Five at Five: 2026 NFL Draft prospects to keep in mind for Buffalo

Last Thursday’s “Mock Draft Version 1.0” by yours truly signaled the start of #DRAFTSZN here at the BuffaloFAMbase blog as we begin to draw closer to the start of the 2026 NFL Draft, which takes place from April 23 to April 25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, later this month.

On Easter Sunday, I felt a bit inspired to dig a little deeper into draft prospects who may have yet to be uncovered or who are being passed by despite standing out in plain sight. 

It was called “Finding the Golden Egg.” You can read it here.

And, for those that haven’t already checked it out, in short — it was an ode to my late mother (R.I.P., I love and miss you) — who would often hide a “Golden Egg” during our Easter egg hunts growing up as kids, signifying a rare find . . . a hidden treasure, if you will. 

With that said, there are often many hidden treasures to be found in the NFL draft every year, however, it’s up to your favorite team’s general manager to uncover the gems and decipher the duds from the diamonds.

It’s easier said than done, but that’s what separates the great executives from the average ones.

So, keeping up with the spirit of draft month as I’m still feeling a bit inspired, I have decided to begin a new series to finish out the month.

I will be calling it “Five at Five.”

What is it? It’s simple.

A brief article that will drop every evening leading up to opening night of the draft in The Keystone State.

Yup. You heard that right, Bills fans.

For your viewing pleasure, an article containing five prospects from various different positions that you’ll need to keep an eye on heading into the big three-day event will drop right here on the site every night at 5 p.m. ET.

Capeesh? Capeesh.

Well, here’s your first helping of prospects to pore over. Get to it.

Cashius Howell, EDGE, Texas A&M University (6-foot-2, 253 lbs/Age: 22)

One of the more polarizing prospects in this year’s draft cycle, due in large part to his historically short arms in comparison to past NFL players, Cashius Howell’s production and other tantalizing attributes — outside of being short-limbed — can’t be ignored.

Much like former Texas A&M legend and future NFL Hall-of-Famer Von Miller has done throughout his entire career, Howell uses his incredible agility and solid athletic ability to his advantage more often than not despite lacking ideal size and length.

He bursts off the line with ease, and is consistently able to dip down low and glide past opposing offensive tackles in a seamless route toward the quarterback, sometimes offering an inside spin move as a way of detouring, which led to 11.5 sacks in 2025 for the Kansas City, Missouri, native — good for tops in the SEC last season and fourth best amongst the FBS in totality.

It was truly an incredible season for the former Bowling Green State University EDGE rusher, which is where Howell began his collegiate career back in 2021.

He’s being knocked for his zero-percentile, 30-¼” arm length, but somehow analysts are forgetting that he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, a First-Team AP All-American, a First-Team All-SEC nominee, and a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, the Lombardi Award, and the Chuck Bednarik award, all while still having those same arms.

Sometimes, the nitpicking over measurables is mind numbing during this process.

Players get dismissed for not fitting into certain thresholds, and, in the end, those general managers that stay true to their thinking in those aspects are often caught looking back wondering, “What if?”

Well, if Brandon Beane is hoping to further boost the team’s pass rush by selecting a player rather early in the upcoming draft, then Howell will certainly be at the top of the list to be considered . . . or at least he should be.

In addition to his 11.5 sacks, the 6-foot-2, 253-pound pass-rusher had 31 total tackles, six pass breakups, one forced fumble, and a team-high 14 tackles for loss in 13 starts. 

For his career, Howell finished his five seasons between Bowling Green and Texas A&M with 127 total tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, 27 sacks, 15 pass deflections, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one interception. 

He had 25 sacks over the last three seasons alone.

At the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, aside from his alarming body measurables, the former Aggie standout dazzled in athletic testing, running 4.59 seconds in the 40-yard dash with a 1.58-second 10-yard split, while adding a 32.5” vertical and a 9’-7” broad jump.

In conclusion, people shouldn’t be up in arms over Howell — pun intended. 

He’s a violent, relentless pass-rusher who’s capable of being cast on both the left and right sides of an alignment, and he’ll provide some lucky team with plenty of immediate pop next season.

Western New Yorkers refer to their soda as “pop,” right?

Well, adding Howell to Buffalo’s arsenal — despite not meeting the supposed NFL arm-length threshold — would certainly be refreshing, to say the least.

Keep an eye out for Howell at pick No. 26, folks.

