The Buffalo Bills came out of the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft with a player who should contribute immediately to Sean McDermott's defense, as Brandon Beane used the No. 30 overall pick on Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston after an impressive NFL Combine workout.
The Hairston pick comes right after the Detroit Lions used their No. 28 pick on a player the Bills have their eyes set on, taking Ohio State run-stuffing defensive tackle Tyleik Williams in a move that some may have seen as a slight reach.
While some of the pre-draft experts may have called the Williams pick a reach, recent comments from Williams himself seem to suggest that if Detroit didn't pounce on him at the first chance they got, the Bills would have brought him to Buffalo and not thought twice about it.
According to Williams himself, he claims the Bills would have taken him at No. 30 overall if the Lions didn't make that move. With the Bills in possession of both the No. 56 and No. 62 picks in the second round, Beane might be willing to target the defensive tackle spot with one of these selections after nabbing Hairston.
Bills may have selected Tyleik Williams had Lions not picked him in 2025 NFL Draft
Defensive tackles went off the board early in the first round, as the consensus top four players were all off the board by the time pick No. 22 came along. Michigan superstar Mason Graham was picked No. 5 by the Browns, and the next hot trio in Michigan's Kenneth Grant, Ole Miss' Walter Nolen, and Oregon's Derrick Harmon were picked by the Dolphins, Cardinals, and Steelers.
Some of the better interior pass rushers in this class that are still on the board include Toledo's Darius Alexander and South Carolina's TJ Sanders. If Buffalo wants a run defender, look for them to target a player like Kentucky's Deone Walker or Texas' Alfred Collins in the second round.
The Bills took advantage of a thin cornerback class to select a player in Hairston that would not have been there at No. 56 overall had Buffalo passed on him. Luckily for Beane, this class is exceedingly deep at defensive tackle.
With two second-round picks, Buffalo is armed with a very unique opportunity to bring in some starting-caliber players as they try to unseat the Kansas City Chiefs atop the AFC. It's up to Beane to make good on that declaration.