Five at Five: 2026 NFL prospects to keep in mind for Buffalo (3.0)

Good evening, Bills Mafia. 

We here at the BuffaloFAMbase blog hope you had a wonderful day, and we’re happy to see your beautiful faces glancing over your screens once more for another edition of ‘Five at Five.’

You know it. You (maybe) love it.

Anyway, at this point, this series needs no introduction.

Five prospects. Five o’clock ET, as promised.

Rejoice, folks. The draft is almost here.

Dig in.

Zion Young, EDGE, University of Missouri (6-foot-6, 262 lbs/Age: 22)

Looking from afar, University of Missouri EDGE defender Zion Young seems to have everything NFL teams look for in a pass rusher.

A sturdy base and overall body frame. Tremendous length. Youth (he JUST turned 22 in March). And, for the most part, he’s had production at a major college program.

So, why then, is the 6-foot-6, 262-pound Atlanta, Georgia, native not receiving as much buzz as his other fellow draft counterparts at the EDGE position?

Or, at least it seems like he’s not garnering as much attention, anyway.

It’s a bit unclear. But, he should be.

After having a rather seemingly slow buildup to the beginning of his collegiate career, which started at Michigan State University from 2022 to 2023, Young appeared to find his stride during his senior campaign on the campus of Mizzou last season.

With just 89 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, three pass deflections, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery across 33 games in his first three seasons, it appeared as if the former Westlake High School defender was just going to be “another guy” coming through the college ranks.

But, then . . . something clicked for the EDGE rusher who looks like he may have been constructed in a lab somewhere.

In 2025, Young earned First-Team All-SEC honors in his second season down in Missouri, and he did so after displaying a fiery passion on the field that was readily apparent to everyone who was watching down in and down out. 

For the season, he finished with career-highs across the board in total tackles (42), tackles for loss (16.5), sacks (6.5), and forced fumbles (2) while going up against premier competition in the SEC every week.

His sack totals weren’t jaw-dropping, but there’s reason to believe he can still grow in that department moving forward given his relentless motor, aggressive style of play, incredible length, and for the simple fact that his pass-rush arsenal is very limited at the moment. 

If he can be “schooled up” in the pros, there’s no telling where Young can take his game.

He likely won’t hear his name called on night one, but there’s a strong possibility that he hears his name called somewhere on Day 2.

Buffalo, who appears to still need at least one person added to the EDGE room, could conceivably be a landing spot for Missouri’s tenacious pass rusher.

We’ll have to watch out for this one.

Christen Miller, Defensive Tackle, University of Georgia (6-foot-4, 321 lbs/Age: 21)

No, not Christian. It’s CHRISTEN.

Just like yesterday’s piece that had JORDYN Tyson listed, Christen Miller is another player who’s probably dealt with confusion with the spelling of his name growing up.

There’s never been, however, any mistaking his play on the football field.

At just 21 years old, Miller is a youthful defensive lineman out of the University of Georgia who has played like a man amongst boys in the SEC over the last four seasons since coming out of Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, Georgia, in 2022.

With 33” arms and 10” hands, the “hometown” defender was a load for opposing interior lineman to handle during his time on campus in Athens, Georgia, and it’s quite possible that he’s just scratching the surface of what he could become as a professional down the line.

He’s the definition of what it means to play with “heavy hands,” as he provides a consistent punch and pop in his initial contact with the opposition, and he also appears to have an innate ability to sniff out things quickly, possessing a good feel for how plays are unfolding in front of him.

Miller can sometimes lose ground when anchoring on double-teams, but he generally plays with a balanced base and — when he’s not engulfed amongst two lineman — he’s able to regularly disengage and shed blockers in order to make a play in the run game, as well.

He appears to have the complete package, and that’s evidenced by the fact that he had 11.5 tackles for loss and four sacks over the last three seasons, despite mostly being asked to allow others to make the splash plays.

The former Bulldog tallied 64 total tackles in his career on top of those tackles for loss and sack numbers, and he seems in line to be the next great Georgia defensive lineman to come out in the early rounds of the draft just as many of his former teammates have in recent years.

Buffalo would be wise to give strong consideration to bringing Miller into the fold, and they appear to be doing that as it was reported yesterday by NFL analyst Aaron Wilson that the Bills are having a top-30 visit with the large human sometime in the coming days leading up to opening night in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The final day for teams to host draft prospects on such visits is likely in about a week or so, and Miller might just leave a lasting impression that forces Buffalo’s hand on draft night.