Kayden McDonald, Defensive Tackle, Ohio State University (6-foot-2, 326 lbs/Age: 21)

Ohio State University defensive lineman Kayden McDonald is everything that a team could want from a player in terms of being a lane-clogging, run-stuffing nose tackle who’s not afraid to cause chaos amongst a slew of large bodies.

Because, most of the time, he’s the largest body in the bunch.

Standing at 6-foot-2, 326 pounds, McDonald is an immovable object in the center of a defensive front who also has the get off in his repertoire to blow past you if he so chooses, which was evidenced by his career-highs in tackles for loss (9) and sacks (3) last season for the Buckeyes.

And, although those numbers might not be jaw-dropping, the majority of McDonald’s efforts go unnoticed as he engulfs double-teams in order to free up his teammates to make the play. 

He plays with a passion that’s readily apparent, and his ability to be a force in the run game is invaluable.

The Suwanee, Georgia, native chose to forgo his senior season to enter the 2026 NFL Draft this spring after he tallied 65 total tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one pass deflection on top of the aforementioned career-highs in sacks and tackles for loss.

It was a great junior campaign for McDonald, and one that he hopes to parlay into becoming the next interior lineman to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft out of Ohio State after his fellow defensive tackle and former teammate, Tyleik Williams, was taken by the Detroit Lions with the 28th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft held in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Williams said he had an inkling that he may be taken by the Buffalo Bills at pick number 30 last year had he not ultimately been selected by the Lions, so it’ll be interesting to see if Buffalo might have their eye on McDonald this go-around.

Only time will tell. 

But, there’s no denying that the big man in the middle has plenty of playmaking ability to provide to his future NFL team.

For his career, McDonald finished with 85 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three sacks, three pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

Don’t be surprised to see Beane pull the trigger on the massive defensive lineman.

C.J. Allen, Inside Linebacker, University of Georgia (6-foot-1, 230 lbs/Age: 21)

C.J. Allen might not be the “sexiest” name to select at linebacker in this year’s draft class, but he just might be the safest.

Muddied in with the likes of Avrell Reese, Sonny Styles, Anthony Hill Jr., Jacob Rodriguez, and Jake Golday at the top of many draft boards at the position, Allen is a tremendous talent coming from the University of Georgia, but the problem seems to be that there are many talented players in the off-the-ball linebacking pool this season, and it’s unclear what team will decide to make a splash with their pick by choosing Allen.

Now just 21 years old after three seasons as an underclassman, the Barnesville, Georgia, native stayed “home” and enrolled to become a Bulldog in January of 2023 — graduating high school early and joining the collegiate ranks much sooner than his other impending freshmen counterparts — before eventually going on to start five of 14 games in his first season with the team.

From there, the cerebral player went on to complete his time on campus in Athens, Georgia, by starting 25 of 27 games over the next two years, tallying 205 career tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 10 pass breakups, four-and-a-half sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one interception.

In 2025 alone, Allen registered 88 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, four pass deflections, three-and-a-half sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery en route to earning First-Team AP All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors, as well as being recognized as a finalist for the Butkus Award, which is given out to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker in the FBS each year.

And, although he didn’t ultimately win that award at season’s end, the former Lamar County High School standout was, however, the recipient of the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which is given to the nation’s top defender who also exemplifies “integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community, and tenacity.”

He’s a leader on and off the field. That’s abundantly clear.

In fact, last season, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound inside linebacker wore the “green dot” for the Bulldogs’ defense, and Allen revealed to All32’s Brett Kollmann that he called all of the plays and made all of the checks while on the field last season at Georgia.

That’s quite impressive for a young player to do in his junior season at a major SEC program, and it bodes well for his upcoming duties of running an NFL defense for some franchise in the very near future.

Could that future be in Orchard Park, New York, in defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s 3-4 system?

Who knows, but — considering the team’s lack of depth and current uncertainty at the linebacker position behind Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams — don’t be shocked to see Allen transform from Bulldog to Bill in just under a month.

K.C. Concepcion, Wide Receiver, Texas A&M University (6-foot, 196 lbs/Age: 21)

Much like free-agent linebacker Leo Chenal was all offseason leading up to the start of the league’s legal tampering period a few short weeks ago, Texas A&M wide receiver K.C. Concepcion has been the talk of the town amongst Bills fans and media analysts alike so far this spring.

