The Buffalo Bills entered the 2026 NFL Draft without having a second round pick due to them trading it to the Chicago Bears to acquire DJ Moore. When that trade went down, it caused mixed emotions on whether or not the Bills gave up too much. Well, it didn’t matter because the Bills ended up drafting two players in the second round.
After multiple trade-downs in the first round, the Bills selected T.J. Parker out of Clemson. Then they traded up into the end of the second round to draft Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun. That pick surprised a ton of fans as the Bills didn’t have a need to get a starting cornerback.
Buffalo already has Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston, plus they signed Dee Alford in free agency. The fact that the Bills traded up for a corner in the second round (which is starter level), it caused a lot of confusion and criticism amongst Bills fans.
Brandon Beane later explained that he felt that cornerback was the biggest hole on the roster, per Matt Parrino, which explains why he felt that he needed to draft Igbinosun. Well, defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard spoke with the media on Tuesday and he talked about how the drafting of Igbinosun "doesn't mean at all they're down on Maxwell Hairston" per Andy Young.
"We love Max. I was a huge fan of Max coming out of college." said Leonhard, per Young.
#Bills DC Jim Leonhard says the draft pick of IGB at corner doesn't mean at all they're down on Maxwell Hairston. Simply put, they needed depth.
— Andy Young (@AndyYoungTV) May 26, 2026
"We love Max. I was a huge fan of Max coming out of college."#BillsMafia
Maxwell Hairston gets praise from Jim Leonhard despite drafting of Davison Igbinosun
The Bills drafted Hairston just a year ago out of the University of Kentucky, as they had a huge need at cornerback going into last year’s draft. Hairston missed the first six games of the season due to a knee injury he sustained in training camp, but he did manage to show some flashes of promise. He finished the season with 18 total tackles and 2 interceptions, including one against Patrick Mahomes.
Now that Hairston has a new defensive play caller in Leonhard, all eyes will be on him to see if he can live up to his first round status. While the drafting of Igbinosun can be thought of as a potential risk of him losing his starting spot right now, it shouldn’t. Hairston deserves another shot to prove what he can do.Â
If he excels, then the Bills will have a great 1-2 CB duo with him and Benford. If he doesn’t though, then the Bills can explore other options moving forward.
Add us as a preferred source on Google