Despite the Buffalo Bills have a major need to round out their wide receiver room during the NFL Draft, there is a great argument to make about them going heavy on defense again like they did last year. Even with an offensive-minded head coach in Joe Brady, the Bills may want to strongly consider making a majority of their picks on defense.
Brady has already been working with this offense since 2023 as the offensive coordinator, so there is already a lot of familiarity. However, that shouldn’t stop them from adding another playmaker. At the same time, with a new defense coming to town under Jim Leonhard that will be different compared to what it has been, the talent has to fit the scheme.
One position on defense that needs more additions of talent is at linebacker. With Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson still being free agents, the penciled-in starters should be Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams.Â
It’s not a bad duo, but the Bills could do better, even if it means drafting a specific rookie that is one of the best prospects that no one is talking about.
Top LB prospect should be catching Bills' attention approaching NFL Draft
Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez would be a perfect fit for the Bills defense for many reasons, but Matt Bowen from ESPN gave Rodriguez a superlative that should be having Bills fans hoping that he lands in Orchard Park. Bowen's superlative for Rodriguez was "Best fumble forcer".
"A master of the "peanut punch," Rodriguez had seven forced fumbles in 2025 to lead the nation. And he returned one for a touchdown. There's a natural playmaking element to Rodriguez's game." said Bowen.
Bowen also said that Rodriguez was the "most instinctive at second level":
"Rodriguez is around the ball for a reason, and he plays fast. He had 123 tackles, seven forced fumbles and four interceptions in 2025. He was all over the Texas Tech tape." said Bowen.
Jim Leonhard would benefit heavily from gaining a player like Rodriguez, who sounds like Matt Milano 2.0. When the Bills drafted Milano in the 5th-round out of Boston College in 2017, little did they know that they would be getting a dynamic playmaker who was always near the ball making plays.Â
Plugging Rodriguez into Buffalo’s defense would give the Bills stability at linebacker for the future and gaining his ability to create turnovers is exactly what Buffalo needs. For many years now, it seemed like the Bills’ defense didn’t play to create turnovers; only stops. With Leonhard coming into the picture, the hope is that Buffalo will be looking to attack the ball rather than just creating stops.
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