After “suffering” through another dreadful season-long display from Buffalo’s wide-receiving cast in 2025, members of the FAMbase are ready for the team to add another playmaker on offense to help quarterback Josh Allen this upcoming season, even after Bills’ President of Football Operations and General Manager Brandon Beane already traded for former Chicago Bears veteran D.J. Moore at the beginning of March and added Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer last offseason.

The wideout position is still an issue in the minds of many, whether head coach Joe Brady and Beane want to admit it or not.

So, with that point in mind, Concepcion has been the darling of many draft dwellers since deciding to forgo his senior season following a junior campaign last year in which he posted 61 receptions for 919 yards and nine touchdowns, while adding 75 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries down in College Station, Texas, as an Aggie.

He also spent time in Raleigh, North Carolina, as a member of the North Carolina State University Wolfpack, which is where he began his career out of high school in 2023 and 2024.

Last season, on top of his offensive efforts, the versatile playmaker added 25 punt returns for 456 yards and two touchdowns — an area where Buffalo could stand to add some help, instead of simply relying on Khalil Shakir to fair-catch the ball every time he is out there.

For his three-year collegiate career, Concepcion racked up 2,218 receiving yards, 431 rushing yards, 25 touchdown receptions, and three rushing touchdowns.

Standing at just 6-foot and weighing 196 pounds, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native isn’t the biggest wide receiver in terms of stature, but he’s built thickly enough to withstand the rigors of making tough catches and being on the receiving end of blows from opposing defenders.

He’s a little bit like former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs in that department, due to his short area quickness, similar build, and ability to create separation with his route-running ability despite only running 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash, which is still quite good, but just not elite. 

So, coupling all of those previously mentioned attributes in with the fact that Concepcion was actually born in Rochester, New York, before moving down South — and that his father is apparently a fan of the Bills — it’s not hard to see why FAMbase members are salivating over the thought of bringing the lovable playmaker into the fold.

He’d certainly be an intriguing add, and he did have a top-30 visit with the team. 

It could happen. 

Keep the first-round “Wide Receiver Train” on the tracks for now, folks, your hopes haven’t been derailed yet.

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Safety, University of Toledo (6-foot-3, 201 lbs/Age: 22)

Despite spending resources on the free-agent additions of safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Geno Stone this offseason, along with bringing back Damar Hamlin, there’s still at least a chance that Buffalo wants to add more to its safety room heading into the summer months.

In a loaded class, the draft just might be the place the Bills look to do that . . . and they could do it sooner than some might think.

One player to keep an eye on is the University of Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, who is projected by many to be the second or third safety off the board in the upcoming draft behind only Ohio State University’s Caleb Downs and the University of Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman.

Weighing in at 201 pounds and standing at 6-foot-3, the Florida native is the perfect example of what the modern-day NFL safety is trending toward these days.

He’s a physically imposing figure in the secondary, possessing the ability to play both down in the box — which is very he’s admittedly best at — while also displaying the deep speed necessary to play in the center of the field if he were needed there, which was evidenced by his solid time of 4.52 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.

He also posted a time of 1.58 seconds in the 10-yard split, showcasing his ability to trigger downhill on ballcarriers and unsuspecting wide receivers in a hurry. He also had a 35.5” vertical and a 10’-2” broad jump.

Simply put — the former Lakewood High School defensive back is a large, rangy athlete who puts fear into the hearts of opposing quarterbacks and skill players. 

For his career, he recorded 214 total tackles, 13 pass deflections, 11 tackles for loss, five interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and one interception returned for a touchdown.

McNeil-Warren also had an incredible tally of nine (!!) forced fumbles over his four-year collegiate campaign, showing a knack for the “Peanut Punch” — which helped make former NFL defensive back Charles “Peanut” Tillman so successful in his illustrious career — according to Lance Zierlien’s scouting report of the impending draft pick. 

A member of the appropriately named Toledo Rockets for his entire career, there’s a reason teams and media members alike are falling in love with the heat-seeking missile’s game.

And, fans shouldn’t be scared off by the fact that he played against lower levels of competition in the MAC (Mid-American Conference).

Despite playing different positions in the secondary, former Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 first-round pick, cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who was a teammate of McNeil-Warren’s at Toledo from 2022 to 2023, seems to be doing just fine so far in his NFL career.

So, I wouldn’t worry . . . Toledo’s latest first-round prospect will likely do the same.

Have McNeil-Warren’s name in your back pocket, ladies and gents, as a possible first-round target to pair with third-year safety Cole Bishop next season.