It should have been no surprise that the It should have been no surprise that the Buffalo Bills went heavy on defense in this year’s NFL draft. Out of nine draft picks, six of them were on defense with the first five of their picks being on that side of the ball. Their first offensive player they drafted was a blocking tight end in Jackson Hawes out of Georgia Tech. They then utilized their last two picks on offensive lineman Chase Lundt and wide receiver Kaden Prather. Other than those three, it was all defense.
Beane selected three cornerbacks, two defensive tackles and an edge rusher. To no surprise, they went with a corner in the first round at No. 30 with Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston. Throughout the draft process, Hairston improved his draft stock and he managed to sneak in the first round and he landed with the Bills.
Coming out of Kentucky, Hairston showed a lot of speed (running a 4.28 40-yard dash at the combine) and he will bring that speed to Buffalo and hopefully create a great duo with Christian Benford.
Maxwell Hairston already being overlooked heading into 2025
Quite frankly, it’s not a surprise to see a Bills player being overlooked and we have it here again with Hairston. Gennaro Filice from NFL.com projected the 2025 NFL All-Rookie team for all three phases of the game and on defense, Filice went with Will Johnson (Cardinals), Trey Amos (Commanders), and Jahdae Barron (Broncos) at corner.
Hairston was drafted in the first round for a reason and that was due to his speed that he has. He can make up for lost coverage and he’s a little bit of a ballhawk himself. For Filice to leave Hairston off of this projection, it just gives more motivation for Hairston and the Bills to prove doubters wrong.
With how the secondary has been up-and-down in Buffalo in recent memory due to injuries, Hairston will have a fresh start and the best part is that he doesn’t need to become the CB1 because Benford was paid this offseason to be that.