Who knows?

But, there’s no questioning that Miller would be a solid addition in Buffalo alongside Ed Oliver and last year’s draft picks at the position — Deone Walker and T.J. Sanders — and it’s possible that maybe the Bills’ new defensive line coach, Terrance Jamison, has an affinity for the big man out of The Peach State. 

We’ll have to wait and find out.

However, regardless of if Miller is one of Buffalo’s picks or not, it appears that a further youth movement up front just might be on the way in Orchard Park, New York, later on this month.

Chris Bell Jr., Wide Receiver, University of Louisville (6-foot-2, 222 lbs/Age: 21)

Although it may have simply been for a medical checkup, which is something teams often do when a top player suffers an ACL injury like Louisville’s Chris Bell Jr. did in November, the Bills did host the playmaking wideout for a pre-draft visit back in March according to Syracuse.com’s Ryan Talbot, who has a running tab of the team’s collegiate visitors this offseason on the site (check it out, it’s great). 

With that in mind, there’s at least some interest from the team in the 6-foot-2, 222-pound Yazoo City, Mississippi, native . . . and for good reason.

For starters, normally a player like Bell wouldn’t even be able to be in consideration for a team like Buffalo at the bottom-half of the draft, as he possesses the type of talent that usually gets snatched up in the top-25 picks or so, but thanks — or I guess no thanks for the player’s sake — to the previously mentioned knee injury, which he suffered during a game against Southern Methodist University (SMU) on November 22 of last year, Bell Jr. won’t be hearing his name called early on night one . . . if he even hears his name in Round 1 at all.

Regardless of the knee, though, teams should always be interested in a player like the former Cardinal.

He finished his four-year collegiate career with 151 receptions, 2,166 receiving yards, 43 rushing yards, and 12 receiving touchdowns while in the state of Kentucky, and he was having the best season yet in 2025 before that fateful day last fall.

In just 11 games, the former Greenville Christian School standout — which is where he played his senior year of high school after transferring from Yazoo City — had career-highs in every statistical category for receiving, tallying 72 catches for 917 yards and six touchdowns.

Had his season not been cut short, Bell Jr. most likely would have gone over the 1,000-yard mark for the year as Louisville played two more games following his injury, and the physically imposing playmaker had already been averaging 83.4 receiving yards per contest.

It was all setting up perfectly for him . . . until it all came crashing down.

But, things are looking up, and teams are still greatly interested in obtaining his services for the foreseeable future in the pros.

He’s said by various outlets to be on track to be full-go by training camp, so there’s no question that some team is going to take a shot on Bell Jr. — it’s just a matter of how soon that will be on draft weekend.

Could he be taken in the first round? Sure. However, it’s not very likely.

Instead, he’ll probably hear his name at some point on night two of the draft, and maybe Buffalo is hoping he falls into the team’s lap at pick No. 91?

That very well could be the case.

He’d be an exciting addition to the wide-receiver room for the Bills as he’s been compared to the likes of Philadelphia Eagles wideout A.J. Brown, who is a player that many fans wanted President of Football Operations and General Manager Brandon Beane to trade for this offseason before he ultimately pulled the trigger on a maneuver for D.J. Moore.

Bell Jr. has great size for the position with a competitive nature, and, depending on how he recovers from the injury, he’s shown in the past that he has sufficient enough sprinting ability to beat defenders and take crossing routes and slants the distance, showcasing enough long speed after a brief buildup to his top tempo.

He’s not the flashiest or the shiftiest, but he’s a tough wideout who definitely belongs in the NFL.

And, you just never know what a player can turn into.

There’s enough talent within his game that he could eventually become a top-tier receiver in the league.

That could be intriguing to think about for Beane, especially on a cost-controlled contract for four or five years.

Don’t be shocked if the Bills are enamored by Bell Jr.’s abilities and wind up turning the card for him at some point.

R Mason Thomas, EDGE, Oklahoma University (6-foot-2, 241 lbs/Age: 21)

What’s your favorite letter in the alphabet?

Strange inquiry, I know.

So, if you’re left scratching your head after that personal interrogation, I’m not surprised.

But, if the Bills end up drafting the player listed above, then the answer to that oddly-timed question might make more sense . . . the answer is “R,” by the way. You’re looking for “R.”

Still confused?

