The Buffalo Bills started out their Day 3 draft on a strong note and have been delivering solid prospects after a bit of a rough Day 2. Starting out at No. 102 after trading down, the Bills selected OL Jude Bowry to bring in extra protection for Josh Allen. Then in back-to-back picks, the Bills took care of two needs by drafting WR Skyler Bell and LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr.
Now in the 5th round, the Bills have selected South Carolina safety Jalon Kilgore who surprisingly fell this far right into the Bills’ lap. At 6-foot-1 and 211lbs, the Bills get themselves a big safety who is great in man coverage and can provide some physicality on the back end of the defense.
In three seasons at South Carolina, Kilgore racked up 178 total tackles, 21 pass deflections, and 8 interceptions. He had 5 of those interceptions in 2024. This is the fourth safety that the Bills have now added to their roster this offseason.
Bills keep building up secondary even more with Jalon Kilgore selection
Buffalo signed C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Geno Stone, while also bringing back Damar Hamlin for a third time. With Cole Bishop being an ascending star for this defense, the Bills are looking to see who would be a great running mate with Bishop. For the immediate future, Gardner-Johnson is definitely the right choice.
Now with the Bills adding Kilgore who has a ton of talent and should have easily gone higher than the 5th round, Buffalo may have just secured their next Micah Hyde-Jordan Poyer safety combo in Bishop and Kilgore. That is a massive expectation, yet with what Kilgore brings to his game, it’s not unrealistic.
Kilgore lands in a great spot not just because he joins a championship contender, but he will have Jim Leonhard coaching him up. Leonhard was a safety back in his playing days, so now Kilgore will have the opportunity to learn and grow under Leonhard, while also getting a few pointers from the veterans that Buffalo brought in.
The safety room for the Bills is now loaded with a great amount of talent. Kilgore may not be an immediate starter, but the Bills may have just taken care of a future problem that they would have had once the 2026 season ended.
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