Bills' Maxwell Hairston Shares Blunt Reaction to Competing with Davison Igbinosun at Cornerback

Drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round last season, the future appeared bright for Maxwell Hairston as he was expected to lock down a starting role in just his first professional season.

However, things went sideways before the 2025 season kicked off, as Hairston sustained an injury that led to him missing the first six games of the season. Now, after Buffalo brought in second-round CB Davison Igbinosun in the 2026 draft, the fifth CB the Bills have drafted the past three years, Hairston may again be fighting for a first-team role as he did a season ago with Tre’Davious White.

With that said, while speaking from Bills OTAs, Hairston said he embraces the challenge presented by the influx of young talent at the position, which included a seventh-round selection of Toriano Pride Jr., taken at pick No. 220 overall.

“My reaction is welcome, let’s work,” said Hairston.

He added, “Honestly, since [Igbinosun has] gotten here, it’s been good. We’ve gotten along, we study together, work [technique] together.”

Beyond that, Hairston has gone as far as to spread his knowledge gained from other Bills veterans during his first year in the league. Hairston entered the NFL as a highly athletic, raw prospect, but appears to have picked up a boatload of meaningful information after just one professional season.

“I always just try to get the little pointers that I learned from [White and Christian Benford] from last year,” added Hairston. “And honestly too, just playing in the NFL, it’s different coming from college. So [Igbinosun has] been adjusted well and his understanding of the playbook.”

There can often be some tension between two players vying for the same position this early in their career. Instead, it appears Hairston and Igbinosun, drafted at pick No. 62, are set to work together to make the Bills’ defense as formidable as possible. That bodes well for the team moving forward under first-year defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s 3-4 base, multiple-front defense.

Big moment for Igbinosun during Bills OTAs

Buffalo Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston (31) warms up before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Igbinosun’s first welcome-to-the-NFL moment came on Tuesday, when he intercepted a pass that appeared, at least based on images posted by the Bills, to be intended for new Bills wide receiver DJ Moore.

Moore was acquired by the Bills via a polarizing trade with the Chicago Bears, as Buffalo sent a valuable second-round pick to acquire the pass catcher. Having Igbinosun seemingly already matching up with a player of Moore’s caliber and coming away with an interception is a great sign of things to come in this expected positional battle.

“It’s good to see that,” said Hairston of his teammate’s big play. “I chased him down in the end zone.”

Let the competition begin

Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Davison Igbinosun (1) celebrates after defeating the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA football game at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Hairston finished his rookie year with 11 games played amid two bouts with injury, the first a knee ailment suffered during the preseason, then later a banged-up ankle in the team’s Week 18 matchup with the New York Jets. The first injury cost him the start of his first season as a pro, and the second his first postseason.

Still, Hairston showed flashes of brilliance, recording a couple of interceptions while receiving a Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 68, which was 34th among 114 players graded at his position.

To cement his position in the team’s starting lineup, he must fend off Igbinosun, whose PFF coverage grade of 79.9 in 2025 was 94th of 896 players graded at his position. The former Ohio State Buckeyes defender recorded a couple of interceptions in each of his final two seasons at the collegiate level.

This one will be a fun one to watch this summer, as the two appear set to work alongside one another to help produce the best secondary the Bills have to offer entering a season carrying Super-Bowl-or-bust-level expectations.

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