The Buffalo Bills are going in a huge different direction in terms of their defense. For the past nine seasons, Sean McDermott has implemented a 4-3 and 4-2-5 system that has worked, and also failed in crucial moments. With Joe Brady being promoted to head coach as an offensive-mind, he needed to make sure that he hired a strong defensive coordinator. That he did with the hiring of Jim Leonhard.
Now they need to find the players that will best fit Leonhard’s defensive scheme, which realistically could become a 3-4 aggressive defense that requires more rushers than defenders on the backend of the defense.
Since 2017, the Bills have used first round picks on six defensive players; Tre’Davious White, Tremaine Edmunds, Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau, Kaiir Elam, and Maxwell Hairston. The only offensive players that have drafted in the first round were Josh Allen and Dalton Kincaid. Then there have been two drafts where the Bills didn’t have a first round pick (or traded out).
Despite the heavy investment on the defense, that side of the ball continues to be a liability. The Bills needed to draft a corner last April, and they did so by getting Hairston. However, he missed over a month of action in the beginning and while he has shown some signs of high potential, he has a ton to grow especially when it comes to matchup against some big receivers.
No one should be surprised that the Bills went defense in the first round last year, but what if they went with a prospect that not only would already be an immediate contributor, but also solve a problem that the Bills currently have…
2025 NFL re-draft has Bills taking care of issue that they are currently facing on defense
Blake Brockermeyer from NFL.com put together a redraft of the 2025 draft last year and the Bills ended up selecting linebacker Jihaad Campbell, who was drafted to the Philadelphia Eagles. Hairston wasn't even a selection in this redraft.
"Jihaad Campbell flashed a bright future and eventually took over for Nakobe Dean after his injury. Buffalo would have loved his athleticism in the middle to defend the run and cover." said Brockermeyer.
If the Bills had drafted Campbell (which they could have), they wouldn’t have to decide on whether or not they should bring back Matt Milano, who is a pending free agent next month. Despite Milano’s injury history in recent years, he is a dominant linebacker that does well sideline-to-sideline.Â
Campbell has already shown to be that player. Now, the Eagles have themselves a rising star while the Bills will need to potentially find Milano’s replacement if they don’t bring him back for next season.