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ORCHARD PARK - If anyone was wondering what Brandon Beane thought of the Buffalo Bills defense as he began constructing the 2025 roster, he has made it perfectly clear that it needed a lot of help.
Systematically, almost surgically, starting with free agency more than a month ago and now through two rounds of the NFL Draft, Beane has essentially remade a unit that struggled for chunks of 2024, and then failed miserably in the AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On the first two days of the draft, Beane addressed the three most glaring needs on the team by selecting cornerback Max Hairston in the first round, defensive tackle TJ Sanders in the second, and edge rusher Landon Jackson in the third. You could not have drawn up a plan of attack any better than that.
“We did feel we needed to get younger in some areas on defense,” Beane said Friday night. “So we hoped to do that. Couldn’t tell you it would be with the first three picks. It felt like the way we were set up with the one and the two twos, I felt going in, two of those, just the way our board was set, we’d be able to get defense. After we made the trade up, I was like, ‘Ok, we got two on defense, still going to stick with the board.’ Landon was truly the highest player on our board.”
And this draft haul came on top of the veteran signings of edge rushers Joey Bosa and Michael Hoecht, tackle Larry Ogunjobi, and depth defensive backs Tre’Davious White, Dane Jackson and Darrick Forrest.
The vision could not be clearer: For five consecutive years, the Buffalo defense has played poorly in the playoff elimination game - four losses to the Chiefs, one to the Bengals - and not even the brilliance of Josh Allen could overcome the defensive shortcomings.
“I think people always remember a game here, a game there that didn’t go well, but we’ve played a lot of good football, a lot of good defense,” Beane said. “We’ve just been in, you know, sometimes you have transition, age at certain positions, things like that, positions that didn’t work out. But, yeah, I’m excited to add the three players (in the draft) we’ve added so far. We’ve still got more picks, but yeah, I think it’s exciting where we’re at of what we’ve added.”
The one spot Beane had to focus on first was cornerback because with Rasul Douglas gone, that was the only position on the team where a starter was missing. Hairston was the choice, and he should be able to come in immediately and compete for a starting spot with White and Jackson providing a safety net.
Then it was on to the defensive line, a position group that has underachieved far too much given the assets Beane has poured into it both in free agency and the draft. Bosa replaces Von Miller and if he can stay healthy - a big if with him - he should be a vast upgrade.
However, both Hoecht and Ogunjobi won’t be available for the first six games because of PED suspensions, so Beane had to find solutions in the draft and Sanders and Jackson are those players.
“TJ, probably a three-tech first, inside rush,” Beane said of Sanders, meaning he’ll be the backup to Ed Oliver but can also replace DaQuan Jones when needed in the rotation. “We like the idea of adding another inside rusher, another guy to pair with Ed on clear passing downs. But we could still play him at one if we wanted to. I would just say position one would be a three-tech.”
Beane recognized a run was about to start on linemen - both tackles and edge - which is why he made the trade with Chicago to jump from No. 56 to 41 to make sure he got Sanders.
“We had a really good grade on him and just felt like he wasn’t going to get to us, so we were just checking around and trying to find a spot,” Beane said. “And we liked that one in the sense that we could not go too far and not be able to get this third that we just used on Landon.”
As for Jackson, some draft analysts had a second-round grade on him so for Beane to get him early in the third at No. 72 seems like good value. And Jackson, who the Bills had plenty of contact with throughout the process, is a long, lanky, revved up motor player.
“Yeah, very excited,” Beane said. “High character, DNA, a longer athletic dude, a lot of sacks, went against a lot of premium talent in the SEC and had a lot of production. Obviously, athletically he tested very well, I would say even tested better than I would have maybe thought. But this guy is smart, he knows how to rush, he has feel in there. He’s not just an athletic guy; he knows when the quarterback’s stepping up. He’s just got feel, instincts, awareness, he’s tough, he’s a dog. He’s everything we want.”
With three primary needs filled, Beane enters Day 3 with a wide open agenda.
He will start Saturday with seven picks - one in the fourth round, three in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh. Will he use them all? Maybe, but you could see him packaging some of those fifth- and sixth-rounder to possibly get an extra pick in the fourth.
Wide receiver is still a place he can add because finding a burner should still be a priority. Utah State’s Jalen Royals is still out there, and he was a player who the Bills brought in for a top 30 visit. Another top 30 player was Texas’ Isaiah Bond, but his draft stock is being affected by the alleged sexual assault which he has denied. Both players would bring a deep threat element to the Bills offense and the fourth round seems like the sweet spot.
Tory Horton of Colorado State, Jaylin Lane of Virginia Tech, and Chimere Dike from Florida are all speedsters with fifth- and sixth-round grades and could be worth taking a swing on if their special teams chops are sufficient.
At safety, Oklahoma’s Billy Bowman was a third-round projection who did not get picked, so he would probably the best available player remaining at the position, but his lack of size at 5-10 and 192 pounds is the primary deterrent. Two other options could be Lathan Ransom of Ohio State and Jaylen Reed of Penn State, both fourth-round projections.
Given James Cook’s intriguing status beyond 2025, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Beane adds a running back into the mix, but with Ray Davis and Ty Johnson in place, rostering four would be difficult.
The reality is that with so many picks, if Beane uses them all, he’ll probably spread the wealth and add an offensive lineman and a linebacker, and he may double up on defensive tackle, corner or edge rusher.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social. Sign up for his Bills Blast newsletter here: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who are Bills' best available players at NFL Draft, Day 3?
