For the past two drafts, the Buffalo Bills have delivered one message to the rest of the NFL; they are going heavy on defense. In last year’s draft, the Bills didn’t draft an offensive player until the 5th round (TE Jackson Hawes). Then last month, the Bills waited until the 4th round to draft OL Jude Bowry and WR Skyler Bell.
With the switch from Sean McDermott/Bobby Babich to Jim Leonhard on the defensive side of the ball, the Bills were bound to make more defensive additions to fit Leonhard’s new 3-4 scheme.
In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Bills spent their first round pick on Maxwell Hairston. Last month, the Bills traded up for Davison Igbinosun in the second round despite having Hairston and Christian Benford, and signing Dee Alford in free agency.
The Bills also drafted players like Jalon Kilgore and Toriano Pride Jr. in the later rounds as well, adding depth across the entire secondary. Buffalo also has a rising star in Cole Bishop to go with C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Geno Stone. You would think that looking towards the future, the Bills would think that they are all good for the secondary. Well, Josh Edwards from CBS Sports put together an early 2027 mock draft that says a different story.
Early 2027 NFL mock has Bills fans mad about first round selection
In Edwards early mock draft, the Bills select Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden out of Georgia, and Edwards talked about how Bolden could be a better fit at safety for the Bills rather than Jalon Kilgore, who the Bills drafted in the 5th round.
"It will be interesting to see how Buffalo deploys Jalon Kilgore this season, but KJ Bolden is a better fit at safety." said Edwards.
Bolden had a solid season last year with the Bulldogs where he had 76 total tackles to go with 2 interceptions and 5 pass deflections.
Buffalo has invested heavily into the defense over the last couple of years, whether it’s through free agency or the draft. In the secondary, the Bills have two cornerbacks drafted in the first two rounds (Hairston and Igbinosun), and have their shutdown corner in Christian Benford.
Then they have Cole Bishop who a lot of fans are hoping will become an All-Pro safety. Then signing both Gardner-Johnson and Stone gives them immediate stability. The drafting of Kilgore was a steal for Buffalo and if all goes well, he should be the one that teams up with Bishop for the future.
Bolden has the potential to be a first round pick next year, but the Bills have no business using another high draft resource on a defensive back when you look at everything they have done in recent memory.
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