The NFL Draft week has officially started and in three days, prospects will get to live out their dream of getting a phone call from an NFL team in hopes of getting drafted. Whether it’s in the first round or the seventh round, there will be a lot of hope from each prospect that believes that they are worthy of being drafted.
The Buffalo Bills currently sit at No. 30 and there’s an argument to be made that they could become a trade-up candidate. They have ten picks right now and the chance of Brandon Beane drafting ten players is highly unlikely. It’s not impossible, but highly unlikely.
The Bills are coming into this draft with pressing needs at cornerback and defensive tackle. However, Buffalo signed a familiar face in Tre’Davious White to a one-year deal that brings him back to Western New York after being released in 2024. White spent last season with the Rams and Ravens. Now he’s back in the place that helped him become an All-Pro at one point.
With the signing of White, the Bills now have a little flexibility in the secondary now that they have White and Christian Benford as their top corners. At the same time, White is more than likely not a long-term solution anymore in Buffalo. Due to that setup, it would be smart for the Bills to bring in young corner who can develop and become an eventual starter.
Bills trade up one spot for under-the-radar cornerback for the future
Matt Verderame from Sports Illustrated created a unique “32 Deals for 32 Teams” draft where each team is involved in a potential draft-day trade. For the Bills, they don’t move up as much, going up just one spot with the Washington Commanders to select Kentucky cornerback Maxell Hairston. To move up one spot, the Bills sent picks No. 30 and No. 177 (6th-round pick).
Right off the bat, Hairston provides fantastic speed as he ran a 4.28 40-yard dash at the combine. Second, he has the versatility to play both zone and man-to-man coverage. Lastly, he can become an immediate starter if Buffalo needed him to be. His 2023 season is where he stood out the most with five interceptions (which led the SEC) and led the Wildcats with six pass breakups.
Adding Hairston gives the Bills the chance to correct the Kaiir Elam mistake they made in 2022, but Hairston is a better fit for Buffalo’s defense than Elam was. It’s hard to imagine the Bills trading up one spot for Hairston, unless they felt a team behind him like the Chiefs or Eagles would trade up to acquire him.