College Football is imminent. Ohio State and Michigan both play their first game on August 31, for example.
We watch college games for many reasons, but the best reason is to find players who might help the Bills get up the final mountain and claim the Lombardi at the summit. Here are six players I’ve identified as fits for our team in each round of the 2025 NFL Draft. I’ll be doing my Pick Six every other month right up to the draft.
I wish you plenty of football Saturdays this fall!
RD1 — Bills scouts may not attend the Buckeyes’ first game 8/31 against the Akron Zips, and the Wolverines’ 8/31 battle vs Fresno State might not be on Brandon Beane’s calendar, but those two schools had the highest Scouting Scores in 2023 (the most scout attention from the Bills). Bills scouts have already made it to Ohio State twice, in fact. Five of the players in my RD1 Pick 6 are Buckeyes, and a plethora of Ohio State players returned to school for a run at the Natty. Expect Big Baller Beane to draft at least one more EDGE in the next draft; three EDGEs for the Bills will become UFAs. Cornerback wouldn’t surprise me; Rasul Douglas likely will command the highest market value, and he’s a UFA as well. DT1T DaQuan Jones, at age 32, is the Bills’ oldest starter. At this juncture, I expect the first pick to be EDGE, especially if J.T. Tuimoloau or Jack Sawyer is within range.
RD2A –One reason Beane may opt for skipping Ohio State and Michigan’s openers on August 31 is that Notre Dame meets Texas A&M that night, and two of my favorite defensive players are starters for the Golden Domers: Howard Cross, a 3-tech, is worth watching. Cross started all 13 games as the Irish defense’s nose tackle, which isn’t his NFL position. It’s notable when a NT finishes second on his team with 66 tackles. Cross was Defensive Player of the Week vs Manny Diaz’s Duke squad, with 13 tackles (10 solo), 2 FF, 3.5 TFL, and 1 QBH in a 21-14 win. He also excelled in a Bills-scouted game at Louisville, recording seven tackles, two solo, and 1.5 TFL. There’s a Safety I like in almost every round, and Xavier Nwankpa (say “WOM-puh”) and Kevin Winston are two of my favorites in early rounds. Winston’s interview is the best in the class [just listen], and he’s the ONLY Safety with a 85+ PFF Grade in both the run defense and pass coverage categories. If the Bills need a fast, more-reliable receiver other than Hamler or Isabella (I think they do), I suggest a look at elusive waterbug Tez Johnson, with 22 missed tackles forced in 2023. He’s the fastest WR that’s likely to be drafted. Tez had a higher career adjusted yards per route run than Emeka Egbuka (RD1 this year), and owns a 73% career catch rate. Brandon Beane has tended to skip over the Big 12 players in the past. We’ll see if the shakeup in teams produces more trips to Big 12 Oklahoma games, for example. They seem to like Danny Stutsman, for example, but we’re pretty well set at ILB.
RD2B — Beane has increased his shopping in the SEC of late, so I recommend the SEC Channel to see his favorite Day 2 prospects. Tune in to Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, and Texas A&M games and you’ll see gems like Nazir Stackhouse. If you didn’t take your heir to DaQuan Jones in RD1, Stackhouse is a lovely consolation prize. Nazir logged a career-best five tackles in a scouted win over Florida, matched it with five stops in a scouted win at Kentucky, then in the scouted SEC Championship win over LSU, Stackhouse blocked a first-quarter field goal that was returned 96 yards by C. Smith for the game’s first score. He got reps vs our own Sedrick Van Pran Granger in practice. The best size-speed combo in the draft class’s backfield belongs to Jason Marshall Jr., suggesting versatility. He’s still young and wouldn’t have to declare, but I love his attitude. Marshall is very smart, very athletic, and practices like he plays.The other versatile players are CB Keionte Scott (KR and PR duties) and S Xaview Watts (KR and some WR).
RD3 — Time to pounce on another Safety? No position group has been in flux more than the safeties in this preseason, so look to Keon Sabb to pair with Cole Bishop in the long term. Beane has him in his sights, as Sabb broke up 7 passes, had 2 interceptions and returned an interception for a touchdown –in a scouted game. I have a feeling that the Ohio State corner Jordan Hancock will be making his way up into RD2 this season as he distances himself from injury.
