The Buffalo Bills successfully maneuvered their way completely out of the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night thanks to three separate trades to slowly inch their way back while increasing their overall Day 2/3 pick arsenal.
Now that the trades have been announced, the team is scheduled to select twice on Friday night at picks 35 and 66 overall (the latter a 25-pick jump from where they were originally set to pick before the NFL Draft began). The team is also in a position to move
back into the third round as well thanks to acquiring the first pick in the fourth round thanks to their third and final trade of the night with the Tennessee Titans. Many good players at positions of need still remain on the board as we roll on with a brand new set of picks.
Let’s discuss the best available defensive players on the board heading into Day 2 with a focus on positions of need for the team.
EDGE Rusher
T.J. Parker, EDGE (Clemson) — The 21-year old edge rusher out of Clemson had his eyes set for the top 10 based on preseason hype. But, much like many other Clemson defenders, that hype was stunted with a more lackluster 2025 campaign that has now seen him fall completely out of the first round. Parker is a solidly built prospect (6’3” 265-pounds) who possesses a solid set of tools. While he can convert speed to power as a rusher, he needs to fill out more to his arsenal with keeping his hands and body clean on his way to the quarterback. He’s a player that could firmly be in play at pick 35.
Zion Young, EDGE (Missouri) — Young represents more of a high floor option likely to go top of round 2. He’s got plenty of NFL size and length you look for of a grownup defensive end. Young plays with a ton of nasty in the run game and that’s where he lives as a pass rusher. His upside is more on the limited side because of some of the minute athleticism limitations. He does play with a ton of effort and power, but you have to understand the floor and ceiling aren’t far apart.
Cashius Howell, EDGE (Texas A&M) — Howell provides something a bit different to the table with speed, burst, twitch, and bend. The concerns with Howell come with overall length (31” arms) and size (6’2” 255-pounds). Those concerns are likely to be fixed with how he can be washed in the run game and taken advantage of due to those limitations. In the same breath, Howell has traits you can’t teach with burst and bend to threaten the edge. Howell has big-time sack upside, but the concern is that he might just be a pass rush specialist and limited to third downs. Howell is a competitive dude, but you can’t fix the size and length issues.
R Mason Thomas, EDGE (Oklahoma) — Thomas’ profile isn’t all that different from Howell — undersized speed rusher with a lack of length that will, at times, force him to become undone in the run game. Thomas does possess some speed to power ability despite being 6’2” 240-pounds. While Thomas may never be a fully fleshed out three down player, this is a fun player to add as a potential rush specialist to get after the quarterback.
Gabe Jacas, EDGE (Illinois) — A braulic edge with some vertical athleticism, Jacas offers an intriguing blend of traits. He’s a bit tightly wound, but Jacas has a high motor and developed hand usage for a player who hasn’t turned 22 years old yet. Despite having the size thresholds most teams covet, Jacas still has his struggles against the run. The hope is an NFL team gets a hold of him and assists in some of those deficiencies. Where he wins is with big man twitch and technical hands, but the marriage with run defense technical work is the next step.
Keyron Crawford, EDGE (Auburn) — Another player with excellent burst and athleticism. He plays a much different game than his first round counterpart Keldric Faulk. He didn’t test athletically during the process, but the tape shows a very good athlete. Crawford has versatility to play in multiple fronts with a 6’4” 250-pound frame. He’s not a player who wins with strength. He’s another high motor guy who blends his rush moves optimally. Similar to others on this list, Crawford struggles as a run defender because of his overall lack of strength.
Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE (Penn State) — Dennis-Sutton tested as a ridiculous athlete between numbers at the NFL Scouting Combine and his Pro Day. The athletic numbers show a fast, explosive, and agile player. But the tape says something a bit different. He’s a huge body at over 6’5” with over 33” arms. He’s got a good array of pass rush moves in his arsenal. Despite the athletic testing, he’s still available because his rush isn’t very deceptive or particularly difficult for offensive tackles to deal with from a twitch/athleticism standpoint. The tape doesn’t necessarily match the athletic testing which makes his landing spot/career arc a fascinating one.
