With the Senior Bowl all wrapped up last weekend, NFL fans got their first look at some of the league’s future stars. Of course, with the NFL Draft still a few months away, Buffalo Bills fans took in Senior Bowl week with an unwavering focus on the wide receiver position.
As is usually the case, though, most first-round prospects don’t play in a showcase game like the Senior Bowl. And the Bills need a true difference maker out wide, not just another body. Their first-round pick sits at No. 26, so it could be understandably difficult for the Bills to land such a playmaker in this year’s draft.
But, of course, a showcase game like the Senior Bowl affords prospects the opportunity to build their draft stock, which might open the door for Buffalo to find the right player to revive the wide receiver corps.
Senior Bowl week reshaped the Bills’ wide receiver outlook in 2026 NFL Draft
One name flying up draft boards after a great week in Mobile is Notre Dame wide receiver Malachi Fields, a big-bodied ‘X’ receiver who flashed his ball skills and route running throughout Senior Bowl week. Fields had a huge week and is now being discussed as a potential first-rounder.
Bleacher Report recently highlighted some of Senior Bowl week’s brightest standouts and paired them with an NFL franchise as an ideal landing place, including Fields to the Bills. Fields and Buffalo seem meant for each other at this stage of the offseason, with some scouts seeing the factors in Fields’ game that lay the path for him to become a dynamic piece to an NFL offense.
“Fields isn't a burner, but in most other regards he's everything a team can ask for in an "X" wide receiver—he's a solid route-runner with excellent contested catch ability who consistently created separation on the practice field in Mobile,” B/R’s Gary Davenport wrote last weekend.
We posted a scouting report of Fields here on BuffaLowDown recently that dives into what he could bring to the Bills’ offense, as well as why scouts are continuing to move him up their draft boards.
Of course, drafting a player with the makeup of a traditional X receiver puts immediate pressure on Keon Coleman. The Bills drafted him with the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 draft, so Bills fans might feel some trepidation in addressing the wide receiver room in such a familiar manner while Coleman struggles to adapt to the NFL.
Still, Coleman’s career hasn’t been written off just yet, and there are no rules against having multiple big-bodied receivers with similar skill sets. Buffalo needs playmakers, though, and Fields, who caught five touchdowns in each of his last three college seasons, seems to fit the bill.
Bills Mafia will no doubt have their eyes on several wide receivers as the draft draws near, but the Notre Dame standout might be one to highlight as we learn more about the 2026 draft class.