The Buffalo Bills decided to not trade up or trade down in the first round of the NFL Draft as they have selected cornerback Maxwell Hairston out of Kentucky. Hairston is coming to Western New York to help solidify the secondary that has been in a desperate chase to fix the CB2 position. Luckily for Hairston, he gets to come into a great situation to learn from Christian Benford and Tre’Davious White.
NFL analyst Field Yates recently hyped up Hairston about his production in college where in three seasons, he only allowed three touchdowns in coverage but he also had three interceptions returned for a touchdown.
Hairston had a fantastic combine performance which was highlighted by a 4.28 40-yard dash. He is fantastic in zone coverage, but can also stick with receivers to force a jump ball as well. He was a Second-Team All-SEC player in 2023 where he led the SEC with five interceptions. In addition, he is also the cousin of former Bills fan-favorite Taiwan Jones so there is an immediate connection there for Hairston.
Maxwell Hairston provides major upgrade for Bills secondary
It’s been the same story year-in and year-out. Buffalo’s secondary tends to fall apart down the stretch as the playoffs approach and they have had injury issues as well. Last year against the Chiefs in the AFC championship game, Benford went down with a concussion early on and the presence of Kaiir Elam was nowhere to be found. That should have been the moment that the Bills knew getting a corner in the draft was a priority.
Again, the good news is that the Bills now have options of who can be CB2 come Week 1. Maybe it’s Hairston, maybe it’s White. Either way, this was a solid first move by the Bills and Hairston should instantly become a favorite in Buffalo if he can produce right off the bat.