Defensive Tackle
Kayden McDonald, DT (Ohio State) — McDonald has an excellent first step for a pure nose tackle. He’s got ridiculous power in his hands that pairs extremely well with that first step explosiveness off the ball. His tackle production (65 total; 9 tackles for loss) is a ridiculous number for a nose tackle who worked in a rotation for the Buckeyes. The knock on McDonald is that he’s a nose tackle with potentially limited pass rush ceiling based on his lateral twitch and how raw/limited his pass rush move arsenal is as of right now. If you need a nose tackle and don’t have much worry about the pass rush ability, McDonald makes sense. He likely comes off the board early on night two.
Christen Miller, DT (Georgia) — Miller is another nose tackle projection — but he offers a bit of a different flair in that regard. He’s a more laterally quick player that may have more of a pass rushing upside than a typical nose because of that big man quickness. He’s got legitimate knockback power and strength against the run (hence the nose projection). Despite some of the upside within, he’s not been a productive player on the raw stat sheet in his time at Georgia. He only registered 11.5 tackles for loss in his entire career. So while he may look better on tape in what you see in a package for a nose, the finishing is a bit of a question mark for him.
Lee Hunter, DT (Texas Tech) — Another big man who projects as a nose tackle is Hunter. The UCF transfer is a mass of humanity in the middle with a huge upper body. He’s got a level of quickness that makes him interesting and tough to deal with as far as shear size and unexpected quickness goes. He’s got stone blocks for hands and discards with authority. Some of the knocks on Hunter are his testing came back relatively poor at the Combine (21 1/2” vertical-jump). He’s got upside to be even stronger as a run defender, but his top-heavy frame makes him an awkward build and he can be leveraged off his spot in some situations. You’d like to think there may be more in the tank for a pass rush based on his footwork, but the poor explosive athletic numbers raise some questions.
Domonique Orange, DT (Iowa State) — Nicknamed “Big Citrus”, Orange is yet again a nose tackle option on day two. There aren’t many more gap shooting defensive tackles to be had the rest of the draft and that actually bodes well for the Bills’ needs. Orange is a perfect nose tackle size with plus length (33 3/8” arms). He’s a player who affects the game in a lot of ways as a run defender with strong hands and anchor at the point of attack. Unlike others on this list, Orange is far less likely to make the play to end the sequence and he doesn’t have the upside to be more as a pass rusher and his backfield production is modest. He’s more likely to keep a play clean for his second level than be a true difference making force of nature. A player the film grinders will appreciate.
Linebacker
CJ Allen, LB (Georgia) — Allen was the heart of one of the. best defenses annually in college football the past couple of seasons at Georgia. He’s a good vertical and linear athlete that didn’t do much testing, but reportedly ran in the high 4.4s at a private workout just before the NFL Draft. That shows up on film. This is a very smart, disciplined football player who you can expect to fulfill his responsibilities to the highest extent. He’s a bit stiff as he drops into coverages and needs to develop more feel. Allen is among the more responsible, reliable players with immediate starting ability available to begin day two.
Jacob Rodriguez, LB (Texas Tech) — Rodriguez was a Heisman Trophy Finalist as a senior which tells you a lot of what you need to know about him as a playmaker for a high ranking Red Raiders defense. The production is a lot while testing as an elite athlete throughout the process. This is a very instinctual football player who can bring the fight in the gaps to finish plays. He does lack ideal length and overall size for the position which will limit him in some capacities, but you can’t ignore the athletic profile and production combination with him.
Anthony Hill Jr, LB (Texas) — Hill is a former elite high school football prospect who still feels like he’s putting the whole package together. He started as he stepped on campus at Texas and produced dividends immediately. Hill backed up his high profile with excellent athletic testing during the process. He’s a fast playing football player which can be a huge feather and his cap and also a deterrent when NFL offenses look to play with his eyes. He could also afford to be more of an impactful player in coverage for his athletic profile. Overall, Hill has teachable traits but he’s much more of a run-and-chase athlete than a player truly playing off of keys on a consistent basis.
Jake Golday, LB (Cincinnati) — Golday is another elite tester for the position, but he’s a bit different in what he offers. He was asked to be more of an overhang defender/nickel in college despite a 6’4” 240-pound body. He started his career as a defensive end. You can tell he’s still learning the position on the fly at times, but the body type, willing physicality, and athleticism are exciting traits to lean into. He still needs to learn how to use his frame to take on blocks off the ball and lock out to shed blocks on the second level. A patient team may have a big payoff, but his NFL role is a bit to-be-determined.
