'Ascending Prospect' Boosts Bills' Pass Rush, Adds Competition in New Mock Draft

After committing a vast amount of draft capital to bolster the defensive line a season ago, the Buffalo Bills are gearing up for another kick at the can entering the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Bills’ 2025 third-round pick, Landon Jackson, was the greatest disappointment of the team’s trio of defensive linemen selected in Rounds 2 through 4 last year, which may precipitate a positional shift or his elimination from any meaningful role whatsoever as Buffalo hopes to deploy a much-improved pass rush in 2026. At the very least, the Bills must make Jackson compete for whatever role he may take on under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.

One way to ensure he comes to training camp ready to earn his keep is by bringing in another high-level EDGE prospect in the upcoming draft, which is what a recent mock draft from The Athletic’s Dan Brugler predicts the Bills will do next week. In his seven-round mock within his draft preview, ‘The Beast,’ the analyst has Buffalo using its first-round pick on UCF’s Malachi Lawrence, who would be a strong candidate to serve as a key component in Buffalo’s defensive line rotation in his rookie season.

“Lawrence is an ascending prospect with rush polish and pro traits that should be enticing for pressure-hungry defenses,” wrote NFL IQ’s Lance Zierlein in his predraft profile of the Knights’ defender.

Lawrence produced a transcendent campaign in his final season with UCF. Recording 28 tackles and 11 tackles for loss, three passes defensed and two forced fumbles, all of which were career bests. He also totaled seven sacks, .5 away from his career high, and received a Pro Football Focus pass rush grade of 89.5.

Current state

UCF defensive end Malachi Lawrence (51) tackles ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) as he scrambles during a game at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Nov. 9, 2024. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Along with Jackson’s selection a year ago, the Bills also brought in T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker, who Jackson could join as an option on the interior of the defensive line this season.

If that indeed turns out to be the case, that would open the door even wider for the addition of a player such as Lawrence, who possesses top-tier pass-rush ability, which Jackson did not display much of during his time on the field during his rookie year. Jackson didn’t manage a single quarterback pressure in 12 opportunities while playing in Buffalo’s former 4-3 alignment in 2025.

He was only on the field for three games before a knee injury ended his season following a Week 10 defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins. It was the latest ailment sustained throughout what has become a lengthy injury history for Jackson.

Buffalo Bills edge Landon Jackson (94) works out during Minicamp at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

On the other hand, Lawrence has been mighty durable over the course of his collegiate career, missing just one game over his past three seasons. His performance at the NFL Scouting Combine turned heads, as he recorded the third-fastest time of any defensive end in the 40-yard dash [4.52 seconds], and second-best mark in both the vertical jump [40 inches] and broad jump [10-foot 10 inches].

If the Bills brought him in to join 2025 leading pass rusher Greg Rousseau and free-agent addition Bradley Chubb, he would help elevate Buffalo’s pass rush from one of the least productive in the league, where it stood a year ago, when it finished tied for 20th in the league with 36 sacks as a team.

It would also increase the healthy competition that the team’s group of edge rushers is set for this season, with a bullseye being placed squarely on Jackson’s back as a player who must sing for his supper entering his second professional campaign.

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