“Pick Six” For 2026 NFL Draft, March 2026

Six Players Per Draft Pick for Buffalo Bills

Below is a list of six players I’m suggesting for each of the Bills’ projected 2026 draft picks, focusing Brandon Beane’s early selections on these identified needs: (1) Bigger, Pressuring Defensive Ends, (2) NT depth, (3) Versatile Free Safety opposite Cole Bishop, (4) WR#1-2 With Separation (WR), (5) Inside Linebackers, both MIKE and WILB (ILB), (6) EDGE Rushers, and (7) Left Guard (LG).  I understand you’ll want to look at CB and QB3, too. Don’t get hung up on player rankings just yet; we still have Free Agency, film, Pro Days, and oodles of mocks to do before the draft 33 days from now. My Pick Six from five weeks ago lives here.

RD1 #26

I don’t think Dillon Thieneman is there where the Bills pick at #26. The team made some excellent signings in the offseason to complement Cole Bishop, but should Thieneman drop, they’d have to think hard about their only pick in the top 90. While he’s not the biggest safety in the class (6001, 201, 4.35), Thieneman won the scouted Penn State game with his INT, and added 3 solo tackles an an assist. His career average of 6.0 solo tackles per game is the highest in the draft (Caleb Downs 3.93). He has a very Bills-y personality, and is always into the facility early. Xwitter told me that Thieneman’s one of only four FBS SAFs since 2015 with a coverage grade over 88.0, a run defense grade over 90.0, and a career pressure rate over 33%. To run Jim Leonhard’s TITE package, Beane needs to get some depth in that front seven. CJ Allen (6006, 230, 4.67) would compete with Buffalo Joe for the Green Dot spot at MIKE, and he has experience in a 3-4. Beane looked hard at Roquan Smith in 2018’s draft, and Allen is a Roquan clone: densely built, sideline-to-sideline range, and ouchy hit power. He sorts through traffic better than almost all of the ‘backers. I admire his great vision/processing, fantastic recognition, pursuit, and play strength. CJ played with Sedrick VanPran-Granger. A Jim Leonhard defense also needs a Strongside Anchor to keep plays inside, and TJ Parker‘s that guy. Parker (6035, 263, 4.68) put up 3 solo tackles in each of 3 scouted games: ‘Cuse, LSU, and Georgia Tech. Beane looks for violent hands, ability to set the edge, and high motor (21.5 career college sacks). Parker’s “stout” playstyle make him the ideal anchor for the strong side. Parker has the highest 3-year ScoutScore of any RD1 player except LG Vega Ioane. If the Bills sign some DL help in free agency, he might select an alpha WR. Two RD1 slot receivers got a Combine visit —K.C. Concepcion (5115, 196, 4.45) from my hometown of Pittsford, NY and Omar Cooper (6001, 199, 4.42). I’m pretty sure Khalil Shakir is your slot and DJ Moore is your WR1, and there’s deep speed further down in the draft, and there’s the matter of Concepcion’s “knee procedure” in early March. Two eyebrow-raisers for you: Kadyn Proctor as your LT-in-Waiting behind Dion Dawkins, and Kayden McDonald (6021, 326, 5.21), a dominant Nose Tackle, which frees up Deone Walker and Ed Oliver to play on either side of him. In many of my mocks, your LG for a decade, Vega Ioane, slips down from the mid-teens. I don’t think it happens; more likely, Ioane causes another gem to drop (Faulk, Mesidor, Woods, Terrell).

RD3 #91

So you didn’t choose your MIKE in RD1? I don’t see a scenario where the Bills wait for the “Green Dot” quarterback of the Defense any longer than Round Three, and both MIKE candidates here got at least three games scouted plus a Combine Visit: Kyle Louis of Pitt (6010, 225, 4.53) and Jaishawn Barham of Michigan (6034, 240, 4.64). I like Louis’s zone play and LB-SAF Hybrid ability –not quite positionless, but a creative Jim Leonhard would tailor his scheme for him. Barham is an excellent run defender, but not as great in coverage as Louis. In 2024 alone, though, Barham put up 5 solo tackles and 4 assists against USC, 6 solo tackles in the Oregon game, then 5 solos against Indiana –and all had a Bills scout in the press box. The other player here that got the most scout eyeballs was CB Daylen Everette (6012, 196, 4.38), another stalwart in the Georgia 3-4. You have a choice of impressive Safeties here: Zakee Wheatley (6031, 203, 4.52) –the highest ScoutScore in Day One or Two– and Jalon Kilgore (6013, 210, 4.4), with virtually identical measurables to Cole Bishop’s (6-2, 205, 4.45) and the best interview of the safeties who’ll be drafted. Why did Skyler Bell get a Combine Visit from the Bills? The 24-year old spent three years at Wisconsin during which Jim Leonhard was interim Head Coach before transferring to UConn. Skyler Bell has better throttle control, short-area twitch, and suddenness than Brandin Cooks. There, I said it.

RD4 #126

If I were a betting man, this is the pick the Bills use to get the beef on the defensive line, and all three have the highest ScoutScores. There are three that tickle my fancy. Rayshaun Benny (6032 298 4.9) I’d use as the “Heavy 4i” (the D-Lineman on the side where the TE lines up) in a deep rotation in TITE (3-4) packages with Deone Walker, Phil Mathis, and DeWayne Carter (if he makes the team). Benny slides to Strong-Side Defensive End when the Bills run “Peso” (a 4-2-5 which looks more like last year). Tim Keenan III (6010 327 5.31) is an effective Nose Tackle/DT1-tech, as is DeMonte Capehart (6047 313 4.85), the Top DT RAS at the Combine, but with some off-field issues. Keenan had four games scouted, and the other two hogmollies were seen three times. The Bills really want a nose from the draft, regardless of whether they sign a late free agent. If the Bills want a “Positionless” player in this round, I like Harold Perkins (6007, 223, 4.43). Jim Leonhard wants to give offensive coordinators fewer clues pre-snap, and that’s Perkins. If you want another “X” receiver, and have used your earlier picks on defense, I’ve become attracted to WR De’Zhaun Stribling. In Stribling (6021, 207, 4.36), you get reliable hands (1.8% drop rate in 2025) and a 9.88 RAS. Stribling’s the last of the “X” receivers that I think could win a starting role this season. There are a couple other safeties to look at, but Texas’s Michael Taaffe (5117 190 4.5) is one of few Day 3 safeties who could break into the rotation the Bills already have in Cole Bishop, CJ Gardner-Johnson, Geno Stone, and Jordan Hancock due to his exceptional man coverage.

