It may not seem like it, but the NFL Draft will be here before you know it. Since 2017, the Bills have had Sean McDermott in the draft room. Mind you, Brandon Beane didn’t arrive in Buffalo until after that draft. Well, the Bills will have Beane still but McDermott is longer with the team. It’s Joe Brady’s team now, so maybe there will be a new perspective brought to the table.
As of right now, the Bills’ first draft pick will be at No. 26 and they currently have seven draft picks. Two of them are in the seventh round.
In this mock draft, we have the Bills doing a little bit of a surprise for fans. Then again, it shouldn’t be a surprise considering what the Bills must fix.
Bills' 2026 7-round mock draft that has a surprise
Round 1 - #26: C.J. Allen, LB - Georgia
Unless the Bills plan on bringing back Matt Milano for more than just a year, if at all, then Buffalo has to bring in his replacement which C.J. Allen out of Georgia. He has a very similar play to Milano where he can move quickly sideline-to-sideline and he’s not afraid to get physical.
He is great with attacking the ball and stopping the play before it gets started. Quite frankly, I would be shocked if he was still available by the time the Bills are on the clock.
Round 2 - #60: Omar Cooper Jr., WR - Indiana
For the past two seasons in Indiana, Omar Cooper Jr. has been in the endzone a lot, but he reached 13 touchdowns this past season to go with 937 yards. Now granted, catching passes from Fernando Mendoza has helped.
However, with the Bills needing desperate help at wide receiver, Cooper is someone that the Bills can strongly consider taking and plugging him into the passing attack for years to come on a rookie contract.
Round 3 - #91: Zachariah Branch, WR - Georgia
Here is the surprise of this mock draft. The Bills go with back-to-back wide receivers, first with Cooper and now with Zachariah Branch. While he is not as explosive as Cooper, Branch provides speed for this offense which is something that they need. With the Bills utilizing a different package of receivers throughout the game, Branch gives Buffalo versatility to keep the offense going as smooth as possible.
Round 4 - #126: Zane Durant, DT - Penn State
It’s no surprise to say that Buffalo’s defense was horrible at stopping the run. Buffalo drafted two defensive tackles last year in T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker, and Walker already looks like a star in the making. Sanders on the hand still has some growing to do.
Either way, the Bills need to bring in more help in the trenches and they go with Zane Durant out of Penn State. He’s a similar size to Ed Oliver, which is a pro and con, but he can get off the ball fast which is what Buffalo could very much use.
Round 5 - #166: Red Murdock, LB - Buffalo
That’s right, the Bills decide to spend a draft pick on a player from the University of Buffalo in linebacker Red Murdock, who was absolutely dominant for the Bulls. In the last two seasons, Murdock recorded 140+ tackles in each season. In this past season, he had 5 sacks to go with 6 forced fumbles.
Even with the Bills spending their first round pick on C.J. Allen, the value that Murdock provides is too much to pass up on in the 5th round.
Round 7 - #220: DJ Campbell, OL - Texas
There is a chance that David Edwards leaves the Bills in free agency, and while Buffalo can easily replace him in free agency, you can never have too many offensive linemen. With this pick, the Bills select DJ Campbell out of Texas to add to the room.
Round 7 - #228: Cole Wisniewski, S - Texas Tech
Buffalo has a safety in Cole Bishop who really stepped up once Jordan Poyer was on the field with him. However, the Bills could easily use some depth at safety and they selected Cole Wisniewski out of Texas Tech.
This past season with the Red Raiders, Wisniewski had 78 total tackles to go with 6 pass deflections. This could be an under the radar steal of a pick for the Bills if Wisniewski was available at this point.