Josiah Trotter, LB (Missouri) — If you’re looking for an old fashioned hammer, you’ve got one with NFL bloodlines in Trotter. He’s very instinctive and smart working downhill making him the best overall run defender between the tackles in this year’s linebacker class. You can see his mediocre athleticism when he opens up on film, and he did not test at all athletically throughout the process. An NFL team will have to deem a very specific role to him where he can work downhill much more often than not as his ability to work in space leaves a lot to be desired. This is a player who is a terror working in the gaps and a concern outside of those areas.
Kyle Louis, LB (Pittsburgh) — A very different player from the aforementioned Trotter, Louis is a player who thrives in space — so much so that many believe he’s a player bound to be a nickel in the NFL. Louis is one of the more fun watches in the class thanks to his athleticism and trigger to attack the football both as a run defender and in coverage. The question on Louis becomes role because he’s not a take-on defender and will likely be reduced to the slot where he can survive. If Louis works in the NFL, he’s one of the best tackling nickels in the league from day one. If he doesn’t it’s likely because he never found a true role and was a “miss” based on the tweener label. Louis will have to show even more as a man-to-man defender on game days if he wants to start in the league full time. Team fit will matter a ton here.
Safety/Nickel
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S (Toledo) — It would not have been surprising if McNeil-Warren was selected on day one of the draft. But the positional value has perhaps pushed him down the board some into the second round. He has a lot of what you want in a modern NFL starting safety with fluidity as an athlete and multifaceted coverage skill to match up with different body types all over the field. McNeil-Warren’s biggest deficit is weight — coming in at just over 200 pounds on a 6’3” frame. That lack of girth shows up in run support where he can fall off of tackles. It’s not for a lack of want-to. He has high coverage upside and if he can increase his weight, he will fare better in the NFL as time passes.
Avieon Terrell, S (Clemson) — Terrell is an interesting player who could play outside or in once he gets to the NFL. He plays the game with a lot of nastiness for a 5’11” 185-pounder. He’s a very quick twitch athlete who does some of his best work moving downhill which is why a nickel move makes sense. He ran a 4.64 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. Some stated he was injured/hurt himself while running, but that is a concerning number with no other public data point on a speed score for a stopwatch position.
D’Angelo Ponds, S (Indiana) — Ponds is one of the best 5’8” defenders you will ever see. He plays with a fearlessness that is admirable. He may be best in the slot due to his stature at 5’8” and will lose some fights simply due to that lack of size. But he has a dog mentality, ridiculous overall athleticism, and football smarts. He’s cut from a different cloth and could live on the outside in the NFL. But some teams could see a potentially elite slot and defensive DNA-changer even if his size will cause him to lose reps at times.
Treydan Stukes, S (Arizona) — Stukes projects mostly as a nickel with exceptional athleticism. He’s a bit on the thinner side from a build standpoint, but you cannot deny his athletic profile and overall willingness to attack the football. Stukes has some questions to where he aligns in the NFL whether that be in the slot or on top of the defense. He’s physical, but the technical portions of tackling pass him by at times. He has elite coverage upside in the NFL.
Keionte Scott, S (Miami) — Scott is a unique player in that he is a downhill nickel who operates best the closer he is to the line of scrimmage. Scott plays incredibly fast and is one of the best blitzers in this draft class regardless of position. He’s the nastiest run defender in the draft pound-for-pound. He’s a bit unique in that despite good testing athleticism at 4.33 in the 40-yard dash and solid explosive figures, he’s much better closer to the line. You can see how uncomfortable he gets the further he’s required to work down the field. If he can improve his overall coverage prowess and feel, he could work for an NFL team as a starting nickel. He’s a scheme dependent chess piece that a smart defensive coordinator will want to get their hands on.
A.J. Haulcy, S (LSU) — Haulcy is a player that has a couple of requisite traits and skills that make you really excited. He’s incredibly instinctive and just a very smart football player who reads plays at a high level. He baited quarterbacks at both stops (Houston and LSU) routinely. He’s also a willing striker at the point of contact. He plays with his hair on fire in all aspects of the game. One of the concerns with Haulcy are the overall athletic bonuses he offers. He ran in the 4.5s at the Combine and did not do other portions of testing. His instincts and drive to the football will have to carry him into the NFL. With more emphasis on overall athletic prowess at the next level, he will need to continue displaying ball skills and continued consistency as a tackle in the NFL to be a consistent starter.