Continue reading...
Systematically, almost surgically, starting with free agency more than a month ago and now through two rounds of the NFL Draft, Beane has essentially remade a unit that struggled for chunks of 2024, and then failed miserably in the AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On the first two days of the draft, Beane addressed the three most glaring needs on the team by selecting cornerback Max Hairston in the first round, defensive tackle TJ Sanders in the second, and edge rusher Landon Jackson in the third. You could not have drawn up a plan of attack any better than that.
“We did feel we needed to get younger in some areas on defense,” Beane said Friday night. “So we hoped to do that. Couldn’t tell you it would be with the first three picks. It felt like the way we were set up with the one and the two twos, I felt going in, two of those, just the way our board was set, we’d be able to get defense. After we made the trade up, I was like, ‘Ok, we got two on defense, still going to stick with the board.’ Landon was truly the highest player on our board.”
And this draft haul came on top of the veteran signings of edge rushers Joey Bosa and Michael Hoecht, tackle Larry Ogunjobi, and depth defensive backs Tre’Davious White, Dane Jackson and Darrick Forrest.
The vision could not be clearer: For five consecutive years, the Buffalo defense has played poorly in the playoff elimination game - four losses to the Chiefs, one to the Bengals - and not even the brilliance of Josh Allen could overcome the defensive shortcomings.
“I think people always remember a game here, a game there that didn’t go well, but we’ve played a lot of good football, a lot of good defense,” Beane said. “We’ve just been in, you know, sometimes you have transition, age at certain positions, things like that, positions that didn’t work out. But, yeah, I’m excited to add the three players (in the draft) we’ve added so far. We’ve still got more picks, but yeah, I think it’s exciting where we’re at of what we’ve added.”
The one spot Beane had to focus on first was cornerback because with Rasul Douglas gone, that was the only position on the team where a starter was missing. Hairston was the choice, and he should be able to come in immediately and compete for a starting spot with White and Jackson providing a safety net.
Then it was on to the defensive line, a position group that has underachieved far too much given the assets Beane has poured into it both in free agency and the draft. Bosa replaces Von Miller and if he can stay healthy - a big if with him - he should be a vast upgrade.
However, both Hoecht and Ogunjobi won’t be available for the first six games because of PED suspensions, so Beane had to find solutions in the draft and Sanders and Jackson are those players.
“TJ, probably a three-tech first, inside rush,” Beane said of Sanders, meaning he’ll be the backup to Ed Oliver but can also replace DaQuan Jones when needed in the rotation. “We like the idea of adding another inside rusher, another guy to pair with Ed on clear passing downs. But we could still play him at one if we wanted to. I would just say position one would be a three-tech.”
Beane recognized a run was about to start on linemen - both tackles and edge - which is why he made the trade with Chicago to jump from No. 56 to 41 to make sure he got Sanders.
“We had a really good grade on him and just felt like he wasn’t going to get to us, so we were just checking around and trying to find a spot,” Beane said. “And we liked that one in the sense that we could not go too far and not be able to get this third that we just used on Landon.”
As for Jackson, some draft analysts had a second-round grade on him so for Beane to get him early in the third at No. 72 seems like good value. And Jackson, who the Bills had plenty of contact with throughout the process, is a long, lanky, revved up motor player.
“Yeah, very excited,” Beane said. “High character, DNA, a longer athletic dude, a lot of sacks, went against a lot of premium talent in the SEC and had a lot of production. Obviously, athletically he tested very well, I would say even tested better than I would have maybe thought. But this guy is smart, he knows how to rush, he has feel in there. He’s not just an athletic guy; he knows when the quarterback’s stepping up. He’s just got feel, instincts, awareness, he’s tough, he’s a dog. He’s everything we want.”
With three primary needs filled, Beane enters Day 3 with a wide open agenda.
He will start Saturday with seven picks - one in the fourth round, three in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh. Will he use them all? Maybe, but you could see him packaging some of those fifth- and sixth-rounder to possibly get an extra pick in the fourth.
Bills draft targets, Day 3: Wide receiver
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Wide receiver is still a place he can add because finding a burner should still be a priority. Utah State’s Jalen Royals is still out there, and he was a player who the Bills brought in for a top 30 visit. Another top 30 player was Texas’ Isaiah Bond, but his draft stock is being affected by the alleged sexual assault which he has denied. Both players would bring a deep threat element to the Bills offense and the fourth round seems like the sweet spot.
Tory Horton of Colorado State, Jaylin Lane of Virginia Tech, and Chimere Dike from Florida are all speedsters with fifth- and sixth-round grades and could be worth taking a swing on if their special teams chops are sufficient.
Bills draft targets, Day 3: Safety
At safety, Oklahoma’s Billy Bowman was a third-round projection who did not get picked, so he would probably the best available player remaining at the position, but his lack of size at 5-10 and 192 pounds is the primary deterrent. Two other options could be Lathan Ransom of Ohio State and Jaylen Reed of Penn State, both fourth-round projections.
Given James Cook’s intriguing status beyond 2025, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Beane adds a running back into the mix, but with Ray Davis and Ty Johnson in place, rostering four would be difficult.
The reality is that with so many picks, if Beane uses them all, he’ll probably spread the wealth and add an offensive lineman and a linebacker, and he may double up on defensive tackle, corner or edge rusher.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social. Sign up for his Bills Blast newsletter here: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who are Bills' best available players at NFL Draft, Day 3?
Continue reading...
