1 receiver. The Bills wouldn’t have had this problem if they kept the 22nd pick in the 2020 draft. Then again, hindsight is always 20/20.
- Safety: Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin started 14 games each last season for the Bills. Cole Bishop played in 16 games and started four of them. Backup Darrick Forest is a defensive back who didn’t work out in Washington. It’s not a huge need, but if the right player drops to the Bills, they should pounce on him.
- Running back: The Bills need to prepare for the day James Cook leaves via free agency.
- Offensive lineman: You can never have enough of these guys.
Here’s how the mock draft worked out with the Bills focusing on defense on Day 2.
CB Maxwell Hairston
Hairston is considered the fifth-best cornerback in the draft class and feels like a good choice at No. 38.
“Hairston is a feisty competitor who likes to get his hands on receivers in bump-and-run coverage from off-coverage techniques,” according to Pro Football Focus. “As a zone-heavy cornerback, he has the chance to develop into a CB2 type of player in the NFL.”
It just so happens that the Bills play a zone-heavy defense, according to The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia..
Maiorana likes his speed and athleticism but is worried that Hairston is coming off a shoulder injury.
Meanwhile, the Patriots grab RB TreVeyon Henderson with the Bills first-round pick. Henderson is the third running back selected in the draft and time will tell if he is a reach here.
DT Darius Alexander
PFF has Alexander as the fifth-best interior defensive lineman in the 2025 class.
He’s a little old for a rookie (he’ll be 25 at season’s start) and he currently projects as backup or role player, but he has good potential and can play in a three or four-man front.
LB Carson Schwesinger
Schwesinger is the most controversial pick of this draft. Ideally, the Bills should take an edge rusher here to bolster their defensive line. However, as The Athletic’s Buscaglia pointed out after Buffalo beat Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos in the playoffs, the linebackers played a big part on how well the Bills defense performed last season. With the pickings not great at edge and the Bills often struggling with injuries to Matt Milano and Terrell Bernard, looking for an upgrade or better backup at linebacker makes more sense than grabbing the 11th- or 12th-best edge rusher in the draft.
PFF considers Schwesinger the fourth-best linebacker available in the draft. Watch the highlight reel above and you’ll be convinced.
WR Savion Williams
Day 3 of the NFL Draft began with the Bills switching focus to offense.
Williams isn’t the WR1 the bills need, but he is versatile, according to PFF.
Here are the remaining nine Bills picks:
- OT Ozzy Trapilo
- Edge Saivion Jones
- DT C.J. West
- TE Mitchell Evans
- RB Devin Neal
- Interior offensive lineman Caleb Rogers
- S Jaylen Reed
- Edge Fadil Diggs
- CB Jabbar Muhammad
— Bill Wolcott is a producer who helps cover the Buffalo Bills, high school and Rochester sports in general. The lifelong New Yorker has been a journalist for 30 years.
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