By the time the dust settles on the 2026 NFL Draft, hopefully, the Buffalo Bills will have a potential starter at inside linebacker to pair with Terrel Bernard. With the franchise’s first pick coming at No. 26 in the first round, the Bills may look to use it on such a player.
There are a few suitable options with that first-round pick, but should the Bills trade back, they could feasibly find a potential starter in the second round. After all, the linebacker position isn’t one that carries high value in the draft, so quality prospects can be found on Day 2 into the early portions of Day 3. Keep in mind, the reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year was an off-ball linebacker taken in the second round last year, that being Carson Schwesinger of the Cleveland Browns.
Should the Bills wait until Day 2 to find their answer at linebacker, whether by trading back or boldly waiting until the third round, one linebacker just got a ringing endorsement that should have Bills Mafia’s attention leading into the selection ceremony later this month.
Derrick Brooks-like traits make Pitt's Kyle Louis a tempting Day 2 option for Buffalo Bills in 2026 NFL Draft
A cast of ESPN analysts recently took a shot at comparing some of the top prospects across the board to current and former players in the league. Louis Riddick drew Kyle Louis, a stud linebacker from Pittsburgh, and compared him to a Pro Football Hall of Famer in Derrick Brooks.
“Let's begin with the similarities in their leadership, smarts and football instincts -- I see a match there. Then Louis has the rest of the package, including a powerful lower body, explosive ability, quick change of direction, solid coverage skills, plenty of range, blitz ability, the traits to be a space player and toughness. The Pitt product will be an All-Pro in due time,” Riddick wrote on Tuesday.
Of course, it’s worth noting that Riddick and Louis don’t just share the name Louis. They also share an alma mater, as Riddick also played his college ball with the Panthers. While a hint of underlying bias may exist there, Riddick’s comparison of Louis to Brooks is lofty, but the young linebacker is still a high-upside Day 2 prospect to near-concensus.
For the linebacker-needy Bills, landing the next Derrick Brooks sounds enticing. Brooks was an intense leader and an iron man for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as he played well above his weight class for the entirety of his 14-year career without missing a single regular-season game. Of course, it’s a lofty goal to hope that Louis could provide half the production and reliability that Brooks brought to Tampa, but players like Brooks don’t exactly grow on trees, and having a basket of similarities is as promising a sign as you’ll get in the draft.
Louis’s athletic testing caught plenty of eyes at the NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash. NFL Next Gen Stats rated his athletic score at the Combine ninth among linebackers, and as Riddick pointed out, his athleticism is what has scouts excited.
However, what may hold Louis back in the NFL is his size. At 6-foot, 220 pounds, Louis is undersized, even for a modern-day off-ball backer. He may serve a team well as a Will linebacker, but that is where the Bills may find they aren’t a great fit for the linebacker, despite the allure of his Hall of Fame-caliber comparisons.
The Bills need a starter-capable linebacker, and Louis may well be that. However, in Buffalo, pairing two undersized linebackers in the middle of a defense that has not yet presented a concrete answer at nose tackle is a dangerous game in the 3-4 scheme. Incumbent starter Terrel Bernard, like Louis, has the mental fortitude and physical presence to play above his weight class. He’ll man the Mike duties this season because of those intangibles, but it would certainly be more difficult for him to be successful in that endeavor without the right supporting cast.
Louis is an intriguing prospect, and if Bernard were not undersized himself, he’d be an exciting addition to the Bills’ defense. But should he become a Bill, it’d raise some question marks about the position overall, especially if Louis were the only off-ball linebacker selected, which would be likely. That’s not the end goal Bills Mafia is looking for at the NFL Draft, and as such, the team may be better served looking in a different direction to solve the missing piece in the middle of the defense.