There is no question that the Buffalo Bills should be targeting defense in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft. It’s the unit that fell apart down the stretch and allowed Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to walk all over them in the conference championship. Now the curiosity is just who the Bills should draft late in the first (assumming that they don’t trade up).
One position that Bills fans should be hoping Brandon Beane addresses sooner than later is edge rusher. Von Miller’s time in Buffalo might be coming to an end and both Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa are heading into contract years. Even though Rousseau is more than likely going to get paid, nothing is certain until pen hits paper.
With the Bills set to pick at No. 30, they may lose out on some of the top prospects coming into the draft. However, we have seen players fall down the draft board all the time and the Bills might be in a position to steal a prospect if they fall.
Draft analyst gives strong opinoin on who Bills should draft in 2025
CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso shared a strong opinion about a specific prospect that the Bills need to “instantaneously” pick if he’s available. Trapasso is begging the Bills to draft Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr.
if James Pearce is available at pick No. 30, idc who else is on the board, the Bills need to call in the pick instantaneously
— Chris Trapasso 🏈 (@ChrisTrapasso) February 27, 2025
With 17 sacks the past two seasons, Pearce Jr. is definitely one of the top edge rushers coming into the league. Even though his production is great, there is a major concerns about his character, according to Charlie Campbell of Walterfootball.com, per Braulio Perez of allfortennessee.com. Specifically, it was noted that a member of an AFC team said that Pearce Jr. may be slipping down their draft board.
Character is huge for Buffalo Bills organization
Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott are all about character within the building. They prioritize bringing in players that are great culture fits, even if they aren’t the most talented players. With these reports of Pearce Jr. having potential character concerns, this could steer the Bills away from drafting him if he does fall down the draft board. At the same time, it would be super hard to pass up on that kind of talent when he clearly has top-round talent.