Well, it’s all in reference to Oklahoma University EDGE defender R Mason Thomas, whose mother gave him his first name simply to continue a family tradition, and it certainly is easy to remember — not that Thomas is hard to forget on the field, anyway.

Coming out of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the undersized EDGE defender took a little time to get adjusted to the college game as he produced just 16 tackles, three-and-a-half tackles for loss, and one-and-a-half sacks over 19 games in his first two seasons, but then everything seemed to click for the 6-foot-2, 241-pound Sooner.

And, despite his diminutive stature, he made his presence known amongst his opponents as a junior and senior on campus in Norman, Oklahoma.

In 2024 and 2025, Thomas registered 49 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two pass deflections, and he also scored two defensive touchdowns, which included a 71-yard, scoop-and-score against the University of Tennessee last year.

He was electric.

And, now teams are hoping to capture lightning in a bottle with the impending draft pick . . . or rather, a mason jar maybe?

Regardless of how the player is obtained, whatever NFL team is lucky enough to “capture” Thomas’ talents this upcoming draft will be hoping that the Florida native is able to provide an immediate upgrade to its pass-rushing productivity once he’s unleashed in the fall . . . and he should be able to deliver.

He ran a 4.67-second time in the 40-yard dash, as well as a 1.63-second 10-yard split, so it’s clear that, although he’s smaller, he’s plenty explosive.

He’s “twitched up” as NFL analyst Lance Zierlein put it in his scouting report, and his quick get-off is complemented by his incredible ability to dip down low and bend the corner around offensive tackles, especially ones that are on the larger side.

It’s not hard to see why teams are interested in the Oklahoma standout.

Thomas would be a solid addition to the EDGE room in Buffalo, and is a similar style of player to another former Sooner — Nik Bonnito — who has collected 37 sacks and 44 tackles for loss with the Denver Broncos since entering the league in 2022, all while standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 240 pounds, which are nearly identical measurables to Oklahoma’s impending draft pick this year.

Oh, and if you somehow forgot, Jim Leonhard is awfully familiar with how to utilize a player like Thomas and Bonnito, as he was on Denver’s staff under defensive coordinator Vance Joseph the past two years.

This could be a perfect match, and he’s definitely an interesting name to keep an eye on for Buffalo in the middle rounds . . . for more reasons than one (letter).

A.J. Haulcy, Safety, Louisiana State University (6-foot, 215 lbs/Age: 22)

It’s well known that Joe Brady was the passing game coordinator for the LSU Tigers during the team’s run to a national title in 2019, and, now seven years later as the Bills’ newest head coach, he might be giving another former Tiger some advice on what it’s like to live in Western New York in just a few short weeks.

That player is LSU safety A.J. Haulcy, who also had a top-30 visit with Buffalo during the pre-draft process according to a report from college football and NFL analyst Ryan Fowler.

Recognized as being a ballhawk while also still being able to pack a punch, Haulcy will likely be selected on Day 2 of the draft after he put together a four-year collegiate career that took him from the University of New Mexico in 2022, to the University of Houston from 2023 to 2024, and then to the state of Louisiana in 2025 where he registered 88 total tackles, four pass deflections, three interceptions, one forced fumble, and a half sack. 

Before transferring to LSU, Haulcy led the Big 12 Conference with a career-high five interceptions in 2024 and also had a career-high eight pass breakups that season.

In total, he finished his four-year intercollegiate journey with 347 tackles, 19 pass deflections, 10 interceptions, four-and-a-half tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

The Texas native knows how to make plays on the ball, and he’s done it everywhere that he’s been.

There’s no reason to think that the NFL will be any different.

He’s thought to be best suited for the free-safety spot while patrolling the deep parts of the field in search of a ball to steal or a receiver to punish, and his 4.52-second mark in the 40-yard dash and 1.62-second tally in the 10-yard split backed that theory up at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in February.

And, although the Bills brought in fellow safeties C.J. Gardner Johnson and Geno Stone in from free agency this offseason, while also re-signing Damar Hamlin, all three of those contracts were solely for one season.

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for any of them, and it won’t preclude Brandon Beane from pulling the trigger on a safety in the upcoming draft if he so chooses.

Haulcy’s rangy, playmaking skillset would go well with third-year safety Cole Bishop in the back-end of Buffalo’s new defense, and learning behind the three aforementioned veterans wouldn’t be a bad place to start his NFL career.

Haulcy could be in play for the Bills in Round 3 if he makes it that far.