The 2025 Buffalo Bills will be remembered for various things, whether or not they win the Super Bowl. However, even if they somehow can win it all as a wild card team, one struggle that could never seem to overcome was stopping the run.
The Bills are entering Week 18 with the 29th worst run-defense, giving up 140.4 yards per game. There have only been five games where Buffalo didn’t give up 100+ yards on the ground. There have been four games where Buffalo has given up over 200+ rushing yards. For a team that heavily invested into their defensive line in the offseason, this is completely embarrassing.
You would think that with this performance by the defense, the Bills would make a big time priority to fix the run-defense. However, they have more problems to fix.
Bills land phenomenal Ohio State DT in 2026 mock draft (but it's the wrong pick)
Dalton Wasserman from Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently put together a Post-Week 17 mock draft that has the Bills drafting a national champion in defensive lineman Kayden McDonald from Ohio State (subscription required). Here's a bit on what Wasserman said about McDonald:
"Buffalo’s interior defensive line has struggled against the run throughout the season. There may be no better solution in college football than Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald. McDonald leads all qualified FBS defensive linemen in PFF run-defense grade (92.2) entering the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, and his 30 total defensive stops rank seventh among all defensive tackles."Dalton Wasserman, PFF
McDonald's ability to stop the run is going to make him a great player in the NFL. He had over 30 total tackles to go with 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles for the Buckeyes. While McDonald would for sure help out Buffalo’s defense, the Bills already invested in their defensive line with drafting T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker in last year’s draft.
Not to mention, Ed Oliver has only played in three games this season which has significantly hurt the defense. While Buffalo should bring in more help for the defensive line, it should not be through the first round of the draft.
Instead, Buffalo should focus on getting Josh Allen a true No.1 WR in the draft (if they don’t do it in free agency or via trade). There’s only been two times where Buffalo didn’t draft in the first round under Brandon Beane. It’s time to help out the offense and bring in young talent.