Bills GM's Defense of Decision to Draft Non-Starters With First Two Picks Has Merit

The Buffalo Bills received widespread criticism after they decided to select two non-starters with their first two selections of the 2026 NFL Draft.

With picking edge rusher T.J. Parker and cornerback Davison Igbinosun in the second round came a wave of scrutiny that centered around the Bills’ choice to add depth, rather than players who could help them in a first-team role come game day. However, during an interview on WGR 550 after the selection process was through, Bills general manager/president of football operations Brandon Beane defended the team’s direction at the top end of its draft slate.

And his defense has merit.

The Bills’ defense

Clemson Tigers defensive end T.J. Parker (3) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Southern Methodist Mustangs in the 2024 ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Beane cited the need to bolster Buffalo’s defensive line rotation as a whole and its insurance at the cornerback position as reasons why the Bills made the picks that they did.

“The first two [edge rushers] in the game are going to be Greg Rousseau and Bradley Chubb, right?” said Beane. “Proven commodities. But the way we rotate rushers and defensive linemen, even though T.J., he may not run out of the tunnel and get the cheer from the fans as a starter, he still could play more in the game or play close to the number of snaps.”

Last season, the Bills had three edge rushers play at least 44% of the team’s defensive snaps. Rousseau led the way with a 64.05% snap share, while Joey Bosa was close behind with a 57.23% offering, and A.J. Epenesa was on the field for 44.6% of the snaps, according to Pro Football Reference. So Beane has a point that Buffalo will need more than just its top two players at the position in orderto form an effective unit under first-year defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.

As far as Igbinosun’s selection was concerned, it came down to how the last few seasons in Buffalo have played out at the cornerback position. In 2024, the Bills’ season ended with Christian Benford on the sideline with a concussion. Last season, Buffalo had rookie Maxwell Hairston go down with ailments both during the preseason and near the postseason, leaving the team in a precarious spot depth-wise in its divisional-round defeat at the hands of the Denver Broncos.

Two years ago, Benford’s replacement was the Bills’ failed first-round pick Kaiir Elam, who finished that game against the Chiefs with a coverage grade of 40.3 after allowing three receptions for 36 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. This past season, veteran Dane Jackson filled in for Hairston and was burned on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims in the fourth quarter of the loss to Denver.

“If you look at what the cornerback depth we had a year ago to start training camp, and where we got to through injuries and other things, these guys are all going to play, and you’re going to need them,” said Beane, responding to critics over the Igbonisun pick. “And if you don’t have the right amount of talent out there on the perimeter, the good quarterbacks, the good offensive minds, they’re gonna find them, and they’re gonna attack them.”

That’s what Beane and the Bills are hoping to avoid with the selection of the former Buckeyes defender, who joins a razor-thin group of cornerbacks.

Depth chart

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane on the field during training camp at St. John Fisher University. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Along with Benford, Hairston and Igbinosun, Buffalo is also equipped with new nickel cornerback Dee Alford, whom the team acquired in free agency.

Dorian Strong, a 2025 sixth-round pick, fared well before being lost for the year due to a neck injury. His ailment has since required a procedure this offseason, leaving him on the mend at this point in the team’s workout program, and he is, at least, headed for the Physically Unable to Perform [PUP] list. Elsewhere, MJ Devonshire Jr., Daryl Porter Jr. and Te’Cory Couch are other less-adequate alternatives on the Bills’ roster.

In a sense, you can see where Beane was going with his decision to draft a cornerback. In fact, I had it listed as one of the team’s top needs heading into the draft. However, I also found trading up for Igbinosun and selecting him with such a premium pick questionable, to say the least.

With that said, there may be a chance the rookie cornerback gets a crack at a starting job, as OnSI’s Ralph Ventre wrote previously, and even if he doesn't, he is a welcomed addition that fills a roster hole.

Whatever the case may be, the Bills are better off at both positions than where they were to begin the offseason, and that can be considered a win for Beane and the rest of Buffalo’s front office.

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