RD4A— If the Bills draft two EDGEs in this class, I wouldn’t be surprised. I like two EDGEs at the beginning of Day 3, R.J. Oben of Notre Dame and Gabe Jacas of Illinois, both in RD4 right now. Oben played with DeWayne Carter at Duke, and his dad Roman is a ‘96 Senior Bowl alum. He has the long frame & motor that NFL scouts covet, and has produced 8.5 sacks over the past two seasons, with five sacks and six tackles for a loss last season. His interview is tops among EDGEs [listen]. The Texas A&M offense will be top 20, and its success will in part depend on protecting QB Conner Weigman. That’ll rest on the broad shoulders of LT Trey Zuhn III. I like RT-LT Riley Mahlman of Wisconsin, too. The Bills have two very capable swing tackles –maybe three– but you can never have enough, particularly if you let Spencer Brown test free agency.
RD4B — Sean McDermott won’t be happy unless we take a few of the seven wrestlers I’ve discovered in this draft class: Mason Graham, Gabe Jacas, Thor Griffith, Jason Henderson, Aaron Graves, Joe Huber, and Chidozie Nwankwo. Thor Griffith is going to make a climb into Day 2 conversation. He’s PFF’s highest-graded ACC IDL returning to college. Griffith played in 30 games at Harvard, finishing with 132 tackles with 33.5 TFLs, and 13.5 sacks. Massively strong, Griffith benches 500. Another wrestler, Gabe Jacas, played in Illinois’ 4-2-5 system similar to what the Bills employ. He’s also adept at using strength and leverage.
RD4C –Big LB Lander Barton played with Cole Bishop, and started the first 7 games in 2023 before sustaining a season-ending injury. At the time of his injury, Barton led the LB room with 34 tackles, third on the team (Cole Bishop was one). Phil Mafah would give the Bills a slobberknocker blocker and productive clap of thunder to the Bills’ lightning backs. Mafah leads the Tigers in carries (149), rushing yards (805), rushing yards per game (73.2) and rushing touchdowns (nine), and is one of two backs I’d draft for their blocking. He’s smart, he can catch the ball well, and he’s tough to bring down. In draft simulations I always seem to take a second EDGE in RD 5-6. Josaiah Stewart and Jasheen Davis get the job done in different ways. Stewart is short and undersized, blah, blah, blah, but he has raw natural ability –-just watch the LDE here. Incredible player and great kid. Davis has the more impressive pressures per game average with 22.5 TFLs and 12.5 sacks over the last two seasons. He has active and heavy hands (his long arm is nasty), Pro Scout Asil Mulbah worked at Wake Forest before coming to the Bills.
RD5 –Time for another wrestler? How about ILB Jason Henderson from Old Dominion? Old Dominion is a football rival of McDermott’s William and Mary, their “Battle for the Silver Mace”. Jason Henderson Impressive run defender who led the nation with 14.6 tackles per game and top 5 in solo tackles per game. He was a 2-way player in HS. Henderson led 2022 college football with 186 tackles on the year, 39 more than the No. 2 tackler in the country. I like his feel for playing the run, reminding me a bit of Joe Andreessen. Henderson reads keys quickly, utilizes quickness to slip blocks, and has consistent take-on-and-shed skills, likely that wrestling background. Syracuse’s Justus Ross-Simmons will have a good quarterback throwing to him this fall after two years at Colorado State with 16.17 yards per catch. Justus played at East High School, 10 minutes to training camp. Major Burns is a 3-year Jahmile Addae (new Bills DB coach) disciple with swagger and physicality. He was praised for his communication skills. His position versatility makes him even more valuable.
RD6A — Aaron Graves –another wrestler– hasn’t made a start yet, but he will vault up boards. On a talented veteran D-Line, Graves notched 16 total tackles as a freshman and 36 as a sophomore. Graves, a basketball player in addition to wrestler and track guy in HS, was 2021-2022 National Male Athlete of the Year. Expect him to catch fire this season. I like Jaheim Thomas who’s moved to Arkansas from Cincinnati. He’s tough against the run without being a liability in coverage. If the Bills even draft a linebacker, it’ll be later in the draft, and I’d expect it to be one of these five: Henderson, Mauigoa, Higgins, Thomas, or Kiser.
RD6B —
Editor’s babble: Here is liquid gold to help us get prepared for college football season, and no one does it better than Dean Kindig. We are grateful for his contributions to our blog. You can also find Dean on Xwitter @TCBILLS_Astro.
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