There’s one thing indisputable about Buffalo Bills president of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane — he has a fantastic track record with Day 3 draft picks.
Let’s run through notable the Round 4 – Round 7 selections Beane has made as the guy calling the shots on draft weekend for the Bills since 2018.
Taron Johnson, Wyatt Teller, Gabe Davis, Tyler Bass, Dane Jackson, Christian Benford, Khalil Shakir, Damar Hamlin, Deone Walker, Jackson Hawes
That’s quite the collection of serviceable
spot-starters to foundational pieces of Buffalo’s roster all found on the final day of the draft in which the overwhelming majority of players typically don’t amount to much in the NFL.
The Bills’ relative massive success likely led to this findings outlined in this video
For (the likely small amount of) Day 3 lovers like myself, the Bills’ work on Saturday each draft during the Beane era has been incredibly impressive to observe from afar, and in the 2026 draft, eight of Buffalo’s 10 overall selections came on Saturday.
Today, I’m asking this:
Which Bills Day 3 pick will ultimately have the best NFL career?
As a refresher on your eight choices:
Round 4 – OL Jude Bowry
Round 4 – WR Skyler Bell
Round 4 – LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr
Round 5 – DB Jalon Kilgore
Round 5 – DT Zane Durant
Round 7 – CB Toriano Pride Jr.
Round 7 – P Tommy Doman
Round 7 – OG Ar’maj Reed-Adams
My answer: At this juncture, it’s not only about my pre-draft evaluation of a prospect… team fit of course now must be considered. However, this is a scenario in which my scouting grade and the schematic fit are both extraordinarily encouraging.
I’m going with LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr. As I referenced my rookie profile last week, I had a Top 20 overall grade on Elarms-Orr. He was an emphatic box-checking prospect for me. And even though he’s staring at two starters in front of him at inside linebacker, don’t be surprised if Jim Leonard deploys more of a matchup or down-and-distance specific rotation at that position.
Elarms-Orr is a rocket-fueled athlete to the football, understands leverage/positioning in coverage, and is an trustworthy tackles. There’s plenty of blitzing utility to his game as well.
I see him eventually stepping into a full-time role in Buffalo — sooner than later — as a modern-day, three-down linebacker who can thrive as a QB spy when he’s not making plays in coverage or ranging to wrap up a ball-carrier close to (or behind) the line of scrimmage.
(along with my “official” selection here, I’ll also write — I believe Bell and Kilgore are going to be darn good, too)
