Bills' Brandon Beane notes Maxwell Hairston already answered one of biggest concerns

The Buffalo Bills' GM provides an update on how Maxwell Hairston is already bulking up from his lighter playing weight in 2024.

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Buffalo Bills' cornerback Maxwell Hairston, who was selected No. 30 overall in the NFL Draft, is really, really fast. Like, 4.28 40-yard dash fast. And it translates to the field.

While speed is a great thing, there’s one question in the first-round pick’s profile that many people are going to linger on, and that’s his size.

Standing at 5-foot-11 is fine. Weighing 182 lbs, the weight that he was measured at during the NFL Scouting Combine, is very slight. How Hairston is going to hold up against bigger and physical wide receivers is a question worth paying attention to, but Bills general manager Brandon Beane provided an update after the Hairston selection that should help quiet some of those questions.

"I think he is a willing tackler," Beane told the medie. "He played at a lighter weight, in the 180s, but he’s in the 190s now. He’s beefed up a little bit. I think he’ll be able to carry that weight and carry that speed. "

"Did he get big-boy’d once in a while or bounce off, yes," Beane added. "We’ll continue to get him in our weight program and get him sturdy, and it’s not from a lack of effort, and he’s got the coverage skills, ball skills, that you look for in a corner."

Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Kentucky Wildcats cornerback Maxwell Hairston. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Beane later added that he knows the size is a question, but if he was a bit bigger, he probably wouldn’t have been available to the Bills at 30th overall, saying he probably would have been a top 5-10 pick type of player. Hairston has tons of traits on the field, the ability to adjust to the ball in the air, and unbelievable sticky speed that allows him to do things that other corners struggle to do.

RELATED: Kay Adams gushes over Bills' first-round draft pick Max Hairston on social media

Last week, it was reported that the Bills only had 12 players with first round grades. After taking Hairston, Beane said that he was one of them. They are clearly very bullish on the young talent, and believe he’s already well on his way to overcoming one of the only knocks against him.

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