RD5 #165 AND #168 PICK TWO:

Two players will be drafted three picks apart unless Beane trades them. Caden Curry and Vincent Anthony Jr. are classified as EDGEs on most draft sites, but I’d play them in different places in Jim Leonhard’s scheme: Curry (6026, 257, 4.74, 15.5 career sacks) would be a rushbacker in the 3-4 and would be a DE in the Peso 4-2-5 looks. Anthony (6056, 258, 4.77, 14.5 career sacks) could play the Heavy 4i or even the “Slasher” 4i role. The Bills brought in WILL Linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr on a 30-Visit after a Combine Visit. Elarms-Orr and Josaiah Trotter (who’d be a RD2 acquired pick) would be my favorite LB combination in this draft. If you don’t have your MIKE yet, shame on you, but you’re good: Michigan’s Jimmy Rolder (6024, 238, 4.67) of is a Day 3 Gem, and as I was writing this, he just secured a 30-Visit with our Buffalo Bills!

RD6 #182:

Robert Spears-Jennings (6017, 205, 4.32) has received the most attention of these players in RD6, our newly-acquired pick at #182. He had the Combine Visit and a significant Coach Connection, as he played for new Bills CB Coach Jay Valai with the Sooners last season. In one scouted game, Spears-Jennings notched 11 tackles (8 solo), 1 TFL vs scouted Ole Miss. Other Day-3 productive safeties I see here are Louis Moore (5106, 191, 4.54, 6 tackles, INT scouted vs Iowa) and Bishop Fitzgerald (5110, 201, 4.55, 6 solos vs ILL in scouted game, then 4 solos 6 asst and 1 PBU in front of Gray and Fisher vs ND). I think you’re taking at least one EDGE on Day 3. Mikail Kamara (6000, 265, 4.79, 21.5 sacks) has the second-highest “Get-Home” rate of all the draftable EDGEs over his career, at 1.56 TFLs+Sacks per game. That’s higher than Greg Rousseau’s 1.03. Kamara’s my biggest Combine Snub. Mason Reiger (6045 251 4.78, 11.5 sacks) played his final year at Jim Leonhard’s Wisconsin, but Reiger joined the Badgers after transferring in from Louisville. Your “Moore & Moore draft” to go with DJ Moore could include Trey Moore (6015, 243, 4.54, 30.5 sacks), with production galore as a rusher (1.44 TFLs+Sacks per game).

RD7 #220:

The Bills dined with and worked out Malik Benson (6001, 189, 4.37, 16.6 ypc vs AP-ranked teams), a slot receiver / kick returner, in Oregon on or around his Pro Day, as well as scouting 3 Ducks games. Benson was on my radar early this year, ashis interview was among the best of the whole WR class (with Malachi Fields, Zachariah Branch, J.Michael Sturdivant, and PFA Dane Key). The highest ScoutScore here belongs to Adam Randall of Clemson, whose intriguing RB/WR hybrid versatility and size (6033, 232, 4.5) gets him comped most often to Beane’s heart-throb Cordarrelle Patterson. Again, positionless players tend to get drafted earlier than you’d think. Randall brings a powerful, physically-developed physique (think brick outhouse), strong YAC ability, and a dual-role unpredictability (787 career receiving yards, 814 rushing yards in 2025 alone). Randall’s athleticism and work ethic make him an intriguing prospect, no matter what round you value him. Beane’s next locally-grown product, Red Murdock (6017, 232, 4.77) is this year’s Buffalo Joe (6-1, 240, 4.65), but he’s slower. However, Murdock leads all tacklers in the draft class with 11.8 tackles per game. He also finished 2025 with 13.5 tackles for loss and 6 forced fumbles, including his 17th career forced fumble, supplanting former Buffalo Bulls Khalil Mack. In fact, Red’s given name is Khalil. I love Kendal Daniels (6-4, 235, 4.53). He had 5 games scouted this season, tying Spears-Jennings for the most of the Day 3 prospects. He led the Big 12 in solo tackles. In a scouted game vs Ole Miss, he logged 6 tackles, 2 of them solo, 2.5 TFL, and 1 PBU. The Sooners recently brought on our own Lake Dawson as Sr. Asst GM under Jim Nagy. Big Nickel / “Cheetah” Hybrid in the Peso is his most-ideal role. While I’m intrigued with bringng LG Billy Schrauth to Buffalo (RD3?) to compete along the offensive line, I think they develop one like Micah Morris (6052, 334, 5.09). Morris played with Sedrick Van Pran-Granger during Georgia’s back-to-back Natty runs (2021–2023). If you want more CB help, Devon Marshall (5110, 200, 4.52), PFSN’s highest-graded corner in the ACC, had the most PBUs in college football with 16. In the scouted game, he made 2 Interceptions, had 7 PBU, and a 7.7 Passer Rating Allowed.

Editor’s babble: Many thanks to Dean Kindig for all his terrific contributions to our blog. You can also find Dean on X @TCBILLS_Astro.